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 (Week of Jan. 22, 2014)
Nicole Martorella is defined by her work ethic. The Norristown senior, according to her coach, takes working hard to the next level. “She has a work ethic that is beyond – she just doesn’t stop,” coach Beth O’Neil said. “She’s just very committed, she knows what she wants.” And what Martorella wants is an opportunity to compete at states this year. In truth, it would be easy to understand if she had opted to pass on her final high school season. After all, Martorella has already signed a letter of intent to swim at Shippensburg University, and with her high school team unable to give her serious competition, the Norristown senior spends most of her days practicing alone at Greater Plymouth Community Center. At least once a week, Martorella practices with her team, and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays she practices at the community center.
The Norristown senior acknowledged she has had her low moments. “It’s hard sometimes just keeping motivated and believing in yourself,” she said. “That’s the hardest part for me – the mental part.” A two-time SOL American Conference champion in the 100 breaststroke, Martorella has been driven by the singular goal of earning a spot at the PIAA Class AAA meet. Last year, the then junior posted a time of 1:07.94, just off the state qualifying time of 1:07.65. “As much as I may have wanted to give up, I always had one glimmer of hope – ‘You know what, I can do this. I will make it,’” Martorella said. “It’s just that mentality that keeps me going.”
Martorella shattered the school’s 36-year-old record established in 1976 for the 100-yard breaststroke when she was a sophomore, breaking the old mark of 1:11.70 with a time of 1:11.51. Since then, she’s bested her own record several times with her personal best of 1:07.94 currently on the school’s leader board.
Martorella is a second-year captain of her high school squad. “The girls look up to her and know how hard she works,” O’Neil said. “They try to model after her. They watch her, they watch what she does, and they cheer her on.” An honors student, Martorella, whose course load includes three AP classes, is ranked eighth in her senior class. She is a member of the National Honor Society, and two days before Christmas she received word that she had been accepted into the honors program at Shippensburg where she will major in exercise science with her sights set on a career in physical therapy.
To read Martorella’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/nicole-martorella-0041070
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 22, 2014)
For those who subscribe to the theory that everything happens for reasons we can’t explain, consider the case of Pennsbury senior swimmer Nick Lucca as evidence. At age five, Lucca was not unlike his post-toddler contemporaries, playing the starter sport of soccer and baseball, frolicking with unabashed joy. But there was one difference. Any time there was inevitable contact, either with another player or the ball, Lucca’s hearing would fade out. His parents, Karen and Chris, promptly took their son to CHOP for evaluation. The diagnosis was that Lucca had EVA – Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts. Along with hearing loss, the diagnosis comes with a stern warning against contact sports that could worsen the condition with no cure. Lucca was probably too young to fully comprehend what this meant, but his competitive spirit did not leave his soul. He was at the local pool with his father watching other kids his age compete when a surge of energy rushed through him. “I said, ‘I want to do that, right now,’” recalls Lucca. “And I dove in.” From that moment on, he has been like a fish in water.
Lucca – who wears hearing aids behind both ears but concedes his hearing probably isn’t any worse than some of his contemporaries with ear buds permanently attached – says his natural passion for swimming carried him for many years. When the competition intensified, Lucca worked harder. “Nick is one of the hardest working kids on my team,” said coach Greg Stoloski of his senior co-captain. “In all four years, Nick has never ceased to push himself and others and is almost always at the front of the lane in practice. Nick is also one of the most concerned and self-reflective swimmers I have ever had. He doesn’t just work hard and grind his gears. He is quick to ask about technical aspects, ask you to watch and critique details of his stroke. He is often quick in doing the same for others on the team.” Lucca is his team’s top butterflier and a key member of two relays with aspirations to go to states. He is a natural leader. “As a captain now of my varsity team, he is concerned, if not more concerned, with his team as he is about himself,” Stoloski said. “He is the loudest voice of encouragement and is always aware of his teammates, (their) best times, their stroke issues and takes time to work with and encourage them regularly.”
A top-notch student who is also involved in community service, Lucca sacrifices pool time on Mondays to be involved in Food for Friends at his Quaker Meeting House. “When it comes to community service, it’s about choosing to do something for the common good,” said Lucca, who also volunteers his time at Woods Services, working with people with various challenges an disabilities. “I’m a birthright Quaker. I was raised in the religion, and the values have greatly influenced me. It’s all about viewing everybody as equal.” Lucca has been accepted at IUP and is waiting for word from West Chester.
To view Lucca’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/nick-lucca-0041098
- Log in to post comments
