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 Oct. 13, 2016)
Isabelle Michaud won’t fall under the category of star on the hockey field, but talk to Kaitlyn Rauchut, and it’s clear – the William Tennent senior is an invaluable member of the squad. For starters, there’s the positive leadership the two-year captain brings to an inexperienced squad that returned just three starters this season. “This is my ninth season at William Tennent, and she is by far the best captain I’ve ever had,” Rauchut said. “She is not only organized, punctual and dependable, but she’s also enthusiastic and positive in all aspects.” Tennent not only lost the nucleus of last year’s squad to graduation but also moved from the SOL National to the SOL Continental and is still in search of its first conference win. “We’re in a new place and we’re trying to define who we are,” Rauchut said. “It’s not about me as a coach, it’s about our captains. Belle as a captain defines us.”
In Michaud, Rauchut saw leadership qualities that she knew would serve her team well in the good times and bad, so when she lost one of last year’s captains during the preseason, Rauchut didn’t hesitate to name Michaud to fill the spot. “She keeps us going,” the Panthers’ coach said. “At the end of the day, we’ve had many losses, but the reason we keep going is because of people like her. She strengthens the girls. She’s been able to cultivate a culture.” As for the culture Rauchut talks about, Michaud – a two-year varsity starter on the forward line - gets it. “The William Tennent culture is that grit to remain positive and just encourage each other even when we might be down in those situations,” the senior captain said.
A distinguished honors student, Michaud boasts a weighted GPA of 3.84 and is a member of the National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Math Honor Society and Social Studies Honor Society. She is involved in Tennent’s Key Club, Student Government and Athletic Council and has tutored students at Davis Elementary School. She reserves a special spot for Tennent’s Athletes Helping Athletes club, a club that connects special needs athletes with mainstream athletes. Michaud – who hopes to continue her hockey career at the club level – is interested in pursuing a degree in education, specifically special education. “My brother has special needs, and he’s been a really big part of my life and an inspiration,” she said. The Tennent senior is active in her church’s youth group and has taken mission trips to Kentucky, Detroit (Mich.) and this past summer – South Dakota.
To read Michaud’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/isabelle-michaud-0065463
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Oct. 13, 2016)
It is doubtful Stephen Sheehan has heard of Garrett Morris, an original cast member of Saturday Night Live in the 1970s, or the alter ego he was best known for creating – Chico Escuela. Morris’ fictional Escuela was a former baseball player awkwardly cast in the role of sportscaster whose constant fallback was “baseball been very, very good to me.” The CB East senior can surely relate. Replace baseball with soccer and remove the accent, and we’re good to go. Sheehan started playing soccer shortly after he learned to walk and has made it a year-round labor of love ever since. “As I kept going with it, I started to love it more. It’s always been soccer,” said Sheehan, who says his dabbling with baseball, the American pastime, wrapped up around second grade. Even Sheehan’s endeavors outside of soccer and school – where he sports a 4.1 GPA with a course load of AP and honors classes – are related to soccer. Part-time job? He referees soccer games. Community involvement? He coaches little kids playing soccer for the first time. And when the high school season ends, he finds himself in the mix with club soccer, which hits its peak in the spring.
Sheehan is a four-year starter for the Patriots. Former coach Mike Gorni inserted him into the lineup as a freshman and, more or less, told him to run around and create havoc. “I have to thank Gorni for opening the door,” said Sheehan. “He believed in me as a freshman. Right now, I don’t know where I would be with a different coach at a different time.” Sheehan settled in as a center back as a sophomore when the Patriots won the league and district titles and reached the state quarterfinals. Then came last season. The one he will not soon forget. The Patriots won it all, going undefeated. “It felt like a dream season, and it really was,” Sheehan said of last year’s state championship season. “We went 26-0, no losses, no ties. Everything fell into place. It was the perfect season.”
This year, under a new coach he has come to truly appreciate, it has been a bit different. “There were superstars on that team,” Sheehan said of last year’s squad that included All-American Evan Vare. “I’m only one of two returning starters.” That has meant more of a leadership role, it has meant struggling for victories. For first-year coach Jeremiah White, a leader and player like Sheehan has been a blessing he can rely upon. “He has been a rock solid member of the East team for four years and has been our insurance policy in the back line,” White said. “He is fast, physical and most importantly, he has the respect of his teammates.”
As for his future, Sheehan hopes to continue his soccer career at the collegiate level while majoring in Actuarial Sciences.
To read Sheehan’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/stephen-sheehan-0065462
- Log in to post comments
