Staff photo / Brian Yauger Maplewood goalkeeper Lauran Krieg attempts a save during the Rockets’ 5-5 tie with Pymatuning Valley earlier this season.

Immediately following the end of Maplewood’s girls soccer game against Pymatuning Valley, a 5-5 draw, Rockets goalkeeper Lauran Krieg left the field.

She shook hands with the opposition, briefly gathered herself alongside her teammates, and then ran into the high school.

Despite a long back-and-forth battle, her day was far from over. Krieg still had a volleyball match to play, what would be a 3-2 victory over league rival Mathews.

While this isn’t an everyday occurrence for Krieg, these double game days have been par for the course for the senior.

“It’s pretty crazy to go from a soccer game outside and, being with like, those teammates, and then having to go inside with another group of my teammates,” Krieg said. “I’d say it’s pretty hard, because you don’t know how everyone’s feeling or what they’re doing. Trying to keep up with both teams is kind of difficult.”

It’s not an easy position for anyone to be in. Battling numbers issues, Krieg is a more than welcome addition to the Rockets’ soccer program. But soccer has to share athletes with Maplewood’s cross country program as well.

Schedules are constantly in flux, especially for soccer coach Bronwyn Clark, who has had to rearrange her schedule multiple times this season.

“It is very difficult, especially trying to balance the schedules,” Clark said. “We have to reschedule a lot of games. … Friday night games are issues because we can’t play on Fridays. My cross country girls run on Saturday mornings, which eliminates a lot of game days. It’s a lot of problems, but I just try my best to get my girls a chance to play.”

Coaches and the multi-sport athletes are always coordinating to keep everyone happy.

With a busy schedule that has a lot of moving pieces, communication is crucial.

“I think I’ve managed it pretty well throughout, because I’ve done it since freshman year, so I think I’ve done it pretty well,” Krieg said. “I’ve gotten better at some things. Some things today, I still need to be touched up on, but, I’ve done pretty well communicating with my coaches and letting them know when the schedule changes or where I need to be at a certain time, but the coaches, they understand it too.”

Maplewood’s volleyball coach, Christen Clemson, understands the struggle of balancing multiple sports. A graduate of Maplewood herself, Clemson played volleyball, basketball, softball and did track and field in her time there.

Clemson understands that this is a reality at smaller schools and is happy to accommodate.

“I want my kids to be able to do all the things that they love, so if that means that I have to be a little bit flexible about letting someone leave early for practice or starting a game knowing that somebody’s coming a little bit late, for them to live out their best high school career, that’s what I want for them,” she said. “As a person who both competed at Maplewood and was allowed to do two sports, my coaches did a really good job of balancing so that I was able to do both and be really good at both. I want to give my kids that same opportunity.”

When moments like her Sept. 9 doubleheader arise, in between games, Krieg takes time to gather herself and mentally switch gears.

“I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and breathe because everything will be OK,” Krieg said. “Mainly, knowing that I have teammates on both teams that will be there for me, and I have to be there for them as well.”

Luckily, she’s never forgotten what sport she’s playing while in the heat of the moment.

“I haven’t done that yet,” Krieg said with a laugh. “Knock on wood.”

When playing multiple sports during the same season, it all comes down to balancing time. That way nothing is neglected, and perhaps more importantly, an athlete doesn’t burn themselves out.

“Definitely on the weekends, I’m now trying to do different things,” she said. “Just hanging out with my friends or chilling at home, basically. Then I’m not overdoing it too much. Or I’ll tap into my other sports like basketball or softball.”

While volleyball is her “main” fall sport, the senior hopes to continue her career playing softball in college.

It’s not an easy thing to do, but Krieg shows that it is possible not just to play two sports at the same time, but to do well.

She hopes that if other athletes are on the fence about trying multiple sports, they should do it. While it’s a hard task, the benefits outweigh the cost, and you can meet more people you may not have connected with otherwise.

“Playing two sports definitely pays off in the long run,” Krieg said. “It keeps you in shape, and you could see different groups of people, and I solely believe that helps further (grow) your circle.”