LYNN — It’s an uncommon occurrence for a student to participate in three sports – let alone through all four years of high school. That happens to be the case for Lynn Classical senior Brady Warren, who’s been a part of the Rams’ golf, basketball, and baseball programs.
Warren is in the midst of his final season on the baseball team, and head coach Mike Zukowski feels lucky to have Warren leading the team again.
“Brady is just a great kid, and all the underclassmen on the team look up to him,” Zukowski said. “Brady is an excellent student-athlete, and he is the type of person you want to represent your school. So, it is safe to say I have been fortunate enough to have Brady suiting up in a Classical uniform the past four seasons.”
Zukowski has many memories of Warren, but brought up a certain one that made him smile.
“Brady really works hard in the cages and has become a very good hitter because of all his hard work,” Zukowski said. “Brady has always talked about wanting to hit a home run, as he has not done so in his career until we played Swampscott this year. When Brady hit a rocket against Swampscott, I saw him rounding third base, smiling, and after he touched home plate, he came up to me and said, ‘I finally did it coach,’ and we both just started laughing. It was just a great moment I will not forget.”
Despite Warren’s success on the diamond, his golf game has really excelled – even to the point where he’s committed to Saint Anselm’s this fall to play the sport and further his finance studies.
It’s safe to say – Classical golf coach Jack Morrison isn’t surprised.
“Brady exemplifies the perfect meaning of what a student-athlete should be,” Morrison said. “Brady is tremendous in the classroom, but also a fabulous athlete and a heck of a golfer now. I have been lucky to have had a front row seat as Brady’s game went to the next level.”
Morrison also brought up an early memory of Warren – aka, a sign of things to come.
“I started coaching Brady in eighth grade,” Morrison said. “When I got the chance to see Brady’s swing for the first time, his swing was near-perfect and there was no need to tweak any part of it, which is rare.”
Once Morrison got going, he could not stop raving about Warren.
“Brady is a two-time MVP of the Greater Boston League, “Morrison said. “Brady is also a two-time GBL all-star and champion, so he accomplished a great deal during his time on the team.”
Morrison also brought up a more current memory of Warren.
“This year, I obtained US Open tickets and was able to bring the entire team to this great event,” Morrison said. “During the Open, Brady took this opportunity to not just enjoy the event as a fan, but really focused on what the professionals were doing and how he could use that to improve his game. In doing so, the rest of the team took notice of this, and focused just as much as Brady did as result.”
“That is just the type of leader Brady is, which is special to see,” Morrison said. “A lot of the other players try to emulate Brady, but I have to tell them to take it slow because of the level Brady’s game is at now.”
All that said, golf wasn’t always his first choice.
“I grew up playing baseball, which was really the sport I loved the most growing up,” Warren said.
Then golf became his favorite, largely in part to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I really started playing golf in high school, and once covid hit, that was the one sport I was able to play during that time,” Warren said. “When my play of golf increased, so did my love of the sport and so did my skill. It was really at that time when I fell in love with golf.”
When asked what his biggest takeaway of high school sports was, he pointed to his fellow Rams.
“Playing three sports in high school is not easy,” Warren said. “You go to school, then practice or play a game, then go home to do homework and then must repeat that routine every day. It was hard, but what made it worth it was being able to spend so much time with my friends every day and having so much fun.”
Jerry DiStefano can be reached at [email protected]
