Soccer, Basketball
Favorite athlete: Mike Trout
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: When our soccer team won in a P.K. shootout to advance to the semifinals of the District One Tournament while clinching a spot in the state playoffs.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I got a yellow card for apparently taking too long to throw the ball in.
Music on iPod: Rap and classic rock
Future plans: Attend the University of Florida and major in accounting.
Words to live by: Everyday is another chance to do something great.”
One goal before turning 30: To be an accountant
One thing people don’t know about me: I want to own my own business one day.
By GORDON GLANTZ
What legacy will you leave?
That can be a loaded question for anyone at any age, let alone teen boys who have just climbed their school district’s baseball mountain by landing a spot on Shannon Gunby’s varsity baseball roster at Wissahickon High School.
But it is a seed the coach likes to plant early, and it is one he has a clear-cut net result on with senior Ryan Becker, the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week.
“I always ask players when they come into our program, ‘What legacy will you leave?,’ said Gunby, an eighth grade science teacher in the district. “The hard work and leadership that Ryan displayed will leave a lasting impact in our program.”
Not knowing his coach’s assessment, Becker – an incoming freshman at the University of Florida -- seconded that emotion.
“I’d say my legacy is that I was a hard worker all four years and someone who showed his teammates how hard work can improve your game and get you playing time,” he said. “I felt, by being a leader, they would follow in my footsteps for years to come.”
From Gunby’s perspective, Becker built his legacy by being the epitome of a student-athlete who effectively split his time between school work and two sports.
“Academically, he excels in the classroom, taking honors and AP courses while balancing baseball in the spring and also being a first team all-league selection in soccer in the fall,” said Gunby. “Ryan is an outstanding example of where hard work can take you. Throughout the fall he continued to hit after soccer practices and attended our fall baseball games on weekends.
“It’s this dedication that made him one of our top hitters and defensive players over the last two seasons. Ryan constantly worked to improve his game and was extremely coachable. His leadership was exemplary. He was a player that I could depend upon to make sure that the younger players felt that they were part of the team and he also looked out for them.”
Becker spends more time on baseball, playing when he can in the fall and American Legion ball for Whitpain in the summer and working indoors throughout the winter months, but he is all about soccer when that season rolls out.
And what a final season it was on the pitch for the senior-dominated Trojans.
“We were the first team in something like 11 years from Wissahickon to go to states,” said Becker, adding he “played all over” before settling in at attack for a team which saw its season end in the first round of states on penalty kicks. “We had a really good year, with a lot of seniors on the team.
“During soccer (season), it’s all soccer for me. I still play baseball on the weekends, when I can. I just try to get my school work done after practice. In the winter, I’m also focused more on baseball. I’d say it’s my No. 1 sport but that’s because it takes more time.”
Leading By Example
Despite being a middle infielder for a team that went into the District 1 tournament as the No. 2 seed – losing in the first round to eventual district champion Council Rock North – Becker primarily left the more vocal leadership to his fellow seniors.
“I like to lead more by example,” said Becker, who batted .328 with 12 runs scored and nine RBIs this past season.“(Gunby) doesn’t choose captains. All the seniors are like captains.”
When Becker was a freshman, the Trojans’ infield was struggling to find some consistency. Becker was summoned by Gunby and never left the starting lineup.
“Ryan came up to the varsity about halfway through his freshman season,” Gunby recalled. “We had been struggling to find consistency in our infield and we brought him up to play some 3B and he ended up playing 2B and SS for us.
“Second base is his natural position and he has been a first team all-league player there for the past two seasons. He took advantage of the opportunity three years ago and hasn’t left the lineup since. He has been a quiet leader on and off the field and has helped our program make great strides.”
Becker may have appeared poised on the field, but it was an adjustment.
“As a freshman, it was different,” he said. “I was the only freshman, and I wasn’t with my friends. There were all older kids who were bigger and more experienced. I just tried to learn from them and build on that year.”
Coming Full Circle
In the final analysis, Becker draws a lot of parallels between the Wissahickon team when he was a freshman to his last go-round.
“That senior class was really good,” he said, readily admitting that it all went by at the speed of a Sandy Koufax fast ball. “I took a lot from them. This year was the same, in many ways. We had a group of seniors who really wanted to win.”
With his Wissahickon career recently completed, Becker is playing American Legion and hopes to return to Whitpain next summer, a stint that could prove to be his last local hurrah on the baseball diamond.
The game he has played all his life is still in his blood.
“You can still play (Legion) as a freshman, and if I’m around next summer, I think I’ll do that,” he said. “At Florida, I’m looking to play club baseball. I don’t want to give it up.”
Becker focused on the big picture when choosing to be a Gator. And the winter of 2014-15 certainly didn’t change his mind.
“The weather had a big impact,” said Becker, who also added that his grandparents will be near the Gainesville campus and added that he plans to study accounting after taking it the last years at Wissahickon.
Becker, the son of Colin and Lisa, comes from an academic-minded family. His older sister, Lauren, attends Stanford. Lisa is the principal at Pennsbury High School, who he says is a “normal person who sometimes acts like a principal.”
It only stood to figure that he would not be swayed from his gut instinct on his college choice, even if it meant not playing baseball at that level.
“There were some coaches from smaller schools who were interested, but I didn’t want to sacrifice school for baseball,” he said, adding he wanted to thank his parents, grandparents and coaches for their support.
That said, Becker – who found time to coach basketball in the Whitpain Recreation Association and umpire little league while taking part in his school’s FANS Club – knows the meaning of sacrificing for the game remains in his blood.
“I just worked hard all four years, sacrificing time with friends and everything,” he said, adding it was “all worth it.”
