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 for week of Feb. 9, 2022.
Alice Hall’s name occupies a permanent spot in the record books at Hatboro-Horsham. The senior captain ensured that when she became just the seventh player in program history to surpass the elusive 1,000-point milestone, the first since Jessica Romano accomplished that feat in 2005. (Hall was born in 2004.) While there’s no denying the magnitude of that accomplishment, basketball has been just a piece – albeit an important piece – of Hall’s packed life during her four years at Hatboro-Horsham. The vice president of her senior class, Hall was second in her class before class rankings were dropped (although it’s safe to say she’s still at the top of her class). She is the copy editor-in-chief of the school’s award-winning yearbook. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and LINK Crew. Hall is a leader of the school’s Black Student Union, and she is one of four generals for the school’s upcoming Spirit Week, a school-wide week of competition that includes 50 events – everything from an academic bowl to badminton to Mario Kart.
This past November, she began a paid internship with Dow Chemical. “It’s pretty cool,” Hall said. “I want to go into chemical engineering, so it’s important I see chemistry actually as a job.” Hall is involved in a myriad of volunteer activities, including intramural basketball coaching, peer tutoring through NHS and green days at the local nature center. Hall also is a four-year varsity player on the soccer team, this year earning the starting spot at center defensive back. “Alice was injured all of her sophomore year but still attended every practice and game to support and cheer on her teammates,” HH coach Kelsey Daley said. “Her senior year is where she really stepped up for the soccer program. Every day she showed up and gave 100 percent. She unfortunately got injured halfway through the season and missed the rest of the regular season but was able to come back for our historic playoff run. She led the team in leadership, dedication and heart. She was always the first one to cheer you up and be there for you and was our team’s hype woman. Alice is truly an amazing student-athlete, and I am honored to have coached her in soccer and know her as a person. She has a very bright future ahead of her and I can’t wait to see what she does.”
It might have been understandable if Hall had walked away from soccer – her secondary sport - or decided that competing in any sport just simply required too much time. That was never a consideration. “I have so many friends on the teams,” Hall said. “Sports also taught me a lot of mental toughness and time management. I find it harder to get schoolwork done when I have free time, so I really appreciate that. I think it’s almost made me a stronger person. I think it makes everyone who plays just stronger people because you learn to handle whatever’s thrown at you.” Underscoring Hall’s enjoyment of sports is the fact that she will continue her basketball career next year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). I honestly wasn’t sure I wanted to play basketball, but once I started looking at D-3’s that were high in academics like MIT, Johns Hopkins and Chicago, I started thinking it might be the right balance because I do want to keep basketball in my life,” Hall said. “I love it, and I thought MIT would be the perfect balance. I could focus on academics, but I still get basketball in my everyday life.”
This winter, Hall helped lead a Hatters’ squad that earned a spot in the District One 6A Tournament. “I’ve coached Alice and Emily (Thomas) in seventh and eighth grade, so I really rely on them,” HH coach Eric Glemser said. “We try and get Alice the ball. We have numerous plays for her. I talk to her about what we want to do and run it through her. Everything has to go through her. There are times we get a little crazy and try to force it to her. She’s very unself, too unselfish at times. She’s a smart kid. She sees a lot on the court, and she’s a good leader. Her teammates like her – they all like each other. She’s a great kid.” Jesse Krasna, Hall’s trainer, echoed a similar sentiment. “She is focused and driven. Incredibly coachable and eager to learn,” he said. “The best part about Alice is she is a selfless teammate, leader and she is nowhere near the player she can be after four years of college. Her best basketball is still ahead.”
To read Hall’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/alice-hall-0099014
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Feb. 9, 2022.
Spend a half hour talking with Aaron Sanders, and it’s impossible to decipher what he loves more: basketball or Bensalem. Luckily for Owls fans, shooting hoops and the affinity Sanders holds for the community he calls home are so mutually exclusive that they might as well be permanently welded to one another. And whether Sanders is talking about his affinity for Bensalem or dicing up defenders on the court for Bensalem High School, this much is clear: once he gets going, it’s hard to stop him. Before getting to basketball, Sanders has a thing or two to tell you about his beloved hometown. “A lot of kids from Bensalem aren’t proud of it, and I don’t like that,” said Sanders, taking a quick break from getting shots in at the gym on an afternoon between two game days. “I want to be the role model who changes that (perception) for kids. A lot of kids in seventh and eighth grades want to go to Wood or Ryan. Why? Bensalem has a great basketball program, great teachers, great staff - it’s a great community altogether, and I’m proud of where I’m from. I’ve been through the ups and downs here, and I’m proud to say I’ll be an Owl forever when I graduate. This place means a lot to me. I play for the name on the front of my jersey. Bensalem doesn’t get a lot of respect, but we’re going to put some respect on that name because we aren’t playing around anymore. Whoever reads this article and has a chance to go to Bensalem High School: go there, because you will have the best experience of your life.”
Of course, Sanders is slightly biased. He has completely given himself to Bensalem, both on the court and off it, and the results have been profound for both Sanders and the Owls. In a game against crosstown rival Holy Ghost Prep, Sanders reached 1,000 points for his career. A week later, a 50-48 win over Council Rock South delivered Bensalem its second league title in three seasons. Just how rare an accomplishment is scoring 1,000 points and winning two league crowns at Bensalem? Let’s turn to Ron Morris, who is Sanders’ head coach. “Aaron is one of just five players in school history to score 1,000 points and been on two league title teams,” Morris said. Given how long Bensalem has been a high school, that averages out to one player every 20 years or so, putting Sanders in rarified air for sure.
Morris installed Sanders as the Owls’ starting point guard his sophomore year, and Sanders flourished, helping Bensalem advance to the district semifinals. And while Sanders was not the team’s top dog just yet, the experience was invaluable because it proved what everybody expected all along: this kid belonged on the big stage. “My mom always tells me that I have an old soul,” Sanders said. “So, I think the maturity factor was a big reason why I was able to step in and have success right away. We had a lot of senior stars on that team, and I could just worry about being the point guard instead of the leading scorer, as young as I was. Plus, I had some varsity experience, so I was already confident. If you aren’t confident on the court, you shouldn’t be there. Coach Morris trusted me to be a leader on that team. He put in the work with me and got me ready for it, and the rest is history.”
Morris has high praise for his senior point guard. “We always knew he could score, but what sets Aaron apart now is his high basketball IQ,” the Owls’ coach said. “He has the mindset to know when it’s time to facilitate and when it’s time to get to the rim and get a bucket. He understands that, and that’s the IQ of knowing how to play the game the right way. He doesn’t let individual stats get in his way. Aaron never is a guy who has to score just because he wants to. He knows that if you play defense and rebound, things will happen that are best for our team. It goes a long way.” What happens there remains to be seen. Morris said several Division III schools are after Sanders, and specifically believes that the PSAC would be a perfect athletic conference for Sanders’ skill set. Some Division II schools have been in touch as well, and while Sanders wants to play Division I, he isn’t getting caught up in the details, either. “He will be an awesome fit wherever he lands,” Morris added. “He is definitely one of the hardest workers I have ever coached. Determined is a good adjective for Aaron.”
To read Sanders’ complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/aaron-sanders-0098987
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