Trey Ahern’s goal every day is to be the best man and soccer play he can be.
The Regis Jesuit senior defender is a team captain and has helped the Raiders — who made it to last season’s Class 5A state quaferfinals — to a 3-4-1 start in 2012 against a very challenging schedule.
Ahern has a 4.07 GPA and hopes to attend Montana State University. He has no athletic scholarship as of yet.
What is your favorite high school memory?
I will never forget our soccer game against Pine Creek last year in the first round of the playoffs. It was the first time I played an entire game and it snowed/rained the entire time. We won the game 2-1 after double overtime and a victorious penalty kick shootout.
What is the biggest sacrifice you have to make to play your sport?
While playing soccer for Regis, I have had to sacrifice a great amount of my social time. Instead of hanging out with my friends after school or going home to look around on Facebook, I get to practice with my teammates.
What’s the best piece of advice given to you in sports or in life?
Before every game or challenge I face my dad always tells me, “Win or lose play for the glory of God.” No matter what, I always feel successful after I compete with my dad’s quote in mind.
Are you a leader? If so, what do you think makes a good leader in yourself or others?
I believe I am a leader in school, on the athletic field, and at home. Good leadership requires humility. A leader must not only command his peers to do something, but enter into an ultimate goal with them and be a guide and a part of the challenge every step of the way.
Do you have any quirks or superstitions when it comes to your sport or in life in general?
With my life and athletic experience, I believe that hard work always pays off. I see it in my grades and on the soccer field almost everyday. When someone puts their mind to a task and struggles through it, even if it is not easy, a great amount of success will come from the effort.
If you listen to music before a game, what gets you ready for competition? If not, how do you get focused?
Before soccer games I like to spend some time in silence thinking about the game and getting ready to play. Just before I get ready to warm-up, however, I enjoy listening to hard classic rock bands, like AC/DC, Aerosmith and Van Halen.
What’s a sport you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t and why haven’t you?
I have always wanted to play ice hockey. I love playing pick-up games at Evergreen Lake in the winter and I even own my own hockey skates and stick. I have never attempted to play competitively because I love to ski as well and I would not be able to do both.
If you could pick a person living or dead to spend a day with, who would it be and why?
The birth-mothers of my two youngest adopted siblings, Luke and Sara Jane. I would like to thank them for blessing my family with such awesome children. I would also want to tell them how much their child has impacted every day of my life. They are the strongest women I have never met. They gave up their children hoping that they would live a happier life somewhere else. For that reason, I would want to spend a day talking to them about my sister and brother and how I have helped to raise them into marvelous human beings.
Other than sports, do you have another true passion in life and if so, what is it and why?
My true passion in life is to be the best man I can be. I want to grow up to be someone who is well-known for his humility, generosity, bravery, faith, strength and love. Ultimate happiness rests in these virtues.
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
For a semi-urban school student, soccer player, and young man, my hopes for life may sound weird. In 10 years, I see myself living in the back country of Colorado working a small successful ranch with a young family.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
