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 April 13, 2016)
When Cheltenham’s Liza Becker plotted her college path, the senior class president and two-sport athlete narrowed her choices down to two schools – Duke and North Carolina. Choosing between the two bitter ACC rivals wasn’t easy, but the choice soon crystalized. Becker, who played soccer all her life and lacrosse since seventh grade, visited Duke – and nearby UNC – last spring. For a myriad of reasons, she was ready to become a Blue Devil and applied for early admittance. “Duke had a major in Global Health, and that was something that did not exist at other universities,” she said. “It has an international focus, and I could pair it with another major. To me that seemed interesting. And a huge pull for me was that it didn’t seem as cut-throat as some Ivy League schools. People still have lives. I’m also into Duke basketball, so there’s that too. It’s just a fitting environment.”
And that was that, or so she thought. Becker then received word she was under consideration for the prestigious Roberson Scholarship Leadership Program. What followed was a process that began with a Skype interview and ended with acceptance – if she chose to accept all that it entailed. Ironically, the exclusive program for approximately 36 students – out of 60,000 applicants – grants what equates to dual citizenship for Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, meaning she will spend the second semester of her sophomore year at Duke’s rival school. “At first, it did seem kind of daunting,” Becker said. “But to have that kind of amazing opportunity was too much to pass up. Plus, well, a full ride sounded pretty good to me. I’m super excited about it.”
Sports have been too much a part of her life to walk away. Despite what will be a demanding academic workload, she plans to compete at the club or intermural level. “Liza is an amazing athlete and an asset to our team,” Cheltenham lacrosse coach Didi Dean said of her senior captain. “She is honest, hardworking and coachable. She is impressive as a leader. She leads by example and verbally. Her verbal leadership exemplifies respect, motivating everyone to want to do their best.”
Becker says that she was raised to do community service within her Jewish faith. That includes work for the Jewish Relief Agency delivering food to families in need and also park cleanups and volunteering on Earth Day. As her high school experience comes to a close, Becker can feel good leaving with no stone unturned. “(Cheltenham) has given me challenges,” she said. “I think I was always intrinsically ambitious as well as motivated and hardworking. It has given me the tools and opportunities to try a wide variety of clubs and sports. I was able to channel all of that into constructive action.”
To read Becker’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/liza-becker-0069644
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of April 13, 2016)
Mention the name Dan Drop to his football or baseball coach, and both will offer remarkably similar descriptions of the North Penn senior. “He’s not the superstar, he’s not the big-time playmaker, but he will do any role, play any position, do whatever he has to do, and he’s 100 percent all-in,” North Penn baseball coach Kevin Manero said. Added football coach Dick Beck, “We call him the Swiss Army Knife – he could play every position. Kids like him are the heart of the team. You have your stars, you have your Division One player or the guy that’s getting all the headlines, but without the Danny Drops in the world, the headliners aren’t what they are.”
Drop just might be everything that is right about high school sports. His presence on the baseball team attests to that fact. After playing a key role in the football team’s magical run to a district title and the state semifinals and with football a part of his future at the next level, Drop could have walked away from baseball, and no one would have second guessed his decision. Especially considering that last year he played jayvee with only brief stints on the varsity bench. “A lot of kids in that position would have said, ‘You know what, I’m not going to play baseball anymore. I’m not a varsity starter. Football is where the limelight is, it’s where the Friday night lights are,’ but that wasn’t him,” Manero said. “He couldn’t wait to get back to baseball in whatever capacity we wanted to use him. That’s the way he’s always been.”
Drop, the team’s designated hitter this season, is the consummate team player. During a non-league game at Spring-Ford, Drop was due up with a runner on first and the Knights clinging to a 3-2 lead. “Here he was coming up in a big spot in a night game, I pinch hit for him, put this kid in to bunt,” Manero said. “The kid comes up and gets the bunt down. I look over, and the very first kid coming out to give him a high five and congratulate him was Dan Drop. That epitomizes what he is.”
On the gridiron, Drop was a leader on defense and also saw time at fullback and running back. “He’s not big in stature, so he was a student of the game,” Beck said of his 5-10, 180-pound linebacker. “He loves to play, he loves being on a team. He was a great teammate, a leader by example and a super hard worker. He always has a smile on his face, he handles criticism and he’s very mature.”
Drop will continue his football career at Juniata College and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing baseball. He will major in special education and mathematics with the goal of becoming a teacher.
To read Drop’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/dan-drop-0069649
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