Jenn Pino began figure skating at age 5. When she was in grade school, she'd watch competitors up close then tell her mother, Rita, "I can do that."
"She's always been pretty feisty," Rita said of Jenn, who's one of six children. "It was just natural for her."
Pino hung up her figure skates for good when she was 12, but her feisty personality hasn't changed. The Max Bishop Award winner as the region's top schoolgirl three-sport athlete, Pino is a towering presence despite her diminutive stature.
"She's tougher than she looks," soccer teammate DeeDee Fagan said.
Backyard battles with her five siblings prepared her well for a life in sports. Sam (23), Stephanie (19), Nick (14), Olivia (10) and Jackie (8) made things interesting for Jenn.
"If I didn't have brothers," she said, "I don't know if I'd be as competitive as I am."
It's clearly genetic. Her paternal grandfather, the late Samuel Pino, was a fantastic athlete. All you have to do is visit the Boston University athletic department's Web site to see him in action. There's a black and white photograph of the BU Hall of Famer making a leaping, home run-robbing catch against the outfield wall. It's scary to think that baseball wasn't even his best sport.
According to his BU Hall of Fame bio, "Slam Bam Sam" Pino was a fullback who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 1954. That year, in front of 40,000 fans at Fenway Park, he ripped off a 67-yard touchdown run in a 7-6 loss to Boston College. After winning the Bulger Lowe Award, given annually to New England's top collegiate player, the Green Bay Packers picked him in the 29th round of the 1955 NFL draft.
Samuel Pino, who later taught physical education at South Boston High,¬ died in 1990, but his legacy is secure. Jenn never played football, but she has her grandfather's competitive mentality.
"She would come down the field," North Andover soccer coach Bud McCarthy said, "and you would see the defenders backing up, backing up, backing up."
Last fall, Jenn finished third in the area in goals (20). She did it with finesse and aggression, turning loose balls into scoring chances.
"She just pounced," McCarthy said. "She really is a hot ticket."
Staying on her toes
Jenn's aspirations for high school sports were pretty simple.
"I just wanted to be on a varsity team," she said.
That goal was hurdled. Her childhood figure skating career gave way to ice hockey. This winter, she finished second in the area in goals (13) for the Masconomet-North Andover squad. This spring, she went out with a flourish. The lacrosse midfielder finished third in the area in both goals (74) and points (97). She was named CAL Division 1 MVP and led the Scarlet Knights to the Division 2 state final.¬
She also came up big when it mattered most, scoring five goals in the Division 2 North final. It was like she was in the backyard with her brother Nick, who's entering his freshman year at North Andover High in September.
"We're very competitive with each other," Jenn said. "He kind of keeps me on my toes."
Not once, Rita said, not even when coaches at several levels suggested it, did Jenn consider dropping a sport. In this era of intense, year-round club teams, it's difficult for elite athletes to hold off on specializing.
"She always kind of stayed into everything," Rita said. "She loves them all."
McCarthy watched Jenn play lacrosse and came away impressed. He never got to see her play hockey, but said he would've loved to have seen her on the ice.
He expects big things from Jenn at Merrimack College, where she'll play soccer and lacrosse.
"I think her best days," McCarthy said, "are ahead of her."
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Jenn Pino's Senior year
Fall: Scored 20 goals as an Eagle-Tribune All-Star in soccer.
Winter: Scored 13 goals and dished out 12 assists for the Masconomet-North Andover hockey team.
Spring: All-Scholastic and Eagle-Tribune All-Star in lacrosse tallied 74 goals and 23 assists for Division 2 state runner-up Knights.
