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She Fled Cold Climes, But Her Son Is Skating North

Tribune photo by SUSAN M. GREEN

Jeanette O'Connor of Riverview watches her oldest son, Charlie, practice hockey at the Brandon Ice Forum. He will be pursuing hockey and pre-med studies this fall at a university in New England.

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By SUSAN M. GREEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 10, 2008

RIVERVIEW - Maybe it's in the genes.

Jeanette O'Connor and her husband, Charles Sr., grew up in Boston and moved here in 1985 to get away from freezing temperatures.

Now their firstborn, Charlie, is planning a reverse trek. A hockey addict for 10 years, he wants to go north to college because he craves a wintry clime.

"I've always wanted to go somewhere cold because hockey is played more in the cold part of the country," Charlie says.

A high school senior who will graduate fourth in his class at Riverview this spring, Charlie applied to eight colleges and was accepted to nearly all of them, his mother said.

They were all in New England or Minnesota. Nothing in Florida or even south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

In April, he was leaning toward accepting an offer from the University of New Hampshire, which has a hockey team called the Wildcats.

His mother has mixed feelings. She has supported her son in his icy pursuits since he was 8. Hockey is a demanding sport, she says, and expensive, particularly in a state where snow flurries make headlines and ice time is manmade.

When he was younger, Jeanette accompanied him on flights all over the country and to Canada for games he played in as a member of the Tampa Bay Maple Leafs, a team that practices at a rink in Oldsmar.

She's proud of her son, who has earned a grade point average of 5.97 despite the demands of a hockey travel league that played 80 games last year. She expresses amazement at his drive and ambition. He plans to pursue pre-med studies.

Jeanette says she and her husband were high school sweethearts and married after graduation. Neither went to college.

She's not sure what advice to offer.

She worries about the distance.

"He's the oldest," she says. "I don't want him to go."

She's relieved that at least he has narrowed his choices to New England. The O'Connors still have relatives in Boston who can look out for him, she says.

Charlie says both his parents have been supportive. His father used to play hockey and was acquainted with people in management at the Brandon Ice Forum before it opened. Charlie's younger brother, Cody, 15, and sister, Courtney, 13, skate there, too.

"Since Day One, we've been here," Charlie says of the Brandon rink.

He estimates he spends 20 to 25 hours a week practicing or refereeing at the Brandon facility and the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar.

When he's not on the ice, he's hitting the books. His favorite courses at school are in science.

Traveling with his mother for hockey cemented their already close relationship, Charlie says. He also credits her with helping him stay grounded in his academic pursuits.

"Sometimes it gets fuzzy, balancing it all, but she's always there to help calm me down," Charlie says.

"If this kid gets a 90 on a test, he's devastated," his mother says.

She's proud of his achievements but worries that he may be a little too devoted to his passions.

"He hasn't really been subjected to the real world," she says. "He never went to any of his proms. Hockey came first.

"How is he going to adjust?"

Charlie says he's ready for the move.

"I gotta become more independent," he says.

His mother knows that.

"The reality is they gotta go. It's part of growing up. It's the next step."

Knowing it doesn't make the separation easier.

"I think the hardest thing is the reality that they're not your babies anymore."

Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.

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