A modern (football) family: ODU-bound Jack Sheehan draws inspiration from parents, sister

Jack Sheehan’s football-blessed body seemingly destined the Cardinal Gibbons High offensive tackle to follow in his father’s footsteps — Mike Sheehan was a college offensive lineman at East Carolina.

And sure enough, Jack developed into a Division I prospect.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder is committed to Old Dominion University. Though Mike’s alma mater also offered Jack a scholarship, dad gave his son consent to determine his best fit.

But although this story starts out as a typical male-centric tale, it takes a twist. The other dimension was mom’s college athlete background. Kelly (nee Karras) Sheehan played women’s soccer at East Carolina in the late 1990s.

“My dad has had a big impact on me in football, but my mom has always pushed me, too,” Jack said. “She has been just as important.”

Jack said it without a trace of irony. His 21st-century generation hasn’t known another world. Oh, and Jack didn’t overlook his younger sister Kate, a junior soccer player at Gibbons. She is drawing college recruiting interest, and he brought up her name.

“Michael and I always were competitive, and I think we passed that along with work ethic to our kids,” Kelly said. “But it’s definitely a lot different than it was 30 years ago. There are so many more opportunities for girls.”

As time marches on, “opportunities” extend beyond playing sports; it’s also respect for females to coach and mentor.

‘We’ve come a long way’

The Sheehan clan is a Triangle personification of the modern American sports family engaging with their male and female offspring. Mike is a teacher and assistant football coach at Gibbons. Kelly is a marketing executive who is able to travel with her daughter to soccer tournaments.

Although Mike graduated from high school in 1994 when girls’ sports were still maturing, he says he grew up with a healthy respect. He saw it through his New Jersey high school’s strong girls’ programs. But as a college athlete, when he attended his future wife’s ECU matches, he recognized the disparities.

“Before the soccer game,” Mike said, “the team had to clean up the chicken bones and beer bottles on the field from the Saturday football tailgates. We’ve come a long way since then.”

‘We’re excited’

But in the 21set century, the dual influences Jack enter his fourth straight year in the 4A NC High School Athletics Association playoffs. He admits he was spoiled as a freshman when brought up to varsity for the 2021 postseason, when he took part in the Crusaders’ march to the 4A state title with a 16-0 record.

But that has provided him an appreciation for his final state title chase. The Crusaders (8-1) open as the No. 2 seed against No. 31 Willow Spring (3-7) at 7 p.m. Friday in a home game.

“We’re excited,” Sheehan said. “We dominated our conference. Our chemistry is great. This is the most excited I’ve been since our freshman year.”

‘I thought I’d be a superstar goalie’

Sheehan’s play has been key to Gibbons’ success the past three seasons, but it wasn’t a given he’d develop into a dominant high school athlete and college prospect. Jack’s development spans a just four short years of high school.

In his youth football years, he was too big for size limits eligibility. As a seventh grader, he was sidelined by foot injuries that required surgery. As an eighth-grader, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the football season.

“I’m super fortunate,” Jack said. “My parents pushed me to play other sports. I played club soccer, club baseball and basketball. For a while, I thought I’d be a superstar goalie.”

Timeless family dynamics

Jack’s last word on soccer underscores a paradigm shift from the old-school mindset of, say, a Pat Dye. The late Auburn coach objected only a decade ago that a woman, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was named to the original 2014 College Football Playoffs selection committee. He protested she never had her hand in the dirt.

But after Rice served her term, the National Football Foundation honored her in 2015 as the first woman to receive the NFF Gold Medal — an award commonly reserved for former Presidents and retired Generals.

Dye, no doubt, wouldn’t recognize American sports in 2024.

Mike added he’s not surprised his son respects his mother’s athletic influence. Kelly, though, expressed bemusement when Jack’s quote on her influence was read back to her.

“If you know something about mother-son relationships,” Kelly said, laughing, “I don’t think he’d ever tell me that on his own.”

Some family dynamics are timeless.