Eric Sheppard played three sports at Catonsville High during his senior year, and while he was all business between the lines, he made sure he had fun at practice.
In the fall, Sheppard saved shots as goalie on the soccer team.
During the winter, he excelled at draining three-point shots.
Shagging baseballs as a fly-chaser in the outfield was his specialty in the spring.
His success through the joy of playing all three sports and his competitive desire to win helped him share the 2016 Catonsville Times male Co-Athlete of the Year award with junior Jake Getzendanner.
Sheppard's successful season began on the soccer field where he led the 14-2-1 Comets to the Baltimore County championship.
The team had 10 shutouts while he was in goal.
That season ended with a 2-1 loss to eventual state champion Perry Hall in the Class 4A Section I playoff finals.
He notched eight saves in a 1-0 win over Perry Hall in the county championship game, but he was even better against the Gators in the playoffs when he made 13 saves.
In the first half, he made outstanding saves on four tough Gator shots to preserve a scoreless tie.
Although the Gators scored once in the second half and in overtime for the victory, he earned the praise of Perry Hall coach Pete Eibner.
"Eric Sheppard is outstanding," Eibner said. "He's among the best goalies in the state."
In a 2-0 win earlier in the season over Eastern Tech, Sheppard preserved a 1-0 lead midway through the second half with a stop of leading scorer Adam Andryszak's shot midway through the second half.
Andryszak broke free on a breakaway in the box and fired a shot from 8 yards out that was redirected by a charging Sheppard.
"I saw that ball was coming in and I knew it was going to be dangerous so I just went out and made my decision and stuck with it, got out and luckily he took a shot and I was able to get a hand on it and blocked it to the side," Sheppard said.
Catonsville soccer coach Chris Hastings enjoyed moments like that all season.
"He instinctively knew where to be," Hastings said. "He has long arms, he's tall and that's obviously a positive for good goal keeping, good hands and willing to put his body on the line to make saves."
Hastings knew Sheppard was serious about leading the team from the back line after a loss to Perry Hall in the county championship game during Sheppard's junior year.
"He has fun, but he really cares about doing well when he is out there," Hastings said. "After the junior year loss, when he didn't make a save that bounced off him, he was in tears and you don't get that from Shep a lot.
I know he cares and cares a lot. He doesn't like to let his teammates down and even though he doesn't show it a lot, he's a tremendous kid and a great guy to have on the team."
That combination will be tough to replace for Hastings, who also loses senior leading scorer Jake Parrott (10 goals, 6 assists).
"He was just naturally-gifted," Hastings said. "He just enjoyed the kids on the team and he always played goalie."
Nobody laughed more during the baseball team's 13- 6 season.
"I don't really know a guy who had a lot more fun than he did. He loves the game," Catonsville baseball coach Rich Hambor said.
Sheppard started the season in right field, but moved to center field before the Comets' strong playoff run that included playoff victories over Perry Hall, 6-5 in eight innings, and Dulaney, 7-2, before a 1-0 loss to eventual state champion Bel Air in the Class 4A North Region Section I finals.
"He made a lot of nice plays the last couple of weeks when we needed him to fill in at center field," Hambor said. "It was more of a confidence in him that I had in his demeanor. He would say 'I will do whatever, I can do that,' and that's what a lot of guys had."
Sheppard, who plans to go to St. Joseph's University, batted .298 with nine runs batted in and two doubles.
Defensively, he had 21 putouts, three assists and two errors.
"It was one of those years where he would hit a few at 'em balls," Hambor said.
On the basketball court, Sheppard was a sharp shooter who could knock down three-pointers in bunches.
"He's always led the team in threes and he's always had a smooth stroke from out there," Catonsville basketball coach Matt Fannon said.
The 6-foot-3 Sheppard averaged 8 points, while leading the team in three-pointers (30). He scored 187 points for the 12-12 squad.
His career-high came during his junior year when he scored 27 points in a 54-42 victory over previously-unbeaten Lansdowne.
This season, he often gave the team a lift with a hot hand early in games.
"He was pretty steady. He was scoring in the 8 to 12-point range every game," Fannon said.