Column: Multisport athletes see success while pulling double duty this spring

Superman had his phone booth to change from Clark Kent to superhero. Cameron MacDonald of Brentwood and Brendan Terry of Santa Monica Crossroads use their parents’ cars to undergo the transformation from baseball player to basketball player. It’s a matter of switching from cleats to Nikes and replacing pants with shorts.

“That’s the phone booth — the car ride,” Brentwood basketball coach Ryan Bailey said.

The delay in sports seasons because of coronavirus restrictions has forced multisport athletes to go to great lengths to play two sports at the same time. It’s working out for a select few because coaches are cooperating, athletes are deploying time management skills and parents are returning to the Little League days by serving as chauffeurs for their teenage sons and daughters, driving them to parks, gyms and fields.

“I’m really appreciative of my coaches,” said MacDonald, a starting center fielder for the baseball team and starting guard for the basketball team. “They support me 100%. I’m really enjoying this experience. It’s like being a kid again going from one practice to another like a full-time athlete.”

MacDonald had days in which he played baseball in the afternoon, then basketball at night, with his mother or father handling the driving duties so he can make his next game as he tossed one uniform into the backseat and put on another in the front seat.

With a 4.65 grade-point average and set to attend Harvard University in the fall, MacDonald was unwilling to give up playing his favorite two sports when they became overlapping seasons. He has continued to make a big impact in both for Brentwood. If he misses an occasional practice because of time constraints, he gets no mean looks from his coaches or teammates.

“We want them to have the best senior year possible,” Bailey said. “He’s been amazing.”

Terry has been equally busy at Crossroads, where he pitches for the baseball team and is a standout 6-foot-6 basketball player.

“I’ve been lucky both my coaches have a great understanding,” Terry said. “They’ve been really good to me.”

There was one day he pitched against L.A. Windward, then had to be driven to a basketball game the same night. Another day he left in the middle of a baseball game to play in a basketball game.

So what’s it like when he completes his day playing two sports?

“I’m pretty tired,” he said. “I take a quick shower. I still have a math assignment, finish math and go to sleep.”

The reward are moments when the players contribute for both teams, having fun and realizing their sacrifice, commitment and dedication is paying off.

MacDonald had the winning basket in an overtime game. Terry is one of the top scorers for the basketball team. The two faced off Tuesday night. MacDonald scored 16 points, Terry had 12 points, and Crossroads won 67-62.

Another two-sport athlete, junior Luke Serven of Huntington Beach Edison threw nine innings against Los Alamitos in a baseball victory, then the next night scored 28 points in an overtime basketball win against Huntington Beach.

“That was super fun,” Serven said. “The next morning when I woke up, that was the most sore I felt in my life.”

How does he go from baseball to basketball game? “My car has been my changing room,” he said.

Serven’s classmate, Tyler Hampton, plays football, basketball and won the high jump at the Orange County track and field championship.

Alyssa Thompson of Studio City Harvard-Westlake has led the girls’ soccer team with 36 goals while also emerging as the fastest in the 100 meters in Mission League track and field. All have been balancing time commitments and turning to parents for transportation help.

“I’m grateful for my parents being so flexible to take time off to help me succeed,” Terry said.