KU Scholar Athlete of October 2019: Tommy Svetich
Blue Devils Defense Has Guardian Angel
- School: Henry Clay High
- GRADE: 12
- Sport: Soccer
- Academics: A member of The Academy at Henry Clay, Tommy has a 4.5 weighted GPA, has taken 12 A.P. classes and scored 32 on the ACT.
- Parents: Susie & Dave
The most nerve-racking experience in Tommy Svetich’s soccer career was also his most exhilarating.
The Henry Clay High boys team caught fire at the end of last season and turned a potential losing season into an unexpected success story.
Earlier in the season, the Blue Devils were humbled by rival Dunbar, 7-0, a particularly painful defeat for Tommy.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior anchors the defense from his center back position.
This season he’s one of three captains and is the reigning defensive MVP.
Last year, Henry Clay barreled into the Region final on a roll, winning six of its last seven games.
Still, Dunbar was a heavy favorite. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 halftime lead but Henry Clay scored twice to pull ahead.
“The end of that game was the longest 20 minutes of my life,” Tommy said. “We stopped them to win and you can’t describe the feeling. It was insane. No one thought we had a chance.”
Henry Clay then advanced to the State semifinals before falling to eventual state champion St. Xavier, 1-0.
The Blue Devils posted nine shutouts last year and have registered eight in the first 11 games this year.
Henry Clay is 9-0-2 and was ranked No. 1 in the country earlier this season.
Tommy directs traffic from the middle of the defense and inspires his teammates with his fearless play.
“I’m pretty good at figuring out the play before it happens, and I’m tall so I win a lot of headers,” he said.
“I’m not afraid of tackling. Winning a hard tackle is so satisfying. It shows that you’re dominant.”
Even though he is an All-City, All-District, All-Region player, Tommy has decided to focus on academics in college.
He has a 4.5 weighted GPA in The Academy at Henry Clay and scored 32 on the ACT. The four A.P. classes he’s taking now bring his career total to 12.
A math-science guy, he’s attracted to both medicine and engineering with an eye toward the University of Michigan because of its stellar academic reputation, because of its strong engineering program and because he and his family have attended a summer camp in Michigan for years.
Medicine may win out over engineering because his father, Dave, is a surgeon.
“The human body is fascinating,” Tommy said, “and listening to my dad tell stories about surgery is amazing.”
Academics come easily to him, especially math. “I ask him when he comes home if he has homework and he says, ‘Nope,’” his mother Susie said. “He does it at school.”
“With math,” Tommy said, “you explain it to me once and I know how to do it,” he said.
That kind of know-how will take him far.