Keller Brown is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Student assigned to cover Higley High School for AZPreps365.com

During the Higley varsity flag football game on Wednesday versus Crimson High School, Higley Knights senior Laci Degner intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown, tying the game at seven in the first quarter.

 This doesn’t come as a surprise to Degner, who also stars on the Knights’ girls volleyball team. She always prepares herself to be in the right place at the right time. 

Laci mother, Heather Degner, has been Laci’s biggest supporter when it comes to the workload of volleyball and flag football, on top of academics. 

“Honestly, I've always encouraged her to play other sports,” Heather said. “Laci's been playing volleyball since first grade and has been playing club level volleyball since sixth grade.”

Laci doesn’t just play volleyball for Higley, as she plays beach volleyball on a club level. This caused minor scheduling concerns for Laci and her mother. 

“The girls stop playing indoor (volleyball), they have a week off and they play (outdoor) until summer,” Heather said. “It’s really intense.”

Laci is one of five girls competing at the varsity level for both volleyball and flag football. She is building this multi-sport routine into her senior year.

“She is a very busy body and likes to be that way,” Heather said. “That’s just kind of how she is. She handles it really well.”

This is the first official season of girls flag football as a recognized high school sport, as The Arizona Interscholastic Association voted last year to introduce it as a new sanctioned sport. It is brand new into the fall season, as the trial session the previous year was later in the year.

Laci admitted there were challenges to balancing both volleyball and flag football at first, but she has a better handle on it now. Laci referenced an early-season confusion between the two sports. 

“There have been conflicts with the practices and games,” Laci said. “I had a flag (football) game the same day as volleyball practice, and we thought the coaches had communicated. We got our playing time taken because we went to a flag (football) game over volleyball practice. It all got ironed out eventually.” 

After that small misunderstanding, volleyball coach Tyler Kraemer said he is grateful to the flag football staff for working around the volleyball schedule.

“I know their coaches worked hard to reschedule things and go after our (volleyball) practice,” Kraemer said. “They’ve gone out of their way to make sure they weren’t impeding us. I respect them because they could have really made it miserable for us.”

Laci hasn’t lost motivation for either volleyball or flag football, even on days where she goes straight from the gym to the football field.

“I’ve always wanted to be there,” Laci said. “Flag (football) is so much fun. It’s never a question as to if I want to go. I always want to go.”

Laci has a full academic scholarship to attend Northern Arizona University to study business next year and she currently has no plans to play any sports at the collegiate level. 

Using her great record of academics helps keep Laci on track with athletics, as she doesn’t have to spend too much time outside of school on homework.

“It’s always been pretty easy for me,” she said. “It’s really been kind of a balanced thing. It’s always just kind of flowed.”

Keeping outstanding grades throughout high school was always the goal for Laci, which is echoed by her volleyball coach.

“I have to give them credit because they haven’t let their grades drop,” Kraemer said. “They know their priority is education first. I’m surprised it hasn’t affected us more.”

Especially since this is a first for many volleyball players playing another sport on top of volleyball at the same time, the level of focus has impressed Kraemer.

“When they told me about it, I was hesitant to have them play too,” Kraemer said. “I honestly haven’t seen that much of a lack of focus. I thought they’d be drained, but they’ve held it together really well.”