Golf,-Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Jordan Spieth
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles (Go Birds)
Favorite memory competing in sports: Competing in states last year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Right after my second throw in the finals at the Trojan Classic, I was mad and threw my javelin hard into the ground, and as I reached to grab it while I was running, it stabbed my arm, and I still have a scar from the puncture wound on my right bicep.
Music on iPod: J. Cole, Skizzy Mars, Childish Gambino
Future plans: Study Biology and Biotechnology at Shippensburg University. One day go into the medical research field and work with stem cells.
Favorite motto: “An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you to something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.”
One goal before turning 30: Have a solid career and be married
One thing people don’t know about me: I get nosebleeds very frequently.
By Craig Ostroff
The moment Tommy Haas picked up his first golf club around age six, he fell in love with the game. When he won the Junior Member Guest tournament at Old York Road Country Club as a middle schooler, Haas realized that golf was not just a hobby, but a passion.
Throughout high school, Haas knew golf was the sport he wanted to pursue in college. Even though he had taken up the javelin during track and field season and had proven to be quite adept at it, Haas fully expected that he’d eventually be wearing his college’s colors while walking the greens and the fairways.
Then he stepped onto the runway to throw the javelin at last spring’s PIAA District One Track and Field Championships at Coatesville High School. And 173 feet, 6 inches later, everything changed.
“I had already been talking to coaches and visiting colleges to play golf,” Haas said. “Then I had that one throw at Districts where I felt every single thing click. I watched it come out of my hand, and suddenly it was, ‘Am I doing the right thing? I can see myself doing this further in my life.’ That day, the javelin went from something I can do in the spring and I liked, to something I can see myself doing in college. It became my passion.”
That throw was good enough to place Haas fifth in District One and punch his ticket to the PIAA Championship meet at Shippensburg University. There, he tossed a 162-02 to claim 19th place in the state.
“We didn’t think Tommy would be where he was by the end of his junior year; that was a nice surprise,” said Michael Harmon, who coaches both the boys’ golf and boys’ track and field teams at Hatboro-Horsham. “I figured it could be a reality his senior year, but Tommy’s work ethic and dedication put him in States last year. His hard work paid off to get him to that point.”
Harmon is a firm believer that the techniques learned in golf can translate to throwing the javelin. Haas is not one to disagree.
“When I got to the point where I got the technique down for the javelin, it was because of my golf background that I was able to get farther distances,” he said. “The act of clearing my hips - I’ve been doing that in baseball and golf since I was six.”
Haas’ hard work and dedication have him targeting bigger and better accomplishments for his final athletic season at Hatboro-Horsham. He’ll be a captain on this year’s team, and he has his sights set on the school record of 194-05. His best throw in an official competition is 188-07, though he’s broken 200 in training sessions. And after making an appearance in States last year, he’s looking to make a name for himself on the state level this time around.
“I feel like with golf I never (set specific goals),” Haas said. “With golf, it was, ‘I’m going to go out and just try and play well.’ For javelin, I put a number in my head. I want to hit that number, throw past it.
“I didn’t really throw well in States last year. As a junior, it was an experience, I got the chance to see what it’s like to be in that atmosphere. One of the reasons I worked so hard over the summer is that I want to be the guy that everyone else looks out for. I want to be at that next level.”
Haas admits that the shift in his focus made for a challenging golf season this fall. A captain on a senior-heavy Hatter squad, Haas saw the team struggle through numerous close losses as the Hatters finished near the bottom of a very solid Continental Conference.
“For me, I started training harder for the javelin over the summer, so golf kind of got put on the back burner a little,” he said. “This season, I couldn’t go out and shoot 35 every time. When I realized that wasn’t what my senior season was going to be, it became about making sure everyone was set, getting experience for the future, and letting them know they could come to me if they have an issue.
“It was definitely a tough season for me. We had a lot of seniors on the team, and to lose by such small margins as often as we did, it was really tough.”
But no matter what Haas carded, no matter the final score of the meets, Harmon said Haas’ efforts as a leader were nothing short of exceptional.
“Tommy was tremendous as a leader for us this year,” Harmon said. “He’s very well organized, he was always there to get the kids together and get them in the right spots. Whatever I needed, I could always count on him.
“He’s the kind of guy who can get the rest of the team back on track. He’s got a very open personality. And he leads by example; he goes out and has a lot of passion and always wants to give his best. You know that no matter what day it is, Tommy is going to do whatever he can to help the team win. He always gave it his best out there.”
And while the results may not have shown in the win column, Haas said the team stuck together, and he has high hopes for the future of the program.
“One reason why I really loved our golf team is we were such a close-knit group,” he said. “In the summer we’d hang out, or after matches, and talk about what we did right or wrong. As a captain, it was just about making sure people were going to perform to the best of their abilities.
“One of the good things about our program, our JV and the younger players were all very solid. We’ve got some guys who are going to be juniors and some younger guys who can all shoot below a 40. It’s just about dealing with the pressure and gaining the experience, and they got that this year.”
Harmon, who teaches at Keith Valley Middle School and has known Haas and his family for many years, expected nothing less than strong leadership and unwavering work ethic from Haas, and Harmon credits that to Haas’ family.
It is abundantly clear that family has been important in shaping Haas into the person he is. In the course of conversation about his life, he’ll talk about how his grandfather introduced him to golf, and how his older sister Emily (a junior at Stevenson University who plays for the women’s golf team) inspired him to improve his game so that he could compete against her. He’s quick to point out that his parents have always impressed upon him the importance of maintaining academic excellence and that they have always supported him. And while they may have been taken aback by his decision to pursue javelin rather than golf in college, their support never wavered for a moment.
“I think they were all expecting me to follow in my sister’s footsteps,” Haas said. “It probably came as a shock, but then they thought, ‘Yeah, we can get used to it.’ They were behind me and my decision the whole way.
“But I’ll definitely still be working on my golf game over the summer so I can still kick my sister’s butt,” he added with a laugh.
It was family that greatly influenced Haas’ choice of college and major. Next year, he’ll step back onto the familiar fields at Shippensburg University as a member of the Raiders’ highly acclaimed and successful men’s track and field team. He’ll be close enough to home that his family can come often to see him compete. His course of study—he will major in biology, with a concentration in biotechnology—was also inspired by his family.
“Science has always been my strong suit, but I never really knew what I wanted to do,” Haas said. “Originally, I wanted to be an architect.
“My Pop Pop had Parkinson’s disease, and I saw what it did to the body. I think that’s why I became so interested. It made me think about pursuing medicine. I want to do medical research, learn about how things work to improve the body and improve people’s lives.”
As an expected biology major in college, Haas is not cruising through his academic workload as a senior. Quite the opposite, he is taking all Honors and Advanced Placement classes this semester. In addition, Haas participates on student council, advisory board, he is a General for the Black Team for Red and Black competition, and is part of the school’s Students for Jewish Awareness club.
From what he’s seen of Haas in the classroom, on the golf course, and on the track, Harmon has no doubts that Haas will be successful in any endeavor he undertakes in the future. The last four years, he’s been a witness to what Haas is able to accomplish when he puts his mind to it.
“In our track program, the older guys mentor the younger guys,” Harmon said. “Tommy had a guy mentor him, now he’s stepping in to fill the void that that his mentor left. And Tommy is mentoring another kid, and I look for that kid to step up and be a leader as well in the future. When someone like Tommy steps away, if he did his job, you’re going to miss what he brings, but at the same time, you don’t miss him because he’s prepared the next group of kids and the void he leaves is full because other kids are ready and able to step right in. Tommy has done that for both golf and track.
“Shippensburg is gaining an outstanding young man in every facet—socially, academically, athletically. Tommy is the complete package. For us, it’s going to be tough to lose someone like that. I expect big things from him in the spring, and once that’s over, we will definitely miss him. But I know he will come back to visit over his breaks, and help out if he can. He’s that type of kid.”
