photography by Alberto Martínez

Connor Sheehan's definition of a vacation probably won't be found in most dictionaries.

Sheehan has kept himself busy over the summer break with pickup basketball games and three-a-day workouts. He went camping, too, but instead of venturing into the woods, he participated in football camps at Baylor, Vanderbilt, TCU, SMU, Rice and Tulane.

He also traveled to the East Coast two weeks ago, but that trip consisted of visits to Ivy League college s and a pit stop at Princeton's football camp.

"This is going to be my senior season, and I'm only guaranteed one more season so I want it to be the best," Sheehan said. "I'm working as hard as I can to be at the top of my game."

The hard work already is paying off for Sheehan, a senior preparing for his third season on Anderson High's football team.

The 5-foot-10-inch, 205-pound Sheehan has been named to the American-Statesman's All-Central Texas preseason football team as a defensive back. It is the second straight year that Sheehan has landed on the preseason squad .

Sheehan will be honored today — alongside 23 other standouts — at the Texas Gridiron Kickoff. Lake Travis quarterback Michael Brewer, Austin High wide receiver Cayleb Jones and Stony Point defensive tackle Jordan Wade are among the team members expected to attend the luncheon today at the Austin Convention Center.

The Texas Gridiron Kickoff will be one of the last events on Sheehan's summer schedule as Anderson plans to begin practice on Monday. The Trojans will open their 2010 season on Aug. 26 with their annual rivalry game against McCallum.

After a 6-4 season in which they upset Bowie and Austin High, the Trojans are aiming for a trip to the postseason. A number of media outlets have picked Anderson, which returns nine starters, to make the playoffs out of a Class 5A district that now includes Akins, Austin High, Bowie, Del Valle and Westlake.

"We're really looking to pull (last season's) momentum into next season," Sheehan said. "With people expecting us to be good, they're not just going to write us off. We're going to have to step it up."

After earning all-district accolades as a linebacker during his sophomore and junior seasons, Sheehan will line up at linebacker against running teams this season and also shade into the secondary against teams that favor the pass. Sheehan will see some snaps at running back , and he also may handle the kicking and punting duties for the Trojans.

"He's a tremendous football player and he's also a tremendous leader," said Anderson coach Mark Reiland, who is 14-16 in three seasons at the school . "Those two things combined are huge (for us)."

A trip to the playoffs would be the first for Anderson as a 5A school. Anderson, which moved up to Class 5A in 2004, has the enrollment of a 4A school, but the school's administration successfully petitioned to remain at the highest classification during the most recent round of UIL realignment.

And after struggling during its first few years at the 5A level, Anderson's athletic teams are beginning to show signs of life.

This past spring, the boys soccer team reached the second round of the playoffs. The Trojans advanced to the area round of the baseball playoffs in May before they lost a three-game series to Corpus Christi Carroll, the eventual state champion .

"Teams are starting to see that we can be competitive at the Class 5A level," said Sheehan, who also is an outfielder on the baseball team. "Everyone was excited that soccer made the playoffs, that baseball made the playoffs, now football is next in line."