Triple-threat Morrison faces a tough choice

Kirsten Morrison is a two-year varsity starter in three different sports at North Reading High, and she is not yet a junior. This summer, she feels, is decision time. With an eye on the future, should she focus full time on basketball, softball, or volleyball?

When she was much younger, she was asked to choose ballet, Brownie Girl Scouts, or basketball.

“She had so much going on, she was dancing ballet, doing Brownies, and playing sports,’’ recalled her mother, Pam. “She looked at me in the second grade and said ‘Mom, I don’t think I’ll ever be a ballerina.’ She wanted to play sports instead.’’

Basketball stood alone for a year, but she added softball to the mix in the third grade. And at age 10, she started playing volleyball, making for a busy year-round schedule for the Morrison clan.

“Now she’s trying to narrow it down to one sport to focus on for college, but it’s been tough trying to figure it out,’’ said her mother.

The family traveled to Key West, Fla., for a week’s vacation last month. The day after returning, Morrison was back on the diamond, competing in a softball tournament. And last Sunday, she helped the Northeast squad place fourth in the Bay State Games volleyball tournament.

Last summer she played basketball in the Games. Suiting up for the volleyball team this year might indicate where her future lies.

“I don’t know yet. It’s still tough for me to choose, but there was something about playing volleyball that may have swayed me,’’ said the 5-foot-11 Morrison. “I know I want to get a scholarship to play a sport in college, but I don’t have a favorite sport. Whatever season it is, I love that sport; that’s how I’ve always been. But I’ll be a junior, so I’ve got to start narrowing it down.’’

But Kerri Forrest, her volleyball coach at North Reading, doesn’t feel that it has to be one sport or the other quite yet.

“I grew up playing three sports in high school, and I definitely don’t think that you have to quit two sports for one if you enjoy playing more than one sport,’’ she said. “When it comes to college athletics, it’s a different story, and it’s so tough to get athletic scholarships that I do think high school students are feeling pressure to focus on just one sport all year. I definitely don’t have a problem with Kirsten playing three sports.’’

Though her earliest memories are of playing basketball in the driveway with her father, John, Morrison did not hesitate when it came to naming her favorite moment.

“Definitely winning the [2007 Division 3] state volleyball title was the best time of my athletic career so far,’’ said Morrison. “I really had fun playing on that team, and to win the state championship my freshman year was so great. It gives us a good, strong goal to live up to for the next two years and I’m thankful for that.’’

A natural athlete who logs extra hours at clinics, camps, and in the gym, Morrison has made her presence known at North Reading High. She has been the starting center for the varsity girls’ basketball team since her freshman year. She earned the starting spot at first base on the softball team as well, helping propel the Hornets to the Cape Ann League championship the past two years.

And as both a freshman and a sophomore, she started as rightside hitter on the volleyball squad.

Forrest says Morrison has been a “huge part of our success. She earned her spot as a starter because of an injury [to another player] her freshman year. When she came in, she was willing to put in all the hard work to keep that spot.’’

Morrison, 16, has put in the work to reach this point, but she’s quick to deflect the credit to her parents.

“They put in the time, the money, the energy running me from practices to games to tournaments when I was little,’’ she said. “They were at all my games and practices and always encouraged me. I’m very grateful to have them, because they really sacrificed a lot for us.’’

Pam Morrison, a former basketball, softball, and field hockey player, and her husband, John, who grew up playing basketball and baseball, have been down this road before. Kirsten’s older sister, Caitlin, is attending Fordham University on a crew scholarship, and also played basketball growing up. Older brother Ryan played a variety of sports in his youth and is now attending Boston College Law School.

Morrison’s youngest sibling, Eric, will be a sophomore at North Reading this fall and hopes to continue as a football, hockey, and baseball player.

Despite the juggle between sports, school, and family, the Morrisons seem to make things work.

“This time is precious. It’ll go by so fast, we just want to enjoy it,’’ said Pam. “I can’t believe Kirsten is going to be a junior already. My husband and I try to split time between her and Eric and make it to every one of their games and practices. It’s hectic most of the time, but it’s worth it. They love it, and we just don’t want to miss out on these times.’’

Sapna Pathak can be reached at sportsgalsp@gmail.com