Listening to a recitation of Neuqua Valley senior Jack Gerrity’s many pursuits — let alone a description of each one — might be enough to make someone’s head spin.
Gerrity is in his first season as the Wildcats’ varsity setter, but that might be the least of his achievements.
“He’s a really smart kid,” Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza said. “I don’t know when he sleeps because he does so many things.
“It’s not just the sports. He’s really strong academically.”
That might be an understatement. In addition to running the show on the volleyball court, Gerrity plays the tuba in the school’s wind ensemble, gives tuba lessons, competes on the chess team and is part of Neuqua Valley’s senior advisory program, which teaches freshmen skills such as note taking and schedule planning while also helping kids talk about their mental health.
Oh, and for good measure, Gerrity has participated in a research program at Argonne National Laboratory and takes a physics class at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Those last two activities will help him pursue his greatest passion.
“I want to become a plasma physicist, so I want to study nuclear engineering with a concentration in plasma fusion science,” Gerrity said. “And then I want to double major in nuclear physics and maybe do something in math with statistics.”
Plasma physicists study plasmas, which are a state of matter and occur naturally in space. Artificially produced plasmas are components of neon signs and televisions with plasma displays.
It’s heady stuff, but Gerrity is stoked by the numerous possibilities of the field. That’s why he finds the Fermilab class so valuable.
“It’s great,” Gerrity said. “You get taught physics in school, but really when you think about physics, it’s ‘Oh, what do physicists do?’ There’s so many different kinds.
“Every week was a different thing, so maybe astrophysics one day, maybe particle physics another day, climate physics another. Just making my (college) schedule, I found that there’s a ton of different physics tracks.”
Gerrity, who is planning to attend Illinois, has taken 11 Advanced Placement classes and one college course. He won’t be playing volleyball in college, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t laser-focused on leading the Wildcats this season.
“Just naturally, he’s the kind of kid who wants to take control,” Mendoza said. “He’s definitely very, very cerebral.
“There’s times during timeouts when the coaches want to say something, but he’ll be the one to step up and say something. He’s just a really great kid.”
Gerrity is the oldest of four siblings. His brother, Colin, is a junior who plays for the basketball team. His sister Teghan is a sophomore who excels at dance, and his sister Erin is a seventh grader who is a national-level competitor in cheer.
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Gerrity considers Neuqua Valley’s boys volleyball team to be a second family, one that is learning as it goes along. The Wildcats (2-1) have only one returning starter, 6-foot-8 senior middle Gavin O’Brien, a Loyola recruit who missed their 25-23, 25-20 loss to Bolingbrook on Monday.
Gerrity, who had nine assists, two kills and an ace in the match, was frustrated with the defeat but said it provided valuable lessons.
“Obviously, when we’re playing with Gavin, a lot more sets go to him, but I feel like really the biggest impact was in terms of blocking,” Gerrity said. “We got tooled quite a lot this game.
“Gavin makes a huge impact in terms of hitting, but I really think our team stepped up tonight and played very well when we got a chance to hit. It’s nice to know and be confident that everyone else can hit.”
Although O’Brien is by far their best player, the Wildcats have confidence in Gerrity, a self-assured but selfless leader.
“I’ve been the captain of two or three of my club teams and JV last year, so I know what it’s like being a leader,” Gerrity said. “It is really nice getting to know the guys, and even though I have a title, I feel like we’re all really a team. It’s more of a collective effort than anything else.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
