Spalding Basketball's Most Valuable Player

My family and I have been following Maggie Morrison’s athletic career since she entered Archbishop Spalding High School in the fall of 2008.  As a freshman, Maggie played soccer, basketball and lacrosse.  As a soccer family, it was her soccer career that we found the most compelling.

 During Maggie’s sophomore and junior year, my family and I read each week about the incredible shots Maggie made.  We read quotes from teammates describing her work ethic and her competitive drive.  It was clear that every girl on the team believed that if given the chance, Maggie would get things done.

 It wasn’t until the end of the soccer season her junior year that a spoke with her father. “Where will Maggie play soccer when she leaves Spalding?” I asked.

His answer floored me.  “Oh,” he said, “Soccer isn’t really her main sport. She wants to play basketball in college.”

When I spoke with Maggie about soccer she explained that she uses soccer as a way to clean the palate. It gives her a mental break from the pressure of basketball but she doesn’t love soccer the way she loves basketball. 

Maggie believes she is a good soccer player because of her competitive nature and her work ethic but she believes she is a better basketball player because of that third ingredient – passion. 

In Maggie’s high school career the awards for sports have been numerous.  She was named Player of the Year for the past two years in both basketball and soccer. She was nominated for the McDonald’s All American Basketball games.  She made All County for both sports for three years straight. 

She won Most Valuable Player for the past two years for basketball. And this season, she scored her 1000th point in basketball.

Being the third in a family of five siblings Maggie has a support system to keep her grounded. 

“I love my family.  I love that my younger brothers look up to me and that my sister, Bridget says she admires me,” she says, “But it’s a mutual admiration.  I admire my sister and Patrick for their sports talent but I also admire my younger brothers for how hard they work at things. I admire my brother Brian for his music. I admire how hard he works at it.”

Work is a word that comes up a lot in conversation with Maggie.  She works hard and she admires people who put in the same effort.  At Spalding Maggie is a big fish in a little pond but she understands that.

“When I go to Vanderbilt next year, I know when I get there I won’t be the best player,” Maggie said, “but I am more than willing to work to earn that spot.”

Maggie has dreamed of playing basketball on the international level for as long as she remembers.  That is a dream shared by thousands of young women across the world but there is something different about Maggie. 

That passion permeates everything she does.  The work ethic pushes her harder than any coach ever will.  And that competitive drive?  Well let’s just say, for Maggie Morrison failure is not an option.