By Dan Karpiel

The Surveyor

It takes a special athlete to be able to excel in multiple sports. But Berthoud High School (BHS) senior Aaron Hardy is a special athlete.

Hardy competes, and excels, in three sports that have as diametrically opposed skill sets as one can find. Hardy plays tennis for Thompson Valley High School (TVHS) in addition to playing basketball and baseball for BHS. This fall Hardy completed his senior tennis season for TVHS and earned his third consecutive trip to the CHSAA 4A state tennis championships.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Hardy’s accomplishments on the tennis court is that he did not even begin playing the sport at any kind of competitive level until high school. Yet, after three years on the court, Hardy’s career record stands at 21-4, the last two seasons spent in two- and three-singles for TVHS after playing on the doubles parings during his sophomore season.  

“Freshman year I felt I was too small to play football, but I had a friend who played tennis for Thompson Valley and I had played it with my family for fun and I just figured it’d be a good sport to fill some time with, and I learned to love it,” Hardy said. “Honestly, I never thought I would have gone to state in tennis, especially since I just started it in high school, but having that dedication really is what helped me to get there.

As a junior, Hardy proved himself to be a standout not only on the tennis court but on the basketball court and the baseball diamond as well. Hardy was a regular starter for the BHS basketball team last year, with then-head-coach, Mike Burkett, calling Hardy, “one of the best leaders I have ever seen,” and routinely pointing out his junior guard’s prowess on the defensive end of the floor. Hardy finished the season leading Berthoud deflections and finishing second on the team in steals.

Yet it was on the diamond where Hardy collected the most accolades during his junior season. Hardy finished the season leading the Spartans in virtually every major statistical category, including batting average (.444), runs (15), hits (24), RBI (17), doubles (five), triples (three) and stolen bases (10).

Asked how he learned how to excel in the very different athletic ventures, Hardy explained it was all due to staying strong mentally and devoting himself to his crafts. “I think its commitment and dedication. I’ve been playing those all my life, and I just want to keep going as far as I can. Once I decided I wanted to play varsity at those sports I worked hard at everything,” Hardy said. “That dedication will help me in life no matter what I’m doing; whether school, a job, sports, whatever.”

Indeed.