WW South's McHugh has a different way of defining adversity

Connor McHugh smiles and after preliminary introductions opens a heavy gym door and leads the visitor out and across the hall.

He opens another door into an administrative office then rounds a corner to a smaller office. He's got his cellphone, a writing utensil or two, a computer tablet, a bottle of water. Once McHugh and the guest are both seated at a small conference table, the high school senior lightly drums a foot on the veneer finish.

This is not rude. Nervous maybe, but not rude.

He needn't be nervous. As the universally admired manager of both Wheaton Warrenville South's boys varsity basketball team and the varsity football team, dozens of strong athletes have his back.

So do coaches at all levels, administrative personnel, athletic trainer Traci Headley, Tigers boys basketball coach and athletic director Mike Healy, varsity football coach Ron Muhitch, WW South principal Dave Claypool.

"He's pretty much got the run of the whole school," Healy says, and it's clear that McHugh, despite several physical challenges, rules this roost.

His travels are confined to a wheelchair he expertly maneuvers by pressing his small right humerous bone against a toggle control, due to upper limb amelia (or absence) also present on his left side. The 17-year-old also has proximal femoral focal deficiency that in his case - upon his initial diagnosis the most severe of four classifications of the condition, said his mother, Patti - means lacking fully formed hips and fibula.

Connor also has scoliosis of the spine, but other than needing constant core strengthening to counter that, his overall situation is stable and should be for the rest of his life, he said.

Everything most people do with their hands McHugh does with his feet - opening doors, tapping on tables, playing the Madden video game, using his tablet to chart shots and statistics in basketball games and practices. Healy calls his work "spot on" even compared against game film.

Healy said McHugh is "a true hero in terms of overcoming adversity." To an extent the dark-haired boy humbly takes exception.

"I really see myself as normal, for me," said McHugh, whose older brother and two older sisters attended Benet Academy.

"I don't really consider everything I do adversity. Everyone has things they have to do in life on a daily basis and for me it's just doing something a little different but the same kind of premise - not that adverse, I don't think," he said.

"I think getting kidnapped is adversity. I don't know, I kind of think adversity is something bigger, but I can see how it can be perceived as adversity."

Team sports strategy has always captivated McHugh, along with history, political science and dabbling in writing, particularly science fiction. He watched his brother, Brandon, play football at St. Michael Parish School in Wheaton, and as a St. Mike's student Connor coached special teams for the Lancers in the Suburban Parochial League.

"I remember my kick returner catching the ball and disappearing in our double-wedge that I helped create," he said of a touchdown scored against a Glen Ellyn foe.

At WW South McHugh served as a football manager all four years, starting with the lower levels and moving to varsity as a junior and senior. He helped compile scouting reports and tracked Tigers receiver stats in practices.

He's been with the varsity boys basketball team the past two seasons.

"We love Connor's presence," said Tigers junior Chase Stebbins. "He's here almost every practice, talking to us on the sidelines when we're not doing anything. And he's always on the bench giving us knuckles at the end of the games, always helping us out on the bench, taking scores, taking stats for us.

"I mean, we love the kid, he's awesome to have around and it's awesome that he wants to be with us, and we want to be with him, too," Stebbins said.

Everyone, McHugh believes, desires to be a part of something. Accepted into the University of Illinois, he hopes to work with the Illini football program. Muhitch and former WW South and Illinois quarterback Reilly O'Toole have made some inroads toward that process, McHugh said.

Now, that's a program that could use more of the magic this young man provides. McHugh makes doldrums disappear.

"He's always got a smile on his face, he's always positive in everything he does," Healy said. "As coaches, educators, players, sometimes you get down in the dumps and I think when you look over at him and you see him smile it should quickly change how you feel about things."

Dodgeball, 'Service and Sacrifice'

"Nothing makes you feel young again," Joe Kish said, "like a good game of dodgeball."

He's got a point. Which is why he estimates that the four dodgeball tournaments he's held at Franklin Middle School in Wheaton, where Kish is assistant principal, have raised more than $50,000.

A 1987 Glenbard West graduate who returned there last season to coach Hilltoppers quarterbacks after 23 years coaching at Wheaton Warrenville South, Kish presents a fifth dodgeball extravaganza March 8-11 at Franklin.

One of the highlights will be on the first day when, as of Tuesday, 35 high school and college football teams were slated to compete in the fast-moving tournament. Local police and firefighters will serve food to the players, who will be treated to a variety of guest speakers.

They include former Navy SEAL Tom Hruby, who walked on to Northwestern's football team; Bloomingdale Chief of Police Frank Giammarese; and Mike Lutzenkirchen of the Lutzie 43 Foundation.

Kish said Lake Park's players are planning on wearing shirts that honor Bloomingdale Officer Raymond Murrell, who died in the line of duty Jan. 19. Glenbard West will wear shirts honoring the "Original Hitter," Bruce Capel, killed in Vietnam.

On March 9, after a 2 p.m. assembly honoring police, firefighters and veterans, more than 400 Wheaton North, WW South and Franklin students will compete. The next day some 30 law enforcement and fire departments get their turn in their own dodgeball tournament.

With an overall theme of "Service and Sacrifice," organizations benefiting from tournament proceeds will be Team Red, White and Blue, the Pat Tillman Foundation, the DuPage Hundred Club and Franklin Middle School.

"It's a great opportunity for kids to walk away with some respect for those in uniform," Kish said.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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