Eamon Washburn
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Eamon Washburn remembers it as if it were yesterday.

In the fall of 2005, his Oakmont Spartans boys' soccer team was teetering on the edge: it had already been booked with 13 yellow card infractions during the year.

"If we got one more, we wouldn't have been able to make districts, even if we got enough points to qualify," he said.

That was something the South Ashburnham Warriors of Sparta wanted to avoid last autumn, and they were extremely successful.

"We didn't get any cards all year. From the very start of the season, our coach made it very clear that he wasn't going to let it get out of control," Eamon said. "He was depending on us as captains to be the ones to back him up on this and be more vocal on the field. Since three of the captains played defense, we often talked to the kids who would get out of hand and coach would substitute for kids who were getting hot-headed, which was much different from my junior year when it got out of control."

The new policy worked, as Head Coach Lincoln Stiles Jr., Eamon and his Oakmont teammates were awarded the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award during the Division 2 State Finals in November for their behavior.

The senior has yet to choose his college for this fall, but he has applied to several prestigious schools including Springfield College, Northeastern, Connecticut, Vermont-Montpelier, Clark and Stonehill. He wants to study exercise science.

For the past three years, Eamon has volunteered at the Bonnie Brae Day Camp in Gardner every summer, where for six weeks he helps out as a camp counselor, assisting with recreational activities. In addition, he helps the Oakmont Outlaws team during practices.

"I do that on Sundays and late afternoons. Basically I do the drills that [the coach] can't show to the kids," he said.

Eamon is a Salvation Army bell ringer during the holidays, and he also volunteers his time at the Cushing Academy dining hall during the week, when he's not too busy with sports.

"I'm not selfish. I'll put other people first," he said. "I know how to manage my time and keep a good balance of life."