Avon Old Farms head coach John Gardner describes sophomore Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.) as a bit of a wild card. Not in terms of consistency, but more so where he best fits in the lineup and the variety of ways he can impact the game.
A hard-nosed forward from the 2005 birth year, Connor is gearing up for his second season at the Avon, Conn., prep school following a busy year of development.
The Hillside School and Minuteman Flames product, who plays fall split season with the Yale Junior Bulldogs 16-U, joined the Winged Beavers last fall, getting his first taste of prep action during the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 campaign.
Gardner, a Wesleyan grad who’s been behind the Avon bench since the 1975-76 season, noticed Connor's skillset from the jump, but it wasn’t until the games got underway that he became fully acquainted with his tenacious style of play.
