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 March 24, 2021
Alli Lindsay – without even trying – gave lessons on what it means to be a leader, and the North Penn senior captain did it under the most adverse of circumstances during the COVID-19 abbreviated basketball season. “I don’t know what we would have done without her,” Knights’ coach Jen Carangi said. “The basketball side is self-explanatory, but it’s the off-the-court things. I can’t imagine trying to navigate the season without her.” And what a season it was for the young Knights, who – in addition to the state-mandated shutdowns – were twice shut down for COVID protocols. When the season began, there were three seniors on the young squad. When it ended, only Lindsay remained. Making things even more difficult was the fact that the Knights, who played only 11 games, lost their first eight. “A lot of seniors would have put their head down, felt sorry for themselves and thought, ‘Why me? Why did I have to have a season like this?’” Carangi said. “Look at the senior class and the amount of things they have lost and the things they missed out on – to see a kid like Alli who just keeps going, just keeps leading, I’m so proud of her for that. Instead of being disappointed, being frustrated with the younger kids, she has just taken them under her wing. She’s going to help our team even though she’s not going to be here next year. She is helping us grow and learn, and she’s not going to benefit from any of it. You need kids like that, and I feel so lucky she’s in our program, that she stuck it out.”
Lindsay has modeled what a good leader looks like and given her young teammates someone to emulate. “I’ve been watching Alli play as I grew up, and being able to play with her this season was such a great experience since I’ve looked up to her so much,” freshman Caleigh Sperling said. “Her biggest characteristic that stood out to me the most was her leadership - she always included everyone. I really hope I can be as much of a leader as she was.” From the outset, Lindsay fell effortlessly into the role of leader, organizing Zoom meetings and even setting up video workouts when the team was shut down. The fact that the Knights boasted a young and inexperienced team did not faze the senior captain. “I didn’t want to come into the season saying, ‘Oh no, we’re going to have a young team, we’re going to lose,’” Lindsay said. “Even though we did lose, all of our games were super close, and we worked our butts off every game, which I was so proud of the girls.”
Lindsay, it turns out, is no stranger to adversity. At the age of seven, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a life-altering diagnosis, but she took it in stride. “Since I was so young, I didn’t know any better, so I’ve grown up figuring out what I need to do,” she said. “It has impacted me greatly. Sometimes I have to leave my classroom because my blood sugar is too low, and I can’t focus, so I have to go to the nurse. At practice sometimes, I have to step off, which stinks because I’m not able to continue to practice, and I have to sit out because my blood sugar is too low or too high. I’ve lived with it for 10 years. I figured I had to adapt.” And adapt she has. Lindsay, who has an insulin pump on her at all times, competes in three sports – soccer in the fall and lacrosse in spring. “I’m not going to let it stand in my way,” Lindsay said. “I want to live my life the way I can. It does impact me every day, but I try to make sure it doesn’t change everything about me.”
Although the pandemic has delayed Lindsay’s college decision, she is close to making a decision and hopes to continue her basketball career. She plans to pursue a major in the health sciences field. “I want to continue with medicine to help others,” she said. In addition to playing three sports, Lindsay – an excellent student – is a member of National Honor Society. She is also involved in Key Club and class cabinet.
To read Lindsay’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/alli-lindsay-0093423
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of March 24, 2021.
Jackson Intrieri is headed to Ursinus College to play lacrosse at the next level, but he will leave Wissahickon as a true rarity – a decorated three-sport athlete. He always just took each season – football in the fall, basketball in the winter and lacrosse come spring – as it came, enjoying his teammates for who they were, right down to their type of music. “The music I listen to kind of revolves around the sport I’m playing,” he said. “Lacrosse, you don’t hear as much rap or hip-hop. It’s more alternative or country. With basketball and football, it’s rap and hip-hop that gets you more hyped up for games. I really don’t have a preference. I’ll let the other guys play the music that they are feeling and I’ll just listen to it. Nothing really bothers me.” Although he started playing basketball first, Intrieri’s initial success came on the gridiron. As time passed, and teammates/classmates began to specialize, he just never had the heart to choose. “I had a lot of friends in each sport, and there was never really a sport that I wanted to drop. There is a different dynamic in each sport, and I just always enjoyed being around all the guys.” Aside from developing musical tastes ranging from rap/hip-hop to country to alternative, he was able to develop new friendships. “I was able to see kids from different neighborhoods and different backgrounds, and I was able to just bond with them through sports,” said Intrieri. “It was always just a great time, no matter who I was with. I’m just grateful I was able to play three sports throughout the past four years.”
This past fall, the football team’s season consisted of just six games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was crazy at first,” said Intrieri. “Schools like Norristown did not have any sports this fall, while Cheltenham is playing football in the spring. Some colleges, like Delaware, are also playing football in the spring.” What Intrieri gleaned from it was a life lesson. “You just have to live in the moment and take every practice as if it is your last,” he said. “With COVID, it only takes one case and your season is shut down. You can’t take any moments for granted. You just have to get out there and get to work.” This past winter’s basketball season was also abbreviated, but the Trojans played 22 games in seven weeks. Intrieri, a dangerous long-range shooter, was a major contributor. This spring, Intrieri is a key piece of the Trojans’ lacrosse team. “He's a fairly quiet kid so he leads more with his actions on the field than with his words off of it,” said Wissahickon coach Matt Conway. “He has been our primary initiator in our attack unit since his freshman year and was primed for a breakout season last spring if not for it being canceled.”
While he has been attending school virtually this year, Intrieri – who will major in business at Ursinus - was able to readjust and maintain his grades. “My mom has always been on top of me to do my work, and so has my dad,” he said. “The thing was, with sports, I basically had practice seven days a week. Right when school ends, I just try to get all my stuff done as fast as I can and as best as I can. It’s a two-way street. If you want to play sports, you have to have good grades. Playing three sports, it has always kept me in check.” As for the sports he will be leaving behind, he knows it is both bittersweet but necessary. “Basketball was my first love, I guess,” he said. “I have been playing that since kindergarten. Football, too. I’m definitely going to miss both sports. I can never take that stuff for granted. It was just a great experience, being with all those guys for the past 10 years or so.”
To read Intrieri’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jackson-intrieri-0093422
- Log in to post comments
