O'Brien enjoys the challenges of Plymouth Whitemarsh girls' hoops
Taylor O'Brien was just 9 years old. Back then, the extent of her basketball playing experience was dribbling a ball in her driveway and playing in the front yard. Her teammates and opponents were her younger sister, mom, dad, aunts, and uncles.
Taylor O'Brien was just 9 years old. Back then, the extent of her basketball playing experience was dribbling a ball in her driveway and playing in the front yard. Her teammates and opponents were her younger sister, mom, dad, aunts, and uncles.
It was her family's thing, she said, a time to "fool around."
But then a friend of her parents' - Joe and Tishara - recommended to them that O'Brien go to a camp in New Jersey. The Plymouth Whitemarsh junior doesn't remember where it was held exactly, just that it was in the Garden State.
The makeup of the all-day camp? She remembers that more clearly. When she walked in, she realized she was the only girl.
"It was very scary," O'Brien said. "I thought that it was going to be a challenge, but I take challenges head on, attack them. Each challenge is a new opportunity to do good things."
How did she handle being the only girl there?
"I've never had more fun playing this sport," O'Brien said, her smile wide. "I had such a good time. All the boys were so impressed that I could dribble and shoot. Most of them didn't even know how to dribble."
Having a good time? The guard is still doing that. It's probably the first thing you'll notice about her. She enjoys herself out on the floor.
"I realize that I perform better when I'm enjoying myself," O'Brien said. "In those tough games, freshman and sophomore year, when I wasn't having fun I wasn't doing well. Those are the games I would have six or eight points. I knew it was a big game, and I got in my own head, which isn't good."
Those days are long gone now as O'Brien is averaging about 23 points a contest, having completed a stretch last week during which she dropped 30 or more in four out of five games.
How does she do it?
A three-sport athlete - she is a middle blocker for the volleyball team and competes in the high jump, 300-meter hurdles, 800, 400, and 4x400 relay in track - O'Brien has a quickness second to none.
"The different gear is her speed. Her speed is incredible," coach Dan Dougherty said. "She can do six full-court sprints in 28 seconds. I've never seen anything like it. Six continuous full-court sprints. We give the kids 40 seconds, and she is finished with 12 seconds on the clock."
While her speed is impressive and makes her tough to guard, O'Brien has also expanded her repertoire this season to include a better range from beyond the arc and a stronger right hand, meaning she can beat defenders any way she wants.
"It can't be fun being boxed-and-one, double-teamed your whole high school career, and she just embraces it," Dougherty said. "It doesn't bother her. It doesn't get to her."
As a result, Plymouth Whitemarsh is off to its best start since Dougherty took over and is in the driver's seat in the Suburban One American Conference. The Colonials (13-0) haven't won a league championship since the 1996-97 season and haven't appeared in the state tournament since 2005.
"When we win, we win as a team," O'Brien said. "People come up to me and say that I had a great game, and I say, 'Yes, we had a great game.' It takes a whole team to win, not just one person.
"It should be a fun challenge getting over that hurdle," she continued. "Everyone wants that states experience."
It was Wednesday, the day after she notched her 1,000th career point and a few days after she first caught a cold. O'Brien was still feeling under the weather. When she gets sick it usually lingers instead of clearing up quickly.
She shot around with the team to start practice, but her head was pounding, and she felt sick to her stomach. You never would have known it by looking at her - her smile still wide - except for maybe the Patagonia fleece she was wearing over her red practice jersey.
The Colonials lined up for sprints after a free-throw drill.
"I feel like I'm cheating," O'Brien said as she stood on the sideline watching.
"Should I run anyway?" she asked assistant coach TJ DeLucia. "I feel bad. Should I do crunches?"
So she did. She got down and did crunches.
But that's part of the reason O'Brien has gotten to where she is. She works hard, even when she isn't feeling up to it.
As for where she got her start, at that New Jersey camp? O'Brien went back only one more year.
She was still the only girl.
@ka_harman