Chloe Chapman runs so fast she sometimes feels like she's flying. Or maybe floating.
"I don't even think I'm going as fast as everyone says I am," Chapman says. "I don't realize how fast I'm going."
She really only needs a couple breaths to blaze down the length of a basketball court or a soccer field. The dual-sport athlete possesses a different kind of motor. She's more than quick or fast or even electric. She's more than a natural or a freak athlete. She goes all-out, all the time and opponents simply can't catch up. Rarely can they come within a foot or two.
"She's the fastest and quickest guard in high school or college," says Robert Hildreth, her AAU basketball coach at the Maryland Lady Terps. "When she's gone, you never see anything like it. Not in the WNBA. Anywhere. No one comes close to it."
Tom Splaine, her high school basketball coach at Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland), laughs when asked if Chapman ever tires. "Oh yeah. We run 'em pretty good," Splaine says, before his tone becomes serious. "Even when she's tired, she's got God's gift he bestowed on her ... she's got a different gear she can go into than pretty much everybody else I've ever seen."
Chapman, the No. 60 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2019 class, is lively in her stat line, too. The junior is averaging 8.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals, and she put up 11 points, 14 rebounds and five steals against nationally ranked Paul VI, the No. 2 team in the espnW 25 Power Rankings. Last week she was named MVP of Good Counsel's bracket at the Title IX Classic in Washington, D.C.
But the numbers and accomplishments don't end there. In an era where kids are funneled into specializing in one sport early, she has thrived in both basketball and soccer as a 5-foot-8 point guard and a forward. And she isn't way better at one sport than the other, either.
Rather, Chapman has morphed into one of the most highly sought-after Division I recruits in the country for both sports. At one point, her father, Erik, says she had 49 basketball offers, and 21 of those were for both sports. That's without even playing club soccer.
"So many of the college coaches really believe she can play both sports, which is very unusual," says Jim Bruno, her soccer coach at Good Counsel, who has more than 30 years of experience. "Most of them are very selfish and say, 'Hey. I'm not going to let her play a second sport.' We're talking about very high-level coaches. They know that she would be an immediate impact player for them."
Chapman has also heard her fair share of doubters. This is uncharted territory. How are you going to seriously be able to do both? You probably can't do it. But Chapman is dead-set on competing in both sports in college, no matter how uncommon it is. (Julie King, for example, played soccer and one season of basketball at Auburn before joining the NWSL.)
"I don't like being a follower," Chapman said. "It's about just taking your own path and doing you."
She believes the two sports complement each other, given the similar footwork and pace. "The only difference, really, is using your feet versus your hands," Chapman says. "Basketball helps with soccer and soccer helps with basketball."
If you put a basketball and soccer ball in front of Chapman 10 times, she'll pick up the basketball each time. Hoops has always been her first love, having started playing at age 5. She'd play her neighbor one-on-one, and with a hesitation, crossover combo move, beat the boy every time. That year, she also played with 9-year-old girls, and blew past them, too.
Erik and Kimberly knew their daughter was athletic even when she was 18 months. She'd sit in the back seat and act up on the way to day care. When Kimberly reached back to see what was going on, she saw her daughter's eyes going back and forth, following her mother's every move as if she was being hypnotized. "It was the craziest thing we ever saw," Erik says.
Until they bought her a plastic golf club and set of balls and saw her swinging like a pro, her hand-eye coordination even more eerie. "That," Erik says, "was unbelievable."
The Chapmans shouldn't have been surprised. Erik played high school hoops for legendary coach Morgan Wootten at DeMatha (Hyattsville, Maryland). Erik loved football, too, and became the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech for the 1986 football season. He'd also become the first Hokies quarterback to win a bowl game.
He often shares Wootten's wisdom with his daughter. Practice is for getting better, games are your test; you don't get better during the game, you get better at practice.
Chapman labored on the hardwood for years. Even as an eighth grader it became clear that she wasn't just quick (her coaches would smile when teams made the fatal mistake of pressing), but that she had the IQ to whip a pass to anyone on the floor.
She morphed into an effective scorer for Good Counsel (7-3), splitting double teams and snaking her way to the basket or knocking down the 3. She doesn't release a typical set-shot, which is more common in the women's game. Chapman has a true jump-shot where the ball leaves her fingertips as she reaches her highest point in the air.
The most impressive part of her game, though, might be her defense. Chapman is relentless, especially when guarding the ball. She loves to rebound because it gives her a chance to snatch the ball and take off running before the defense even turns around.
"When you got Chloe Chapman on your team, you're winning every game," her AAU coach Hildreth said. "If not, you're going to lose really close. You're in it."
She brings the same tenacity to the soccer field. She began playing because the school she attended at the time, St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School, created a grade-school soccer team. She mostly played with boys and still dominated.
As a freshman, she scored both goals to help Good Counsel defeat Bishop, 2-0, and claim the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference soccer championship.
This past fall, she had eight goals and four assists on the season. She has 33 career goals and 15 career assists.
"You never see her celebrating like a crazy person. She just stares ahead like she's taking care of business, very stoic," Bruno said. "She just kind of jogs off like, 'This is what I'm supposed to do. It's my job.' "
Chapman often sees girls on social media gloating, posting about their offers or their accomplishments. She's not into that.
She'd rather be hustling in the gym, doing a grueling ball-handling drill. Her favorite? She stands in front of a wall and does a between-the-legs move, catching the ball with her left hand. She'll quickly touch her right hand against the wall, then go between-the-legs again to her left hand. Over and over.
"I'm just taking my own path," Chapman says. "[People] will still be surprised, like, 'You have to choose one sport.' And I'll be like, 'No. I want to play both and I'm going to play both.' "
