Shattered, were the bones in sophomore quarterback Shea O’Brien’s shoulder. Lying on the cold turf on a late fall night, helmet off, and in great pain. A stadium of silent fans worried as the sweat from his head bounced off the hard surface. Players took their helmets off and got on a knee. Teammates and trainers finally helped O’Brien to his feet. The stadium clapped when they realized O’Brien was making his way to the sidelines. However, O’Brien knew that his shoulder wasn’t the only thing that had been shattered that night.

“I love football so much. I love the brotherhood, I love being under the lights, I love the big stage, I love every aspect of the game.” O’Brien said. “To know that I’ll never be in the locker room with those boys again, never work with them again, never learn from my coaches again is something sickens me every time I think about it. It sucks I love all those guys.”

O’Brien had a decision to make after this injury. Does he want to keep playing or was it time for him to end his days on the field? Many things factored into this decision. One of those factors was a possible college baseball career. After a lot of hard thought O’Brien knew then what the right decision was. “Although it was a tough decision, I knew that ending my football career after the shoulder injury was the right one to make. I mean, I’m hoping to play baseball past high school and I can’t let the dangers and risks of football ruin that for me.”

For O’Brien this meant spending a lot more time on the baseball diamond and the ice. It gave him a lot more time to work toward goals and spend his time finding different hobbies.

“Yeah of course I miss football,” O’Brien said. “But one thing it’s done for me is it’s gave me more time to find new activities I enjoy, or clubs that will help me with my college resumes, and even given me the time to run for school president. I can’t see football as something I’d play in the future so why play it and increase the risk of losing something I have a shot at in the future. Also the memory of that day is something I hate to think about. I never want to put myself or anyone who had to worry through that again.”