Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Oct. 10, 2023)
It’s a story Ashley Paturzo loves to tell. The unlikely story of how the Souderton senior – in the final stages of recuperating from a torn ACL she suffered the summer prior to her junior year - had all but turned the page on playing collegiate field hockey. At least at the Division 1 level. “An ACL injury or any injury is just completely mentally draining,” Paturzo said. “It’s a mental battle way more than it is a physical battle. During my recovery process, I started to question - do I even want to play field hockey in college anymore? Do I go to a really good college and just focus on my academics? There were a lot of thoughts going on in my mind.”
But then her father had an idea. “It’s actually funny,” said Paturzo. “My dad had taken me down south last April to look at bunch of the big universities, just for college tours without even considering field hockey. A couple days before – I give total credit to my dad for this – he said, ‘Let’s email coaches, give them your film, your stats, your academics. Why not take a long shot?’ Coach Sue (Casciato) helped write up this really great email recommendation, and I gave her a list of schools that I’d consider, and she sent it out to them. We just said, ‘Okay, we’ll see happens.’” What happened was nothing short of remarkable. Paturzo received an email from the Brown University coach – who she had communicated with prior to her injury - expressing interest. She attended a clinic at the school, fell in love with it and seized the opportunity when offered a spot on the team. “I just can’t say enough about the coaches,” Paturzo said. “I love the coaching staff, I love their style of play and the program they’re building. Talking with the girls on the official visit, you could just tell that they love to be there and that the team really had a bond that was something special. It’s everything I could want in a school – Division 1 athletics, I get to continue playing field hockey – something I’ve done forever, and I get to be at the highest level of academics possible.”
It's pretty much a dream scenario for Paturzo, whose excellence in the classroom is underscored by the fact that she got a 1550 on her SATs. “At that point, I hadn’t been talking to anyone else or thinking of playing,” she said. “It just worked out. I love telling people the story because things always find a way to work out. You’re going to end up where it’s best for you. If you asked me when I tore my ACL if I would be committed to play at Brown, I would have laughed at you because it was an exhausting journey, and I’m so grateful it ended up working out.”
After sitting out her entire junior season, Paturzo – a varsity starter since her freshman year and first team all-league player as a sophomore - is a captain and leader of this year’s young squad. “She’s definitely respected,” Souderton coach Sue Casciato said. “The younger players text her and ask her questions. They know she knows the game, they know she works super hard at practice, they know she’s had success.” And for Paturzo, simply being back on the field is a win. “Just even practice – I love going to practice because I love to play the sport,” she said. “It’s such a great group of girls. Everyone just wants to see everyone else succeed, so this year has been a super fun year for me.”
Although Paturzo is passionate about hockey, it’s just one small piece of her very busy life. The Souderton senior – who boasts a 5.2 GPA and is in the top 5 percent of her class - is an elite student with a course load of honors and AP classes. She is a member of Souderton’s athletic leadership council, she is involved in student government and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is president of a club called FIMRC, which is Foundations for International Medical Relief of Children. At Brown, Paturzo plans to major in biology and is going the pre-med route with her sights set on becoming a surgeon, possibly in orthopedics – an interest she had even before her injury. She will also be competing in a sport she loves. “Obviously, her basic hockey skills are good, but it’s just her desire,” Casciato said. “Some people are just natural athletes. I don’t know if she’s a completely natural athlete or if she’s worked so hard to make herself a really good hockey player. I have no doubt that Ash will be successful at Brown. She has an amazing work ethic and sets high standards for herself. It’s been a real pleasure coaching her the last five years and watching her grow into an outstanding player and team leader.”
To read the remainder Paterzo’s story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/ashley-paturzo-00109345
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 10, 2023)
There are those who play football and there are football players. Anyone who has shared the same orbit as Central Bucks South running back/linebacker Anthony Leonardi knows which category he falls into. He is all football, all the time. And that’s in spite of measuring in at 5-10 ½ and 180 pounds. “He’s football only,” said Tom Hetrick, the 10-year coach of the still-unbeaten Titans. “He works hard. That body doesn’t just happen because he wants it to happen. He works most of the year at it. Could he do other sports? He probably could, but he has been committed to just football for the last couple of years.”
The “body” to which the coach is referring was chiseled by Leonardi over the last few years in the weight room, as he transitioned to football from basketball. Spurred on by his uncle, Dom Leonardi, and former teammate, Kevin Carrigan (now the punter at Bloomsburg), there were enviable results (270 bench press, 475 squat and 265 power cleaned while at 170 pounds body weight). And it all translated to the gridiron. “He was sprinkled with something different at birth,” Hetrick said. “He is definitely a physical specimen. He is one of the strongest kids on the team. I’d say pound for pound he is probably the strongest. He is definitely a freaky kind of athlete.”
Leonardi’s love of the sport goes well beyond breaking and making tackles. There is, for example, the bond with his teammates and coaches. “There is no feeling like being out on that field and going out to war with your team every Friday,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, that feeling you get before a game. I love it. I love the atmosphere. I love the trials and tribulations. I love all of it. It’s just great.”
Looking back, it’s hard to believe Leonardi was once on the fence about the sport he now loves. “My first year playing, I thought it was going to be a one- or two-year thing,” he said. “I was more of a basketball guy, but I just fell in love with the game of football.” It was really the influence of his Uncle Dom, whose own football career was derailed by an injury, that kept him on course. “My dad, he’s into sports but he never played sports,” said Leonardi. “My uncle is the one who introduced me to sports. He’s like a brother to me. He’s like my best friend. We do everything together. We can talk about anything together.” Hetrick had been coaching long enough to know that Leonardi could become the game-breaker he now is, but it was work in progress at first. “When he came to us as a freshman, he had some athleticism, but he was still pretty raw,” said the coach. “He was just a twitchy kind of an athlete. There is a learning curve for everyone, coming into the high school. You could tell he had a different kind twitch and burst from your regular high school player. You just kind of know it when you see it.”
However, halfway through last season, Leonardi was still playing as more of a wingback, getting his touches on screens and jet sweeps. That changed about midseason. “Unfortunately, somebody went down and got injured,” said Leonardi. “Once I came back over to running back, I was really excited to show what I could do. The offensive line was amazing with their blocking, so I was able to make some plays. I guess coach realized where my spot is, which is in the backfield.” Leonardi’s success ever since certainly had Hetrick second guessing himself. “The first time he touched the ball, he took it like 60 yards to the house,” said the coach. “We started thinking to ourselves that we should have been doing this a little bit earlier. If you’re not sound, defensively, he can exploit it. He can take it.”
There is no doubt that Leonardi will play football at the next level. It’s just a question of where. At present, the PSAC schools at the Division II level seem the most intrigued with his speed-strength package. “Obviously, the goal is to play at the highest level possible,” Leonardi said. “Honestly, just as long as I’m playing football somewhere, that’s all I really care about.” Whatever he ends up doing, Hetrick has zero doubt that there will be success, on and off the field. “I couldn’t love him any more,” said the coach. “He has grown up a lot in the last couple of years. I’m proud of his growth and his resilience. He is a leader, and that’s because everybody just respects how he plays the game. He’s not the rah-rah guy. He’s not the guy who is going to rally people with his words. They rally around him because he wants to be good at this. He is that kind of a guy. He represents how we want the kids to play the game, and they rally around him because of that.”
To read the remainder Leonardi’s story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/anthony-leonardi-00109338
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