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. 13, 2014)
It’s not a word that should be tossed around carelessly, lest truly great achievers and their achievements become diminished. But when it comes to diver Grace Berichon, Council Rock North swimming coach Ted Schueller can’t contain himself. And if the label fits, why not choose it? “She is a great person,” he said. “She has been a great captain for the other divers and for the team. She has been a great leader and has peaked at the right time of the season.” Indeed she has. Berichon is coming off a personal best finish of fourth place at the SOL Diving Championships. “She has done some of her best diving at the end of the season,” Schueller said. “That was the most consistent I have ever seen Grace dive – from start to finish, at that level of competition – during her high school career. She has worked hard on the boards and in the weight room and dry land with the swimmers. She has been great for the younger divers.”
Berichon entered Council Rock North from St. Andrews and knew exactly one person the first time she walked into the school cafeteria for lunch. A lot has changed since then. “I’m going to miss my team and miss going to practices,” she said. The team, according to Schueller, also will miss her. “Grace always has a smile on her face and has a great outlook on everything,” he said. “She is very supportive of her teammates.”
Diving is just the tip of the iceberg for Berichon. The list of her in-school activities includes the French Club, French, Math and Science honor societies, National Honor Society, Distinguished Honor Roll and Kick-Off Mentoring, which helps incoming freshmen transition to high school. “Actually, being busy helps me get things done,” she said. “It motivates me more to get my schoolwork done.” For ‘fun,’ she joins her sister, Emara, at the Studio of Dance and Performing Arts.
This spring, Berichon will transition to the track and field team. She competes in pole vault, hurdles and the triple jump. She has excelled – particularly in the pole vault – and hopes to make districts this spring. As for her future, Berichon was set to attend either Ohio State or Pitt to pursue a degree in nursing, but opportunity has knocked with the transfer of her father, Timothy, who works in security for ADT. The family is moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, and Berichon would like to work there as a volunteer for a year working with children who have been orphaned or who have AIDS. “It would be a chance to immerse myself in the culture,” she said. “I just want to jump at the opportunity.” Berichon says the influence of her mother, Stephanie, has made her the type of person who wants to help others – whether it is as a mentor to younger students, a camp counselor, a nurse or a volunteer in Africa. “I think that comes from my relationship with my mom,” she said. “She has always been my No. 1 cheerleader, and I think I just carry that over to my relationships with other people.”
To read Berichon’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/grace-berichon-0041887
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 20, 2014)
Ricky Young possesses a work ethic that’s as rare as it is special. Listen only to his high school coach talk about the Souderton senior. “Words don’t describe his work ethic, both on and off the field,” Souderton football coach Ed Gallagher said. “He has one of the best work ethics I’ve ever seen in all my years of coaching. He came up and played varsity as a freshman, and he’s out before practice, flipping tractor tires. After practice, he’s out blocking a sled by himself. He’s doing his own thing and bringing kids along with him. He’s such a unique individual just because of what he brings from a work ethic standpoint.”
Young is reaping the rewards for his hard work on the gridiron and in the classroom. He recently signed a letter of intent to play collegiate football at Villanova University. Quite an impressive accomplishment for someone who didn’t play football until middle school and even more impressive when taking into account that Young has a learning disability. “I’m dyslexic,” he said. “This school has been absolutely amazing with it.” Amazing might not cover it. Young boasts a grade point average of 3.818. “A lot of it is due to the fact that the school has been so willing to help me,” he said. “At one point during the recruiting, I was getting recruited by Ivy League schools. A kid with learning disabilities – they wouldn’t have thought would be going to an Ivy League school. That was awesome.”
Make no mistake about it – Young is an extraordinary football player. Listen only to Tony Cipriano, the Indians’ long-time assistant who works with the defensive line. “For a guy his size in high school, he’s probably one of the best nose guards I’ve ever coached,” he said. “If he would grow an inch and get up to 6-3 or 6-4, if he does well in college, he might be looking at a professional career. I’ve coached a couple of professional players that mainly played on offense, but he’s the best I ever coached on defense.”
How good is he? Consider only that Young was a first team all-SOL selection on both sides of the football as both a sophomore and junior while also earning all-state recognition. He was expected to be even more dominant as a senior, but that never happened. On the third day of two-a-days in August, Young broke his fibula in two places. Five days later, he had surgery, and a plate and seven screws were needed to put his leg back together. He was lost for the entire season. Still, he managed to put a positive spin on the situation. “The way I looked at it – God’s got a plan for my life, and I figured He was going to use it,” he said. “Getting to see a bunch of other kids get in and play that probably normally wouldn’t have gotten a chance was good. It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting, and it wasn’t the desired thing for this year, but everything happens for a reason.”
Young plans to major in business with an interest in pursuing either accounting or marketing.
To view Young’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ricky-young-0041888
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