Baseball
Favorite athlete: Pete Alonso
Favorite team: New York Mets
Favorite memory competing in sports: First ever home run – a grand slam in championship game
Music on playlist: Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, Kanye West, SAINt JHN, J- Cole, Foster The People, Coldplay, Post Malone, Nico & Vinz
Future plans: Go to college, live my best life, do me
Words to live by: “It doesn’t cost anything to be nice to others.”
One goal before turning 30: Have a family/be the best person in the world
One thing people don’t know about me: Huge Disney musicals fan
By Mary Jane Souder
Matt Spadavecchia had heard it all before.
Those familiar lines reminding athletes that the work they do in the offseason will ultimately determine what they do in the season.
“My jayvee coach, Mr. (Len) Lehman, has been a close friend my entire life, and his son is also on my baseball team,” Spadavecchia said. “Every year he would say the first or second winter practice, ‘It shows who’s working out, and it shows who put in the time.’
“I always took that as ‘Damn, I feel like I could have done so much more,’ but it’s so hard being a huge guy like me.”
Last year, after an injury-plagued season, the now New Hope-Solebury senior met with head coach Tony Vlahovic and his two assistants.
“We had a come-to-Jesus meeting with him at the end of last year about getting in better shape and taking care of himself,” the Lions’ baseball coach said. “He had tears in his eyes, and he said, ‘Coach, I’m going to do it. I’m going to take better care of myself’ because we were talking to him more about his health.
“He said, ‘I want to play, I want to be healthy, I want to finish my career.’ We talk about legacy all the time. What do you want to leave behind for the program? He said, ‘I want to leave something behind.’ I said, ‘Matt, you can do that, but it’s up to you,’ and he did it.”
Spadavecchia admits that meeting was a wake-up call.
“All three of the coaches were there, and it was just a one-on-one talk,” he said. “They were like, ‘Hey, Matt, something’s going to have to change here, or we’re not going to be able to play you that much.’”
A whole lot has changed since last season when Spadavecchia suffered a bone chip in his knee and was sidelined a major part of the season.
“I really want to play, and I’ve got to prove myself this year,” he said. “So I was like – ‘What can I do?’
“My mom was able to get me some personal training, and around three months later, I was able to lose 30 pounds.”
Unfortunately, Spadavecchia was involved in an accident and suffered a laceration in his healthy knee that required stiches. The following week, he had his wisdom teeth removed, and his workout routine was impacted further when his personal trainer moved to Florida.
“I’m still trying to do everything, but I slowly gained the weight back,” he said. “I’m still 10 pounds down, and I’m working out more than ever, but I’m still at this constant growth.
“Every night I’m running when the coach doesn’t see. I’m doing weights on the six-week program they gave us, and they said it’s going to prove who does the work. I’m going to show – ‘Hey, coach, I’m trying my hardest.’ They see it, but I’ve got to put the work in myself. The main thing they said in the one-on-one meeting – you can’t be this big forever, especially if you don’t want to be. That hit me hard. Knowing I could do something, but I have to realize I want it.”
Spadavecchia’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.
“He’s come a long way,” Vlahovic said. “He worked out in the offseason, he lost quite a bit of weight, and he’s working at it.
“He got the kick in the butt he needed to say ‘Hey, you can do more than this, you want to be in better condition, you want your health to be better, you want to play better, you can control these things by taking the time and working at it and putting that extra effort in, and that’s exactly what he did. He’s one of those kids – it’s really hard not to like him.”
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Spadavecchia was introduced to baseball before he could walk.
“When I was born, my brother was four years old, and he started t-ball, and I grew up watching him,” he said. “I would go to games with my dad. My brother knew everything about baseball, so I learned everything from him.
“I watched him all throughout travel ball, and I started to play baseball just because I thought he was so good. I’m sitting here, and right in front of me is a big portrait the team made for his senior night. I decided going into high school – if he wore number 28, why not take 28 just to show out better? Now I’ve gone the full four years of high school with his jersey number.”
Following in the footsteps of his brother, Spadavecchia went the travel route, playing for the Makefield Mavericks.
“I was lucky enough to have my dad as a coach there,” he said. “After that, I moved to middle school ball and then high school.”
He most recently has joined his high school teammates playing for Plumstead American Legion. During his first two years of high school, Spadavecchia played jayvee. As a junior, he was injured at the third outdoor practice of the season.
“It was two hours into practice, and we were basically almost done,” he said. “We’re just getting simple ground balls. I’m catching them at first base.
“I stretched out to get the ball, which came in on a bounce. The ground was pretty muddy, the ball started going to my right, and I turned with the ball. My entire body turned except for my knee. All I heard was a pop and then I fell down. That’s all I remember.”
The diagnosis was a chipped bone, and after seven weeks of physical therapy, Spadavecchia returned to the diamond but with limited mobility.
“He finished up the last four or five games and started to work his way back in,” Vlahovic said. “He played first base for us. He really couldn’t hit because he couldn’t run that well, so he just played defense, and he did that very well.
“He jumped in – any way he could get back on the field, he did that. I admire kids like that.”
Spadavecchia is projected to see action at first base or designated hitter this spring. First base has been home since his earliest travel playing days.
“My grandad introduced me to a first baseman’s mitt, and I was like, ‘Thank you, I’ll see how first base works,’” he said. “I played first base all through travel ball. There’s really no other place on the field for a lefty who also is pretty big. I just worked on my craft at first.”
“It’s our plan to have him on the field,” Vlahovic said.
It’s Spadavecchia’s plan to continue working hard to attain his goals.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “It’s more than just the baseball side now. After what he said, I’ve got to make myself feel and look better than I did a year ago. That’s basically my main goal.
“I want to try my hardest for this baseball team because I love the guys around me, and I want to get as far as possible.”
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In the fall, Spadavecchia will be attending Seton Hall University, which has a long history in his family.
“My grandfather went to Seton Hall, my parents went to Seton Hall and met there,” he said. “My brother decided to go to Seton Hall. I’ve been around Seton Hall and the environment my entire life.”
He plans to follow in the footsteps of his brother and major in business/finance.
“I always was a huge math guy,” Spadavecchia said. “I was always in the honors class for math, and I love just playing around with numbers.”
As for baseball?
“Having kids down the line, I would love to do what my dad was able to do for me because he was able to coach me through basketball, baseball, soccer and football,” Spadavecchia said. “He was able to do everything for me, and I want to do that for my kids.”
In addition to working with the young people at his church, Spadavecchia enjoys working at Vlahovic’s clinics and camps for Special Olympics and the local little league.
“Just last Saturday and coming up this Saturday, he’s been doing local camps for kids – 8- and 9-year-olds,” he said. “My sister is nine years old right now, and she hangs out with all these kids.
“My neighbor always asks me to go outside with him and practice on the hitting machine. I’ve seen how I’ve made an impact on my sister and her friends, so I feel I can do it with other kids. That’s why I go to those camps, thinking if I can get one kid to love the sport like I did, it will do a ton for them so why not.”
Spadavecchia’s passion for the game has made him a valued member of New Hope-Solebury’s squad.
“He was a quiet kid, a dry sense of humor, and as time went on, he became a very good leader for us,” Vlahovic said. “Every time I do a clinic with Special Olympics or with the little league – he’s there every single time.
“He owns what he’s done and how hard he’s worked. He could have a really good season and be very, very steady for us and that’s what I’m hoping for. He’s working at it. I just love the kid. He’s one of those kids – he’s like an unsung hero.”
