LAX Star Sheehan Named Patch Athlete

Congratulations to this week's Cranford Patch Athlete Michael Sheehan.

Sheehan has made a name for himself in boys' lacrosse, honing his skills the past several years for the varsity lacrosse team. He'll be taking his talents to the next level of competition in the fall.

"I just committed to FDU (Fairleigh Dickinson University)," he said. "I feel I really connected with my new teammates there, plus academically I feel like it's a great for for me. I feel like I'm just blooming as a player. I have a whole new future waiting for me at Fairleigh Dickinson."

And while lacrosse is important, this savvy teenager is already planning for life beyond sports.

"FDU is a great business school and as my Mom always told me, lacrosse is something that will open up another door educationally for me. I know lacrosse is my favorite thing now, and I know it's not going to be there when I'm 30 years old, so I kind of used it as a key to get into the educational world."

Sheehan is a three-year varsity starter, who found his sporting passion at an early age.

"I started lacrosse in the second grade. I didn't really find a sport other than soccer at the time that was really for me, with the speed and quickness, and since I didn't play hockey, I felt lacrosse was my new favorite sport. My best friend, Steve DiGiovanni, he taught me how to play, kept me going through it, pushed me through it, so I've always looked up to him and kept up with him."

Sheehan has helped the program grow over the last few years, and with three conference titles, there's no reason to think he can't add help another crown this season.

"I feel like we've been building a great program. As a peer leader, I'm always trying to get kids to be better, push themselves even harder. My teammates years before me last year and the year before that did a great job with building a good tradition here and I hope me and DiGiovanni can keep it going. It would be great to come back to Cranford High School and see a few more titles under our belt."

The Cougars had an impressive 2009 campaign, and Sheehan would like nothing more than to repeat lat season's success.

"Last year was actually a really good season for us. I'd say probably the best season we've had so far. We came close to beating our arch-rival Arthur L. Johnson, we lost in overtime, but still, I look at that as a victory. We made it to quarterfinals of the states and lost to Mountain Lakes. They've had their program for 50 years. They're ranked nationally. Just to play them was an accomplishment and something that I cherished a little bit. 16 wins, some of them were blowouts, some of them came close in the fourth quarter, so it kind of taught us a lot about ourselves in those fourth quarter wins. This season, I hope we have the same outcome as last year."

Throughout his lacrosse career and life, Sheehan has had plenty of inspiration. Without hesitation, he knows who's on the top of the list.

"I'd have to go with my mom," said Sheehan. "My whole performance and my will to never quit I get from her, being a single parent. And also my best friend, DiGiovanni, who always had a great outlook on the game and good workout performance. I kind of look up to him and I definitely look up to her."