2 Sports Suit Hart’s O’Brien to a Tee

Dennis Ford and Bud Murray, the golf and baseball coaches at Hart High, meet each morning before classes for a cup of coffee and a little conversation.

The talk usually spans various topics, but at some point the discussion inevitably turns to Shane O’Brien, who plays on both the golf and baseball teams.

“It’s like an informal coaches’ meeting, so we always know what each of us has scheduled for him,” Ford said. “Someone like him doesn’t come along often. He’s such a talented athlete we have to share him.”

Murray agreed.

“I have his golf schedule and I was kind of surprised there weren’t many conflicts,” he said. “When there is, we talk things out. A kid only goes through high school once. Why not let him make the most of it?”

Said O’Brien: “The coaches have it all worked out between themselves. There aren’t any problems. I just show up where they tell me.”

Murray made sure to reserve O’Brien for the baseball team last Tuesday for a game against Santa Clarita Valley rival Saugus. The Centurions probably wished he had hit the links.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior threw a two-hitter and struck out a career-high 14 in the 5-1 victory.

Although Hart and Saugus, two of the area’s traditional powers, play in different leagues, their matchup carries a lot of weight in the Santa Clarita Valley. Last year’s game was called because of darkness with scored tied, 4-4. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Saugus had the game-winning run at second base.

“It’s the big game in the (Santa Clarita) Valley and that’s why I was really looking forward to pitching in the game,” O’Brien said. “We had to wait a year to see who was the best.”

O’Brien (2-1) left little doubt.

He struck out the side three times and it took him only 11 pitches to retire Saugus in the both the first and sixth innings.

“I had a lot of insight going into the game,” O’Brien said. “I had pitched against them so many times in (youth) leagues that I knew what to expect. They’re all good friends, but it was great to strike them out.”

O’Brien also has made his mark in golf as the No. 3 player on a team that went undefeated in Foothill League play and finished fifth in the Southern Section. This year the team is 1-0-1.

“He drives the ball so hard and far that you can’t believe it,” Ford said. “He gets a little erratic at times, but he is learning to throttle it down and control it.”

O’Brien said the origin of the problem can be easily traced.

“I had trouble last week because I kept coming over the top like I was swinging a baseball bat,” he said. “It took me a while to work it out. The two sports are completely different. I still need to work on my putting.”

His pitching delivery also needed a little work before the season began.

“We had to totally reconstruct it and add a couple things,” Murray said. “It scares me when you do things like that to a kid because you might not get the results. There is a big difference. He is definitely improved.”

Often, the biggest difficulty for O’Brien is simply to fit both sports into his daily schedule. But he is used to a busy day. In the fall, he earned all-league recognition as a linebacker for the football team that advanced to the Division III semifinals in November.

He practices with the baseball team in the afternoon until about 5:30 before heading to Vista Valencia Golf Club where he works as a cart boy.

“All I have time to do is to stop home to get something to eat,” O’Brien said. “A lot of my teammates are actually still there when I arrive.”

O’Brien expressed gratitude to his peers on both teams, whom he said support his efforts to juggle two sports.

“There is no way I could do it without the support of my teammates and the coaches,” O’Brien said. “I can’t express how much I appreciate it. That’s probably the biggest part. I love both sports equally and I couldn’t choose one. To be in this situation is great. How can I ask for anything more?”

Need he ask? The baseball team elected him captain.

“That tells you a lot about what they think of him, especially for someone who can’t be out there every day,” Murray said. “On those days when he’s there, he does something. He’s a good leader and a hard worker. He has a lot of bulldog in him. He could be a farm kid in the Midwest.”

Murray and Ford, however, are glad that he is at Hart instead.