Being an athlete has always come easy to senior Ryan Healy.  This year’s Prep of the Year has excelled in every sport he has participated in within the past four years. 

He played three sports each year during his high school career and now plans on continuing to run track at Arizona State University in the fall.

His natural ability and drive have helped him become the fastest 400-meter runner in Marin County’s history. Healy’s fastest time, 47.87 seconds, will be placed on the Redwood record board.  He has also participated in four years of basketball and track and two years of soccer and cross-country.

Healy has also qualified for State Championships in track each year since his sophomore year and has placed in the top 20 each time.

According to Healy, his desire is what has helped him become such an accomplished athlete.

“It’s a mind-set to go into a race and say I’m going to win,” he said.  “When I go into a race I don’t look at anyone else and I say I’m going to win.  There’s no way I’m going to lose.  I look at the other guy and say he’s going to lose.”

According to teammate Max Hillman, Healy has always been seen as a natural athlete and most of his accomplishments have come easily to him.

“Ryan’s talent on the basketball court and his speed are both things he was born with and not things he needed years of practice to perfect,” Hillman said.

Healy’s personality has also helped his teams be relaxed and calm before big games and his track experiences have helped the varsity basketball team.

“I’ve been in really high stress races and have been watched by over 1,000 people, and bringing that experience to the basketball court helped the team because I was relaxed and I didn’t get nervous before big games,” he said.  “I kept my composure and I brought that atmosphere to the team. I didn’t want people to think that the goofy guy was getting stressed out for how big of a game it was.”

According to Hillman, Healy knows how to find balance between having fun and working hard.

“As an athlete Ryan is very determined and he knows how to focus really well when he needs to. But he also manages to stay loose and carefree so he doesn’t stress out and mess up his performance,” Hillman said.  “He goofs around sometimes but he can be serious when he needs to be and he can lead his team.”

Healy said he is excited to run at ASU next year because he will no longer be the fastest person.

“I have to prove myself to people who are better than me, and I’m ready to run faster and see my full potential,” he said.  “I haven’t touched the surface with my potential yet.”

Next year will also be Healy’s first time participating in only one sport.

“I’m going to be focus on one sport and putting all my focus into running track so it’s going to be a change of pace,” he said.

According to Healy his high school sports teams have been a large part of his life and next year is going to be change.

“I’ve just had the time of my life participating in high school sports and it’s been really fun winning,” he said.