For Dillon Curtis, a sophomore at Murray High School, picking soccer over basketball (or vice versa) was just too much, so he decided to play both. 

His love for soccer started after watching a video of the famous soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, playing out in the field. 

Later on, at age 9, he played soccer with some friends and, as he did, time seemed to slow down. He would just dribble, pass to others and would end up scoring along with his other teammates. He felt the sense of achievement whenever he would score and the sensation later on became his drive to creating more goals toward his future in soccer.

In school, he started to get into basketball just as much as he was with soccer. He then had to decide on whether he wanted to play soccer or basketball, but that didn’t work out for him at first. 

“It was the middle of freshman year, the start of basketball season, and my parents kind of told me, ‘Well, you kind of have to decide for one.’ I kind of just stuck with basketball for a little, but I started missing soccer too much and I switched to soccer. Then I just realized I can’t really do one without the other. I just like them. I love them both too much so, I worked it together,” Dillon said.

Dillon plays for the Murray High’s basketball team as No. 24 and his position is being a three (swingman or small forward) or simply being a guard. On Feb. 7, the team had a home game against Brighton where Dillon guarded and scored. His teammates talked about his motivation as a player. 

Power forward and center Ethan Davies said, “He’s the typical soccer, basketball player so he brings a lot of energy on the floor. Always giving a 100% on every play. He’s so thoughtful and always caring for others and always trying to help you out if you need it.” 

Another teammate, point guard Treyce Wilson, said, “Dillon can jump very high and is a great teammate. I think he has a hard work ethic. He’s always on top of his grades and he’s very athletic.” 

Dillon, along with his teammates, went on to beat Brighton 75-69.  

Along with basketball, he plays for the US Youth Soccer’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), a program that allows talented young athletes to compete with other players through state, regional and team selected competitions. 

“They (ODP) got the best players in Utah. There was a 100 that tried out and the top 18 made the travel team, and I was part of the top 18. We went to Phoenix and we competed against other West Coast states, and we won the championship this year,” Dillon said, referring to the 2023 championship on Jan. 8 for ODP in Mesa, Arizona. 

Dillon draws inspiration from his parents. 

“They’re always pushing me to get better, keep working, eat healthy,” he said, “and they always take me to practice every day.”