Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week 5)
Changing schools as a sophomore in high school is challenging. Moving to another state and changing schools during the pandemic in 2020 with virtual learning the only option – well, that takes challenging to another level. But that’s exactly the situation Georgie Thorpe found herself in the fall of 2020 when her family moved to the area from Annapolis, Md. The now William Tennent senior remembers her introduction to her new school. “I had to do concussion testing, and I didn’t have a ChromeBook, so I had to bring my MacBook, and that didn’t work so I had to come back,” Thorpe said. “The first day of school came. It was online, and I didn’t have any of the Google links, and I just remember sitting in my room crying to my mom because I had no idea what was happening. I joined the Google Meets link that I had, and the teacher said I was an hour-and-a-half late. The only comfort I had was volleyball.”
Volleyball. It helped save the day for Thorpe when her family made the move to Pennsylvania. And made the move from a small private school – Annapolis Area Christian School – to a large public school a much easier one. “I remember my dad saying, ‘I’m in contact with the volleyball coach – do you want to go?’” Thorpe said. “I was like – ‘Sure.’ The first time I came to the school was the last open gym (of the summer). That was the first time I met the team. I somehow was captain on jayvee that year. I loved it so much.” Coach Brian Bassler recalls Thorpe’s arrival. “Here’s a girl – her grandparents are in Maryland, her family is down there, and she is uprooted,” the Tennent volleyball coach said. “As a high school sophomore, you’re thinking – I left my friends behind. But it was like this girl was meant to be here. She instantly bonded with the entire group. She blended in right away. It was like she had been here since kindergarten. It was a really neat thing to see. I’m sure there were things we didn’t see, but it couldn’t have been a better fit.”
Volleyball was hardly a natural choice for Thorpe, whose mother is the head lacrosse coach at Cairn University. “Maryland is so lacrosse-oriented,” Thorpe said. “My mom played for Maryland – she was on the team when they won a national championship.” According to Bassler, Thorpe could well be the best lacrosse player at Tennent. “That’s the neat part of her story,” the Panthers’ coach said. “She did play volleyball before she came, but I think it was secondary. I remember even thinking – is she going to play? They came and met with us. It was a big move. Her parents are going to work at a Christian university. Are they just feeling our school out or me out? It was always touch and go. Then she played that first year. I think volleyball took over her passion, and she focused more time and energy on volleyball.”
It became so much of a passion that Thorpe plans to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level when she enrolls at Cairn University next fall. “I just have this want to play,” she said. “I wake up and I’d be excited for volleyball, and in the spring, I’d be like – ‘Oh…I have lacrosse later. I would actually say I’m better at lacrosse. I was just really good at lacrosse, and I’m not as good at volleyball, but I just love it so much that I have to keep playing, so I did quit lacrosse. My mom is not super happy and she’s trying to recruit me back to her college team, but I’m playing volleyball.”
Away from the volleyball court, Thorpe loves photography and enjoys singing – she used to participate in choir. She recently joined the National Art Honor Society. “I love art, I love writing, I love English a lot, and I love music too,” she said. When it comes to a major, Thorpe is still undecided. “I really like marketing, business, psychology and English,” she said. “I also plan to minor in graphic design. Anything is possible.” And, of course, she’ll play volleyball. Cairn, according to her coach, is inheriting a special student-athlete. “She’s just got that good heart in her, and it shines through,” Bassler said. “I think that’s why our girls – it was easy for them to click, but at that same time she came in and gave us some of that personality. We didn’t always have that top to bottom, and I think she’s really helped our culture, for sure. She is really going to be missed. She’s just an all-around amazing player, teammate and person.”
To read Thorpe’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/georgie-thorpe-00103101
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week 5)
As Hurricane Ian made its way up on the Eastern Seaboard, another storm erupted. Let’s call it Hurricane Jared – as in senior Souderton quarterback Jared Zimmerman, who was at the epicenter of his team’s offense. In his first full season as a starter under center, Zimmerman had the best game of his career – so far, at least – completing 13 of 24 passes for 179 yards and a score, while running 9 times for 69 yards and another touchdown, in a 34-20 win against rival Quakertown. For Zimmerman, the winning effort was vindication. “Last year, we played Quakertown two times – once in the regular season and once in the playoffs – and we lost both times,” he said. “This year, we really wanted to get that win. There was a lot of trust, between our coaches and our players. On our first drive, we had our RPO called and it kept working – like every single time. Throughout the game, we went from passing to running the ball more.” Surrounded by weapons, Zimmerman can just stay within himself and let the offense click “Right now, we have some athletes that he can get the ball to out in space, and he is doing a really good job of doing that,” Souderton coach Ed Gallagher said. “He’s not the biggest kid or the strongest kid, but he’s just good. He fits the role well and does everything that we ask him to do.”
Zimmerman’s play this year did not come out of thin air. He was thrust into the lineup last year, starting the last three games of the season (including a playoff loss to Quakertown) after spending most of the season in the secondary. It was a moment he felt like he had been waiting for, and preparing for, his whole life. “Honestly, it felt amazing,” he said. “I wanted to show the coaches, and show everybody else, what I could do. Once the quarterback position opened up, I was so ready to take that spot.” In his first start last season, which was against Cheltenham, he had two passing touchdown and ran for two others. Still, coming into his senior year, nothing was guaranteed. Zimmerman made sure to use every available minute of the offseason to prepare. “I was determined to just show it on the practice field, determined to show I was ready for the spot,” he said. “We started doing 7-on-7 (drills) in April. From April to July, I just used that to prove to them that I could throw the ball and could be the starting quarterback for our team. Once minicamp and real camp came around, that’s where I showed my leadership and proved to them that I could do this.” The coaches couldn’t help but take notice. “He owned it over the offseason, and he has blossomed into his role,” said Gallagher.
Last winter, Zimmerman was a swing player for the basketball team. “He played varsity sparingly, but he played big for us,” Souderton coach Okotech Sackitey said. “I started using him a bit at the end of the season. In the last game of the year against CB West, he finished the first half for us and played outstanding defense. He hit a transition three in the right corner, and that was huge for us. He’s just a gamer, a competitor. When I watch him kill it on the football field this year, I do question – dang, should I have played him more? I’m excited for this coming year. He’s probably our best on-ball defender. He’s going to have a big role this year.” Measuring in at 5-11 and 165 pounds, not prototypical “football” size, only enhances the chip on Zimmerman’s shoulder. “He’s not that big, but he just competes,” said Gallagher. “He gets offended if you slight him because of his size. He wants to prove you wrong. I love the edge he plays with. He’s just a great kid who is very competitive. I’m looking forward to watching him play the rest of the year.”
Gallagher, who taught Zimmerman in math class, knows it goes against personality type a bit, but he appreciates him coming out of his shell for the sake of the team. “He’s one of our captains,” said Gallagher. “He’s really quiet, though. There are still times at practice when I put the defense into a different position because I just want to hear him talk. He’s a quiet kid. He’s soft-spoken. He’s humble. At the same time, he’s very competitive.” Zimmerman is hoping to still compete as a Division III athlete at the next level. He plans to major in education. “Originally, I was thinking high school, but now I’m leaning more toward elementary,” he said. “This year, I’m doing an internship at an elementary school (West Broad Street) and I’m having a lot of fun with it.”
To read Zimmerman’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jared-zimmerman-00103098
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