SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete for week of Jan. 2, 2019
Casey Reichwein is an elite athlete, but talk to those who know her best, and it’s pretty clear the Central Bucks West senior is an even better person. In truth, it doesn’t take the word of others to confirm that fact.A four-time all-league defender who will take her talents to Big Ten power Michigan next year, Reichwein was a key member of field hockey squads that won 52 games over her first three years but then had just four wins this past fall.A frustrating experience for the senior captain? Hardly.“Going into it, I knew it was going to be a different kind of challenge,” she said. “I think a lot of the scores didn’t reflect the hustle we showed on the field as a team. Some of the moments out there on the field – beating Pennridge 2-1 (late in the season), I couldn’t have been prouder of those girls. The season was a different experience, but I wouldn’t want to change it for anything. The people are just fantastic, and I definitely learned so much from just being around them and having the privilege of being their captain.”
According to coach Ginny Moore, an inexperienced West squad not have asked for a better leader.“This past season, Casey Reichwein stepped up as a fearless leader and captain,” the Bucks’ first-year coach said. “Casey has outstanding defensive skills with an unmatched work ethic. Her dedication and compassion for her teammates is admirable. She has a lot of heart, a common characteristic of CB West students. Casey is bright and ambitious. I believe she will go very far on and off the field.”
Reichwein was an impact player from the moment she stepped onto the hockey field as a freshman. “She’s very even keel,” former coach Courtney Lepping said. “I don’t think she is fazed by much. She has that quiet confidence. From a freshman on, the moment never felt too big for her. There’s a maturity she always possessed from the very beginning.” During a stellar four-year varsity career, Reichwein was an integral part of some of the best moments in West field hockey history, but she doesn’t mention any of them when asked what she’ll remember most about her high school field hockey career.“In 10 years from now, people aren’t going to remember how many wins or losses or specific plays on the field, but they’re going to remember how you treated them and how you made them feel,” Reichwein said. “When I think about what I’ll miss the most about West field hockey, it’s definitely the people and the relationships I’ve made there.I think the atmosphere we’ve created throughout the program – a West player never gives up, is so hard working and is a true team player.”
Off the sporting field, Reichwein is treasurer of West’s Athletic Leadership Council. She was a mini-thon leadership advisor last year and part of the planning committee this year. She is a member of the Spanish Honor Society and West’s Buddies Club, which works with special needs students. She also volunteers at A Women’s Place.When Reichwein’s playing days at West are over, her legacy will be one of excellence on and off the athletic field.“Casey is one of those players that every coach wants – honest, diligent, will do whatever is asked of her and is an excellent team player,” former lacrosse coach Tara Schmucker said. “As a person, Casey is a mature, genuine young lady, and her motive is always to help her team perform and play as a successful unit. She is an impressive student-athlete.”
To read Reichwein’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/casey-reichwein-0082123
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Jan. 2, 2019
Sean Yoderis a huge Philadelphia 76ers fan, and it’s no surprise he lists Sixers’ guard T.J. McConnell as his favorite player.McConnell came into the league with little fanfare, an undrafted free agent who had to develop a multi-faceted skill set at the professional level to make an impression. Now, McConnell does a little bit of everything — and does it well, even if it’s not flashy — en route to becoming a key cog on one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.And while Yoder and McConnell are not mirror images of one another, there are certainly parallels when you look a little bit closer. For starters, Yoder had little attention from collegiate basketball coaches heading into his junior season at Pennridge. After a sophomore season where he learned the ropes, Yoder averaged more than 16 points per game as a junior. However, he did more than just score the ball. Standing just 6-foot-2 and Pennridge’s point guard, Yoder also became the team’s leading rebounder, was its top assists man, turned himself into a relentless attacker of the rim and developed into a more than capable defender on the other end.
Add it all up, and the Division I offers began to pour in like a flash flood. By the time his junior year bled into AAU season, Yoder had received offers from Marist, Colgate, High Point, Canisius, New Hampshire, Wagner, Vermont, Furman, Campbell and the United States Naval Academy. In the end, the disciplined, regimented structure of Navy’s curriculum fit Yoder’s persona, and the now senior will head to Annapolis in the fall.Not bad for a kid who was still finding himself and getting his feet wet after his first varsity season sophomore year.Yoder doesn’t necessarily excel in one area more than all others; rather, like McConnell, he became the sum of his total parts, and a plethora of college programs took notice.“My dad played college basketball at Moravian, and he and I always talked about how much multi-dimensional players can help a team,” Yoder said. “If my shot is off, I still want to be able to positively affect the game, and I can do that with how I pass, rebound, defend. The energy I bring, how I get my teammates involved - these are all other aspects of the game that I pride myself on.”
Yoder’s high school basketball coach has no doubt that his star player will fit in just fine at Navy.“It will be challenging, especially the first year, but Sean is up for that challenge,” Dean Behrens said. “Sean is very structured in how he approaches his day and he’s also conditioned, so he won’t have any problem handling the physicality of the navy. Of course, you never know until you live it, but he’s as prepared as possible. Navy got a kid who can do it all.”
Away from the court and classroom, Yoder is an enormous Philadelphia sports fan who enjoys spending time with his family, friends and teammates. He’s also very involved with his church and has been on two weeklong mission trips to Haiti the last two summers, an eye-opening experience for certain.“We spent a lot of time with orphaned kids, and it’s just tremendous outreach,” Yoder said. “Our problems here are almost next to none compared to what they have to deal with down there. It’s crazy to see that level of poverty and yet see how content and happy the Haitians are with what they do have. In America, we are so fortunate and are trained to think of the negatives and things we don’t have while the people of Haiti thank the Lord every day for what they do have. It really opened my eyes the two weeks I spent there. It changed my outlook and just generally offered a different perspective.”
To read Yoder’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/sean-yoder-0082100
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