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. 23, 2017)
When the late Steve Jobs said, “The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do,” Hatboro-Horsham senior Miranda Royds was surely one of the “ones.” Or as Bruce Springsteen wrote and sang back in 1975, “she’s the one.” She’s the one who helped elevate the girls’ soccer program from obscurity to competitiveness. She’s the one who was as surprised as anyone to hear her name called as Homecoming Queen, a true testament to the impact she had on her fellow student as a stellar citizen of the school community. Call it a byproduct of how Royds took the leadership skills she developed as a student-athlete and spread them throughout the entire school, where her list of efforts includes the founding of a much-needed Spirit Club.
It may be a while until she can change the world in her chosen field of bioengineering, but she has successfully changed the culture of Hatboro-Horsham to the extent her presence will be felt while she is up the road a ways at Lehigh University next fall. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with her,” said H-H coach Ike Onyeador. “She is a great athlete and a better person. She has helped to set the standard for the level of commitment, desire, and ability that we would like to see in our program. Without question, she always strives to be the best she can be, and we will be hard-pressed to find a player who will have a bigger impact on our program.”
A standout student with a weighted GPA around 5.0, Royds chose Lehigh over Penn and Dartmouth and clearly has her priorities in order. In addition to being president of Student Council, Royds’ long list of extracurricular activities ranges from fundraising to mentoring freshmen to serving as a peer mediator. While some would take on all the extra responsibilities to pad their college application, that is not what Royds is about. She could have easily narrowed her college choices to Lehigh and two Ivy League schools just on academic and athletic achievements alone. Translation: Royds is not along for the ride. She is the ride and in the driver’s seat, forcing others to keep pace.
A standout goalie, Royds will continue her soccer career at Lehigh. “She has a tremendous soccer IQ,” Onyeador said of his two-year captain. She also has turned herself into a premiere track athlete, leading the Hatters to state performances in the DMR and mile run. “Each year she put in the hard work, stayed positive and always learned from her experiences,” coach Anna Baker said. “When I think of the word team leader, Miranda Royds is always one of the first people I think of. She is truly a unique athlete who works hard, is passionate and drive and motivates others to work to their full potential.”
To read Royds’ complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/miranda-royds-0068251
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 23, 2017)
Ask Tyler Shields his dream job, and the Council Rock North senior doesn’t hesitate. “Actually, a cousin of mine has my dream job,” he said. “He works for a pharmaceutical company, and the company will bring in new technologies like VR headsets or Apple watches. His job is to test those new products and find out a way to apply them to business practices. That would be by far my dream job.” For now, Shields has to settle for studying YouTube videos to stay up to date on the latest technology, and he will continue bailing out family and friends who are having problems with their devices. “When we’re doing our film sessions, a lot of times we would have trouble with the projector or just something technology related, and he was always the guy,” Rock North basketball coach Jesse Krasna said. “We were like, ‘All right, Tyler, we need you.’ He’d pop up there and be able to fix it really quickly.” That’s nothing new for Shields. “I’ve always been up to date on the new technologies,” he said. “It started with looking at some YouTube videos. I just looked around on the internet and it became an addiction. I just can’t stop watching and learning about technology.”
Shields is equally passionate about basketball, and he came out of nowhere to become a key contributor for the Indians this season. “His overall skill level is the best we have on the team,” said Krasna. “He is a great shooter, a solid ball handler and a good passer. His teammates love him because he is a selfless worker who cares more about the team’s success than his own. Tyler Shields is a great kid, a role model and a heady basketball player.” That’s high praise for some who had every reason to walk away from the sport, but nothing, it seems, could keep Shields away from basketball. Not even getting cut from the eighth grade team and again as a freshman.
Shields’ perseverance paid dividends this season although Krasna might not have predicted that happy ending when the first-year coach observed Shields last summer. “It didn’t look like from the summer league that he was going to be a big part of things in terms of his on-court role,” Krasna said. But things changed in a hurry. Shields, it seems, had tired of watching from the bench and approached his offseason workouts with a new determination. Although he saw limited minutes when the season started, he got his first career start on Jan. 12 against Truman. He stepped up to nail four three-pointers. “In the second half of the season, he was a mainstay in the starting lineup, a major contributor and a big reason we were able to finish the season winning six of our last nine games,” Krasna said.
An excellent student, Shields, who been accepted at Indiana University and the University of South Carolina, will major in Management Information Systems.
To read Shields’ complete profile, please click on the following link: http://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tyler-shields-0068249
- Log in to post comments
