Notre Dame commit Ty Chan bulking up for senior season
GROTON, Mass. (BVM) — When Ty Chan first got to Lawrence Academy, the 6-foot-6 offensive lineman was looking for a change of scenery, hoping the transition would offer him a chance to play high-level football. After two years now with the program, it’s safe to say the move has paid off.
鈥淭he transition for me was a little hard in the beginning,鈥� Chan said. 鈥淚 had come here last year as a repeat sophomore and I missed my friends a lot in Lowell and seeing them play without me was a little bit tough. I鈥檝e been very grateful for everything that has gone on, whether it was off the field or on the field here at Lawrence. I would say that the people here are very genuine.鈥�
Coming over from Lowell, Chan grew not only on the field, but in the weight room. Playing his opening season on both sides of the ball, the offensive tackle turned heads with his size and ability in his first season with the team. After missing out on his junior season last year because of the pandemic, Chan has made sure to stay in the weight room, bulking up by gaining over 40 pounds throughout the offseason.聽
鈥淓ver since football season had ended till about now, I would say I鈥檝e been lifting non-stop,鈥� Chan said. 鈥淪ince the summer, when I decided to be just an offensive tackle, I just kind of focused on getting that size because beforehand, I didn’t really expect to blow up as much as I did.鈥�
Adding lineman weight wasn鈥檛 something that Chan had done before because of his two-sport ability on the basketball court. The Lowell native is a 鈥榯remendous basketball player鈥� according to Spartans head coach Jason Swepson, and he has decided to put his focus towards his play on the field.
鈥淚 was definitely a basketball kid growing up,鈥� Chan said. 鈥淚 grew up in Lowell and more of the kids play basketball there. It was something I fell in love with very quickly.鈥�
Chan鈥檚 dedication on and off the field led to his commitment to play football at Notre Dame. The decision had more to do than just football, though, as Chan looks forward to the academic opportunities he will receive.聽
鈥淔or me, football is a great thing that I鈥檝e been blessed with and going through this whole recruiting process, I鈥檝e looked at more of the afterlife of football,鈥� Chan said. 鈥�I think Notre Dame, with Coach Quinn and Coach Kelly, they have a great staff and great potential for me to be one of those good players to come through there and I鈥檓 really grateful for that. But one of the large things in my decision was being able to go to a great academic school along with a great football school.聽
鈥淚 come from a place where not a lot of people are blessed with that opportunity to go to school for free and I definitely wanted to make sure I picked the school that set me up for life after football even if maybe I have the chance to go to the next level after college. I wanted to make sure I had a good degree and a good education for when I graduated college.鈥�
Chan鈥檚 coach at Lawrence Academy has seen a mindset change since he first got to the program. As the two went to football camps together, he saw the realization from this star lineman that he could compete with the best.
鈥淗e still has a lot to learn, which is great,鈥� Swepson said. 鈥淗e has not been to a lot of so-called gurus out there so when Coach [Jeff] Quinn gets him, he鈥檚 going to be a piece of clay that has no bad habits. He鈥檚 eager to learn. Right now he鈥檚 just relying on ability and some little technique that I鈥檝e shown him. He鈥檚 got a long way to go in technique and knowledge and he鈥檒l learn it quickly.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 put on 40 pounds of strength and prepared himself to compete as soon as he steps on campus at Notre Dame. That’s a tough task but that鈥檚 his goal.鈥�
The Lawrence Academy head coach, who is a former player and coach at Boston College, will have to put his rooting interests aside when the two teams square off in the future.
鈥淚t’s Notre Dame and me being a Boston College guy, I had a lot of battles with Notre Dame over my career, I couldn鈥檛 be more happy,鈥� Swepson said of Chan鈥檚 decision. 鈥淣otre Dame is a worldwide brand and I think he was just anxious to be associated with one the best academic schools in the country.鈥�
With his senior season at Lawrence Academy still ahead of him, Chan is looking forward to closing his final year off on a high note. He is also excited to play in the Under Armour All-America game in 2022 after recently committing to the event.
鈥淚 would say that that was one of the best things that had come from this whole recruiting process,鈥� Chan said of the upcoming experience. 鈥淚 was very grateful for being able to commit and I was very excited to go back on the camp series. It was just a blessing to be considered one of those top guys and I think that experience, being out in Orlando and seeing all those high level people, will definitely be a life–changing experience. I鈥檓 very excited for it.鈥�
