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 Nov. 4, 2020
If you want to judge Hatboro-Horsham senior Jessica Howard by what you see on the surface, you run the risk of not knowing the constant battle the Hatboro-Horsham volleyball standout wages within. It is a battle not as much against opponents in the Suburban One League, where the libero (back row defensive specialist) has helped lead the Hatters to three straight conference crowns, but against herself to be the best she can be. “I’m a very competitive person,” said Howard. “I’m very passionate about the sports I play. The drive to compete and play well kind of led me through it all. A lot of people kind of saw me, and maybe saw natural talent and didn’t understand the hard work I put into all the sports that I played.”
Howard may seem like the ideal student-athlete who has everything naturally in her lap, but that is far from the case. For example, she also starts for the basketball team and carries a 3.8 grade-point average with a course load that includes two AP classes last year and this year. Howard is also active in almost too many clubs within the school to count. While the scholastic highway is littered with athletic and academic underachievers, the fourth of Edward and Janet’s five student-athlete children did not want to be found in the middle lane getting passed by others. “It’s definitely hard, with a lot of clubs and sports. I’ve taken a lot of hard classes -- four AP classes the last two years -- and all honors classes,” she said. “My parents and coaches always tell me that I’m the hardest person on myself. I expect a lot out of myself as a person, as a player and as a leader in clubs. I definitely put myself under a lot of pressure.”
Other than her family – namely older sister, Jennifer, who is an assistant volleyball coach at H-H -- no one knows about Howard’s inner drive better than Hatter head coach Jon Young, who coached her going back to when she first picked up the sport at age 12. “I think something that separates Jess from a lot of players out there isn't all that obvious and requires a bit of vulnerability to come to terms with,” said Young. “People tend to see a player like Jess and think of confidence, competitiveness, talent, capability, and just overall competence. It's interesting as they tend to think these things came naturally or easy in some way.”
As intense as she has been about sports, particularly volleyball, Howard reached a difficult but mature decision about her future. She has decided to sacrifice sports at the next level to focus on her chosen career goal of nursing. “I became interested in nursing – specifically, pediatric nursing – because I have been going to a camp for the last five years and worked with kids who have cerebral palsy,” Howard said. “That’s a 90-hour week of service, and that’s when I first became interested in working with kids. Also, my uncle got sick recently with a rare brain disease. The efforts that everyone has put into taking care of him definitely deepened my desire to become a nurse.”
While she could have likely found a smaller school with both a volleyball and nursing program, her priorities were in order. “I thought about it for a while, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play a sport in college,” said Howard. “When I decided I didn’t want to, I looked, specifically, for the best nursing schools that have hospitals on campus.” At the top of that list is Boston College, but she hasn’t ruled out Virginia, Villanova, Clemson, South Carolina and North Carolina. “My decision to not play sports was definitely hard,” added Howard, who was recruited to playing for the basketball team after being spotted holding her own in gym class playing with the boys, a path she chose in lieu of badminton with the girls. “I grew up playing sports my entire life, but I think it was the right decision. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve prepared myself to let go of certain things from high school.”
To read Howard’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/jessica-howard-0092115
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Nov. 4, 2020
The moment should have been too big for Anthony Giordano, much too big. The then Central Bucks East freshman was pressed into emergency duty at quarterback in front of a full house of frenzied fans when starting quarterback Evan O’Donnell was forced to leave the Patriots’ game against archrival Central Bucks West with an injury. Adding to the drama, the outcome of the game was hanging in the balance. “The East/West game is always so nerveracking, especially as a freshman going in there,” Giordano said. “That’s my first time ever playing football for varsity, and I’m going into the game in front of basically the entire town. Everywhere is packed. It was definitely nerveracking, but once I got that first possession under my belt, once I get hit a couple of times – I feed off that, I get in my groove, I feel comfortable. I live for those moments when everyone is watching - I kind of feed off that.”
Giordano did much more than just occupy O’Donnell’s spot on the field. “He drove us down and got us in position to get a field goal to win the game,” coach John Donnelly said. “We didn’t convert (a 24-yard field goal), but as a freshman in the biggest game of the year, he drove us down. Against Pennridge the following week, he started because Evan was still out, and he set a record for completions. As a 14-year old freshman, he was already doing great things.” Giordano’s program record set as a freshman in that West contest of 23 completions and 40 attempts in a game still stands. “I don’t think there are many kids who could step into that situation, especially as a quarterback which is the most high profile position, and do what he did,” Donnelly said. “He is fearless and really just unflappable in that way.”
Since his debut as a freshman, Giordano – who stepped into the starting role last year with the graduation of O’Donnell – shattered numerous program records and earned first team all-SOL Continental Conference honors last year. The East senior was on his away to another stellar season when he suffered a season-ending injury in the Patriots’ second game against Central Bucks South. The Patriots struggled without their two-year captain. “He’s extremely coachable,” Donnelly said. “He’s very hard on himself – he’s probably his biggest critic, and there’s usually not much to criticize about Anthony. There’s never anything to criticize in terms of his work ethic or in terms of his leadership. I think those are the biggest qualities. He is just a natural born leader, and that was evident even his sophomore year – just the respect that people naturally gave him because of how hard he works and how vocal he is and how demanding he is of himself. I think he demands more of himself than anybody.”
Giordano – who had surgery to repair a torn labrum last week – has not given up on the idea of returning for his senior basketball season where was projected to play a major role and serve as a captain. “Gio is a leader,” East coach Erik Henrysen said. “He is the kind of leader that a coach loves. His actions always speak louder than his words. Last year Gio played a pivotal role for us. He is a ‘do-everything’ type of player. What I love most about Gio is his ‘all-in’ attitude. He’s the ideal teammate. He never makes excuses and celebrates his teammates’ accomplishments far more than he would celebrate his own. Our program is going to benefit from Gio and his fellow seniors for a long time. He raised the expectation level of what it means to work and compete.”
An excellent student, Giordano – who plans to major in finance/business and continue his football career next year - has taken AP courses and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is part of the school’s Athletes Helping Athletes and Coaches vs. Cancer. “There are not enough superlatives in the world to describe Anthony from my standpoint,” Donnelly said. “I spend so much time with the quarterbacks. We just wanted to see him play it out. After two weeks, he was in the top 10 in the state in terms of passing yardage – he had 550 yards and six touchdowns. A lot of the guys that were in the top 10 had double the amount of games. They had four or five games ahead of him. His career numbers were outstanding. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to add to it, but he adds value in other ways. He does that every day with the team.”
To read Giordano’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/anthony-giordano-0092116
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