Jack of all trades, master of none—unless you’re Maya Ran, of course. The three-sport, All-County athlete can do it all.
Ran, a recent North High graduate, was a star of the girls varsity fencing, soccer and lacrosse teams. This past June, Ran was given a share of the coveted North High Athlete of the Year award, along with two others.
From the soccer field, to the fencing piste, to the lacrosse field, Ran wowed opponents and spectators with her skill and athleticism.
“The girl’s work ethic was amazing,” girls varsity soccer coach Eric Connolly said.
Ran has played forward for North’s girls varsity team since eighth grade, and was a routine goal scorer throughout high school. Conolly said that Ran was an extremely gifted player, something noticed even by opposing teams right away.
“The other coaches had to design strategies to stop her,” Connolly said. “Her speed was great and so was her tenacity, she never stopped. She just went 100 miles an hour all the time.”
Ran was awarded an All-Conference distinction in soccer her junior year, in addition to also being awarded All-County honors in fencing. She was also the girls varsity soccer captain her senior year.
“I’ve learned how to be a captain from my other role models on the team,” Ran said. “I remember seeing the seniors, they were so much older than me, so intimidating, but they all helped me so much. I took what they taught me from watching them be captains.”
Conolly sees Ran as just as talented a leader as she is an athlete.
“She was a phenomenal captain,” Conolly said. “Always positive, always energetic, never said anything negative to the other girls.”
Conolly said her greatest asset as a captain was that she “had a way of motivating without being mean,” which, he said, is not an easy skill.
Though Ran said she favors soccer, she will be sad to move on from both fencing and lacrosse.
“I’m definitely going to miss fencing and lacrosse because I doubt I’m going to be playing again,” Ran said. “I want to thank the school because I’ve had such great opportunities. Honestly it sounds so cheesy, but when else would I fence?”
Ran also said it will be strange to continue playing soccer without her North teammates, who she has been playing with since middle school.
“I’ve learned how to play with them,” Ran said. “We bounce off each other. We know where every is going to be when we pass the ball. It’s just going to be weird not having them and having to learn my new teammates, learning how they play.”
Ran will be attending Fordham University this fall, and plans to continue with athletics on Fordham’s club soccer team.
