The Smithville Herald file photoSmithville High’s Mallory Craig battles for a loose ball with a Raymore-Peculiar player during the opening game of the 2008 season. While a devoted two-sport star, Craig decided to take this summer off to focus on other areas of her life.
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Less is more for Craig
Two-sport star opts for stress-free summer
By Scott Tittrington
More parties, trips to the mall, and, while not at the top of her list, work shifts.
Mallory Craig knew if she wanted those things to come to fruition this summer, something had to give.
That something was no participation in offseason club sports for the first time in several years, a bold decision for the Smithville High two-sport star as she stares down her long-term future with the immediacy of her senior year looming on the not-too-distant horizon.
“I plan on playing college sports, and I just wanted a summer off before I go into sports for another four years,” said Craig, who earned second-team all-state honors in both basketball and soccer during the 2007-08 school year.
“I had a lot of fun doing it, but I missed hanging out with my friends and stuff. I was totally out of the social loop.”
In addition to her high school successes, Craig had been a fixture on the club sports scene since she was 6 years old. In fact, she was a rarity in that, during an era of ever-increasing specialization among young athletes, she split her time equally between the two sports she loves, rather than focusing all of her time and attention on just one.
Now, she’s in the midst of an even rarer decision with her decision to not play at all for the next few months. In the minds of some, it’s a high-school athlete’s version of career suicide.
“I’ve actually had some worries about that,” said Craig, knowing that no time on the basketball court or soccer pitch this summer means no opportunities for college coaches to evaluate her game. “But there’s a lot of coaches that I have already talked to. I know there’s a lot of coaches out there looking for me.”
And once school kicks back into gear at the end of August, so will Craig. She is going to play club soccer with the KC Heat this fall, then shift to high school basketball in the winter, before closing out with high school soccer in the spring.
While college soccer is the early leader in the clubhouse right now — “When I go to open gyms, I kind of get thrown around a little bit. I feel like soccer, I’m more fit for it,” she says — she’s not about to invoke an either-or proposition at this stage of the game.
“I get that all the time. A lot of people are like, you need to focus on one sport,” Craig said. “But I don’t want to do that. I’m so iffy on which one I like better, because I’ve played them both all my life. …
“I think if you’ve played one sport your whole life, I think you get burned-out easier. I like going from one sport to another. It keeps it exciting for me.”
Sports editor Scott Tittrington can be reached at 389-6632 or scotttittrington@npgco.com.
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Mallory Craig knew if she wanted those things to come to fruition this summer, something had to give.
That something was no participation in offseason club sports for the first time in several years, a bold decision for the Smithville High two-sport star as she stares down her long-term future with the immediacy of her senior year looming on the not-too-distant horizon.
“I plan on playing college sports, and I just wanted a summer off before I go into sports for another four years,” said Craig, who earned second-team all-state honors in both basketball and soccer during the 2007-08 school year.
“I had a lot of fun doing it, but I missed hanging out with my friends and stuff. I was totally out of the social loop.”
In addition to her high school successes, Craig had been a fixture on the club sports scene since she was 6 years old. In fact, she was a rarity in that, during an era of ever-increasing specialization among young athletes, she split her time equally between the two sports she loves, rather than focusing all of her time and attention on just one.
Now, she’s in the midst of an even rarer decision with her decision to not play at all for the next few months. In the minds of some, it’s a high-school athlete’s version of career suicide.
“I’ve actually had some worries about that,” said Craig, knowing that no time on the basketball court or soccer pitch this summer means no opportunities for college coaches to evaluate her game. “But there’s a lot of coaches that I have already talked to. I know there’s a lot of coaches out there looking for me.”
And once school kicks back into gear at the end of August, so will Craig. She is going to play club soccer with the KC Heat this fall, then shift to high school basketball in the winter, before closing out with high school soccer in the spring.
While college soccer is the early leader in the clubhouse right now — “When I go to open gyms, I kind of get thrown around a little bit. I feel like soccer, I’m more fit for it,” she says — she’s not about to invoke an either-or proposition at this stage of the game.
“I get that all the time. A lot of people are like, you need to focus on one sport,” Craig said. “But I don’t want to do that. I’m so iffy on which one I like better, because I’ve played them both all my life. …
“I think if you’ve played one sport your whole life, I think you get burned-out easier. I like going from one sport to another. It keeps it exciting for me.”
Sports editor Scott Tittrington can be reached at 389-6632 or scotttittrington@npgco.com.