The Souderton and North Penn boys’ lacrosse teams volunteered their time at the Variety Club in Worcester on Saturday.
It’s a rare day in the world of competitive sports when teams have the opportunity to rewrite the ending, but the Souderton and North Penn lacrosse squads did just that.
The season ended on a bit of a sour note for both squads when – after an intense Senior Night contest at Souderton between the neighboring rivals – a scuffle took place at the closing horn.
“You never want to go out on a losing note, but it’s even worse when the kids get upset and sour the mood between the two teams,” Souderton assistant coach Tom Nace said. “The reality is that sort of anger and animosity could carry over year after year after year. You can’t have bad blood in a game. We live in the same neighborhood. We live right down the street from them, and we can’t afford to create this hostile environment because it is just a game and they’re kids.
“We need them to respect each other and garner respect from the community. You need to respect the game. The game continues to grow outside of our area. We would hate to lose players as a result of there being a preconceived notion and a concern that there’s some kind of hostile environment or that these kids are troublemakers.”
Although the players shook hands after what amounted to a little pushing and shoving after the final horn sounded, it wasn’t the ending either team wanted. North Penn coach Rick Smith and assistant coach David Burnett came up with an idea to bring better closure to the season.
“They were in the office brainstorming ideas, and one of them said – how about a community service project in conjunction with Souderton,” North Penn athletic director Bill Bartle said. “Our head coach realized the Variety Club is in a little bit of financial difficulty. He felt we could reach out to the Variety Club and help them while we’re building a bridge, bringing the kids together.
“One of the coaches stated – maybe we can make this an annual event. We’re neighbors.”
Souderton’s players and coaches were more than receptive to the idea, and bright and early on Saturday morning, both teams traveled to the Variety Club, eager to rewrite the ending.
“It was the last game the guys were going to play, and that’s really the genesis of why we’re here,” Souderton athletic director Tom Quintois said. “They’re going to end their season the right way.
“I think it comes off as being punitive, but it’s not. It was an idea by the kids and the coaches that they were going to finish the season the right way. Bill (Bartle) and I just facilitated that, and the coaches took a leadership role in making it all happen.”
When the players arrived, they met as a group.
“Bill and I did a restorative practice with them before they started,” Quintois said. “The kids spoke and the coaches from each team spoke. It was really good to hear their words. They just want to end it the right way.”
The meeting set the tone for a positive experience on both sides.
“We talked about how the game of lacrosse extends much more than in between the lines in the field,” Souderton senior Greg Gibbs said. “We have to extend that to off the field as well and respect each other while we’re playing and off the field. This is a good way that we were able to get to know each other on a personal level. I think we had a pretty good time actually.”
North Penn players worked side by side with Souderton players as they carried lumber from one end of the property to the other. Forgotten was any animosity that may have existed after the game.
“I think we were really caught in the competition during that time, and everyone was focusing on the win,” North Penn senior Zach McKelvie said. “It got a little intense, but we came here with a different mentality. We came here to help people. It was nice. It always feels nice to give back and put in your part.
“I think it definitely built a more personal relationship between the two teams. It feels less like just playing a team full of strangers.”
North Penn senior Scott Keffer echoed similar sentiments.
“It was a tough way to end a season,” he said. “It’s not how you want to go out. It’s not something you want to have happen. You want your game to be fun and competitive but not where you’re angry at the entire other team. At the end of the day, you’re both kids, and you’re just trying to have fun out there.
“I think we just really wanted to become more friendly with each other. We’re crosstown rivals, and we wanted to be closer together so you’re not looking at a number but you’re looking at a person. I thought it was a great idea. It was really helpful, and it makes you feel better about what happened to end that way.”
Saturday’s shared experience erased the frustration that lingered on both sides.
“It was disappointing that we had to end our season like that because I’m a senior and I know a lot of seniors on our team - we didn’t picture that as the way we wanted to go out,” Gibbs said. “Coming here today, it was good to start rebuilding – rebuilding our program, rebuilding our relationship with North Penn and rebuilding some of our reputation. We had a good time helping some people out, and I’m glad we had a chance to do it.”
“When we heard, we were all pretty excited that we got a chance to come out and restore our reputation and build some respect between the two teams so we wouldn’t have an ongoing dispute with them in the coming years.”
“They’re great kids,” Nace said. “That’s why I keep coming back year after year. I’ve been doing it for eight years, and the kids are awesome kids. They didn’t mean ill by what they said or did. It was purely the competitive nature and the desire to win.
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“Unfortunately, it turned out the way it did, but I think today really did start to build bridges. We want to do this year after year. We want to have a lifelong partnership with these guys. We might not play them (twice a year) in the future with the league shifting, but at the same time, we’re still neighbors, we still live in the same community.”
According to Smith, the experience was about much more than just lacrosse.
“I try to emphasize to my kids all the time – ‘The game of lacrosse is 48 minutes. That’s such a short time in your life, and the bigger picture and the reason we came to Variety Club – this is a facility that helps special needs kids, kids who are not blessed with the ability you have,’” the Knights’ coach said. “I say to my kids all the time – every time you step onto the field, give it everything you’ve got because you never know when it might be your last time on the field.
“Souderton and North Penn – our players are blessed that they can play the game, and they should take advantage of that. To give back to a program that houses kids their same age that don’t have the physical or mental ability that these guys have, that’s what this is about.
“It’s about giving back to the community and obviously building a bridge between the two programs – a positive bridge. Not to end on a note that the game ended on. It was adversity. Both programs got through the adversity, and these young men are better people because of this and for coming out here today.”
While the day was about building bridges, it also included plenty of levity.
“To be very clear, North Penn beats us in everything, and we are not happy about that,” Quintois said. “I want to be very clear to say that we’re friends here, but I’m still not happy that North Penn beats us.”
And it was North Penn edging Souderton 6-5 in in another classic battle between the neighboring rivals in the season finale, triggering emotions that – after Saturday’s service project – are nothing but a distant memory.
“The majority of the players were saying – it was emotions on the field,” Smith said. “When you’re off the field – we shook hands at the end of the game. It was kind of like it was emotional and it came to a stop. It happened right at the final horn. It was a pushing match. It broke up, we shook hands and walked away.
“Of course, we were upset with the way it ended. Everyone knows that, but the bigger picture is not about the game of lacrosse. The bigger picture is what happens when the final horn sounds. Our seniors are not going to remember the little shoving match. They’re going to remember, ‘Man, we did community service for a great cause with Souderton.’ That’s what they’re going to remember.”
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