North Andover (Mass.) High School coach Steve Zella first noticed Tommy Farrell’s field vision when Farrell was an eighth-grader playing in a summer league.
When Farrell was about to start his freshman season with North Andover in the spring of 2023, Zella told his team about what he had seen.
“The kids were asking about him; they said, ‘Talk to us about Farrell,’ and I said, ‘Guys, I don’t mean to offend you, some of you are excellent players, but this kid sees the field better than you guys do.’ And they might have been a little offended, but it was all in good fun,” Zella said with a laugh.
“The older kids embraced him right away. They took him under their wing, and he scored 40 goals and had 31 assists as a freshman. I mean, 71 points as a freshman is unbelievable.”
