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 Oct. 21, 2019
Maddie Karabell just might be the definition of a perfect teammate. Mention the district playoffs, and the Pennsbury senior cannot hide her enthusiasm. Ask what being part of the soccer team has meant, and she’s clear - it’s been undeniably significant. There’s nothing unusual about that. Until you consider the fact that Karabell has been sidelined the past two seasons with knee injuries. It was heartbreaking enough that she missed her entire junior season with a torn ACL and meniscus, but it was nothing short of devastating when – after a rigorous rehab and training – she re-tore her meniscus and is once again watching her team from the sidelines.
“In the offseason, we were playing in summer leagues, we’re having workouts, and she’s at everything,” co-coach Kaitlyn Battiste said. “She put herself through a lot of different fitness steps. She was pushing herself. All along she kept saying she was going to do as much as she could. She didn’t know what her role was going to be. She still wanted to be a part of the program.” Karabell had some concerns even after receiving the green light to start running and resume normal activities in April. “My doctor warned me that it could happen again, but I just really wanted to play through my senior year and just finish it out as a player, not a manager,” she said. “I worked a lot on getting my core strong, so I had a good base.”
By August, Karabell was ready for the rigors of her final soccer preseason. “We had done a couple of the practice running tests the week before, so I was feeling pretty confident about being able to stay with all the girls, keep up my strength,” she said. By the second week, Karabell was no longer feeling so optimistic. “I think I just wasn’t ready for every single day, two-a-days,” she said. “I started feeling this really shocking pain through the back of my leg. That kind of scared me a little bit, but I kept going until the second week of September. I went to the doctor, and he was like, ‘No way, you cannot go back on the field again.’ He kind of threatened me a little bit and said, ‘If you’re going to keep on going, you’re going to have to get a meniscus transplant from a cadaver.’ As much as I love the sport, I wanted to be able to walk and run and all the fun stuff in my college years.”
Karabell had surgery to repair her meniscus on Sept. 19. A manager last year, Karabell is happy to be watching from the bench this time around. “This time I want to sit back and watch from a player’s point of view, not just tallying up everybody’s assists and stuff like that,” she said. “My teammates include me in everything.” And Karabell will forever have the memory of seeing action in several varsity games this season before she was sidelined. “Even though I’m not on the field, it really is still great watching them do their thing,” Karabell said “It really does feel like you’re out there, and when they’re celebrating with you, it really feels like you’re part of the win.” Karabell’s team-first attitude is not lost on her coach. “She’s a sweetheart,” Battiste said. “She wants what’s best for the team. She loves the game, she loves being around the girls, she’s just a champion for her teammates.”
As for her future, Karabell has her sights set high. Vanderbilt is her top college choice, and she plans to major in environmental science. “I want to get my MD and then get my Ph.D in something,” Karabell said. “Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a doctor.”
To read Karbell’s complete profile, please click on the following links: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/maddie-karabell-0088014
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Oct. 21, 2019
Hank Resch – a lacrosse coach for 40 years - doesn’t have to think too long or look very far to identify one of the best players he’s ever had on one of his teams. That would be Paul Richardson, and luckily for Resch, he’s still got another full season of Richardson to look forward to at Springfield Township High School. “He’s really, really good,” Resch said of his star midfielder, who has 115 career goals. “Paul’s a big kid with really good speed. He plays with both hands, sees the whole field and is very unselfish. He’s our best defender, best ground ball guy, best shooter…tough kid, resilient, plays his best in close games. He’s such a complete player, and he also makes other kids better and gives them confidence. I can’t think of a single weakness in his game.”
Springfield has made the playoffs in all three of Richardson’s varsity seasons; not only that, the Spartans’ record has improved each year, with the team finishing atop the SOL American Conference a season ago - along with Wissahickon and Upper Dublin - with a 7-1 record. That, says Resch, is no coincidence. “He was voted the unanimous best midfielder in the conference and was named all-state based on that,” Resch said. “He’s brought the whole program along, no doubt about it.”
It’s not just Resch who sees the special, difference-making credibility that Richardson brings to a program. Richardson’s soccer coach at Springfield, where he also stars as a center back, gushed over the senior’s ability to prevent hopeful scorers from getting good looks at the net. “Paul is the total package,” Spartans' soccer coach Dan Meder said. “He’s got it all.” It says a lot about Richardson that he is pouring so much of himself into his secondary sport, especially after committing to play lacrosse at Amherst College back in August. “I am different from a lot of other people,” Richardson said. “My main goal for lacrosse has always been to use it to try to get into the best academic school possible. I feel like I was able to do that with Amherst.”
Richardson is a National Honor Society member and is taking multiple AP courses, with AP Biology his favorite. He’s also co-president of the student council, where he is intimately involved in planning school events. Richardson has been a part of student council since sophomore year and loves being able to have such an impact on what goes on in the Springfield community. “I wanted to give back to a school that has given me so much,” he said. “My sister is a freshman now, and I want to make it a better place for her than it was when I got here. On student council, I can achieve that goal.”
Richardson, in the top third of his class, has lofty professional goals as well. A lover of both biology and anatomy, he’s considering premedical studies at Amherst with the idea of ultimately going to medical school and becoming a doctor. “I’ve run out of nice things to say about him,” Resch said. “He’s a very down-to-earth kid, one with a great perspective. He wants to win championships, but he also understands that they are just sports and his studies are a more important priority. It’s tough to describe what makes him so special, but he is the real deal.” Meder concurred with Resch’s sentiments. “Paul’s the type of student and athlete I want leading my team every year,” Meder said. “He’s a quiet leader and a great role model. He’s a tough and physical athlete who can compete at a high level without ever losing control. Paul’s a thinker who has his act and life together and is very accepting of coaching and feedback. He’s just a very personable, terrific kid who has every tool to succeed at the next level. We’re going to miss all of that.”
To read Richardson’s complete profile, please click on the following links: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/paul-richardson-0088013
- Log in to post comments
