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 Jan. 25, 2018)
Lauren Fortescue is a competitor. Plain and simple. It’s a trait that serves the Plymouth Whitemarsh senior well and one she exhibited even as a youngster shooting hoops with older sister Pattie in the family’s driveway. “We would push each other so much to the point where we would almost fight with each other and one of us would storm inside, something silly like that,” Fortescue said with a laugh. It’s that fierce competitive drive combined with athletic talent that made Fortescue such a welcome addition when she transferred from Norristown to PW last year as a junior. The two sport standout stepped into the starting lineup of both the soccer and basketball squads and made an immediate impact.
Ryan Zehren didn’t know a whole lot about Fortescue when she appeared on the scene, but he immediately liked what he saw. “She always plays with a chip on her shoulder, and that’s the style of play that I like,” the PW soccer coach said. “She never backs down from anybody. She accepts any challenge that comes her way. She’s such a great girl. She has a smile on her face all the time off the field. On the field – once she crossed that line, she will rip your head off. It could be her best friend she was going up against – you’re not friends when you’re out on the court. It’s all business, it’s all serious. That’s what makes her such a unique and special player.”
Fortescue has been a perfect fit since stepping into the starting lineup of the basketball team that was the District One 6A runner-up. “She’s been a difference maker to our program,” PW coach Dan Dougherty said. “The year before we were 16-7, made it to the first round of districts and we lost. Last year she put us over the top, allowing us to go from a middle of the pack team to one of the elite teams in District One.” Fortescue has been the perfect complement to all-state senior Taylor O’Brien, but she’s much more than that. “The thing I probably enjoy the most about Fort is how willing she is to be coached,” Dougherty said. “She’s not a kid that pouts or sulks when you try and coach her up and teach her what to do. She’s very accepting and very appreciative of the coaching. Coming from Norristown to PW, she’s very appreciative of everything that people do for her here and very appreciative of the opportunity she has here.” Fortescue is planning to continue her basketball career at the collegiate level with Salisbury the frontrunner to land her talents. She is planning to major in respiratory therapy.
To read Fortescue’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/lauren-fortescue-0075607
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 25, 2018)
Ryan Coyle’s love for Upper Moreland athletics runs so deep that as an eighth grader he even donned a skirt and gave girls’ lacrosse a try. Yes, you read that correctly. Allow Coyle to explain. “A friend of mine and I were thinking, ‘What if we tried girls lacrosse? Why not?’” Coyle recalled. “There wasn’t a boys team, and it gave us something to do to stay in shape. I had fallen out of love with baseball by that point, and I still wanted to get out there and run around.” And how did the experiment turn out? “At first, we’d get to the games and they would laugh at us,” Coyle said with a chuckle. “I don’t think they wanted to play against boys, but we thought it was something funny we’d remember forever. It was something we just did for fun, but I think we ended up having a pretty good season.”
Coyle hung up his lacrosse stick after that season, but luckily for the Golden Bears, he’s continued to lace up his basketball sneakers. Coyle has been a four-year varsity starter at the school. “He didn’t have too much of an offensive game at first, just no confidence at all in his jump shot,” UM coach Sean Feeley said. “He could handle the ball and make good decisions, but he was a bit one-dimensional, but he’s a smart, smart kid, and he started watching more film and studying opponents to the point where, as a sophomore and junior, his jump shot progressed. Now he can shoot the three, he loves to drive and get to the line. He’s a threat from anywhere, and his defense has improved greatly as well.” Coyle prides himself on the work he puts in during the offseason that’s helped his game evolve to the point it’s at presently.”
This past summer when the team was without a head coach and its gym was under construction, Coyle took it upon himself to organize workouts with teammates at the outdoor courts in the park across the street from his house. In addition to being a basketball standout at Upper Moreland, Coyle does more for the athletic community than just play sports. He joined the school’s media club as a freshman and has been a part of student-run broadcasts of UM sporting events. As a result, he’s decided to pursue a career in sports journalism. He’s likely to play basketball somewhere at the Division III level in college.
To read Coyle’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ryan-coyle-0075571
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