Omar Ward

List of 10 items.

• What are some of your best Valley School memories?

  Some of my best memories at Valley School were on the playing fields and basketball court. Our undefeated basketball season my 8th grade year with some of my best friends sticks out. The Rec Nights were always fun, and so was watching Señor Wooly videos in Señora Saenz’s class.

• What have you learned from participating in athletics?

  Looking back on my athletics career so far, I learned that natural talent only gets you so far, and that to be able to give yourself a chance to play after middle school and beyond, you have to put in the extra work, be coachable, and most importantly, value your teammates successes just as much—or even more—than your own.

• What have been some of your athletics highlights since Valley School?

  I attended the Kiski School after Valley School, and was very fortunate to play football, basketball, and baseball while getting a great education. Being the quarterback for Kiski was surely a key moment of my high school athletic career, as was playing in the BIG 26 Classic (baseball) my junior year. For two years, I attended (Division 1) Canisious College, where I met a lot of great people and traveled the country making the NCAA regionals my freshman year. I then transferred to Seton Hill where my favorite highlight was making it to the Division 2 World Series in Cary, NC. My all-time favorite baseball moment, though, was winning the 74th AAABA (Triple A baseball) National Championships in 2018 with Martella’s Pharmacy, giving Johnstown their first ever AAABA Championship!

• Who has been an important influence on you as a person and athlete?

  Mr. Rohrer is the biggest reason I now want to help out kids through coaching. He cared for me like one of his own from my first day at Valley School, and to this day, I can’t thank him enough. My family members who have passed at an early age, or without warning, are also some of my greatest inspirations because thinking about them daily reminds me of the importance of being kind to everyone and reaching out to as many people as I can, because life is so delicate.

• What are you up to these days?

  I just graduated from Seton Hill University with a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science. I am currently working as a personal trainer and fitness instructor at Innate Fitness in Latrobe, PA. I also volunteer as a football coach for Derry Area High School.

• Please share one or two of your favorite quotes.

  My favorite quote isn’t famous, but it is a saying one of my best friends and I came up with, and which I live by: “EBS.” It stands for: "Every day Be Special.” It reminds us every day that we are here to do something great and to change people’s lives in a positive manner. No matter what anybody says to you, you are special and you mean something.

• Favorite Sports movie(s)? Non-sports movie?

  Remember the Titans and Avengers Endgame.

• Who’s on your musical playlist right now?

  Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar. Also… and a little embarrassing… “Running up that Hill” by Kate Bush has been on repeat since I finished Stranger Things.

• Hopes and dreams for the future?

  My goal is to run my own Sports Performance and travel baseball team with my good buddy, Neal McDermott. We both want to be able to give back to the next generation of athletes and guide them in a positive manner.

• What question do you have for our next Alumni Athlete?

  What is your greatest leadership quality, and how can you make it even better?