Here at Ohio Valley Athletics, we care about family. Both of the current owners of OVA were also coaches here in the Valley and were lucky enough to coach many wonderful kids. One such young man is Sean Fitzpatrick. Sean will be doing an internship with OVA this summer to finish up and earn his degree from Westminster. One thing we are most proud of is that his first assignment was to write about his younger brother, enjoy!
I want to give a special thanks to Thomas Salkovick and Jeff Stephens for giving me the opportunity to write about my brother and future articles for OV Athletics.
Conor Fitzpatrick is a 4.5-star punter/kicker from Sherrard, West Virginia and is an upcoming Senior for the John Marshall Monarchs. He looks to build on his junior season where he really shined and broke onto the scene statewide.
In his first season as a punter, Fitzpatrick earned the prestigious honor of 1st Team All-State, solidifying his status as a natural talent in the position. His proficiency in these positions is evident by his stellar performance with a junior year average punt length of 38.6 yards, converting 8 out of 10 field goals and achieving 19 touchbacks out of 30 attempts.
Additionally, Fitzpatrick has demonstrated unparalleled accuracy and effectiveness when executing onside kicks with three successful tries throughout his high school career. It comes as no surprise that he has received numerous accolades for his performance: Athlete of the Month honors from Elks; MVP Specialist recognition by Coalfields & Co.; inclusion in the prestigious 1st Team All-Conference for AAAAA; and selection into the highly regarded 1st Team All Offense All Valley team for big school football.
His most notable achievement comes in the form of competitive eating where he won the wing eating contest at Quaker Steak. Alongside those achievements, he is also excelling in the classroom with a 3.9 GPA while maintaining good attendance. He is also a member of the National Honor Society.
Conor’s first word was “ball,” which foreshadowed his lifelong affinity for sports. Among them, soccer became his true passion as he demonstrated exceptional skill in crossing balls and executing corner kicks, making him one of the team’s top performers in these areas.
In 8th grade, Conor impressively engaged in a trifecta of sports during a single season, thriving equally well in cross country, football, and travel soccer. This highlights the amount of dedication and work he is willing to put in to be successful.
Presently, he dedicates himself to representing the Monarchs in three different athletic disciplines: basketball, track and field, and football.
This summer and beyond Conor has a tough and exciting journey ahead. The recruitment journey for a specialist is difficult with few scholarships available. Most football programs want kickers, punters, and long snappers to be preferred walk-ons and then earn the scholarship later through hard work and success on the field.
Fitzpatrick will not let this stop him, however, as he has been all over the place this summer, already visiting schools from TCU to Wake Forest. He is making stops in Chicago and Tennessee for kicking camps later in the summer in hopes of being noticed.
He hopes to gain more consistency with kicking off the ground and he is excited about getting to work with John Marshall’s special teams Coach Keith Knapp as he catches any flaw Conor can have in his kicking form to gear him up for his upcoming season.
Conor also wants to give special thanks to his family and all the others that have pushed him to be the best version of himself.
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