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 (Week of Dec. 14, 2011)
Hope Giordano can’t help but stand out in a crowd. When she was a freshman, the now Council Rock senior was the only girl competing with more than two dozen boys for a spot on the boys’ golf team. A cheerleader to that point, Giordano not only made the team but went on to become one of the team’s top golfers. She was named to the first team all-league girls’ golf team in each of the past two years. She finished fifth in the first round of the District Regional Qualifier this season and missed Regionals by one stroke. She came in fourth in the Suburban One Girls’ Championship and advanced to districts where she finished 10th. As a senior, Giordano was honored as Council Rock South’s team MVP. “One of the things I did at the end-of-year banquet, I emphasized that what made Hope move to the next level was the (work) she put in the summer between her junior and senior year,” coach Dennis Matika said. “She got out there, she competed, she caddied, she was around the game. She made that commitment. She set that example.”
During the summer before her senior year, Giordano spent long hours practicing and also playing in Philadelphia Junior Tournaments, elevating her game to the next level. Following several rough outings this summer, Giordano won three straight tournaments. “After working really hard, it paid off and I really felt awesome about winning those three tournaments because I know you can’t give up, you’ve just got to keep going,” she said.
Giordano’s commitment paid off in another way as well. Next fall she will head to Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga., where she will play on the women’s golf team and learn her trade with the aspiration of becoming a high school mathematics teacher.
To read Giordano’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/hope-giordano.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Dec. 14, 2011)
Ryan Coleman has a nose for the football, and the Quakertown senior’s tenacity in pursuing his opponents resulted in a team-high 105 tackles over the course of the season for an average of 8.8 a game. In recognition of his outstanding season, Coleman was named the Panthers’ defensive MVP and also earned second team all-SOL honors at linebacker. Those numbers and accolades are impressive on their own, but they become downright remarkable when you throw into the equation that the 5-11 senior weighs just 165 pounds. “Honestly, if you look back at his sophomore year or so and you look at his size, you thought maybe he would end up being a defensive back or maybe a wide receiver type kid moving forward,” coach George Banas said. “But we were always flooded in those positions, so we never made the move.”
Coleman emerged as one of the top linebackers in a conference that boasts district champion and PIAA Class AAAA runner-up North Penn. “After every game or before every game when I talked to opposing coaches, they were like, ‘Wow, that Coleman kid – he really flies around, he really brings it,” Banas said. “To be acknowledged that way in our league – the coaches were really impressed obviously to give him a second team honor. He just came up with big plays for us.”
A member of the National Honor Society, Coleman also excels in the classroom where he is enrolled in honors and AP classes. He hopes to pursue a career as an architect and has his sights set on attending Penn State. Although football is not part of Coleman’s future, Banas believes it could be. “He would be a real easy fit for a lot of D-3 schools that have the (high) academic requirements,” the Panthers’ coach said. “He’s one of the easiest kids to coach. His attitude is always positive, and he always has a big smile on his face. He’s just a really good kid.”
To view Coleman’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ryan-coleman
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