School: Pennridge
Water Polo, Swimming, Softball
Favorite athlete: Michael Phelps
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: “Making it to the playoffs for softball and breaking the school record in the 200 freestyle relay.”
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “When I was playing in a U-14 travel softball tournament, I was playing third base, and I was hit in the forehead with a line drive. The ball bounced off my head 20 feet into the air, and the shortstop caught the ball for the third out of the inning.”
Music on iPod: “A little bit of everything”
Future plans: “Attend college and major in nursing with a master’s degree”
Words to live by: “If someone tells you you can’t, prove them wrong.”
One goal before turning 30: “To be successful and have a family”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I am extremely ticklish and sarcastic.”
Alicia Detweiler boasts impeccable credentials on the softball diamond.
The Pennridge junior closed out the year with a gaudy .508 batting average (31-for-61), which included four doubles, one triple and one home run for a slugging percentage of .656. The Rams’ leadoff batter also contributed 13 RBIs and scored 16 runs.
That, however, doesn’t begin to tell the story of an athlete who, according to coach Scott Didra, is a ‘joy to coach.’
“I can’t say enough good things about Alicia,” the Rams’ first-year coach said. “I just met all the girls this year, and they’re all great kids, but Alicia is just so respectful of everything – the girls on the team, us as coaches.
“You can talk to her, and you can give her criticism when needed – you talk, and she will listen. She’s like a coach’s dream.”
Softball is just a small piece of Detweiler’s life.
An honors student who is enrolled in AP classes, she also finds time to compete on the water polo team in the fall, and she swims for the Rams’ varsity in the winter. And, there’s also the little matter of playing travel softball.
“There are times when you have all these tests for AP classes, and you start stressing,” Detweiler said. “You have practice after practice, and you’re running out of time, but once those tests are over, you’re relieved, and you still enjoy yourself when you’re on the field.
“You kind of forget about all that other stuff once you get out there.”
When Didra took over the helm of a Pennridge softball program that had fallen on hard times, he made Detweiler his cornerstone. A standout third baseman, Detweiler was moved from the three hole in the batting order to the lead-off spot.
“We needed someone to get us going on the right foot and provide a spark, and she did that immediately,” Didra said. “Her on-base percentage was .589, and you could always count on her to get things done. She would either walk or get a hit. It almost became automatic.
“That’s incredible for someone to go all season long and continually, continually get on base.”
Detweiler says she enjoyed the move to the top of the order.
“I like testing out the pitcher, seeing what she can throw and getting the attitude going for the game,” she said.
Quiet by nature, Detweiler led by example, and when she got on base, good things typically happened for the Rams.
“She was a smart base runner,” Didra said. “She led the team in stolen bases, she led the team in walks. She just was a key player for us all season long.
“When she got on base, (Lauren) Wilson would bunt her over. That’s pretty much what happened almost every game.”
A natural third baseman, Detweiler played shortstop when Kelsey Detweiler moved to the mound. She made just two errors all season and boasted a fielding percentage of .955.
“She’s just a good player and could play anywhere we put her,” Didra said. “She likes third. She’s a cat on third base – she’s really quick.”
Detweiler has been playing softball since her earliest recollection, beginning with t-ball when she was four years old. She came by her love of sports naturally. Her mother, Beth Detweiler, played softball and field hockey in high school and coached Alicia when she was a youngster.
Even back then, softball was one of many sports for Detweiler. She learned karate and has been swimming competitively since she was eight. In middle school, she began playing field hockey and continued that until this past fall when she gave that up in favor of joining the water polo team.
Detweiler was part of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay as well as the 200 medley relay that qualified for districts, and she came close to qualifying in an individual event as well.
If it seems as though her schedule might be a bit overwhelming, it is. During winter, it’s not only Detweiler’s weekdays that are packed but weekends as well.
“I’ll have swim practices on Saturday for four hours, and then on Sunday, I’ll go to practice for my travel softball team,” said Detweiler, who plays for the Deep Run Lady Lightening.
Swimming season this past winter ended with districts on Saturday for Detweiler, and the following Monday, she was at the first day of softball practice.
“It worked out well,” she said. “It’s hard with all the off-season and preseason stuff, but I get to what I can.”
Softball, she says, has always come first.
“A lot of it has to do with – I’ve been playing it all my life, and it’s one of those comfort type things,” Detweiler said. “It’s one of those summer sports – you can relax, play and enjoy yourself.
“I’ve been playing softball the longest, and my heart has always been there.”
Detweiler was a key piece in the turnaround of a Pennridge softball team that won 12 games and advanced to districts this spring after winning just four games last season.
“A lot of it was the attitude,” she said. “We saw we could do it, and it just kept snowballing. Once we won one, it just kept going.
“The talent has always been there. It was just a matter of being shown, and it finally came out. It was fun.”
College is still a year down the road for Detweiler, who has her sights set on a career in nursing.
“I would love to play softball in college, but I’m in a position where everyone says it’s extremely hard to be a nurse and be a softball player,” she said. “I have to talk to some people in the nursing program, see how they would feel.”
One thing is certain, Detweiler will still find a way to play a sport she loves, and she admits it was hard to see her team’s season end with a 2-0 loss to Haverford in the opening round of districts.
“I have been playing with the seniors since I was eight years old,” she said. “Then in high school, I started playing with them when I was a freshman, and it’s hard knowing they won’t be here next year.”
But Detweiler will be back, and that’s a good building block for any softball team.
