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 Oct. 24, 2013)
Maureen Devlin can remember being a young girl and following her mother around as she gave tennis lessons. She would accompany her mom, mostly stay in the background, and see how her mother tried to make others better at a sport she loved. It has come full circle for the pair these days. It is the mother, Mary Ellen Devlin, who tries to remain in the background, watching her daughter excel at a sport she has also grown to love. Mary Ellen Devlin is not only Maureen’s mother, but also her tennis coach at Wissahickon High School where Maureen is a senior and on her way to Hershey for the PIAA State Class AAA Singles Championship for the third time in four years. “I like it because it is such an individual sport,” Devlin said. “When you lose in tennis, you can’t look around and try to find someone else to blame. It’s on you.” Still, one of her best qualities for the Trojans is the way she embraces the team concept. “I understand how individual tennis really is,” she said, “but at the same time, I also love the idea of being part of a team.”
This was an attribute that caught the eye of her mother/coach early in Maureen Devlin’s school career. “She is a team player in a sport that is so much about the individual,” Mary Ellen Devlin said. “For her, it is all about the group. I think she benefitted from the other sports she played that were more team sports, and she comes from a large family. Each helped in a way. She really likes the idea of having success as a team.”
And success she has had, both as a team and individually. During each of her four years, Wissahickon won the Suburban One American Conference. The team made the State Team Tennis Championships three times. Last year, she won the District One doubles crown with her younger sister, Katherine. This year, she reached the semifinals in singles, meaning she qualified for the state tournament all four years, three times as a singles player and once for doubles. She reached the state quarterfinals in doubles last year.
Devlin, who has been coached by her mother most of her career, has branched out. Both she and her mother work out at the Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education center where they also volunteer in working with younger tennis players.
In the classroom, she maintains an ‘A’ average, and although she is undecided on a college, Devlin plans to continue playing at the collegiate level.
To read Devlin’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/maureen-devlin-0038981
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 24, 2013)
Mark Remmey is a rock on the defensive line of this year’s Central Bucks East football team. “He really excels on the defensive side of the ball,” coach John Donnelly said of his senior lineman. “He’s just got a tremendous motor – he’s relentless. There are times when he’s just unstoppable. He can be that dominant as a player.” Remmey – who measures in at 6-4, 235 – has the physical attributes to be an outstanding player, but it’s much more than that. “It’s a lot of time and effort you put into it in the offseason,” Remmey said. “Coach Donnelly says it’s about the motor. Can you consistently play at a high level? There are guys that have the strength and the size, but they don’t always apply it on the field. It’s a completely different thing. You have to have it.” And Remmey certainly ‘has it,’ something his coach recognized early in his career. “Mark has been in the program all four years I have been here,” Donnelly said. “As a sophomore, he played a little bit towards the end of the year. You quickly saw because of his intellect, he picked things up quickly, and we knew we had a good one.”
Initially, Remmey played defensive end and tight end, but out of necessity, he was asked to move to tackle going into his junior year. “Mark very unselfishly said, ‘Whatever the team needs,’ and he became a pretty good offensive lineman,” Donnelly said. Last year, Remmey, who grew up playing numerous sports, went out for the wrestling team for the first time. He did it to stay in shape but wound up being an important contributor, advancing to districts in his first season. Remmey enjoyed it so much he plans to go out for the team again this winter, but football is his passion. Remmey was rated one of the top linemen in the area by the Philadelphia Inquirer in its preseason all-area list. He plans to play at the collegiate level with his top choices West Point or the United State Naval Academy. According to Donnelly, he is a perfect candidate. “He’s outstanding in the classroom, and he’s a natural leader,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We have had a lot of kids who have gone through the football and lacrosse programs who have gone into the academies. It’s takes a special person, and Mark is that kind of kid.”
Remmey, a member of the National Honor Society, excels in the classroom. He boasts a 3.8 GPA and received a 1360 on his SATs (verbal/math). He is a peer tutor, a member of FCA and coaches at youth camp. The past three summers he has taken mission trips with his church.
Remmey plans to major in mechanical engineering with hopes of a future in the military. “He will be an outstanding football player, but his real track is he wants to get into the academies,” Connelly said. “He’s not looking at the next four years but the next 40. Mark is well respected by his peers. He represents everything we want an East football player to be.”
To view Remmey’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/mark-remmey-0039028
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