Soccer
Favorite athlete: Darren Sproles
Favorite team: All Philadelphia teams
Favorite memory competing in sports: In my sophomore year, we went to the State Championship in Hershey.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I tripped over my cleats and face planted in front of the whole team at practice.
Music on mobile device: Any music
Future plans: I want to be a nurse at CHOP.
Words to live by: "Don't be that guy"
One goal before turning 30: I would like to travel to the West Coast!
One thing people don't know about me: I have a rod and four screws in my leg.
Soccer has always been there for Delaney Kennedy.
Any time the Central Bucks East senior is facing a tough time or even having a bad day, she knows she can start kicking a soccer ball and escape. It had always been that way, and even as she faced a most daunting challenge three years ago, Kennedy wanted it to stay that way.
A devastating injury at the end of her freshman year wasn't enough to keep Kennedy away from the game, and it's something the Patriots have been very grateful for.
"If you don't have the desire and the will, especially in the high school game, you're not going to be able to do it," Kennedy said.
Part of the appeal of soccer is the fact there's no textbook definition of what a player should look like. Sure, central defenders are usually big and strong, keepers long-armed and athletic and forwards speedy, but anyone can thrive on a pitch. That's a big factor in why Kennedy was not only a four-year starter for East but a player Paul Eisold couldn't bring off the field.
Here's the thing about Kennedy, she stands only an even five feet tall.
She was undoubtedly the smallest person on the field any time she stepped on a field the last four seasons. It also did nothing to stop her from being one of the most dominant players on the pitch every game.
"She's always the littlest player on the field and she always plays the biggest," Eisold said. "She has a knack for 50/50 balls in the air, her tackling is tenacious. I don't know how she does it. She's an incredible defender, she's got great vision in moving the ball. She's small in stature but huge in ability to win everything about her."
Whatever Kennedy gave up in height or size, she more than made up for in heart and determination. Eisold called the senior, who played as a forward and advanced central midfielder at East, an extremely self-motivated person and while not the most vocal, someone who lifted everyone around her with her work ethic.
Still, even she can't quite pin why she routinely beat taller players to headers and won so many tackles.
"I don't know exactly," Kennedy said. "When I go against bigger players, I don't think about my size and it doesn't bother me at all. I try not to let it get in my head and just go with the game. It makes things easier if you try not to think about it too much."
It could be her competitive nature, which Kennedy said is one of her defining traits and the thing that most fuels her on the field.
Because of her stature, Eisold wasn't quite sure how Kennedy would fit in during her freshman year. With East students not attending the high school until 10th grade, Kennedy said her teammates were fantastic about making her feel welcome that first year.
Kennedy was surprised she was made a starter so quickly, but her aggressive approach fit in well in East's high-pressure style. Even Eisold was a little shocked by how large an impact the tiny freshman was having.
"I don't think teams realized how good she was, even today, you think back on how dominant of a player she was for four years," Eisold said. "She's not someone who does anything that really stands out, she's not flashy, but if you play against her you know how good she is. She's that silent type, her stature's smaller but you leave the game thinking 'I got my butt kicked by that girl.'"
*****
The moment that changed everything for Kennedy came at the end of her freshman season in a collision in Chambersburg. Playing in the state semifinals, Kennedy and an opposing player went in for a tackle and Kennedy caught the worst of it.
"I broke my tibia and fibula in the tackle," she said. "We were over three hours from home because we had to meet on a neutral site and the other team came from so far away. I ended up going to the Chambersburg hospital, then my parents took me to CHoP when we got home."
At first, doctors tried to set the bones and put Kennedy in a cast, but the breaks were severe enough that she needed surgery to properly fix them. She had the procedure done at CHoP and left with a few additions.
"Now, I have a rod in my leg and four screws," Kennedy said. "It was really rough if I'm being honest. I remember first coming back, I had to learn to walk right again. I had a limp almost my entire sophomore year."
Now, Eisold and Kennedy's teammates can joke with her about it, some of them calling the senior the "Bionic Girl" and things like that, but that next season was tough mentally and physically. She still didn't come off the field, but there were moments where she was battling not only the opposition, but herself as well.
Overcoming a major injury is as much a mental fight as it is a physical one.
"It could have changed her whole outlook and she could have just let the game escape her but she came back from it," Eisold said. "It took her a little bit of time to get over the frustration of being injured and all the phases, the denial, the being upset and all of that. Even as she was going through that, she continued to work and remained on the field. Now, we say she's better than she even was because she's Bionic Delaney."
For someone who loved the game so much that it became her place to escape, Kennedy did not want to let the injury rob that from her. She refused to allow the soccer field to become a place she feared going.
"Soccer was my happy place and I didn't want to ruin that, I guess, reputation I had for it," Kennedy said. "I still wanted to be able to go there."
Kennedy draws so much of her inspiration and motivation from the teammates around her on the field and even on the bench, so she channeled them as she worked to return to the field.
"I remember going into my first game so scared I was going to break my leg again," Kennedy said. "Once you get that first tackle out of the way, I was fine. It was all due to the girls, I've never been a part of something as great as this team, so coming back and seeing everyone's faces and knowing if we worked hard, we could get back to where we were or go further."
Kennedy hasn't decided where she'll be attending college yet, but has been accepted to Pittsburgh, South Carolina and Delaware. No matter where she goes, she knows what she wants to study.
After her injury and during her stay at CHoP, Kennedy said the nurses who helped her were incredible and they inspired her to follow that same path of helping others.
"My broken leg is why I want to be a nurse," Kennedy said. "When I was at CHoP, they were amazing and it made me want to become a nurse. I really want to become a nurse at CHoP specifically if I can."
In her sophomore season, the Patriots advanced all the way to the state title game. Kennedy spent the season playing next to forward Emma Loving up top. Being able to share the field with Loving – who is now at Penn - for two seasons is among Kennedy's favorite memories of her time at East.
"Playing with Emma Loving was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had, she's such a hard worker it only makes you want to work hard," Kennedy said. "All of these girls, you want to work 10 times harder because you know how hard they all work for each other."
Eisold said Kennedy most improved as a leader during her four seasons playing at East. While she's not the loudest person, her determination was something that could carry teammates and spur them to dig down and keep going.
The eldest of three siblings, Kennedy also wanted to set an example for her two younger brothers.
"One of my brothers, he's not the tallest person either and his favorite sport is basketball and he - not struggles because of his height - but he sometimes sees it as a disadvantage," Kennedy said. "Showing him size doesn't matter, I wanted to help him push through all those challenges."
******
While not a prolific goal scorer, Kennedy provided some crucial and timely goals for East in her four years playing up top. This fall, she provided one of the Patriots' signature wins when she hit a bullet to the upper corner of the goal to down Souderton in overtime.
Her favorite part of the game is the elation and joy that followed a score, whether she put the ball away herself or set up the strike. The goal against Souderton was a memorable celebration.
"I honestly didn't think it was going to go in, it looked like it was way over," Kennedy said. "When it went in, all of my teammates were running at me. Those moments are one of the main reasons why I played soccer, I just loved that."
This season had its share of ups and downs for East, with goals sometimes hard to come by for the team. The Patriots made the playoffs for the fourth time in Kennedy's career but lost to Council Rock South in heartbreaking fashion on a goal in the final 50 seconds of regulation.
Kennedy played very well, drawing praise from Golden Hawks coach Nick Heim for how physically dominant she was, but the ending stung for the senior.
Still, the season had its highlights and Kennedy treasured the time spent with all of her teammates, especially classmate Katie Bloom.
"She's been my best friend since we were in third grade and this year we really got the opportunity to become very close," Kennedy said. "She's one of my motivations to work harder on the field. She had a great season too, she got first (all-SOL) this year, she just pushed me to keep working harder.
"My teammates were a huge part of my career and they made my four years of high school soccer so great."
Aside from playing soccer for East, Kennedy is involved with Athletes Helping Athletes, East's mini-THON and TOPSoccer, a community-based program that affords athletes with special needs or disabilities to play the game. She's also planning to play lacrosse for the Patriots this spring to try out a new sport.
Kennedy had been committed to play soccer at Delaware but felt like it was time for a change and decided not to pursue a college career. She's hoping to play club soccer wherever she ends up in college.
"It's unfortunate for the game to lose a player like Delaney, but I also understand with everything she's been through and the type of player she is, she's either all-in or she's not at her best," Eisold said. "I think it's a big loss if she doesn't play but I also respect her decision."
Many exceptional players have gone through CB East, but there’s only been one Delaney Kennedy.
"People say it all the time and I think it's a bit over-used but she's just a great kid, (and) I can't think of one player that does not like her," Eisold said. "She's not a great kid because she's nice, she's a great kid because she's an honest person. On or off the field, people just gravitate toward her. In terms of being honest, in terms of understanding others, in terms of bringing out the best in other players, she's not one to be negative and I think her positive, upbeat personality really brings out the best in other people."
