Sean O'Connor '19 Recruiting Profile

Since I could walk, I always loved water and gravitated to pools. It kept my parents on edge, perpetually on the edge of the pool to keep me safe until I learned to swim. But once I reached 5 years of age, I began competitive swimming and my parents could then move to the stands. Over the years I swam every single event there is in the sport, including distance and sprints. I swam distance events during my freshman and sophomore years, to help the team, but found I am better at sprinting.

I have always set high goals for myself, from early in competition until today. So if someone tells me I can't do something that I'm passionate about, I try even harder to reach my goal. I am someone who loves challenges and I learn from mistakes because they are what drive me to get better. Having said that, one overriding passion I have is not only attending a good college but contributing as a student athlete by swimming all four years. Both in school and in the pool, academically and in sports, I am far from peaking and continue to improve. While some of my friends play on computers and games, my routine day involves school, homework, swimming, weights at the gym as well as fitting in soccer, piano, and karate training weekly.

My event times have dropped dramatically in the past year. With the help from my coach and my crazy work ethic, I was able to drop 4 seconds off my 100 back, 2 seconds off my 100 free, and 1 second off my 50 free in only the last few weeks of the High School swim season. Also from July 2017 to February 2018 I dropped 6 seconds in my 100 back, 5 seconds in my 100 free, 2 seconds in my 50 free, 18 seconds in my 200 backstroke, and 26 seconds in my 200 IM. For collegiate swimming I would love nothing more than to help the team win a NCAA title. Personally, my target goals are to go at least 47 seconds in the 100 backstroke, and be a team captain.

I want to attend college so I can pursue my goal of becoming an influential and positive entrepreneur, majoring in business and entrepreneurship. My current GPA may not be as high as I'd like, but in reality, I have Dyslexia which forces me to work harder than others to get good grades. For example, the effort I put in to get a 3.0 gpa is similar to what others put in to get a 4.0 gpa. My college prep high school has a rigorous curriculum and I make sure to take challenging classes towards my goals. There is no part of the school year that I am not involved in both classes and athletics.

One of my other strengths is that I am a multi-sport athlete. I am a 3 time National Champion and Olympic-level World Championship competitor in Japanese karate and I am an All-State goalkeeper in soccer. Karate helps give me discipline, confidence and focus. Soccer has taught me coordination and the importance of teamwork.

Though not necessarily related to athletics, I believe some of my other interests show my dedication and talents toward reaching and maintaining high goals. I began piano around the time I started competitive swimming. I am a State competitor in piano for Solo and Ensemble. I play more complex songs each year and hope to play in State next year. My teacher says I could be a prodigy if I practiced more. Piano has taught me patience because it takes a long time, practice every week, to be great. I routinely volunteer in my community because I enjoy helping people. And, to touch on swimming one more time, I have started to blend my passion for swimming with my goal of  entrepreneurship by earning income by giving swimming lessons, both group and individual.