CROTHERSVILLE

She could have done karate. Or rodeo.

But no, Kennadi Lakins signed up for cross country and volleyball at Crothersville High this fall.

“I always have to be busy,” said the junior who is an athlete in two sports in the same season.

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Alongside her friend Ella Plasse, who not only competes in cross country and volleyball but said she plans to try two sports per season during the winter and spring.

How many letters can an athlete fit on a jacket? Plasse can test the limits.

Part of Plasse’s diverse engagement stems from the COVID-19 shutdown of spring sports last spring and the confining of high school students to their homes to learn.

She did not have a viral fever, but did suffer from cabin fever.

“I was like, ‘I’ve had enough of this,'” Plasse said of being confined to the house.

There are still a lot of high school three-season athletes, especially in the smaller schools. But two sports in a season require tight schedules and tolerant coaches. There will inevitably be scheduling conflicts.

Typically, Lakins is a volleyball player first, a starter for the Tigers, and a runner second. Plasse is a runner first and then a volleyball player, a player who has only played in college for a good part of the season.

Sometimes, the scale of the encounter or the match takes precedence.

“Kennadi is a great athlete and she just wants to be the best she can at what she does,” said Crothersville volleyball coach Carly Blevins.

“With Ella, I understand volleyball is not her world,” Blevins said. “She is a hard worker and she can do it.”

Cross country coach Carl Bowman only has four daughters on the squad and needs his runners.

“Volleyball coaches realize we have to have them,” he said. “But we let them choose. Ella will choose to run every time.”

Plasse, a junior, won all of the conferences at the Southern Athletic Conference last Saturday, but he’s a late runner in volleyball. She took it because so many friends were playing.

“All of my friends had played volleyball,” Plasse said. “I wouldn’t know what they were talking about. I just wanted to be included.”

Lakins was one of those influences. Kennadi’s sister, Kiarra, runs for the cross country team and Plasse’s brother, Elijah, runs for the boys’ team. Being a Class 1A school usually means there is room for everyone.

“I think our school is small, it’s easier to do two sports,” said Kennadi Lakins.

She started running and playing volleyball in the fall of last year.

“I think cross country helps me stay in shape for all of my sports,” Lakins said. “I love to run, but competing (in large invitations with over 100 runners) can be nerve-wracking. But I love running.”

There were a few occasions this fall where volleyball games and cross country races were scheduled on the same day and it was impossible to be in two places without the help of a “Beam me up,” command. Scotty ”from the“ Star Trek ”TV Series.

“It doesn’t come up too often,” Lakins said. “When that happens, I choose volleyball for my first sport.”

Although she did not go out for the cross country team for this reason, Plasse was happy that the runners were rewarded with chocolate milk, a favorite. Scientific studies indicate that the drink aids in recovery and has become a popular drink during running events.

“Which was a bonus,” she said.

Plasse plans to play basketball and go out to cheer for the first time in the winter, then overtake track and softball in the spring, likely eliminating the prospect of a lot of free time for the foreseeable future.

Lakins thought she could add some joy to her winter repertoire as well, fundamentally deepening this habit of two sports per season. Besides, she is ready to try more than two events per season on the track, the high jump, the long jump and the 100 meters maybe something else.

Although she ran 5 kilometers in the cross country, Lakins said she did not want to do the 3,200 meters on the track.

“No way,” she said. “It’s so boring to go around in circles.”

The busy work of karate and rodeo can wait until after high school.