Miramonte two-sport star Megan Reid excels in 2 sports in the same season

ORINDA, Calif. — Miramonte (Orinda) junior Megan Reid had a spiffy little first half two weeks ago — nine points, seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists — in an 81-20 win at Acalanes (Lafayette, Calif.).

At halftime, the 5-foot-8 point guard did her best Wonder Woman impersonation, changing into a soccer uniform and driving herself to Orinda, about a 10-mile ride.

She missed the first 20 minutes of Miramonte's soccer game with Alhambra (Martinez, Calif.), but managed three goals and an assist in a 5-2 victory.

Welcome to the nonstop Winter Wonderland of Reid, one of Northern California's top all-around athletes.

Reid isn't just playing two sports the same season, she may just be the Diablo Foothill Athletic League's best player in each sport. She was MVP of the soccer league as a freshman and first-team All-League last season. During the same two years, she was an All-League point guard for one of California's top teams.

If that isn't good enough, Reid is being recruited by Division I colleges in both sports and owns a 3.87 GPA.

Why hasn't she picked one sport over the other and how in the world does she do it? She can answer the why much easier than the how.

"I just love both sports," she said. "I've been playing them since I was in kindergarten or the first grade. It's just part of me. I don't know what I'd do without them."

It's whom Reid has had to do without which may help to explain the why and how.

Her mother Debbie died from cancer when Reid was 7 and she's been raised by her dad George, an avid sports fan, along with two older siblings, both athletic and active as well. Debbie was athletic too, a softball player and swimmer, so sports were rooted deep into Reid, who participated in swimming, water polo, flag football, rugby and played baseball with the boys all the way through middle school.

From sunup to sundown, Reid attacks life and sports to the fullest. Her mom's life was cut short at a young age, so Reid makes sure she gets and gives her fullest.

"I guess you could say that I do a lot in one day," Reid said. "That very much could be related to my mom passing at a young age."

RoboJock pushes on
So, instead of choosing between her two sports, like most kids do by high school, Reid zooms up and down the pitch from her striker spot the same day she weaves in and around defenders as a point guard on the hardwood.

Six times, including Friday night, Reid has played two games back-to-back and she's scheduled to do so six more times this season. Seems crazy, if not dangerous, but Miramonte girls basketball coach Kelly Sopak doesn't see it that way.

"We're here to help kids realize their dreams, not crush them," Sopak said. "If this is what she loves and wants to do it, God loves her."

What's not to love?

Sopak and soccer coach Mohammed Mohammed have collaborated on schedules to somehow make it work and Reid, like a RoboJock or Super Teen, continues to push forward and flourish.

She makes it work with keen time management, she said, not to mention ice baths, Epsom salt, sleep and hot tubs. She never drives over the speed limit between destinations, she says, and her only rule on fast uniform changes is "shoes go last."

She averages 9.8 points per game and leads the state's No. 9 team (17-1) in assists. Reid also led the Matadors to a 31-2 record last season. (See how team has rebuilt in rapid fashion).

"She's the straw that stirs the drink," Sopak said. "She could be the leading scorer on any other team, but she doesn't focus on scoring. She makes sure everyone gets their points even though she has the best mid-range shot on the team."

MaxPreps girls basketball editor and longtime girls basketball expert Clay Kallam said Reid is the quintessential glue player, comparing her to Kelly Faris of Connecticut. Reid leads her team against defending state champion Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) in a 3:30 p.m. Campolindo Shootout game at Bentley (Lafayette) on Saturday.

"She's a great athlete, great defender and skilled," Kallam said. "She's more focused on winning than on stats."

Reid is getting basketball recruiting interest from Big West, West Coast Conference and Mountain West schools, and she has even more interest in Division I soccer. That's because the majority of the time in the spring, summer and fall is with her Lamorinda club soccer team, one she's been affiliated with for nine years. Most of her teammates on that team have been with her every dribble and goal along the way.

"Those girls are all my best friends and we've been like that for years," Reid said.

She leads the Miramonte soccer team in scoring despite missing considerable time. She had another hat trick with an assist in a 5-3 win over Acalanes (Lafayette, Calif.) earlier this week.

"When she plays, they win," Sopak said of the soccer team, which is 4-6-1 and struggling to make the playoffs.

Rough times
When Reid struggles on the field, she says she reaches out to her mother for strength.

"I'll say ‘Mom help me make a basket' if I can't make a shot or ‘Help me score a goal' if I just can't seem to score."

On the soccer field she is allowed to wear T-Shirts with inscriptions for her mom and necklaces and lockets that she once wore.

"She definitely helps get me through rough times," she said.

Helping others is what Reid wants to do with her life, she said, perhaps through law enforcement or firefighting.

"I kind of had a tough childhood, so I'd like to help people get through their hardships," she said. "I like working with people."

That's apparent on the field and court. She has superior vision, instincts and quickness.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if she had just played basketball since she was 12, Megan would be recognized as one of the top players in California," Kallam said.

But Kallam doesn't think Reid has lost much ground by playing soccer.

"She's become a well-rounded athlete, and if she eventually decides to play just one sport, all of what she's learned and developed in all her activities will come into play," he said. "She's a star waiting to happen."

Reid hasn't ruled out the possibility of playing both sports in college (soccer is played in the fall in college). But she understands that's a long shot.

In the meantime, she'll continue her frantic winter season this year and as many as she can hold on to.

"People always tell me I could be so much better if I focused on one," Reid said. "But both of them make me so happy and content. Why would I want to give up that?"