GREAT FALLS — It’s common for high school student athletes to try their hand at three to four sports in a school year but to pull off three in one season is nothing short of spectacular - but that's what Tate O'Neill is doing.
O’Neill, a senior at Great Falls High School, has an exhausting daily routine, consisting of waking up, going to school, and then in his two free periods heads to the golf course to play nine holes. After golf, he makes his way back to Memorial Stadium to practice with the football team after school as the kicker. After a handful of special teams drills, he jets on over to Seibel Park to practice with the soccer team.
All in a day's work for O’Neill.
“I feel accomplished, I guess you could say, but also tired, because I'm ready to go to bed and wake up for the same thing the next day,” O’Neill said happily.
Thanks to the support and flexibility of his three coaches Lance Olson, Ian Deal, and Coda Tchida, O’Neill is able to achieve the seemingly impossible jumping around from sport to sport.
“I respect all of them so much and I'm so grateful that they let me do all of that because any coach could be like ‘No, you have to stay here’ and then miss this practice whereas all of them are fine,” O’Neill said.
Despite his commitment to all three sports, O’Neill wants football to be his future and after attending the state recognized Dylan Torgerson kicking and punting training sessions in the offseason, kicking field goals could be in the cards for O’Neill in the future.
“I started doing some trainings with him, and he just made me even better,” O’Neill said. “He just helps me get out there and get opportunities.”
O’Neill plans to continue his work in the winter offseason before preparing for his senior track and field season in pole vaulting. Currently, O’Neill is 1-for-2 on the year in field goals for the Bison with his longest in game at 32 yards. According to O’Neill, his longest in practice is 50 yards.
