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 April 23, 2015)
It’s a cold spring day, much too cold for softball. With a runner on first base and the tying run at home plate in the top of the seventh inning, Souderton standout freshman pitcher, Alex Scheeler, falls behind in the count 2-0. Ever a calming presence, senior catcher Morgan Yoder simply nods to her pitcher and says, ‘You’re good, you’re good.’ And Scheeler is good, coaxing a grounder back to the mound for an out on the next pitch as the Indians hold on for the win. It’s a brief exchange that most fans won’t notice, but talk to coach Steph Rummel, and she points to Yoder’s steady leadership behind the plate as a key to the success of last year’s state championship team and also the strong start of this year’s squad. “I think honestly Morgan is the heart of the team this year,” the Indians’ coach said. “She was definitely a big piece of our puzzle last year too. It’s great because she steps into this role as a captain leader, and even last year, she was a leader. She works so well with the girls, she works so well with the coaching staff. She’s always one step ahead of every other girl on that field, and that’s the great thing about her is that she’s almost like a coach on the field. She takes control, and she does such a great job.”
Yoder was penciled in to be a varsity player as a freshman, but things didn’t exactly go as planned. On Jan. 28, 2012, during an indoor field hockey game, she collided with the goalie and went down with a torn ACL. In February, Yoder had surgery to repair her knee, and one month later, she had a second surgery since she didn’t have full extension of her knee. For one long month, Yoder’s leg was in a full cast with the hopes it would correct the problem. It didn’t. Neither did extensive physical therapy. At the Grand View Sports Medicine Nova Care Center in Harleysvillle, the grueling exercise to straighten the leg still carries her name ‘The Morgan’ since Yoder did it longer than any patient before or since.
Despite playing a position that is hard on her knees, Yoder, who has been catching since her U12 playing days, never considered changing positions. “It was hard, but I think it made me more determined and made me work harder to get to where I want to be,” she said. That hard work has put Yoder in an enviable spot. She has signed a letter of intent to accept a softball scholarship to Millersville University.
Off the diamond, Yoder – an excellent student – is enrolled in three AP classes this year. She is very active in school life and is one of eight students serving on the newly formed Athletic Leadership Council. She’s also a member of the Link Crew, a group of upperclassmen who help acclimate freshmen to life in high school. A self-described people person, Yoder plans to major in psychology.
To read Yoder’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/morgan-yoder-0052762
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of April 23, 2015)
Watch a Hatboro-Horsham baseball game that is going according to plan, and you are bound to see head coach Pete Moore send Ryan Murphy to the mound – typically from first base or the outfield – to close out a win. Murphy will rise to the challenge with a fierce determination in his eyes and a fire in his gut. What is not as visible is the aching in his heart and uncertainty in his soul. Murphy knows there is a chance that every pitch he throws and every at-bat he takes brings him one pitch and one at-bat closer to the end of a baseball career that he has enjoyed his whole life with many of his fellow seniors as teammates. “There are definitely a lot of emotions,” said Murphy. “I realize this might be the last time I play baseball, so I just try to go out there and give it my all every time. There might not be much time left, and I want to leave it all on the field.”
A top-flight student with a weighted GPA of 5.8 and a SAT score of 1940, he hopes to study engineering and has already been accepted to Georgia Tech and Florida, two schools with top-flight programs in that major. However, playing baseball at those schools – other than at maybe the club or intramural level – would not be possible, considering they are major Division I programs.
Murphy came to the area in second grade and formed a deep and lasting bond with many of his current teammates. As a sophomore, on the junior varsity level, Murphy had all the makings of being the future ace of the staff. After his first start as a junior, he felt a pain in his back. He tried to work through it, but to no avail. He was summarily shut down for a good stretch of the season. When he returned, the team was rolling, Moore found a place in the lineup for his bat, but the rotation was set in stone. This year, Moore found the ideal role for Murphy, and he is flourishing as the team’s closer. “He is the kind of guy you want out there at the end of a game,” Moore said. “He pounds the zone. He wants the ball in any situation. Ryan has that attitude. As a coaching staff, we appreciate the value he brings to us. Everybody wants to be a starting pitcher, and Ryan is no different, but he is just a competitor. He’s not afraid of any situation. He’s also a leader. He is someone the other kids look up to. He’s a fun kid with a high intellect.”
On the home front, sports were great – his dad played football and baseball in high school before moving on to Duke - but academics came first. “That’s always been the most important thing,” Murphy said. “Sports comes second.” The question remains if he will be able to continue on his academic path without giving up the game that has been such a big part of his life.
To view Murphy’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ryan-murphy-0052763
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