The Motivated Marty Tuohy
March 1, 2011
Filed under Featured Athlete, Top Stories
By Laela Ghorbani
With the lacrosse season just starting up, the curiosity of Catawba fans has grown in regards to the Indians. The team has been working hard since the fall to get the desired results for the season in the spring. Entering his final season, the talented and experienced senior, Marty Tuohy, looks to have his best one yet.
Marty Tuohy has been playing lacrosse since he was in sixth grade. While in high school in Weymouth, Massachusetts, Tuohy gained recognition as a second team all conference player during his sophomore and senior seasons. After deciding to continue his lacrosse career in college, he found Catawba through the Indians’ former assistant coach, Matt Shinny. Shinny had previously coached at Tuohy’s high school before moving on to coach at the collegiate level and coming to Catawba. It was Shinny that brought Catawba to Tuohy’s attention, leading him to move south to join the Indians.
Tuohy has been a standout player for the program since he was a freshman. His consistent and impressive performances have earned him an abundant amount of recognition and awards. As a junior, he received an Honorable Mention at the All-America level for the NCAA division II level as a preseason and postseason pick. He was also named to the all-tournament team for the Deep South Conference with three of his teammates. For the spring 2011 season, Tuohy has been listed as a preseason All-America pick on the second team.
With all the expectations surrounding him, Tuohy does feel some pressure. “Last year was the most pressure because if I didn’t get my preseason award at the end of the season, then I wouldn’t get it my senior year. And that would have been worse,” he claimed. About this year he says, “I’m not more relaxed though because I’ve only been playing full contact for a short time and the season is starting so soon, but I feel like it will be all right because we have a great group of guys this year who are going to contribute.”
Tuohy’s motivation has been tested since the fall with his necessity to recover rapidly from a shoulder injury. “I hurt my shoulder by tearing my labrum playing lacrosse. It’s been hurting since my freshman year,” he said. The injury came from constant use as opposed to one specific event, but it led to surgery in the fall. Tuohy’s desire to return caused him to work diligently in order to recover in time for the start of the season. “It made me push myself a lot harder. I wasn’t supposed to get cleared for two more months, but I got cleared early because I wanted to be ready for the first game,” Tuohy stated.
From all the work, Tuohy expects to reap the benefits. “I expect to win the conference championship. It’s what we talk about from day one.”
The relationships from the team make the participation of lacrosse that much more enticing for Tuohy. “We’re all like a huge family basically and it’s nice since I was an only child growing up,” Tuohy claimed. “College teams are also a lot closer than high school teams since you see those guys every day.” His favorite memory of Catawba Lacrosse came from a team accomplishment as well. “My best memory of Cat-U lax is being on the field beating Mars Hill College in the conference tournament. They were ranked sixth in the country and we made it to the conference finals after winning that game.”
Tuohy also likes the balance being a student athlete provides. “I like being a student athlete because it helps me manage my time because I have a tight schedule. There’s only a certain amount of free time after practice to get things done, and the coaches are there to help you if you need anything. It’s nice, like having parents at school,” he said.
Tuohy’s got high hopes for the future after his time at Catawba is over. He wants to take his business major and move to Manhattan where he hopes to work for either Mutual of America or Knight Capitol Group. No matter where he goes, the success and determination Tuohy showed during his time as an asset to the Catawba Indians Lacrosse program will be remembered.
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