Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com is once again recognizing 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 Feb. 5, 2025)
When then-sophomore Aliyah Adewale peered into the gym at Harry S. Truman High School two years ago, she spotted her friend, Malaya Toby, practicing volleyball alone. She was intrigued.What it led to was a fateful chain of events for Adewale, now a senior and a stellar two-sport athlete in both volleyball and track who also excels in the classroom (3.6 GPA) “My friend was on the team,” she recalled. “After the season was over, I saw her practicing in the gym by herself. I tried it out with her, and she said I was surprisingly good at it for having never even touched a volleyball before, and that my height put me in a good spot.”
After she was formally introduced to coach Shane Slovinski, Adewale began working out with the volleyball team that winter and played all the way through to the recently completed fall season alongside best friend
and teammate Jayda Lopez. Along the way, Adewale’s vivacious personality led her to serving as a senior captain this past season. “As a captain, Aliyah was a team leader that led by example,” said Slovinski. “She always had a presence on and off the court, always being there to pick up teammates and encourage them. She is very dedicated both in sports and in the classroom, taking the initiative to take advanced classes. She is resilient and always works hard during matches and during practices. Her personality is one that teammates truly rally around, and she has earned the respect of everybody in the Truman volleyball program.”
Looking for a way to stay in shape for volleyball, Adewale decided to give track and field a try. Little did she know that it would become her primary sport as a thrower – primarily discus and shotput (with a little bit of javelin as needed). “I started throwing my sophomore year of high school because I had just started playing volleyball in my sophomore year,” said Adewale. “I didn’t want to wait a whole year until it restarted. I went to the first practice, and it just took off from there. I grew to have a love for it, and I became determined to do my best.” Throwing coach Jon Candy found an initially timid but willing pupil in Adewale, who has emerged as a leader and mentor to younger teammates. “Once she understood what to expect, it picked up,” he said. “She definitely helps out. Every year, we have the younger group come in. She has definitely become a leader in terms of showing them the right way or whatever needs to be done. When it comes to getting the team prepared, or with individuals, she is definitely up to the challenge. “Her character is unique. Even though this is her third year, you would think she has been doing it for longer.”
It is sometimes said that getting there is half the fun, but getting to the point where she is a district qualifier has been a source of frustration for Adewale. By the time the league meet rolled around at Neshaminy last spring, Adewale could not quite get to where she needed to be to make the district cut. Adewale conceded that the pressure she was putting on herself was the biggest impediment. “The idea of getting to districts kind of clouded my head, rather than just doing my best,” she explained. It just became a very unhealthy obsession that clouded my mind.” Looking forward, Adewale has a plan in place. “It’s still a goal, but I have channeled it in a different way,” she said. “I have gone back to the drawing board. I’ve gone back to the gym, picking up heavier weights and picking up little habits, like just eating better, and devoting more time in the gym before stepping into the circle. For my senior year, I’m focusing more on what I can do outside of the circle so that I’ll be better once I’m in it.”
At present, Adewale is leaning toward Howard University in Washington, D.C. or Arcadia University in Glenside. At either of those schools, she would be working toward becoming a physical therapist, and she would likely put aside her athletic career. Not so fast, says Candy, who thinks a strong senior season can propel her onto the collegiate level as a thrower. “I don’t have a doubt in mind,” he said. “She definitely can. I saw it last year. I have a friend who came up and spoke to her, and her whole demeanor changed. She started asking me more questions. She started researching, and she started asking me about this and that. She became a believer once somebody from the college level came and spoke to her. That gave her a little bit of fuel. Whether she goes for track or just academically, she can definitely do both.”
To read Adewale’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/aliyah-adewale-00117002
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 5, 2025)
When Derek Brooks took over as head coach of the Upper Dublin boys basketball program three years ago, one of the first players he got to know was then-sophomore Idris Rines. Most of all, he got to know Rines’ texting habits. “He’s absolutely a hoops junkie,” Brooks said with a laugh. “I remember getting texts from him at 11:35 at night on a Friday about something he saw in a Kings-Wizards game. He’s watching a game with two totally random teams, noticing high-level stuff and sets and plays, and he’s texting me about it and, ‘Can we do something like this?’”
Rines makes no apologies for his late-night texts. Or for his love of the game. Or for his desire to see something and try to emulate it to try to improve his game and aid the success of the team. “I love basketball,” he said. “I’ll watch it any day, any time. I have NBA League Pass, so yeah, I’ll be watching a Kings-Nuggets game or something, just watching and looking at different guys and seeing what they do, and if I see something I think we might be able to use, I’ll make suggestions for Coach Brooks.”
That basketball IQ, combined with his skills and work ethic, have made Rines a standout performer on a squad that has an opportunity to cement its legacy as the greatest team in Upper Dublin boys’ basketball history. Last season’s Cardinal squad – on which Rines was a captain as a junior – finished 24-5 overall, earning the Liberty Division Championship and SOL Championship, finishing as runner-up in District One 5A, and qualifying for the PIAA State Championship tournament. The 2024-25 iteration of the Flying Cardinals clinched the Liberty Division title with a perfect 10-0 league slate and defended its SOL Tournament Championship. The Cards enter district play with a 24-1 record.
Rines has played no small part in the team’s success, both on the scoreboard and in the locker room. “Dris is a vocal leader,” Brooks said. “If I had to describe our team and our leadership, Ryan (Mulroy) is the heart, Dris is the voice. He’s the talker, the one that is a great communicator, he’s respected and well-liked by all his teammates. He’s so good at understanding the moment and bringing the group together. He’s not afraid to hold guys accountable, and he’s able to do it in a respectful, positive way. He’s able to see what needs to be done on the floor as well. We all trust him. He’s been locked in all year. He’s one of the guys who, if practice isn’t going as well as it needs to, he speaks up, rallies everyone. One of the reasons we haven’t dropped a game since our first game is because of how focused we are in practices day in and
day out, and he’s a big key to that.”
Upper Dublin’s second-leading scorer, Rines would likely be the first option on a majority of teams in the area. “Idris has always been accepting of his role,” Brooks said. “He’s a tremendous shooter, but he’s also got a great passing game. We use him as a Swiss Army Knife, inside-outside, as a passer. He gives us a lot of different ways we can use him.”
Wherever the postseason may take the Flying Cardinals, wherever this group ends up in the pantheon of elite Upper Dublin teams, there is no debate about where Rines stands as a leader and what he’s meant to the Cards during his time in red-and-grey. “It’s been so nice to see a young man who has grown and become such a bright spot in the school,” Brooks said. “I’m so proud of how he’s developed as a young man. And I know that’s going to continue and carry him to greater heights moving forward. It’s been cool to see how he’s evolved over time into a guy who’s going to be a multi-time all-league player. He’s probably one of the top 25 players in school history, and he’s been a key player on two of the best teams in school history these past two years. He sometimes gets overshadowed or overlooked, but it’s amazing what he’s done. Dris deserves his due for what he’s done for this team.”
In a few short months, Rines will be walking in the Upper Dublin graduation procession. He’s still considering his college options and looking for a school that can provide him with everything he wants from the place where he’ll spend the next four years. Rines’ experience in Upper Dublin’s Unified Gym and Unified Art clubs has him looking toward a career in special education. “I’m trying to figure out where I’m most comfortable,” he said. “Relationships are the most important thing for me. My relationship with the coach, the team, seeing where my playing style fits. And seeing if it’s a place I can call home.”
To read Rines’ complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/idris-rines-00117001
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