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 3)
Katie Slear tries – and usually succeeds - to find the positive in every situation. It's impossible to miss the smile in the Upper Moreland senior's voice when she describes her style as a captain of the girls’ soccer team. “I do not like to be critical – we have another captain who is the stricter one,” she said. “My biggest thing is motivating. A positive mindset is everything even when you’re playing a game. Obviously, sometimes things get physical, sometimes people start talking on the field. If you get caught up in things like that, your play will sink down. You’re not going to play well because you’re thinking about other things, so I think the biggest, most important thing is making sure people keep a good mindset. I don’t like to be critical, which might be considered a shortcoming, but your mindset completely dictates how you play.”
That might sound a bit idealistic but listening to coach Lisa Benvenuto tell it – Slear somehow manages to keep every situation in perspective. “She has the most positive outlook on everything,” the Golden Bears’ soccer coach said. “She understands when things don’t go the way they’re supposed to, and she can put a spin on that, and she can work through it and stay positive. She’s been able to do that and bring that out in our team. If you come out to our field, she might be the only girl you hear She’s definitely vocal, but she’s constructive. She understands how to get the best out of people.” If it sounds like the type of leader every team needs, Benvenuto would agree. “This year we are kind of rebuilding a bit,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “(Last week) we lost a tough one to Wissahickon, 3-2,” the UM coach said. “We had the lead, we were playing great. It’s the best game we’ve played. At the end of the game, the girls were upset – they didn’t win, and they’re right, but they’ve got to be proud of what they did. There’s Katie making eye contact, she’s smiling and she’s nodding her head. That soccer maturity, that maturity overall, the IQ – she’s such a well-balanced student-athlete.”
Student-athlete is the operative word for Slear, and it’s remarkable she actually finds time to play soccer with a schedule packed with activities. An outstanding student, Slear is president of the National Honor Society and has an ambitious schedule that includes four AP classes and, for good measure, a college English class. She is the overall chair for UM’s Mini-THON and – as a member of the drama club – regularly finds herself with lead roles in the school’s fall and spring dramas. She has a part-time job but is limited to weekends during soccer season, and she enjoys running. “Honestly, I love being busy,” she said. “That’s why I love running. I’m always in competition with myself, I’m always trying to get better. When I’m busy, I think it’s when I’m most productive. I just make sure when I have free time, I use it wisely.”
Soccer is just one small piece of Slear’s busy life. Participating in Upper Moreland’s spring and fall dramas also occupies a great deal of her time. “I’ve been doing plays since I was in sixth grade,” she said. “Part of the reason why I did that was because I started getting leads and stuff and because I like singing. I just kind of stuck with it. My schedule gets very busy, especially in the fall. I’ll go to school at 7:30 a.m. and right after school from 3-5:30 I have soccer practice. Then I have play practices from 5:30 to 9 three days a week. In the fall, it gets very stressful, but in the spring, there’s another production, so that’s my focus in the spring.” Slear’s first role was Belle in Beauty and the Beast, and she was hooked. Ask Slear her favorite role, and topping the list was playing Donna in the popular musical Mama Mia. The casting for the fall production was just completed, and Slear once again finds herself in a leading role, playing Mary in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. She’s already looking forward to UM’s spring production of A Chorus Line.
While Slear is getting the most out of her high school experience, she also is looking forward to the next chapter of her life. “I am so ready to move on to college because I feel like I did so much,” the UM senior said. “Now I’m ready to see what I can do in college.”
To read Slear’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/katie-slear-00102792
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week 3)
Some stuff, well, you just can’t make up. Example: The first word ever spoken by Springfield senior Dylan McKenzie was, fittingly, “ball.” And from as early as he can remember, sports have been front and center in his life. It was always a family affair. “Everyone -- my mom, my dad, my uncles, my grandparents – was involved,” he said, giving a special nod to his uncle Andrew. “My parents (Jill and Brent) had me at a young age, so we were around my (extended) family a lot, and everyone was there to help take care of me. They’d be out there having catches with me, throwing footballs and baseballs, or playing basketball. They all helped me. I was just a sports freak when I was younger.”
Although he was a heavy hitter with quick reflexes at the hot corner, McKenzie gave up baseball in high school to focus on football and basketball. While he misses the national pastime and might try a comeback this spring, he knows it was the right decision. The game plan for Springfield football coach Chris Shelly is fairly simple – get the ball in McKenzie’s hands. They line the 6-2, 190-pounder up all over the field – including a package where he plays quarterback – with the idea that the ball is in his hands as much as possible. For good measure, he returns kicks and punts and is also the punter for the 3-1 Spartans. Defensively, he plays corner or safety, depending on need. McKenzie’s only breathers come on kick coverage. He wouldn’t have it any other way. “I don’t get a lot of breaks,” he said. “I just take it as a role. Whatever my team needs me for, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just here to make a play. I’ll play running back. I’ll play receiver. I’ll play whatever position they need me to play. If they need me to play line, I’ll play line. Whatever they need me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. I just want to help my team win.”
Four games into the season, McKenzie had rushed for 563 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and scored 8 touchdowns on the ground. He had 4 catches for 34 yards and another score, and he had also scored on a 94-yard punt return. “This year, we are more of a run-first offense,” said Shelly. “We challenged him and said, ‘We’re going to put the ball in your hands.’ He has been tremendous so far.
As good of an athlete as he is, both of McKenzie’s coaches – Shelly and basketball coach Rob Fusaro – concur that his attitude and team-first mentality is what is most impressive. Translation: If a coach could go into a laboratory and create a dream player, McKenzie would be the prototype. “I love Dylan,” said Fusaro. “He’s super-talented but also very unselfish. He’s all about the team. He also has a superior athletic ability that he puts on top of all that. He’s very mature. He’s all about his teammates.” Those sentiments were echoed by Shelly. “He’s a good athlete, but an even better person,” he said. “I just think the world of him.” Shelly is true-blue Springfield, having played there under Bob Malehorn and later serving as an assistant under Dave Puchalski before assuming the reins in 2005. He rates McKenzie high among the school’s all-timers. “I have been around Springfield all my life, and I haven’t seen many better than him, athletically,” said Shelly. “He has been, like, a four-year starter for us. That is rare. Even as a freshman, he has never backed down from a challenge. You can tell a special kid when he comes along, and he’s a special kid. He can fit in any era. He’s that good.”
McKenzie wants, more than anything, to parlay his athletic skills into a college education. He is considering pursuing a major in the field of sports management or healthy sciences. He has the grades – a solid GPA in the 3.5 range – and has realized since middle school that the academics are a big part of being the complete package. The hope is that he will simply become hard to ignore. “He hasn’t been on people’s radar, and he should be on people’s radar,” said Shelly. “It’s starting to get out there, though. I hear about some of these kids from upstate – being all-this and all-that – and I kind of laugh. I’m telling you right now that Dylan is the real deal. He can hang with any of them. We’re happy to have him. I just want him to get what he deserves. He is a special kid, no doubt.”
To read McKenzie’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/dylan-mckenzie-00102791
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