After playing three varsity sports for four years at Lansdowne High, Erin Johns is ready to settle in for a summer of competitive surfing -- if only Mother Nature will cooperate.

Unlike her successful and busy senior year in field hockey, lacrosse and indoor track, the 2008 and 2009 Arbutus Times Female Athlete of the Year is stuck in a waiting mode.

"There are no waves," said Johns, currently living in Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the summer and working at a surf shop. "I've been searching everywhere for waves."

Her first scheduled competition was canceled for that reason.

"I'm really bored," said Johns, who has competed in several Junior Women Shortboard competitions since taking up the sport at age 10.

Until the swells return, the 5-foot-2 recent graduate has kept busy following workouts distributed by Frostburg University coach Melissa Grossman in preparation for Johns' rookie field hockey season.

Johns earned All-Division and All-County honors playing defense for the 9-3 Viking field hockey squad that captured its second straight division title last fall.

Her ability to start a fastbreak with a long clearing drive, or prevent a scoring opportunity by cutting off a charging defender, was uncanny.

Johns also scored two goals for the top-seeded Vikings, who fell to Loch Raven in a regional semifinal.

Johns was selected along with seniors Kristin Neet, Katlyn Higgins and Cheri Perkins to the Senior All-Star game. Johns was voted her team's Most Valuable Player.

"She has a great knowledge of the game and she showed tremendous leadership," coach Barb Murray said. "She is very dedicated and determined."

As a freshman, Johns and a slew of talented young athletes pulled off a stunning 2-0 upset of Eastern Tech in a spirited night game.

"The whole team went out and left everything on the field," Johns said. "That was a really intense game."

A captain for all three sports during her senior season, Johns enjoyed her time on the indoor track squad because of the team's close-knit camaraderie.

Johns, who ran the individual 500-meter and 1,600-meters races, also competed on the 800 relay squad.

Some of the Vikings' best moments were off the track, bonding on the team bus or wearing gaudy bright socks to a meet.

"Our track team became a huge family," she said. "It was really fun and it kept me in shape."

New lacrosse coach Deb Donovan knew she had a talented athlete after watching Johns take a spill while playing indoor lacrosse against boys during the offseason.

Johns immediately bounded back to her feet and went after the ball.

"I said 'We are going to get along just fine'" Donovan said after witnessing Johns' determination.

Her value to the 9-3 Lansdowne squad was immeasurable.

"She was my go-to girl," Donovan said. "She was definitely an offensive threat and she was our transition girl."

A natural midfielder, Johns played attack and low defense as injuries forced Donovan to utilize Johns' versatility.

"If I could clone her I would," Donovan said. "She did anything you asked her to and was a quiet leader."

Johns took pride in being a captain.

"If you are a captain, that means you are a role model," she said.

In a regional playoff loss to Bel Air, Johns stopped an enemy shot after the Viking goalie was caught outside the goal circle. Then Johns started a break the other way.

After a hard-fought win over Kenwood on senior day, Donovan mistakenly brought only six bouquets of flowers for the seven soon-to-be graduates, leaving Johns empty-handed.

Then Donovan approached Johns, who was quietly sobbing, to console her.

"She said 'My cat would just eat the flowers anyway -- I'm just so proud of how well our team came together'" Donovan recalled.

"I don't really care about flowers," Johns said. "I was just happy everybody left everything on the field and they were so determined to win."

Her determination was obvious in practice one day when Donovan told Johns to lead the team on a short run that turned into a much longer jaunt.

"When someone tells me to run I just keep running," Johns said.

"She would do whatever I asked at 110 percent," Donovan said.

Johns plans to carry that same attitude into college.

"I'm real excited, but I'm also nervous," said Johns, who hopes to eventually be a physical education teacher while coaching field hockey and lacrosse.

In the meantime, she'll keep waiting for waves.

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