Saturday’s Upper Merion at Souderton Coaches vs. Cancer game was a featured game sponsored by Millennium Administrators. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together…there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think…But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.”
--A.A. Milne from Winnie the Pooh
By Mary Jane Souder
Sue Welch knows how to inspire a team.
Whether it’s before a game, during a game or after a game.
In the locker room after Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer game against Upper Merion, Welch, who served as honorary coach, spoke to Souderton’s players and coaches. Her postgame speech included a quote from AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh that has taken on new meaning to everyone involved with the program.
“It’s a well-known poem, but when she said it – it means a lot more to us,” senior Devon Boehm said.
Senior Bianca Picard agreed.
“It actually brought tears to my eyes because I remember the day coach (Tom) Welch died, she sent us all a card, and that quote was in there,” the senior captain said. “She says it to us all the time, and it’s a reminder that she’s always going to be with us.
“It hit home to me, and now that’s something that I’ll carry on for the rest of my life and live by that quote. It means a lot to me.”
The Indians used Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer game as an opportunity to remember their former coach, who lost his battle to bone cancer on Feb. 20, 2013, and also to honor his wife.
Prior to the game, senior Devon Boehm and 2009 grade Jules Connolly presented Sue Welch with a bouquet as well as a framed photo of the players wearing their TW shirts.
“The girls are such an inspiration – they really are,” Sue Welch said. “Since the day Tom has passed, they have e-mailed me constantly throughout the year – even the seniors that graduated. Holidays, Tom’s birthday – Mrs. Welch we’re thinking of you.
“Cancer is awful, and we all face it with our families, but the amazing thing is that we never let cancer win as long as we walk for that person. They walk for Tom as I walk for Tom, so cancer will never win.”
Although it’s been five years since Connolly wore a Souderton, uniform, she has remained in contact with the Welch family over the years.
“Mr. Welch – where do I begin,” Connolly said. “He was a very kind, selfless man who was always there for you.
“It wasn’t just basketball – he was there for you for everything. He was always very willing to share what was his. He always let us hang out in his room, and he would always bring snacks. He’s one of those people you don’t find very often. His happiness would make you want to be more happy and positive and feel better about the day.”
Also prior to the game, coach Lynn Carroll unveiled a chair with a seat cover simply bearing the initials TW. Sue Welch occupied the chair on Saturday, but in the future, that chair will be unoccupied in memory of Tom Welch.
“When she was talking to them in the locker room today, they just smiled, and she has their undivided attention,” Carroll said. “Really, the neatest thing about all of this is they now have a person a part of their lives who is a strong woman, a caring woman.
“I think Tom’s legacy – and it was the most talked about when he was going through his fight – is that he 100 percent of the time was looking out for other people and wanting the best for others and figuring out how to get them the best.
“We have learned over the past year that Sue was like that also. What a great life lesson for them and what wonderful role for them to have in their lives. She’s a pillar of strength.”
If Sue Welch has been a pillar of strength to the team, they have been the same to her.
“They are an inspiration,” Sue said. “He loved them, I love them. They’re super. I’d bring them all home with me if I could. Definitely the hard days, especially (during) a year of firsts, it was so encouraging to know they were there. What teenager thinks of an adult eight months later, but they do. Good parenting, good coaching. I feel very honored and blessed. Tom was very lucky.”
The players insist they were the lucky ones.
“At practice, Mr. Welch always made a point to come over to me and ask about my family and how I was doing,” Picard said. “Now it’s my duty to do the same for her because her husband actually helped me get through a lot of personal issues.
“I know she cannot be having an easy time going through this. She needs us and we need her. Her husband was a huge part of our program and now she’s a huge part of ours. We couldn’t forget abo
ut her even if we tried, and we wouldn’t want to.”
The game – a 49-34 win over Upper Merion – put the finishing touches on a special day for everyone associated with Souderton basketball.
“This game meant a lot to us because it was pretty much dedicated to him, and we played like that,” Boehm said. “We played like a team, and I think he would have been really happy, and he would have been proud of us.
“Before the game when coach was talking about him, we were remembering memories we had with him. It was nice.”
“It was just a neat experience,” junior Sarah Derstein added. “(Sue Welch) has definitely stepped up. She has become one of our biggest fans.
“She’s at every game, and she definitely has a voice. We always hear her, so just to be able to show her how much we appreciate that – it was definitely nice to do that today.”
***
SOUDERTON 49, UPPER MERION 34
Sarah Derstein spent the better part of the last two-plus seasons serving as a complimentary player. The Souderton junior was quick to pass and more than happy to set up her teammates.
“I’m the type of player who always looks for the pass before I look for my own shot,” Derstein said.
The junior center’s mindset began to shift in Thursday’s North Penn game when she suddenly began looking to go to the basket and finished with a team-high 15 points, all in the final three quarters.
“Coach and I talked after the North Penn game, and she told me one of the top five moments of her coaching career was definitely me looking at her and telling her to call me a play on
the box while we were in the North Penn game,” Derstein said.
Against the Vikings, Derstein picked up where she left off in the North Penn game, contributing 14 points, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots, two steals and three assists in basically three quarters of action.
“She has now had two solid, solid basketball games in a row, maybe two of her best in three years,” coach Lynn Carroll said. “I think she’s going to continue to do this. I think she wants to be more involved offensively, but Sarah could care less about points. She is happy to find her teammates.
“She and I talked yesterday that if she takes 10 shots, then it changes how teams have to play defense. Even if she misses all 10, it still changes how other teams play defense. I think she’s committed to doing that for the team, and with Sarah, it really is all about the team.”
Derstein acknowledged that she needs to establish a brand new mindset.
“It’s very different now that I’m the one going up for the shot and not the one passing out,” she said. “I still need to work on the balance of when I should pass out and when I should shoot, but I think I’m getting better at it.
“I think I have finally gotten the confidence I need under the basket. I’m realizing even if I don’t make the basket – if I go up for a shot, I’m opening up a lot of other options for my teammates, which is a really good thing.”
Derstein wasn’t the only Souderton player to step up. Bianca Picard finished with 14 points, which included four three-pointers. The senior captain was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. She also contributed defensively.
“When she started playing (Regie) Robinson, she really played intelligently on her, and so did the other four kids on the court who were committed to helping, but Bianca did really did a good job on her,” Carroll said. “She (Robinson) is going to get hers, but you try and limit her as much as you can. She’s a phenomenal athlete, but I think Bianca gave us a good, solid effort. We committed the second half to make it as difficult as possible for Robinson.”
Picard acknowledged that Derstein’s aggressiveness under the basket changes the complexion of the game.
“I know that coach has been working with her and telling her she to make herself bold and big out there,” the senior point guard said. “Sarah is one of the nicest people in the world, so it’s hard for her to push somebody around.
“She really has been focusing on being bigger and calling for the ball. If she continues to do that, I think we’ll be unstoppable. She’s playing very, very well. I’m proud of her.”
Early on, the Indians had their hands full with the Vikings, who led 10-9 after Anna Davis scored in the final minute of the opening quarter. Robinson, who finished with a game-high 20 points, had a pair of three-pointers to lead the Vikings in the quarter.
Back-to-back Picard treys in the second quarter ignited the Indians, who turned a 14-14 tie into a 20-14 lead. They went into halftime with a 24-16 lead.
Devon Boehm, who added seven points, connected on a three-pointer to open the third quarter, and the Indians had their first double-digit lead, 27-16. The Indians led 39-22 late in the quarter after another Picard three before Shekema Gentles broke the Indians’ run with a putback.
A basket by Allison Gallagher – whose 10 points included an 8-of-11 effort at the foul line – gave the Indians their largest lead at 43-24. The Vikings battled gamely to the final whistle, but the Indians had too many weapons.
While the day was personal for Souderton, it was to Upper Merion coach Tom Schurtz as well. The Vikings’ coach lost his father-in-law to brain cancer last year, and his mother is currently battling breast cancer.
“I understand the effect it has on your friends and family and your team, just having to go through a basketball season with it weighing on you,” Schurtz said. “I give their girls and their coaching staff credit for playing as well as they did today with I’m sure so much emotion going on inside of them.”
Despite the loss, it had been quite a week for the Vikings, who came into Saturday’s game fresh off a miraculous come-from-behind overtime win over Norristown less than 24 hours earlier.
“You’d be hard pressed to find a team that had a tougher week than we did,” said Schurtz. “We played Upper Dublin on Tuesday and won at the buzzer. We played Norristown last night and made a three-pointer at the buzzer to go into overtime.
“To come back and play a quality team like that and make a game of it late – I thought we played well today. We had some mistakes. We played a little shorthanded – we played without our center (Eryn Brady). We got beat up on the glass today. That’s the first time all year that a team has beaten us on the glass. I give them credit. They were hitting the glass hard. They played with a lot of spirit and a lot of fire.”
UPPER MERION 10 6 8 10-34
SOUDERTON 9 15 15 10-49
UPPER MERION (34) – Anna Davis 1 0-0 2; Regie Robinson 5 7-10 20; Katherine Bailey 1 0-1 2; Tatiana Pleasant 1 0-0 2; Shekema Gentles 3 2-6 8; Gabby LeGendie 0 0-0 0; Jessie Michael 0 0-0 0; Nikki Briskin 0 0-0 0; Totals 11 9-17 34.
SOUDERTON (49) – Allison Gallagher 1 8-11 10; Noelle Noble 0 0-2 0; Katie O’Connor 1 0-0 3; Hannah Bergey 0 1-2 1; Bianca Picard 4 2-8 14; Sarah Derstein 6 2-2 14; Devon Boehm 3 0-0 7; Totals 15 13-25 49.
3-pointers: UM – Regie Robinson 3; S-Bianca Picard 4, Katie O’Connor, Devon Boehm.
- Log in to post comments
