Jim Connor’s retirement in 2013 after a career as a tax attorney didn’t last long. He went right back to work as a math teacher at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington.
“I always wanted to go back and teach math again,” said Connor, who started coaching track in his third year at O’Connell and later, cross country. “Every year we get people coming out for track who didn’t even know about it and who are great for the sport. We had 150 on the track team this spring.”
Connor, 73, sounds more like a coach than a math teacher when he talks about calculus being exciting but he means it, and when it comes to getting the most out of his middle- and long-distance runners, he adopts a similar approach.
“We want them to have fun,” he said. “Now, there are hard workouts, but the best distance runners are the ones who are mentally prepared and are good at relaxing. When you can relax early in a race, you have what you need for the end.”
Connor’s approach is working. At the prestigious 30-team annual Draper Invitational in Alexandria May 2-3, the O’Connell women’s track team took first place for the third year in a row and the boys finished a close second.
“We have depth, so we can put together good relays, and that gets us a lot of points,” said Connor.
One could say that the former PricewaterhouseCoopers executive has returned to his first career love. After graduating from Cornell in 1973, he coached track and cross country at Devon Preparatory School in Devon, Pa., while attending law school at the University of Pennsylvania. “Every day, I would leave Penn, drive out to Devon, coach, and then go back to school to do my studies,” he said.
Five decades later, Connor is just as busy but his contribution to O’Connell goes beyond coaching and teaching. After the 2021-22 track season, he knew the well-worn track at O’Connell needed replacing. Connor and his wife, Kathy, stepped up to fund the project. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was on hand to bless the new track and celebrate the ribbon cutting Oct. 2, 2023.
“We did go for a quality track that highlights the silver and royal blue school colors,” said Connor, who is parishioner of Nativity Catholic Church in Burke. “This track gives you a little more sponginess and saves your legs so it’s a bit faster in terms of performance.”
Connor’s impact at O’Connell in 12 years has been a “Godsend” because of his “positivity, warmth and personal engagement,” according to Bill Crittenberger, head of school. “He is a marvel at squeezing the most out of every day,” he said. “Kids love participating in the sports that he coaches because doing so is fun. There’s an affiliated camaraderie focusing intently on teamwork. They are known, seen, and appreciated by the coaching staff and everyone on every team gets better performance-wise over the course of the season.”
Kathy Connor said that her husband is one of the “rare people who has loved every job he’s ever had, and this is no exception,” she said. “He is so dedicated to his students and finds it very gratifying and energizing. It brings him great joy and he’s such a wonderful example of living his faith in service to others.”
At an age when many prefer to take it easy, the modest man who showed up at O’Connell a dozen years ago to teach math, said he’s enjoying the “replay” of rediscovering the gifts God gave him.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “It’s certainly been everything I hoped it would be.”
