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 May 14, 2014)
When Quakertown’s Maddie Mulhall was a sophomore, head coach Rich Scott made a bold statement by naming her team captain. The last two years, the statement was even more definitive as Scott didn’t have to make a formal announcement. It was known she was the team leader. The season was a true roller coaster ride for the Panthers, a team that lost some heartbreakers after a 4-0 start, but the team had Mulhall – a 5-3 power hitter who can purportedly do as many pushups as some football players – to keep the squad grounded. “You have to remember that it’s just a game,” said Mulhall. “I just had to remind them, ‘Hey, you’re not out there alone. You’re going to wake up again and play tomorrow. This game is a game of failure. I fail a lot. We all do. It’s a wake-up call. It’s just a game.”
Mulhall’s non-stop softball slate has her playing for the Bethlehem-based Outlaws before and after the school season. She has played mostly shortstop for Quakertown, but Scott asked her to fill a void at the hot corner. Some fourth-year players would balk or at least have to swallow their pride, but Mulhall reacted in typical fashion. “She is just the type of player who says, ‘Coach, where do you need me?’” the Panthers’ coach said. “If I needed her to pitch, she would have pitched.” In a game against Pennridge, Mulhall suffered her second career concussion in a collision at the plate when trying to score from first on a double. At the time, she was off to a torrid start, and the young team was falling in line behind her. Even though the concussion was not as severe as the first, strict protocol was followed, and she sat out the mandatory two weeks. “I know that impacted here,” Scott said. “But she came to every practice. I know some kids wouldn’t do that, but she knew her role as a leader. She wanted to be there.” When it comes to leadership, she says it comes almost as naturally as breathing as she is merely parlaying the skills her parents, Tim and Darla, instilled in a strict Christian household.
Mulhall credits her infectious outlook to her strong faith, which includes being deeply involved in the Southern Baptist Church and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. An excellent student, Mulhall is enrolled in four AP courses. She also enjoys singing and surprised her mother by singing the national anthem before her team’s Senior Night game. She recently sang and spoke at a regional FCA banquet. Her FCA network played a key role when deciding to attend Shippensburg University.
With this chapter of her career wrapping up, Mulhall reflected on those who made it possible. As is the case with many outstanding young people, it begins at home. The Quakertown senior will continue her softball career at Shippensburg where she will be a pre-law major. “She will be a successful person in life,” Scott said. “I’m going to miss her, we all are, but it’s part of growing up and moving on.”
To read Mulhall’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/maddie-mulhall-0044518
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of May 14, 2014)
Vince Lombardi correctly pointed out that adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals it. While the former Green Bay Packers coach probably didn’t know too much about diving, his famous quote is right on target when it comes to William Tennent’s Ian Forlini. Forlini’s character has been revealed over the past few seasons as he has blossomed in diving, swimming and academics while dealing with his mother Lisa’s recurring breast cancer. What could have torn him apart has actually shown his inner strength. “I really just take each moment as it comes and focus on what I have to do at that time,” he said. “If it’s homework, then that’s what I do. If it’s practice, then that’s what I’m thinking about.” While that is a good plan in theory, Forlini put it to the test often over his high school career.
His mother is the head swim coach and diving coach at Tennent and always on the deck with him. In other circumstances, it would not be very difficult to separate Lisa the coach from Lisa the parent, but Ian’s circumstances are different. He was 12 when his mother was first diagnosed with Stage Two breast cancer five years ago. She has had surgery and chemotherapy and radiation treatments. At one point, it appeared that she was doing well, but the cancer returned and brought with it more chemotherapy, more treatments. Every dive, every race, every lap, every practice, there she is – the woman who gave him life, fighting to hang onto her own. Add to that the pressure of diving at the elite level.
Forlini entered this past season, his final at Tennent, as the three-time defending District One AAA and Suburban One League National Conference champion. His name is on the record boards at pools all over two counties, and at 16, he was the youngest participant at the 2012 US Olympic Diving Team Trials. At big competitions, there is typically a long layoff for a diver from one dive to the next, so divers get deep within themselves to stay focused. Ian, however, is fussing over his mother, making sure she’s comfortable and that she’s taken her medications and seeing to her drinks and snacks. “For all those years when I was healthy, I took care of him,” Lisa said. “We just recently went to regionals at Rochester. He took such good care of me on top of his own diving. He amazes me that he can spend so much time practicing, competing and on top of it all worrying about how I’m doing and taking care of me. That’s just been so fulfilling in my life to spend time with him.” It has not impaired his ability to get the job done on the board. This past season, he won the District One and SOL National titles for the fourth year in a row and also won the PIAA Class AAA state championship with a meet record score of 596.15 points.
The University of Georgia is the next stop for Forlini. “The coaches at Georgia are aware of the situation with my mother, so I can come home anytime,” eh said. “I’m very excited about Georgia, and I can’t wait to get there and start training fulltime and just begin the next part of my career and my life.”
To view Forlini’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ian-forlini-0044519
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