Time management. Often spoken about, often tough to master.

Jerome’s Makali Nance put on a bit of a clinic on the matter this week, taking time before the Tigers’ road game at Mountain Home to do a quick phone interview with IdahoSports.com to talk about how she balances her busy schedule.

She did the interview while Mountain Home announced its seniors on “Senior Night,” then went out and scored the game’s first goal, barely five minutes into the contest.

How’s that for making use of your time?

The junior is something of an expert in time management skills. She’s competing in both soccer and cross country this fall. She also plays basketball in the winter and then runs track in the spring, all while playing year-round club soccer for CGA Academy out of Pocatello, which is over a hundred miles away from Jerome. She does that while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average, volunteering at her local church and working during the summer at Jerome High School.

Maybe she could add football to the mix, too. While preparing for the powder-puff football game, she successfully connected on a 45-yard field goal.

For Nance, it’s all a part of preparing for the rest of her life.

“As I get older, there’s more of a workload,” she said. “I might as well try to figure it out now.”

According to her soccer coach at Jerome, Robert Garcia, it isn’t an accident that she is able to juggle so many things so well.

“Her time management skills come from her mom,” Garcia said. “Her mom is really organized.”

Part of that, Nance says, is the fact that her mom is a teacher, where organizational skills are critical.  

Nance is also one of three children with an older sister (20) and younger brother (13) so, “she’s always running us around places.”

While Nance excels on the soccer field – her 69 career goals after the early tally in Mountain Home ranks among the tops in the history of Jerome High School – she also likes to run, which led to the conversation about competing in both sports at the same time. Garcia and cross country coach Mark Van Orden have worked with Nance to allow her to compete in both sports. Once the fall seasons end, she’ll continue with club soccer and then transition into basketball, where she plays for Jeremy Munroe.

“Makali is a quiet, but strong player,” Munroe said. “She never stops working, is coachable and hates to lose. Because of this, her growth as an athlete and person is unmatched.”

Garcia agrees.

“She learns really quickly. Any time I sit down with her to explain things, she gets it really quick,” Garcia said, before adding. “She gets everything really quick.”

Once basketball ends, she transitions into track and field at Jerome, while continuing to compete in soccer.

She says she does take some time to be a kid, too, but makes sure her responsibilities are taken care of first.

“It’s difficult, but I manage with the support of my friends and family,” Nance said. “Sometimes it gets really tough, but my friends and family keep me going.”

The work ethic, time management and support of friends and family could help carry her beyond Jerome High School as well. With her goal-scoring prowess on the soccer field, she says some colleges have started to take note and reach out to her. Soccer is her favorite sport and she’d like to continue on to the next level.

“I’ve been playing soccer for so long,” she continued. “I don’t want to be done after high school.”