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 , 2015)
Eighteen.
That’s the number of goals senior Abby Alexis scored last fall for the conference champion Neshaminy field hockey team. She thinks. It’s a safe bet that most athletes would be able to rattle off the number of goals they have scored in a matter of seconds. But that is the type of selfless player Alexis has always been. “As a captain this year, she supported her fellow teammates and made everyone feel welcomed,” coach Caitlin Koczynski said. “She showed the younger players what Neshaminy field hockey is all about. In her four years at Neshaminy, she has helped the team win two league championships. Neshaminy field hockey will miss her.” Alexis, a first team all-state selection as a senior, spent her final year as a captain of the field hockey, indoor and outdoor track teams. And oh, by the way, she is also the president of the senior class and a member of the National Honor Society, sporting a grade point average of 4.19 – or ‘something like that’ – and ranks in the top five percent of her class.
“Abby is a great role model and leader both in the classroom and on the track,” said track coach Margie Stefan. “Abby has been the winter and spring track and field captain her junior and senior years and has qualified and competed in districts, states and nationals in the 4x200m and 4x400m relays. This season Abby is the second leg on our 4x100 relay (12.0 split) and third leg on the 4x400 relay (60.1 split) which both qualified for districts.” But Alexis won’t readily tell you all that. Even in a more individualized sport like track, there is more “we” than “me” in her verbiage as she takes as much pride in the accomplishments of younger runners who have improved as with herself. She wants no parade down U.S. 1 for individual accomplishments and makes no excuses for not reaching goals. “Abby is very selfless and a team player, as she has had back injuries throughout her track career (this year it was found to be a herniated disc), and she continues to be a member of the relays advancing with them instead of risking her season and the relays trying to qualify for an individual event,” said Stefan. “Abby is a hard worker, full of determination and dedication and always gives 100 percent in whatever task is put in front of her.”
Alexis will continue her field hockey career at Saint Joseph’s University. “Abby is a true role model on and off the field,” Koczynski said. “St. Joe’s is lucky to get this talented player.”
To read Alexis’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/abby-alexis-0053680
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of May 14, 2015)
An excellent attacker and midfielder, Springfield Township senior Jack Gozzard has an innate feel for the game. Before his freshman lacrosse season, though, the most prominent thing Gozzard felt was the pain in his lower back. It happened during his freshman football season, and for a while, the reason for the discomfort was a mystery. He went to physical therapy and a chiropractor, but the pain persisted. Finally, a visit to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia determined the issue involved his discs, which weren’t giving his back proper support. He had to sit out the tail end of his freshman football season, and the back injury sidelined him for all of his sophomore football season. Though it was his secondary sport, it is Springfield Township’s first love. “It killed him,” football coach Chris Shelly said. “Because he wanted to be with his buddies.”
Though he couldn’t play football as a sophomore, there was no stopping Gozzard from playing lacrosse for all four years of high school because that’s what he was determined to play in college. “I worked hard, trying to get my back stronger through physical therapy,” he said. “Lacrosse has some different motions, so I was able to play (as a freshman). It was still tough, but it was something I needed to work through because I couldn’t let it stop me.” Ultimately, after plenty of rehab and a sophomore autumn as a football team manager – a role in which he was as diligent and dependable as he was a player – Gozzard came back to football, and by his senior season, he was a force as an offensive lineman and defensive end. One of the most satisfying happenings to Gozzard was Springfield winning the district despite an offensive line that averaged under 200 pounds.
In lacrosse, the 6-2, 175-pounder broke out the past two seasons as one of the area’s best players, and he will play college lacrosse at Moravian College where he will study education. “He’s great at distributing the ball,” said assistant coach Bill Krewson, who was the Springfield head coach during most of Gozzard’s career. “He’s great at seeing the field and getting everyone involved. The kids want to do what he does and listen to what he says. He shows the things that should be done and the way they should be done. You go through those rough moments where you think ‘Should I be coaching this sport anymore?’ He sends the message that – yes, you should be coaching because he’s such a good kid, such a big part of the program.”
To view Gozzard’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jack-gozzard-0053679
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