Sunday, March 19, 2006

Story of another coach with some political side-jobs

Coaching is big in my life, and that of others. I was a high school swim coach throughout my time as a college undergraduate too. And, I was also a college coach as well.
The Duquesne Duke: Serving Duquesne University Since 1925 Corey's down-to-earth attitude is evident in the way he talks about those who mean the most to him, his family and his team of little leaguers. In fact, one of the main reasons that Corey chose to attend Duquesne was because of his three young nieces and the 15 little league kids that he had coached.

'The little league kids were worried about me,' Corey said with a smile.

His desire to become an elementary teacher is shown through his dedication to youngsters. According to Corey, he would frequently pick up his nieces at school. 'When I studied at American, they would call me every Friday,' O'Connor recalled.

O'Connor was recently hired as the new golf coach at Central Catholic in Oakland, his alma mater. He plans to coach there in the fall, and upon completing his student teaching requirement next spring, Corey will graduate in May 2007.
If Corey is looking for free things to give out, because folks are asking for them, perhaps I should get him a big stack of my CDs and a pocket full of the artistic Pittsburgh buttons with fold foil, Platform.For-Pgh.org.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mayor’s son ‘celeb’ on campus
By Sarah Vaccarelli
The Duquesne Duke

Upon becoming a part of the Spiritan program at Duquesne in the summer of 2002, Corey O'Connor could not have realized that in just a few short years he would become a campus celebrity. In fact, besides the students that have class with Corey, the majority of Duquesne's population does not know that Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's son is a student on this campus.

"In Pittsburgh, being the mayor's son is definitely like being a celebrity," O'Connor said. With the news media constantly at their Squirrel Hill home, it makes it difficult for Corey and his family to go too many places with the Mayor. While having "celebrity" status can make things difficult at times, Corey admits to using his dad to "show off every once in a while."

A junior in the school of education, Corey is seeking a degree in elementary education with a minor in political science. Growing up with politics, Corey decided to spend last spring studying at American University in Washington, D.C, where he worked for Congress.

"It was a great experience because I even wrote a few speeches for Congress," O'Connor said.

As one could imagine, being the mayor's son has both its ups and downs. Besides being able to go to events and meet new people, one of the best ups for Corey was being able to see the Steelers beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

One not-so-fun thing, according to Corey, is that everyone recognizes you, and stops to give you their ideas about how the city should be run. One of the craziest ideas Corey every heard dealt with tax returns.

"They wanted tickets to a Pirate game instead of money," Corey said laughing.

While most of O'Connor's friends are "cool" with the fact that they personally know the Mayor's son, there are those who have taken advantage of his status, including those who have tried to reignite a friendship that existed years ago. Recently, a friend who Corey had not spoken to since high school looked him up and asked him if he was interested in becoming roommates.

"People who I haven't seen in years will want free stuff and discounts," O'Connor said.

Corey's down-to-earth attitude is evident in the way he talks about those who mean the most to him, his family and his team of little leaguers. In fact, one of the main reasons that Corey chose to attend Duquesne was because of his three young nieces and the 15 little league kids that he had coached.

"The little league kids were worried about me," Corey said with a smile.

His desire to become an elementary teacher is shown through his dedication to youngsters. According to Corey, he would frequently pick up his nieces at school. "When I studied at American, they would call me every Friday," O'Connor recalled.

O'Connor was recently hired as the new golf coach at Central Catholic in Oakland, his alma mater. He plans to coach there in the fall, and upon completing his student teaching requirement next spring, Corey will graduate in May 2007.

For the distant future, after spending a few years teaching, Corey may follow in the footsteps of his dad.

"I like to help people and learn about different neighborhoods," O'Connor said. "Politics can help people do that in a bigger way."