For nearly two years, Tom Neiman was not quite himself.

And while Neiman, a Shaler Area High School senior, earned all-conference wide receiver honors and was a key member of the baseball team that remained ranked in the top five of the Post-Gazette's WPIAL Class AAAA rankings throughout most of the season, there was something missing.

"He was just always tired," said George Neiman, Tom's father and Shaler American Legion manager. "As a father, you get concerned."

Doctors diagnosed Neiman with mononucleosis two years ago and that helped explain why Neiman was feeling sluggish and losing weight.

But when Neiman's fatigue lingered well into its second year -- typical recovery times are measured in weeks and months, not years -- it was thought something else was wrong.

The Neimans went from doctor to doctor -- and all the while, Tom played through the pain and brushed aside the fact he was not breathing properly. Neiman was named honorable mention All-Quad North Conference as a wide receiver and was an outfielder and a leading hitter on the baseball team.

Finally, a physician recognized Neiman had infected adenoids that prevented him from breathing properly.

The lack of sufficient oxygen hindered his endurance and quality of play and, worse, kept Neiman from getting a good night's sleep.

"Imagine if you played football with a mouthpiece in your mouth and weren't able to breathe through your nose," George Neiman said.

"And couldn't sleep at night and had to get up at 6:30 every morning for high school."

Tom had surgery about six weeks ago to remove his adenoids and tonsils to cure his sleep apnea.

The result has been a happier, more-rested person and a more productive baseball player.

After missing most of the Legion season, Neiman, a center fielder/sec-ond baseman, came back to hit better than .500 down the stretch and through the Allegheny County playoffs.

"I'm back to 100 percent," Tom said. "I feel a lot better after surgery. I started lifting again and am getting my weight back on."

Shaler has been pushing its weight around recently. It won all three of its county playoff games by a combined score of 37-13, then thumped Connellsville, 12-2, Tuesday in a first-round Region 6 tournament game that was halted after five innings due to rain.

Shaler, 24-3 through Tuesday, was to play Hopewell in a winners' bracket game yesterday.

As the host team, Shaler did not need to qualify for the Region 6 tournament, but did anyway.

Tom Neiman has been a big reason.

It was almost a bonus when he was inserted into the heart of a lineup that was scoring runs in bunches most of the season while he recovered from surgery. Neiman was particularly hot in the county playoffs. Sto-Rox did not retire Neiman during Shaler's final county playoff contest, a 10-5 victory.

"He's been seeing the ball real well, ripping the ball," George Neiman said.

Neiman was selected by the Team One organization -- a national baseball scouting service -- to participate in its Midwest talent showcase.

After the event, Neiman was chosen as one of the top 30 prospects who attended.

That has garnered him plenty of attention from colleges. But Neiman also has received calls from football coaches. A 5-foot-11, 175-pounder, he will be moving to wingback in the Titans' winged-T offense this fall.

It all means Neiman will likely have plenty of schools to choose from, not to mention a likely decision on which sport to concentrate on.

"I'm just worrying about playing now," Tom said. "And then colleges, they will come to you as you play."