Moore’s Trenton McLearen – Character Counts Presented by Eskridge Honda

By John Tranchina

Things haven’t necessarily gone as planned on the field this year for the Moore soccer team, but one thing the Lions can count on this season is solid defense and strong leadership from senior defender Trenton McLearen.

Moore has lost seven games in a row and was 1-8 on the season, but McLearen continues to try to keep a positive attitude in the locker room and pump up his younger teammates on a regular basis.

“We have had a tough season, and I think part of that is we have a young team,” McLearen said. “I know everyone on our team has talent and they have skills, so before a game, I’ll kind of go around everyone and tell them to do what they do well, and encourage them to just do what they’re good at. And I feel like that always puts them in a good mood before a game, knowing that someone believes in them.”

The leadership role is one that McLearen has eagerly taken on and believes is important to team cohesion.

“For me, this year, being a senior, I found it really important to kind of welcome the underclassmen to the team,” he said. “Because I remember as a freshman and sophomore, the juniors and seniors were bigtime, they had done everything and I was just starting. So I’m friends with a lot of the freshmen and sophomores on the team and I think that’s important to make everyone feel comfortable, so they don’t feel intimidated being on a team with a bunch of older guys.”

As impressive as he is on the pitch and in the locker room, McLearen is also equally proficient in the classroom, sporting a weighted GPA of 4.48 and ranking 16th out of 546 members of the Moore senior class.

“I think school is important to every aspect of life – if you do well in school, you’re bound to do well later on in life,” said McLearen, who is a member of the National Honors Society as well as the National Technical Honors Society via the Moore/Norman Technology Center, where he has been involved in the pre-engineering program throughout his high school career. “I just do my work, get everything turned in on time, follow directions and do what I’m supposed to do.”

Lions coach Sheldon Spelman appreciates everything that McLearen brings to the table.

“In addition to his academic abilities, Trenton is also a talented soccer player and leader,” Spelman said. “He is an absolute pleasure to coach.”