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 Feb. 12, 2015)
Madison Attanasio is one of those special players, according to soccer coach Wendell Beres, who’s going to make any team better simply by her presence. “Whether it’s on the basketball court, on the soccer field or just making the group of kids become a little bit closer because she does something off the field – she’s going to find a way to make that team better,” the Council Rock North soccer coach said of his senior captain. Beres apparently knows what he’s talking about. Attanasio returned to the basketball court on Jan. 15 for her first game action of the season after suffering a concussion in an automobile accident on her way to school Dec. 8. The Indians won seven of eight games since then. “She’s such a great story in the fact that she hasn’t played two thirds of the year,” Rock North basketball coach Lou Palkovics said. “She’s always coming from soccer, and it always takes her three or four weeks to really get her basketball legs. I said, ‘Maddie, what are we going to do this year? It’s going to take a while to get your basketball legs.’ I think maybe she played three games before I decided, ‘Oh my god, it’s time to get her back in the starting lineup’ because she brings a whole new dimension to the team.”
The fact that Attanasio is playing basketball at all is pretty remarkable since she is first and foremost a soccer player. And a very good one. A first team all-league selection, the Rock North senior will take her talents to The College of New Jersey next year. It would have been easy for her to walk away from basketball, especially after being sidelined the better part of the regular season. That was never a consideration. “I love playing basketball,” said Attanasio, who was out of school for a month after her most recent concussion – her third. “Not so much that I would play in college, but it’s one of my favorite things to do. Basically, I’m just trying to get in as much basketball as I can before I’m forced to quit.”
A three-year varsity starter for the soccer team, Attanasio anchored the defense and also was a captain of a team that lost its coach and saw Beres take over the day before the team’s first game. “It was a unique situation, not an easy one for anybody, and I relied on her heavily to help in the transition,” Beres said. “This year’s senior class – we had seven leaders, and Madison was certainly the leader of the leaders, if you will. She’s a kid everybody looks up to, and she leads by example.”
Attanasio will take her talents to TCNJ. “I knew right away I wanted to play Division III because both my brother and sister played Division III, and they absolutely loved it,” she said. “One of the biggest things I want out of college is studying abroad, and you can’t really do that with Division One.” An honors student who takes a pair of AP classes, Attanasio plans to major in biomedical engineering, and she will have the opportunity to make her dream of studying in Australia a reality at TCNJ.
To read Attanasio’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/madison-attanasio-0050889
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 12, 2015)
Looking for an ordinary kid from an ordinary background? You best look past Central Bucks West power forward Nico Munari. In every way, every day, he is the definition of extraordinary. “He’s not your typical young man,” coach Adam Sherman said. “He wasn’t exposed to a lot of basketball. He never played travel or AAU. In basketball, (that) is very rare. In this day and age, you don’t see many good high school players who haven’t gone the AAU route. To see him grow so much has been really neat.” When told of his coach’s words, Munari was typically humbled. “That’s a big honor,” he said. “I have grown to really love the game. I enjoy playing with my friends. It’s all about love for the game.”
Munari, the oldest, is the only biological child of Marco and Michelle Munari, who met at the University of Maryland’s campus in Germany. He has six adopted siblings and the family is working on another addition. “His family is amazing,” Sherman said. “You look at them and it makes you feel like you are not doing enough. I constantly get compliments from other teachers about his character and the type of person he is around school. He is so selfless. That goes back to the home he was brought up in.” Because his parents began adopting when he was still a toddler, there was never any resentment. “It’s the only thing I’ve known,” he said. “My family has been blessed in America, being able to provide for their kids. They listened to their hearts and responded.” When asked to describe his siblings, Munari does so willingly, and lists his parents and family – followed by his coaches and teammates – as his greatest source of inspiration. There is 16-year-old Samuel and his two biological sisters, 13-year-old Eden and 9-year-old Bethlehem, from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. “(They) were living with their mother and father, but about five years ago, they both passed away within a very short time of each other,” Munari said. “After being cared for by a neighbor for a few months, they were sent to a state-run orphanage in Addis Ababa where they lived for almost two years. My family, who has been both a foster and adoptive family throughout my life, became interested in this sibling group and decided to add them to our family.” It was a similar story with biological brothers – Luke, 14, and Mika, 12 – who were originally from Richmond, Va. Isabella, 10, holds a special place in Munari’s heart. “She’s from Philadelphia, and we got her almost directly from the hospital,” he said. “She has the same birthday I do, so I said she was my birthday present.” The next Munari is a young Ethiopian girl, Mekeda, who suffers from cerebral palsy. While it sounds like fodder for a feel-good Disney movie, it has not always been easy. “We’re a bi-racial family,” said Munari. “That’s not something you see often. We have stood out. It’s an interesting situation.”
Munari, who grew up playing soccer and baseball, gave basketball a try at Lenape Middle School. When he entered Sherman’s orbit, he was athletic but raw. “No other player I coached has improved – from ninth to 12th grade – the way he has,” the Bucks’ coach said. “He is a our post presence. He doesn’t mind working hard. He’s just a special kind of kid.”
Sherman says Division III schools have reached out about Munari, but those schools need to match up with his intention to follow the Navy ROTC path while majoring in engineering. Munari has been accepted to Drexel and George Washington on the strength of a 3.45 GPA and strong test scores. “I’ve been blessed with athletic ability and with gifts to go out and help other people,” said Munari, who has done missionary work abroad. “With the Navy ROTC, it’s an opportunity to provide for those who can’t provide for themselves.”
To view Munari’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/nico-munari-0050888
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