St. Edward’s senior TJ Kenney might have been completely discouraged from the start after he made the commitment to pursue three varsity sports in high school, but he was able to overcome the self-doubt any eighth-grader or freshman might confront in that situation to become one of those team-oriented players coaches dream about.
Well, that occurred in two of those three sports anyway. Self-awareness made his foray into lacrosse short lived, while basketball and football endured through high school and proved instrumental in steering him toward an athletic oriented curriculum in college.
“I’ve been at St. Edward’s since pre-kindergarten, so it’s been a long run,” Kenney told us. “My dad played college basketball at Tufts University and he introduced me to the sport at a very young age. I played for him in rec leagues and then I joined the middle-school team in sixth grade.”
Kenney also started playing for the middle-school football team as a sixth-grader. When it was time to move up to the varsity teams a few years later, he decided to go year-round and chose lacrosse as a potential spring sport. But it wasn’t a good fit.
“I played one year of lacrosse my freshman year and I was playing with some pretty advanced players. I was unable to get into the drills very much during practice, or do very well compared to those kids. So I backed off lacrosse and started to focus on football and basketball.
“I actually transitioned to varsity football at the end of my eighth-grade season. It was a huge change when I started practicing with high schoolers. I was in drills with people a lot bigger than me and that was difficult. While they were not actually picking on me, I was getting pushed around every day on the field.
“Basketball is also my favorite sport; it’s 50-50 between basketball and football. At the beginning of my varsity basketball career I wasn’t playing that much because other people were much better than me. Once the years progressed and those guys graduated, I had to stand up. This past season I tried to be a team leader with the other two seniors, Anand Chundi and JP Scott.”
Wins and losses in high school seemed secondary to Kenney, although there was that SSAC state championship game as a sophomore. He described it as a “fun ride, especially to bond with a bunch of kids who were playing so well.”
The Pirates lost that game in 2017, and this season the football team took it on the chin to the tune of a 2-8 record. Nevertheless, Kenney described his senior year as his most memorable, leading us to believe that there was more to this picture than meets the eye.
“Football made me realize what hard work was actually like,” Kenney said. “Coach (Bill) Motta had us go through strenuous workouts in the summer. We were running in the sand at South Beach and he pushed us to our limits. That showed me the aspects of what it takes to accomplish something that is really hard to do.”
We know Motta appreciates that type of investment, and he saw it pay off for Kenney.
“TJ played varsity football for four full years,” Motta said. “His athleticism and aggressive play made him a dominant football player in all three phases of the game. TJ led our team in several offensive and defense categories – and that on-field production got him recognition at the district and state levels.”
Varsity basketball head coach Greg Zugrave said “TJ became a key leader on our team by example. As an upperclassman he took particular interest in aiding the younger players. He is a hard-working young man who accomplished quite a bit in his time at St. Edward’s. His achievements should be measured by the determination and will to win he showed throughout his career.”
Kenney will attend the University of Tampa and study Athletic Science. His basketball life will continue on a recreational basis, and he may toss a football around without padding up. He had some parting thoughts on sports as he leaves the only school he has known since he was 4 years old.
“The players in the future should be grateful for what they have here. Some people don’t have the opportunities that we do. The kids that are able to play basketball or football here might not be able to experience that at a larger high school. All of the students here have the opportunity to play whatever sport they want. They should realize how important that is now, and will be down the road.
“St. Edward’s is very special in that way.”