Mariah Graves is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Rancho Solano Prep for AZPreps365.com

Rancho Solano Prep, as a competitive school, has many multisport athletes. Coaches believe athletics help in teaching their student-athletes how to learn time-management and work on a team. 

Sarah Liley is one of many multisport athletes playing basketball and soccer. She started playing both sports in middle school. Her aggressiveness and excitement of running on a field or court made her fall in love with both sports at a young age. 

“I just wanted to get involved, I wanted to tackle, I've always had fun doing that, so I think soccer was the sport to kind of explore that,” Liley said. 

This year, as a junior, Liley played two sports in one season and was the lead scorer in both. With a total of 112 points in basketball and eight points in soccer. She credits her success to always taking her shot. 

“Any chance and opportunity to take a shot, even if it's not the best angle, the best positioning, I always put it up, either shots on goal or put it up to the basket,” Liley said.

Liley’s multitasking mindset has allowed her to not only balance two sports but rigorous academics as well. 

“It's definitely hard. There are definitely days where I am super tired, I'm super sore,” she said. “But I think having teammates who go through the same thing, like I have multiple teammates who play soccer and basketball. We always stick together. It's not fun all the time, but the game is really what makes it worth it.” 

Basketball coach Kari LaPlante described Liley as tenacious. 

“I think she's done a great job being able to perform in the classroom and on the field and on the court,” LaPlante said. “She gives me 110% and will do anything that she is asked of.” 

Maddie Liley praised her younger sister and teammate. 

“No matter what sport she's playing she always is determined to have the best outcome in whatever game, whether that's soccer, basketball, and I think that also ties into her personal character,” Maddie Liley said. 

As a student-athlete, Liley’s typical day doesn’t allow much of a social life. It consists of multiple practices a day, games, and tons of homework. 

“I play the game, come home and then do my homework, and then do it again the next day,” she said. “For practices, we had basketball first and then soccer after, so we had to talk to the coaches and tell them we're going to be there 15 minutes late. It worked. You know it wasn't perfect but it ended up being OK.”

Soccer coach Neil Graham believes Liley takes her sport seriously but at the same time knows how to have fun with her teammates. 

“Sarah’s the best soccer player on the team,” Graham said. “She seems to have a good balance, because you know she's very competitive. She has an ability to go from goofing off with her friends to flipping a switch.”

Liley ensures that being able to play sports this season means a great deal to her. 

“I think I'm very competitive and anything I do in sports is just an outlet for my competitiveness,” Liley said. “During school, I'm competitive too, but it's different when you're going for a ball.” 

“It’s taught me you can't do things on your own, you have to put your trust in other people to help you,” she said. 

Liley continues to be a star on the court/field and the classroom with the support of not only her family but her coaches as well. 

“As a coach, I would try to remind her during the games when she got in her head that, 'hey you got the next shot, or you can do this, or I believe in you,'” LaPlante said. “I think positive encouragement and just reinforcement, goes a lot further than criticism.”

“She doesn't really need too much support from me,” Graham said. “She’s good, she knows what she's doing. She actually to some extent has helped coach the team. She seems to enjoy that sort of role. It's almost like an assistant coach at times.” 

Next year, Liley will be a senior. She has set some personal goals to improve herself for the next season. 

“I would love for basketball to increase my three-point percentage. I also want to work on technical stuff like ball handling,” Liley said. “For soccer, I want to do better defensively.” 

As a senior, the expectation for Liley will be to continue in her leadership role on both teams. No matter what, she appreciates the experience of being a student-athlete. 

“The experience is better than the result,” she said. “Having those moments with your teammates and your coaches, it's more important than the result at the end. They help you grow as a person.”