Sean Obana is a standout attack from the ADVNC San Francisco and NDP ‘23 squad committed to playing at Oberlin College starting this Fall.
When Sean was young, he was a baseball player. “My mom enrolled me in a Firehawks summer camp and that’s how I got started playing lacrosse,” Sean said. “I was very hesitant at first, but she insisted that the fast pace and physicality of the game would be great for me. She was right.”
“As a boy and even still today at the age of 18, Sean has a lot of energy,” said Sean’s mom. Amy Obana. “As a working mom, I needed to find a sport that fed Sean's soul and tired him out a bit. We were very lucky to come across Matt Bond's 650 Lacrosse after-school program at Encinal School. Matt was super gracious and provided loaner sticks and enthusiastic player coaches. I was overjoyed to see the spark and smiles. I was hoping lacrosse could be Sean's sport. From there, it was a no-brainer to invest in some equipment and sign him up for camp at a local club. Firehawks ended up being a great experience and we were lucky to have great coaches and a supportive community.”
Sean fell in love with lacrosse and his stick right after he started playing.
“I remember being super tired and gassed when I first started playing,” Sean said. “Coming from baseball, I had never really run like that. But I’m naturally a physical guy and it fit naturally. It was great. I loved lacrosse so much.”
“When Sean started playing with the Firehawks, I was amazed at the quality of the program, but also was struck by the culture of the game,” said Sean’s dad, Steve Obana. “Blake and Cort Kim were amazing leaders. Lacrosse was about building good people, competing properly, learning how to both win and lose, and the experience was so rewarding. We were very attracted to the culture and the community.”
Sean played for the Firehawks for a couple of years until his mom coerced him to try out for ADVNC when he was 14 years old. “My mom really had to push me to ADVNC because I really did not want to do it,” Sean said. “I never thought I was good enough to play for ADVNC. I was always intimidated by the other players who played for ADVNC. ADVNC was very daunting. But my mom forced me and I ended up loving playing for ADVNC.”
“Hmm... maybe I was more persuasive than adamant... I think I'd call it mother's intuition,” said Amy Obana. “It was evident that Sean and lacrosse were a perfect fit. He was soaking up all things lacrosse through coaches, teammates, and just by practicing (we have a broken window and hole in the wall of a newly renovated rec room to show!). Because of this growth, the natural next step up was ADVNC. Sean was hesitant to try out for ADVNC mostly because he felt he was still new to the sport and wasn't sure he was good enough. Our kids know the family golden rule which is to always give something a real try, and if it doesn't feel right there is always an option to move on. BUT, that didn't happen for Sean - he loved going to camps and being a part of the highly competitive ADVNC teams. Through the ADVNC community and the opportunities presented to him, he not only sharpened his lacrosse IQ and tool kit, but he also learned a lot about himself and his potential.”
Sean playing with the ADVNC NDP ‘23 squad.
“ADVNC was the next level,” said Sean. “The coaches were all former DI players, and it was a peek inside to see how super competitive lacrosse could be. Everyone was pushing each other super hard and everyone was having so much fun.”
When Sean looks back on his ADVNC career, it is the coaching that stands out. “The ADVNC coaches have always been so supportive, especially Coach Donovan (Matt Donovan, former Cornell All-American),” Sean said. “We became really close. If I had a tough time, he really helped me gain confidence and told me I was on the team for a reason. He knew I had the skills and it was just a matter of me believing in myself. He helped me fall in love with lacrosse.”
When it came time for Sean to choose a college, he was focused on academics, not lacrosse. “It was never my dream to play college lacrosse,” Sean said. “I never thought I’d play a sport in college. I got burnt out playing lacrosse year round. Playing lacrosse year round and training all the time, combined with highly rigorous IB courses at school was a lot for me. It wasn’t until my junior year that I regained a love for lacrosse and started thinking about playing in college.
Through playing for ADVNC NDP last summer, Sean caught the eye of a lot of college coaches. He was much more focused on the Division III level than DI. “I didn’t want lacrosse to consume my life but I still wanted lacrosse to be in my life. It has helped me so much, I didn’t want to lose it.”
“I always wanted to go to a small school for college,” said Sean. “For me, it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond. I feel like I’ll be better suppoerted as a college student athlete. I am excited about Oberlin because they have great athletics and academic programs. Coach Ryan Polak is really personable and all the players are super nice. I'm excited that Coach Polak and the team have similar goals for higher education, team camaraderie and playing great lacrosse. I plan on majoring in economics and minoring in computer science.”
Sean with a gorgeous fish caught on one of many fun trips with his dad, Steve.
Sean has many interests away from the lacrosse field. He and his dad would regularly go on fishing and golfing trips when they had free time during travel for lacrosse tournaments. “I just love doing a lot of things,” Sean said. “Every lacrosse trip we do something outside of lacrosse. We go to the river and fish. We play golf. That’s been a great part of ADVNC. Being with my dad and seeing new places, the lacrosse trips give us an excuse to do other fun things.”
“It’s been so fun to travel with Sean through ADVNC,” said Steve Obana. “Lacrosse is amazing, but tournaments can often be tiring and intense for the players. We made sure to take some time to go fly fish, visit historical places (like the original Chipotle - Sean's favorite!) or play golf, and enjoy the places that ADVNC took us. It was a great chance to see and explore the country together.”
Amy Obana offers her perspective on the ADVNC experience: “Sean grew and matured,” she said. “The experience helped shape Sean's character and development and it brought out his strengths and built resilience. All of what he learned on the field and among the coaches and community helped him be successful (and have fun) on the field, in the classroom, and at his job as a tutor and server/host at a restaurant.”
Sean with ADVNC NDP during the summer of 2022.
Sean also credits another hobby with keeping lacrosse fun over the years. “When I first started playing lacrosse, and got my first stick, I immediately became interested in how sticks were strung. I taught myself how to do it. I spent hours and days on end, taking the strings apart, and stringing them back together. Doing it over and over and making it perfect. This engaged me in the sport and the stringing became a big part of my life. I started stringing sticks for other players, and I have a little side gig now running a stringing company called Swoop. Stringing has helped improve my game on the field significantly. I appreciate the beauty of it.”
When Sean looks back on his lacrosse career, he has the following advice for younger players. “Discipline, planning and communication are the keys,” Sean said. “Falling in love with the process is something I did and still follow and love today. You can’t just look at the end goal and say I’m going to do that. You can’t cheat the process, there is no way around it. There are so many hard days, so many days I said I don’t want to do it. But I plan it out and I do it because I want to get to the end goal. It is hard but it is worth it.”