Duet for One : For La Quinta’s Harkins, Soccer No Longer Second Fiddle

For the longest time, soccer was a distant second on the list of Kristin Harkins’ athletic endeavors.

She focused on running as she had since her family discovered an ability so exceptional that she was the country’s top 8-year-old miler.

But now, in her senior season at La Quinta High School, soccer has achieved a new status: “equal,” Harkins said.

“Right now, I’m taking soccer more seriously than ever before.”

In 16 games, Harkins has scored 23 goals, a pace that puts her on track to surpass the 35 goals she scored last season.

But until this season, Harkins, 17, was so intent upon running that she would run four to five miles even after playing a match.

“Last year, I would run no matter what,” she said. “This year, if I don’t feel like it, sometimes I don’t run.”

The change came when Harkins began to assess her chances for athletic scholarships to college, where she plans to run and play soccer.

“I have much more room to improve in soccer,” she said, adding that because soccer has come easily for her she never has worked extensively on fundamentals. “I thought that if I could do well this season, maybe I could go to school on that.”

Such schools as Harvard, Yale, Colorado College, UC Irvine and UC San Diego already have shown interest. In fact, there has been more interest from soccer coaches than from track and field coaches, although that is possibly because the track season is yet to come.

Harkins said she is far more confident about her soccer than her running.

She has lost confidence in running because she has lost races, Harkins said.

“I’m afraid I’ll get too tired and die at the end,” she said. “I’ve lost lots of races that way and that’s why I lost a lot of confidence.”

In soccer, her confidence continues to build.

“Every day is different with running,” she said. “It depends so much on how you feel that day. With the soccer, it’s not that way. The skills are always there.”

In addition to her concentration on soccer, Harkins probably is scoring more because she has become the centerpiece of the Aztec (14-2) offense.

“We’ve realized that most of our goals are going to come from Kristin,” said Bill Wilson, La Quinta coach.

Harkins’ running talents enable her to score frequently on breakaways, but she also scores often off free kicks designed for her.

After soccer season, though, running will reign again. Harkins ran a personal best in the Southern Section track and field championships last season, and she plans to start working with weights this season in hopes of bettering that.