Jason O'Neill is approaching the end of a terrific career at Penn State. The senior from Haverford, Pennsylvania will not be graduating with awards and honors for glorious athletic achievements, but those who know him will remember his tremendous drive and spirit as a coach.
During the course of his four years as a student, O'Neill has served as a coach for the Penn State club baseball team. This year as the head coach and president of the club, he has guided the Lions to a 17-8 record and a current first place ranking in their conference. Academically, he has a grade point average of 3.8 in Business Logistics and is a member of the Schreyer Honors College.
"Jay is the epitome of a model student and a model person," senior outfielder Joel Shadle said. "He's the greatest kid you're ever going to meet."
The son of an All-American soccer player, O'Neill competed with his father in just about every sport.
"Baseball was my in for being better than my dad at something," O'Neill said. "He loved that I had a sport that I really liked to play"
Like most youngsters who play the game little league through college, O'Neill had a hero in the Major Leagues.
"My absolute favorite baseball player of all-time was Mike Schmidt," he said. "He was an inspiration for his players to succeed as much as they did."
O'Neill was the captain of his high school baseball team, but a back injury forced him to sit out the last six games of his senior year. He wanted to go to the University of Pennsylvania, so he put all his time and effort into meeting that goal. It was his father who told him not to forget about Penn State.
"My dad went to a small school, and he said that he never had the camaraderie, the spirit, and the love for a college that people who go to Penn State do," O'Neill said.
By the first football game of his freshman year, O'Neill knew choosing Penn State was the best decision he'd ever made.
"This place has been an incredible home for me, for school, and for friends," he said. "It has given me the opportunity to continue with baseball which I wouldn't of had at a small school unless I played for the team."
In his freshman year, O'Neill saw a brochure in the hall that read, "Umpires Needed" for the fall intramural baseball league. He inquired, and the league asked him to coach one of the teams. At the end of the season, his team walked away with the championship, and the baseball club head coach took him on as an assistant for the spring.
The three years he spent as an assistant helped him develop into the respected leader he is now. Even though the transition from player to coach was a big step for him, O'Neill has learned the differences.
"The biggest difference between playing and being a coach is that you can't react on emotion when you're a coach," he said. "As a coach, every situation needs a different way of thinking."
Perhaps one the best ways O'Neill leads his team is by example, especially as a student. If he had a Monday test or paper due, he had everything done on Friday before the weekend trips to play ball.
"That made me focus on school when I had too, so I could focus on baseball when I had too," O'Neill said.
The players attribute much of the team's current success to O'Neill's hard work.
"As a team, we have been much more polished in every face of the game, because our practice time was much more efficient," junior relief pitcher Josh Winfrey said.
"When we needed to talk to someone with anything, school or team, he was there," junior left fielder Aaron Thompson said. "He knows when good players are in a slump, and it helps that he's not on your case."
O'Neill in turn knows that the successful season thus far would not have been possible without the effort put forth by his assistant coaches and players.
The team is currently looking to begin their run towards the NCBA World Series title in May, and O'Neill, who will graduate in August, hopes to bring that title to Penn State.
"We really look up to him, and trust him," Shadle said. "Everybody knows that he's going to lead us to better places."
