Northeast Lauderdale junior guard Molly Moore, right, tries to maintain control of the ball during a game earlier this season. Moore also plays travel soccer and slow- and fast-pitch softball.

If there’s a difference between playing injured and playing hurt, Molly Moore estimates she plays hurt most of the time.

The Northeast Lauderdale junior splits time between slow-pitch softball in the fall, basketball in the winter and fast-pitch in the spring, and she also plays travel soccer as well. The only reason she isn’t on the Lady Trojans’ soccer team is because the season takes place at the same time as basketball season. Anyone who watches Moore play knows she always plays all-out.

“That’s caused some of the problems,” Moore joked.

Nonetheless, if she isn’t technically injured, Moore will suck it up and go out on the field or the court. She said her pain tolerance is “pretty good,” and she can’t recall the last time she missed a game in any sport. Whether it’s her athleticism or her all-out approach to playing sports, Moore has earned the admiration of her coaches at Northeast Lauderdale.

“In practice, she’s the first to dive on the floor for a loose ball,” Northeast Lauderdale basketball coach Lewis Lightsey said. “That just shows you her toughness and her leadership ability. Last year, she had a hurt shoulder, and she was diving after a loose ball in practice. She only knows one speed: full speed.”

Lady Trojans slow-pitch coach Tyler Vick said it’s the same when he’s coaching her in the fall.

“She’s just a gamer,” Vick said. “She plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. It doesn’t matter whether she comes to practice feeling great or feeling bad, or if she’s sick or hurt, she’s going to give 110 percent every second. As a coach, she’s exactly what you want in a player.”

Moore is described by Lightsey as mild-mannered when she isn’t playing a sport, and her leadership style is more setting a good example than being vocal. Once it’s game time, though, there’s nothing meek about the way Moore plays.

“When I step on the court or in between the lines, it just feels like it’s time to turn off the sweetness and go hard and give it all I have,” Moore said. “I like having that outlet. It’s like I have two different sides. Some people have an attitude when they play, and I don’t want that. I want to play hard but also have a good reputation.”

It’s Moore’s competitive drive that causes her to play so hard, Lightsey said, and he notices how different she seems on the court and off the court.

“It’s like a switch goes on whenever she plays,” Lightsey said. “She’s very competitive. She’s the kind of kid where we could invent a game, and five minutes later, she could be beating you in the game we invented. In a game, she can get her shot blocked and not be scared to drive it again on the next possession. She always asks to guard the other team’s best guard.”

Still, because Moore plays with such tenacity, it’s easy to overlook the fact that she’s a gifted athlete who is good at everything she plays, Vick said.

“She’s a tremendous athlete,” Vick said. “She started varsity for me in slow-pitch at shortstop in her seventh-grade year. … I could see where her athletic ability would kind of get overlooked because everyone notices the way that she plays and doesn’t appreciate the athleticism, but she’s a great athlete. She’s good at everything she does. She’s one of the best athletes in our school.”

Playing sports the entire school year means Moore has to get creative with her schedule for doing homework. It does get overwhelming at times, but Moore has never taken a step back because of it.

“I’ll do it late at night, or before games on the bus,” Moore said. “There are some times that I do want a break from it all, but I never actually take one.”

With the busy schedule comes less down time, and Moore said it’s sometimes frustrating not being able to hang out with her friends as much outside of athletics.

“They know I do a lot, and I’ve come to realize that I’m different,” Moore said. “Sometimes I’ll get a chance to spend time with them, but most of the time I can’t go out and do things.”

Even in the summer, Moore can usually be found playing travel softball or soccer or even shooting hoops when she’s not doing the other two. No matter the sport, Moore said she enjoys staying active and being competitive.

“I don’t want to limit myself,” Moore explained. “It’s high school. You should have fun and be involved in as much as possible. Plus, I love them all, so I play them all.”

Her coaches are happy she does. Lightsey said there was a period of time where Moore was considering dropping basketball this past summer before deciding to stick with it. As one of the Lady Trojans’ four starting guards, Moore has been an integral part of the team, and she’s both capable with the ball in her hands and playing off the ball.

“It’s meant a lot to us having her on the team,” Lightsey said. “Her experience with playing last year and her unselfishness allows all of our pieces to fall into place. She also takes pressure off the other girls.”

Vick said that unselfishness can sometimes present itself as a double-edged sword. Moore wants to play all-out for her team, but she also doesn’t want to further aggravate nagging injuries so she can maintain availability for her teammates. Still, Vick insists he never questions why she’s playing the way she plays.

“She had surgery on her labrum during August, about the beginning of the school year, and she wanted to play, and she played outfield for us in slow-pitch,” Vick explained. “There were countless times I would have to say, ‘Your right-center and left-center fielder will be there, so do not throw. Flip it and let them throw.’ I also told her not to dive, and if the game was on the line, she did it anyway. There were a number of times I would have to ask her to tone it down, but the reason she’s so special is because everything she does, she does it for someone else. She’s one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever coached.”

Moore will play fast-pitch in the spring for Northeast Lauderdale, but right now she’s focused on helping the girls basketball team achieve its goal of a state championship.

“It will take hard work and playing together,” Moore said. “We have to put what we do in practice into how we play and give it all we have.”