Hornet Aron O'Connor Leads By Example
With college admissions becoming increasingly selective every year, the academic pressures that are placed on high school students is extremely demanding.
This plight is especially strenuous for student-athletes.
Determination, intelligence, and a threshold for sleep depravation are required to successfully balance academics and athletics. Herndon senior lacrosse captain Aron O’Connor possesses these characteristics, and is at the top of his game in both endeavors.
But it isn’t easy. “During lacrosse season there’s not a lot of time for homework and other activities, but I spend a few late nights every week during lacrosse season…It’s good to be able to balance lacrosse and school work, and I think I’ve been able to do that pretty well,” says O’Connor.
“Pretty well” is an understatement. He currently holds a 4.1 GPA and has been accepted to Notre Dame and the University of Virginia.
Seeing that this is a sports magazine, he does, of course, wield impressive statistics of another kind. In ’05, he led Herndon in goals (27) and assists (23), and made first team All-District and All-Region honorable mention, explaining why he has been captain for the past two seasons.
Though, pure statistics only partially provide explanation for what makes O’Connor a good captain.
“He’s always leading the pack. He’s always getting everybody else hyped up and ready to play,” says teammate Ryan Wettlaufer.
His coach will attest to this as well. “As a player, he’s like having another coach out there,” says Coach Jason Tapp, “He’s always pushing his teammates and even challenging us as coaches to keep us up to speed and up tempo.”
As it is with many athletes, O’Connor was led into his sport by a family member. “My brother played for the high school team when he was a freshman, and when he started playing, I picked up the stick and started throwing it around,” says O’Connor.
Though, his rise to becoming leading scorer and team captain was quite unconventional. He did not participate in organized lacrosse until his freshman year. “He developed a lot of experience really early,” says senior co-captain Chad Metzger, “And since then, he’s worked really hard to hone his skills.”
The rapid improvement of O’Connor’s lacrosse skills was certainly aided by the mode of training that was readily available to him at nearly all times. “I go up to the elementary school near my house and throw it against the wall there,” says O’Connor, “It’s easy and it helps a lot with stick-control and passing.”
Though, another form of instant sports action existed right in the O’Connor household. “I have a younger brother too, and he doesn’t play lacrosse, but when all three of us are home we can have some intense sports going on,” he says.
This wasn’t necessarily lacrosse training, but it does represent most of O’Connor’s life; he endeavored in multiple sports, with much success. “I played basketball for the high school freshman and sophomore year,” says O’Connor, who was co-captain of Herndon’s freshman basketball team, “And I played soccer for teams since fourth grade.”
By junior year, O’Connor decided to narrow his high school sports interests down to lacrosse. “I decided that I really enjoyed playing lacrosse and that if I really wanted to get better I should start focusing more on it. I spent different seasons playing lacrosse so I could be ready for the spring,” he says.
It’s safe to say that it paid off.
Like all athletes at the top of their game, O’Connor is working fervently to improve some of his weaker lacrosse skills by the end of the season. “I need to work on my left hand…and probably seeing the field better and making sure I get the ball to open teammates,” says O’Connor.
Practice makes perfect, and there are other abilities O’Connor has honed that contribute to his prowess. He is especially apt at dodging, which partially explains his knack for scoring. “I think I have some quickness on the field to get by defenders. It helps to open things up…I’ve also been working a lot on my shot,” says O’Connor
As for his future, O’Connor hopes to pursue lacrosse at the collegiate level. But it’s academics first, “I’m not going to college to play lacrosse, but I’m going to try to walk on at UVA or Notre Dame, club or team,” says O’Connor.
However, O’Connor must first deal with the immediate future, Herndon’s 2006 lacrosse season. Herndon is coming off of a season where they took a heartbreaking exit from the first round of the district playoffs, losing to Thomas Jefferson, 12-8.
As O’Connor reflected on it, he saw mostly positives. “We played well, but we were a young team last year, so we didn’t make it as far as we wanted to… but we definitely gained a lot of experience,” he says.
O’Connor now leads a team that is still young, but exceptionally talented. Fortunately, he has the brains and athleticism to lead this young squad.
