Morris’ A.J. Zweeres among the busiest athletes this summer

MORRIS – For most high school students, summer is time for relaxing and enjoying a break from the normal routine.

A.J. Zweeres is not most high school students.

That is evident when you see him participate any of the three sports he plays at Morris.

He was an all-state selection in football last season as a junior and was named all-Interstate Eight Conference in baseball despite missing some time recovering from knee surgery for an injury he suffered at the end of football season. Because of the injury, he missed all of the basketball season, but he figures to be one of Morris’ starting guards this year.

That doesn’t leave much time for relaxing.

“During the week, I have football Monday through Thursday,” Zweeres said. “My baseball tournaments are usually on the weekends, so we leave after football practice Thursday, then we play in a tournament over the weekend. A couple of weeks ago, we had a tournament in Indiana. We left Wednesday night, and we didn’t leave until Monday morning. We drove home and got back Monday afternoon, and I went straight to football practice. I was a little late, but I got there.

“For a while, up until the Morris Shootout, I had basketball, too. My doctor told me to take it easy with basketball, so I didn’t get on the court too much, but I went to all the practices. I wanted to be there for my team and support them like a senior leader should.”

Zweeres has been a staple in the Morris athletic program for the past two seasons, as he was on the varsity in all three sports as a sophomore. He broke out as a junior last year during football season, delivering game-changing plays as a receiver on offense, a safety on defense and a kick returner on special teams. He caught a team-high 38 passes for 548 yards and 11 touchdowns, carried the ball 34 times for 251 yards and five touchdowns, had 56 tackles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries on defense and returned 11 kickoffs for 339 yards and a touchdown and 17 punts for 376 yards and another score.

Zweeres hopes that this year’s Morris team will be able to improve on last year’s state semifinal team.

“I think we will have a good season,” he said. “We don’t return a lot, but we have a decent amount of guys returning from last year, especially at the skill positions. We lost most of our linemen from last year, but the guys that are playing this year have really stepped up and are looking good. The new defense that Coach [Ryan] Clauson is putting in looks really good, and Coach [Ty] Smith has been doing a good job with the defensive backs and putting in some new coverages.

“The pieces are starting to come together, and it looks pretty good.”

Morris coach Alan Thorson is happy to have Zweeres back as one of those pieces.

“AJ is a difference-maker,” Thorson said. “He is one of those special athletes that don’t come around very often. We were a little nervous with how his season ended last year with the torn meniscus, but so far this summer he doesn’t look like anything was ever wrong. We try to be cautious with him, giving him a day on and a day off at practice. Our trainer [Nikki Meyer] is working with his doctor and physical therapist, and she does a great job.

“At last week’s 7 on 7 in West Aurora, it was the first time that I thought he looked like AJ. He was out there flying around, making great catches, making plays on defense and not even thinking twice about his knee.

“He has also taken on a more vocal leadership role this season. He knows that it’s his senior year and that’s part of his role on the team. He has always led by example, but he has taken on more of a vocal leadership role this year, too, and that has been good to see.”

During his senior season, Zweeres will no doubt see plenty of offers to play one sport or the other in college. He has yet to make up his mind which sport he will choose, or if he will decide to try his hand at more than one.

“I want to try either football or baseball at the next level” he said. “I have had more contacts for football so far. When I was in Indiana for that baseball tournament, I visited Butler University and met with their coach. He mentioned playing both but wasn’t sure how that would work, especially at a school their size. I might be able to play both at a smaller school. I will have to wait and see what is the best fit for me.”

Until then, he will continue to give other teams fits in all three sports.