Lyons senior guard Michael Niedermeyer had a bag of ice draped over his right wrist and was unable to shake hands minutes after the Lions defeated St. Laurence 83-51 on Friday at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.
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He was fouled hard in the second half, but the injury could not pull him out of the game.
Niedermeyer has developed resiliency and a strong will as a valued contributor to both the Lions’ boys soccer and basketball teams.
“The toughness that he plays with, and the mental toughness that he shows in both sports, that carries over either way,” Lyons boys basketball coach Tom Sloan said. “The physical characteristics, the cardiovascular to be able to get up and down, specifically the footwork defensively (are similar).”
Niedermeyer’s ability to defend on the basketball court translates to the footwork necessary to play midfield on the Lions’ soccer team. He drew three offensive fouls against St. Laurence and has led the team in charges taken the past two seasons.
“Usually it is on somebody that he is guarding that has the ball that tries to beat him off the dribble,” Sloan said. “He just has great footwork to stay in front of the guy with the ball. He is willing to sacrifice his body, and he did that in soccer as well. He was a physical presence on the soccer field.
“He is strong. He is not a burly kid, but he is very tough, and that has carried over from one sport to the other.”
The transition from soccer in the fall straight to basketball season is not completely seamless. There’s always an adjustment period.
“Physically, it is not all that difficult. I am already in shape from soccer,” said Niedermeyer, who lives in La Grange. “Mentally, that is where you have to make the switch, from where your season ends in the playoffs in soccer, and you have to prepare for the next season, basketball, right away. So that is probably the biggest difficulty.”
One of the things that helps ease the transition between the two sports is that the surroundings do not change much.
“A lot of it is in the locker room. For basketball and soccer we use the same locker room,” Niedermeyer said. “What goes on in there is very similar, and just kind of keeping that kind of teammate chemistry is helpful for both sports.”
Niedermeyer said he likes soccer and basketball equally. In the fall, his focus is on soccer. In the winter, it’s basketball.
During the offseason, he tries to give equal time to preparing for both sports.
“In the spring, I play AAU basketball and travel soccer, so I split time between those two,” Niedermeyer said. “Any days in the summer that I can go out with my friends and play soccer or basketball, I try and do it.”
The Lions won their first two games before dropping their third at the Jack Tosh tournament. They started quickly in the St. Laurence game and scored 30 points in the first quarter.
“Building a big lead is important to keep the other team off of it,” senior guard Josh Heath said. “We always talk about getting ahead and keeping a lead, and not giving any points back.”
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press