Profile on TWHS lacrosse player, Grant Murphy

I have a treat for you today. With high school sports becoming more and more competitive, you are seeing young people specialize in one sport to become as good as they can be at it so they will have a better shot at playing in college and possibly earning a scholarship. HOGWASH, I say! 86% of 2014 NFL draftees played at least two sports in high school.

This week's Woodlands Online profile showcases one of the most gifted athletes in the Conroe Independent School District in The Woodlands High School sophomore, Grant Murphy who plays football and lacrosse and excels at both. Presently, he anchors the young, yet strong Highlander lacrosse defense that shut out #1 seed Dallas Jesuit, 7-0 at the Houston Super-Regional on Sunday to advance to the Texas High School Lacrosse League Final Four next weekend in Round Rock.

Most days, like several TWHS lax-ers Grant attends spring football and is making quite a showing at the slot position. Murphy welcomes the challenge of playing both sports and boasts that all of his lacrosse and football coaches support him as well as all of the two sport athletes in their quest to be solid two-sport athletes at TWHS.

Just who is Grant Murphy?

How long have you been playing lacrosse and how did you get started?
I've been playing lacrosse since I was in 5th grade. My brother Tyler, who now plays lacrosse at Fairfield, played before me and loved the sport so I decided to give it a go. Also, I was not very good at baseball, so it was something new to try that involved contact.

You play lacrosse and football. Do you recommend that all young people play multiple sports?
Personally, I absolutely love the competition in a game setting, and playing multiple sports gives me more opportunities to compete with different teams and different environments. It allows you to obtain a wider variety of skills to use in both sports.

Are your coaches in both sports supportive of you playing both sports?
My lacrosse position coach, Al Christopher has taught me everything I know about defense from the beginning up to now. He always pushes me to be more than just a defensive player. Coach Al has a humorous personality that helps us relax and helps us enjoy even the hardest practices. My football coach, Coach Sowda has always put me in a position to succeed. He's been understanding of my time commitment in playing two sports and has made me the football player I am today. Both coaches support my playing two sports which has been huge for me.

Why do like attending The Woodlands High School?
I love how all Woodlands athletics are extremely competitive and always are the best at what they do. Our school really brings out the best in our athletes and students.

Do you have a favorite subject in school?
My favorite subject in school is science. Specifically, I like astronomy because it's a field that has so many possibilities and can teach us so much.

Describe The Woodlands High School lacrosse team.
Our lacrosse team is very competitive and always striving for the ultimate goal, a state championship. I enjoy playing for them because we have a mindset that losing is never acceptable, and we can always improve and be better. Many teammates are great friends which makes it that much more enjoyable.

What do you do away from school and athletics?
Between the time commitment for both sports, I don't have a lot of free time, but when I do I like hanging out with good friends.

Who are your role models for Lacrosse and football?
My lacrosse role model is CJ Costabile because as a defender he made a huge impact on the game and won a national championship for Duke. My football role model is Tyrann Mathieu because even though he's undersized and underweight he plays with a high IQ and gets in the right place at the right time to make big plays.

Describe how supportive your family has been of you and your endeavors.
My family has played a crucial role in making me who I am today. My dad coached me in football since I was five and still helps me improve daily with his constant advice. My mom supports anything I do and encourages me to be a good person on and off the field. My older brother Tyler has been a good role model in athletics and academics while my younger sister Georgia has always been supportive as well. She is an awesome athlete and I really like watching her compete on the volleyball floor.

Are you interested in playing lacrosse or football at the next level?
I'm definitely interested and I'm open to playing either football or lacrosse in college as I want to continue to be an athlete and compete at a high level. However, I don't want to be consumed by the process because I want to enjoy high school. I don't know how many times I've heard older people say they wish they could have slowed down in high school and enjoyed school and the people around them more. Some of my fellow students spend more time on recruiting trips and worrying so much about what college they'll attend that they're nervous wrecks. That is not going to be me.

Three things people don't know about you:
1. I love to read (Seal Team Six was the last book I read)
2. I avidly try to learn more about astronomy
3. I like to play soccer

TWHS Lacrosse Defensive Coordinator, Al Christopher talks about his young defenseman...

"Grant started playing about five years ago back when Keith (Head Coach Keith Tintle) and I were in charge of all the youth programs here. He is very gifted athletically and picked up the game about as fast as anyone I've seen. Just by looking at him, you knew he showed the rudiments of excellent talent and it would be a matter of time before he became a force. He was a regular as a freshman and now he's the anchor to our defense and he's just in 10th grade. Grant's a bright kid and picked up the nuances of this complicated game rapidly. If you watch him play, you'll see he is always in the right place and he does it effortlessly."

Often times, when you see young athletes who are gifted they are missing one important item in their repertoire. Are they team players? Are they liked by their teammates? Yes and yes are the answers when referring to Grant. He's not a rah-rah guy but he leads by example and is always there for his teammates.

Grant can be described as quiet by people who know him and only he can explain where he developed such a passion to be the best teammate he can be...
"It comes from how I was raised by my parents. My mom and dad were excellent athletes and they know what it takes to be the best you can be and how important those around us are to a team's overall success. Like a family, a team can have its ups and downs but you keep working together as hard as you can so that when you all look in the mirror at the end of the day, you like what you see......I like what I see."