Activities have senior outdoors

May 15, 2017

Katie O’Mara said she has liked being outdoors in late afternoons practicing and playing soccer and tennis at Seymour High School.

“I like getting fresh air,” she said. “I’ve liked that I’ve had the opportunity to be competitive and enjoy it.”

The senior has played both singles and doubles this season after playing mostly No. 2 doubles last year.

“I like doubles because you have someone you can kind of rely on mentally to pump you up,” O’Mara said. “They might bring up ideas of how the other team is playing that you may not have thought of.”

She said it is always nice to get off to a good start with a win in the first set.

“It’s really important because you have that boost of confidence, and then you don’t have to work as hard the second set to come back and then have to play a third set, where you might be more tired,” O’Mara said.

The senior enjoys playing on the Seymour courts.

“I like them because most of our fans are able to come,” O’Mara said. “I also like playing at Shelbyville because they have a lot of courts, and you can stand in the middle and watch one side or watch the other.”

O’Mara started playing tennis in eighth grade since most of her friends were involved in the sport.

With soccer, she was a forward the past three seasons.

“I tried to lead the offensive side and tried to score goals or sometimes as an outside wing that would be feeding balls in,” O’Mara said.

This past fall, she scored three goals.

She said she liked playing on the turf field.

“It was a lot of fun. I really liked it,” O’Mara said. “I liked it because we didn’t get all muddy if it rained. There weren’t any holes or anything.”

She said communication was important on the field.

“There are two outside wings, so typically, we have to communicate with a forward and the middle,” O’Mara said. “Let’s say the ball is on one side of the field and they’re dribbling and you’re wide open on the other side, you have to let them know so they can get the ball to you.”

For O’Mara, attitude made a difference in the win-loss column.

“Sports is a lot about your attitude,” she said. “I know when I’m having a bad day, it may affect my play, but you have to get over that and focus on your playing. Practice is important because that is where you improve the most and master your skills.”

She has been involved in several organizations at Seymour High School.

“There’s a lot of opportunities, there’s a lot of different clubs and organizations, there’s plenty of athletics,” O’Mara said. “I’ve been involved in band, and it’s great being part of a large band program and being able to play whatever instrument you want and being involved in the marching pep band. I guess the other thing about Seymour is we have plenty of AP classes to choose from that some other schools may not have the opportunity.”

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Name: Katie O’Mara

School: Seymour High School

Parents: Joyce and Tom O’Mara

Siblings: Eric, Connor, Nathan

Sports: Tennis, four years; soccer, three years; volleyball, one year

Athletic highlights: In soccer, two-time academic all-state; in tennis, most improved award

Organizations: National Honor Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Biology Club, band, St. Ambrose youth group

Plans after high school: Attend Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and major in imaging technology

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