Understanding the Big Picture
11/3/2017 2:36:00 PM | Football, Features
By Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Senior offensive lineman Tim O'Hara got some advice from his father that will always stick with him.
"My dad would say there's a difference between working and having a job. When you work, you're physically doing something, but when you have a job, you really enjoy what you're doing and you're enthusiastic about it."
Enthusiasm is a word that describes Tim O'Hara - the athlete, student and overall person. O'Hara finds a way to enjoy everything he does, even when it may be difficult.
"I don't think there's a single offensive lineman who enjoys individual periods in practice, but it's a necessary part of what we do and it's a time to get better," he said. "Putting that energy and effort in will make you better in what you truly enjoy - pass blocking, run blocking and moving around hitting people.
He continued, "You have to allow the aspects that you enjoy to come through brighter than the aspects you don't enjoy."
O'Hara played several sports growing up, but was a "late bloomer" in the game of football.
"I really didn't think of football in the sense I do now until junior or senior year of high school," he said. "I played football because it was what you did at my high school if you were a guy, and especially if you were a guy of my size."
When O'Hara learned he could potentially play at the college level, it really piqued his interest.
"I didn't take football seriously until I learned I could receive an athletic scholarship and could benefit from an ability that not many people have," he said. "My mom always told me that you can teach skill and learn expertise, but you can't teach size. Luckily for me, I had the size and the ability to garner some Patriot League offers."
At Lehigh, O'Hara has progressively grown into who he is today, a two-time All-League honoree who also excels off the field.
As a freshman, O'Hara's initial challenge was to get himself physically ready for college football.
"You need to hit the weight room, especially at the offensive line position," he said. "Physically, a lot of us are not equipped to play at the college level coming from high school. Not everyone can squat over 500 pounds and bench over 300 pounds. I was pretty good with the squat, but I came in around 275 pounds on my bench, which isn't bad for your average person, but not great for a college offensive lineman."
As a sophomore, O'Hara's physical tools were much improved, which allowed him to start all 11 games. His next step was perfecting the mental aspect of the game.
"I remember back to the football banquet when Coach (Andy) Marino had a comment about me that has really stuck," said O'Hara. "He said mentally, I progressed more and more each game that I played."
As a junior, O'Hara continued taking his game to the next level. His season was marked by learning (and displaying) mental toughness.
"I had two ankle sprains which really limited my mobility, moving side-to-side or going forward and backwards," said O'Hara. "I really had to learn mental toughness to be able to perform to the best of my abilities, even if I wasn't 100 percent."
Now, this season, O'Hara has focused on playing with aggression.
"I want to be the guy to impose his will on the person in front of him," he said. "I've shown it a couple times per game, but not consistently enough."
O'Hara truly has the big picture in mind in everything he does, understanding that improvement doesn't happen overnight. In his time, O'Hara's individual improvement has mirrored the team's improvement – which was capped off by a Patriot League Championship last season.
This year, the Mountain Hawks got off to a tough start, but people like O'Hara help the collective group stay positive and focused towards their goals.
Most importantly, O'Hara reminds himself, and everyone around him, to enjoy what they're doing. After all, they're playing a game they love.
"Tim plays with a lot of emotion, caring a lot about what he's doing," said fifth-year senior captain and fellow offensive lineman Zach Duffy. "He's very light-hearted and he tries to find the fun in what we do on a daily basis, which is very important, especially with our position group. We're not doing the most fun things, whether it's hitting the sled or just moving other defensive linemen who are our size. It's not all glory and all fun, but he does a good job of finding the fun in what we do, which I hope a lot of the younger guys absorb."
When his football career is over, O'Hara's primary goal is to, as his dad said, find a job (rather than simply "work"). The supply chain management major looks to use the many skills he's learned as a Lehigh student-athlete to his advantage.
"The biggest lesson I've learned from Lehigh is being able to compete with yourself," said O'Hara. "There's always going to be someone better than you, but that doesn't matter if you're competing with yourself. They might be competing with you, but your hardest enemy is always going to be yourself.
"If you keep bettering yourself, you're eventually going to reach that peak, no matter how you define that peak."
O'Hara isn't letting anyone other than himself influence how he lives his life.
"I was reading an article on LinkedIn, which said everyone has their own peaks. Everyone defines their peak, which is always the outlook I've had. I don't want people to define my life for me."
O'Hara truly lives in the moment, enjoying what he does even when it isn't easy. He developed that attitude his junior season when he realized that by lamenting the negatives, he was only holding himself back.
"That season, there were times when I was really down on myself because I wasn't meeting my expectations. I was allowing my ankles to bother me and not allowing myself to reach my potential," said O'Hara. "There were times when I really didn't want to move and didn't want to practice. I wanted to play, but I didn't want to do some of the other stuff that you need to do to be able to play.
"That's when I developed that attitude of letting the brighter aspects shine through."
O'Hara is consistently improving because he refocuses himself on a regular basis as he moves forward to his next challenge.
"One of the things we talk about in the Lehigh Athletics Leadership Academy is being able to take a step back to reevaluate what you're doing," he said. "First, I need to finish college and then, I'll be able to figure out the next step. I'm not too concerned because I've always found the right situation. I have skill sets that are desirable and I'm going to have a good degree. It's all a question of positioning myself and selling myself."
O'Hara has certainly sold himself to those around him at Lehigh.
"Tim really understands the big picture," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "He knows why he's here - to get a great education - and he's a very good player. I know in his last weeks as a senior, he's going to be as impassioned as ever."
Senior offensive lineman Tim O'Hara got some advice from his father that will always stick with him.
"My dad would say there's a difference between working and having a job. When you work, you're physically doing something, but when you have a job, you really enjoy what you're doing and you're enthusiastic about it."
Enthusiasm is a word that describes Tim O'Hara - the athlete, student and overall person. O'Hara finds a way to enjoy everything he does, even when it may be difficult.
"I don't think there's a single offensive lineman who enjoys individual periods in practice, but it's a necessary part of what we do and it's a time to get better," he said. "Putting that energy and effort in will make you better in what you truly enjoy - pass blocking, run blocking and moving around hitting people.
He continued, "You have to allow the aspects that you enjoy to come through brighter than the aspects you don't enjoy."
O'Hara played several sports growing up, but was a "late bloomer" in the game of football.
"I really didn't think of football in the sense I do now until junior or senior year of high school," he said. "I played football because it was what you did at my high school if you were a guy, and especially if you were a guy of my size."
When O'Hara learned he could potentially play at the college level, it really piqued his interest.
"I didn't take football seriously until I learned I could receive an athletic scholarship and could benefit from an ability that not many people have," he said. "My mom always told me that you can teach skill and learn expertise, but you can't teach size. Luckily for me, I had the size and the ability to garner some Patriot League offers."
At Lehigh, O'Hara has progressively grown into who he is today, a two-time All-League honoree who also excels off the field.
As a freshman, O'Hara's initial challenge was to get himself physically ready for college football.
"You need to hit the weight room, especially at the offensive line position," he said. "Physically, a lot of us are not equipped to play at the college level coming from high school. Not everyone can squat over 500 pounds and bench over 300 pounds. I was pretty good with the squat, but I came in around 275 pounds on my bench, which isn't bad for your average person, but not great for a college offensive lineman."
As a sophomore, O'Hara's physical tools were much improved, which allowed him to start all 11 games. His next step was perfecting the mental aspect of the game.
"I remember back to the football banquet when Coach (Andy) Marino had a comment about me that has really stuck," said O'Hara. "He said mentally, I progressed more and more each game that I played."
As a junior, O'Hara continued taking his game to the next level. His season was marked by learning (and displaying) mental toughness.
"I had two ankle sprains which really limited my mobility, moving side-to-side or going forward and backwards," said O'Hara. "I really had to learn mental toughness to be able to perform to the best of my abilities, even if I wasn't 100 percent."
Now, this season, O'Hara has focused on playing with aggression.
"I want to be the guy to impose his will on the person in front of him," he said. "I've shown it a couple times per game, but not consistently enough."
O'Hara truly has the big picture in mind in everything he does, understanding that improvement doesn't happen overnight. In his time, O'Hara's individual improvement has mirrored the team's improvement – which was capped off by a Patriot League Championship last season.
This year, the Mountain Hawks got off to a tough start, but people like O'Hara help the collective group stay positive and focused towards their goals.
Most importantly, O'Hara reminds himself, and everyone around him, to enjoy what they're doing. After all, they're playing a game they love.
"Tim plays with a lot of emotion, caring a lot about what he's doing," said fifth-year senior captain and fellow offensive lineman Zach Duffy. "He's very light-hearted and he tries to find the fun in what we do on a daily basis, which is very important, especially with our position group. We're not doing the most fun things, whether it's hitting the sled or just moving other defensive linemen who are our size. It's not all glory and all fun, but he does a good job of finding the fun in what we do, which I hope a lot of the younger guys absorb."
When his football career is over, O'Hara's primary goal is to, as his dad said, find a job (rather than simply "work"). The supply chain management major looks to use the many skills he's learned as a Lehigh student-athlete to his advantage.
"The biggest lesson I've learned from Lehigh is being able to compete with yourself," said O'Hara. "There's always going to be someone better than you, but that doesn't matter if you're competing with yourself. They might be competing with you, but your hardest enemy is always going to be yourself.
"If you keep bettering yourself, you're eventually going to reach that peak, no matter how you define that peak."
O'Hara isn't letting anyone other than himself influence how he lives his life.
"I was reading an article on LinkedIn, which said everyone has their own peaks. Everyone defines their peak, which is always the outlook I've had. I don't want people to define my life for me."
O'Hara truly lives in the moment, enjoying what he does even when it isn't easy. He developed that attitude his junior season when he realized that by lamenting the negatives, he was only holding himself back.
"That season, there were times when I was really down on myself because I wasn't meeting my expectations. I was allowing my ankles to bother me and not allowing myself to reach my potential," said O'Hara. "There were times when I really didn't want to move and didn't want to practice. I wanted to play, but I didn't want to do some of the other stuff that you need to do to be able to play.
"That's when I developed that attitude of letting the brighter aspects shine through."
O'Hara is consistently improving because he refocuses himself on a regular basis as he moves forward to his next challenge.
"One of the things we talk about in the Lehigh Athletics Leadership Academy is being able to take a step back to reevaluate what you're doing," he said. "First, I need to finish college and then, I'll be able to figure out the next step. I'm not too concerned because I've always found the right situation. I have skill sets that are desirable and I'm going to have a good degree. It's all a question of positioning myself and selling myself."
O'Hara has certainly sold himself to those around him at Lehigh.
"Tim really understands the big picture," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "He knows why he's here - to get a great education - and he's a very good player. I know in his last weeks as a senior, he's going to be as impassioned as ever."
Players Mentioned
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