Playing dual sports at a very high level is a rare feat, but one North Vancouver teenager is up for the challenge.
Sophie Swant, 16, has played for B.C. provincial teams in both soccer and basketball and stars in both sports at Argyle secondary. She is proof that hard work and endurance can make a successful athlete.
"I started out when I was younger playing every sport there was out there and then these two were my favorites and I just kept playing them, I just never stopped," said Swant.
Swant started playing soccer when she was six years old and basketball in Grade 6. She said she chose those particular sports because they are both team oriented.
"You can't do well unless your entire team is doing well," she said. "You have to have a good relationship with people and I think that I like that kind of aspect of it."
Juggling both sports has not been easy for Swant, with both seasons having some overlap.
"It's hard. I know that sometimes I have to leave early from soccer or not go to soccer because of basketball or vice versa," she said. "But I have really great parents and they help me and drive me places all the time, it's crazy what they do for me but it just helps me get to where I need to be."
Swant is also a welldecorated athlete, being awarded top grade athlete in both Grade 9 and 10 at Argyle. Last spring as a Grade 10 student she won the Golden Boot as top scorer at the 2013 AAA Senior Girls High School Provincial Soccer Championships, won by Argyle. She's represented B.C. on the 2011 provincial soccer team and the provincial basketball team in 2012 and 2013.
Swant's father, Randy, said he likes that his daughter plays dual sports, setting herself apart from others.
"I don't know very many athletes that are able to continue to play at this high of a level at this age," said Randy. "Normally you get girls or other athletes selecting a sport and then focusing just on that sport. She's enjoying both and hasn't been able to really make a decision to not play one in favour of the other, as of yet."
Randy said his daughter is very driven, getting home from school, doing schoolwork and then heading out the door for an 8 p.m. practice.
"I'm in awe of her, I wish I had her drive," he said. "Coaches love her. She leads by example so she's always the first in training to finish drills and that sort of thing. That's part of her leadership although she's been given some leadership roles now with her teams, but on the court or on the field, in performance, in training or in games, people look up to her. So she's a good example to her teammates."
Swant's basketball coach at Argyle, Anthony Fortunaso, said the Grade 11 forward is everything a coach looks for in an athlete.
"She's probably one of, if not the best, athlete that I've ever coached and that includes Claire Elliot that goes to UBCO now," said Fortunaso. "She's just one of those naturally gifted people."
Fortunaso said Swant's role on the team this year is different from last year's team that won the North Shore title.
"She was kind of like the fourth, fifth option (last season), whereas all of a sudden this year we're asking her to play a way different role to kind of be the go-to player," he said. "She's adjusting really well in trying to be that scorer that we need but also trying to get everybody else involved."
Fortunaso said Swant's leadership role has been a learning process.
"She's really positive with people after games and telling them what they did well and that kind of thing," he said. "She's definitely stepping up to the plate and getting better at it every single game, every single day."
Jason Jordan, Swant's soccer coach with Fusion FC of the B.C. Premier Soccer League, agrees that Swant has been working on her leadership skills "She's taken some ownership of things that she needed to work on," said Jordan. "Whatever the coaches have asked her to do she has tried her best to do what they have wanted."
Jordan said Swant is very hard working, reliable and competitive.
"(She) always gives you 100 per cent when she's out on the field, very good with her team," he said. "She played very well when she went to the nationals with us as well, good skill, very brave in tackles in the air. I enjoy working with her."
Swant's talent and athletic ability could take her to the CIS or even the NCAA, said Fortunaso.
"She's a ridiculously good athlete," he said. "Her talent's getting better every single day so I think she's definitely a player that could be the next big thing out of North Van."
Swant said she wants to continue playing either sport, or both, after she's done high school. She said she thinks playing both sports gives her a competitive edge.
"It's the kind of thing where you go into a soccer tournament and you have that kind of high level like
its stressful and then you go into a basketball tournament and you're doing double what everyone else is doing at that level," said Swant. "Your nerves are always at a high level so I feel like when it gets to a point where there's two seconds left on the clock and you're down by one and you have two free throws, in basketball, I think it makes you more calm because it's the kind of thing where you've been in this situation before."
