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 April 5, 2021
Any chance to step onto a softball field is a welcome one for Carly Rosenberger. But there’s something extra special about the high school season, just as the spring weather is starting to break. “When it starts to get warm out, it makes running out onto the field a million times better,” Rosenberger said. “It’s something my dad said to me from the beginning, ‘It’s a beautiful day to play softball.’ That’s the attitude I go out on the field with.” It’s an outlook that was instilled in Rosenberger from a young age, that it’s entirely possible to go out and play your hardest, take the game seriously, and still have fun. “My dad was my coach when I first started playing in third grade,” she said. “He showed me that you need to be serious out there, but that it could also be fun and we could have fun during practices and have bubble gum and sunflower seeds. It taught me a lot about life, that there are times to be serious and times where you don’t have to be too serious. Softball can be work but it should always be fun as well.”
Those early days and lessons learned have stuck with Rosenberger. “I think at the end of the day, making my dad proud of me and remembering what he’s taught me is what’s made me the player I am today,” Rosenberger said. “We really bonded over softball. He taught me everything I know.” And it’s that attitude—combined with her talent and unmatched work ethic—that will make Rosenberger a central figure in determining the fortunes of this season’s Plymouth Whitemarsh softball team. After her junior year was cancelled due to the onset of the pandemic, Rosenberger and her fellow seniors are looking forward to taking their place as leaders and mentors to a young team.
In addition to this season being the first full varsity season for many Colonial players, it will also be the first season for coach Mike Perez, who came on board last year but only had the chance to experience tryouts and a few practices before the season was shuttered. “Carly has been awesome from Day 1, you could tell even last year that she’s the leader,” Perez said. “This year, it’s the same thing, whether it’s being the leader vocally or by setting an example for everyone else. Carly is the one who sets the tone for the entire team. Whether it’s practices, optional workouts, she’s the first one there, the first one to grab the equipment. Everything and anything she can do for the team, she’s on it. I haven’t been fortunate enough to have her in class, but every teacher I talk to tells me that she exemplifies what you’re looking for as far as student-athletes go. She’s a wonderful student and just a great all-around person to represent the school in general. We’re lucky to have her.” Rosenberger will patrol the middle infield and bat near the top of the order for the Colonials. “Maybe my favorite thing about Carly is that she doesn’t need instruction from a coach. She knows what needs to be done and she takes into her hands to get it going,” Perez said. “Whether that’s getting the equipment, leading stretches, whatever the case, she knows how to get the troops together to get it done. And she does it in a way that’s unique, she knows when to have fun and when to be serious. When it’s game time, she can flip the switch instantly. She knows when it’s OK to get a laugh and when to put on the game face and be ready to go.”
The epitome of a well-rounded student-athlete, Rosenberger ranks among the top students in her class. In addition to her devotion to the softball team and a busy course load, she is interested in creative outlets such as painting, drawing, photography, and fashion. “Carly is a great example for all our younger players to look up to,” Perez said. “She proves that you don’t have to excel at one thing or the other, you can be a true student-athlete and excel in other things as well outside of school. And she just brings this positive vibe with her everywhere she goes. I see her in the hall, she’s always in a positive mood, always smiling and ready to go.” Rosenberger will take that work ethic and those positive vibes to Emerson College in Boston in the fall. Accepted into the school’s Honors Program, Rosenberger will play softball for the Lions while majoring in Business of Creative Enterprises.
To read Rosenberger’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/carly-rosenberger-0093686
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of April 5, 2021
Jake Schilling, according to coach Dan McShane, is a ‘classic Pennsbury kid.’ “He just loves playing, whether it’s football, baseball or checkers,” the Pennsbury football coach said. “He just loves competing. He’s a great teammate, he wants to see his teammates as successful as he is. He has the time management that comes with playing multiple sports, and he’s going to do that in college, which is awesome. The other night watching a basketball game – they said one of the guys turned from a shooter into a player. He’s just a player whatever the sport.” A first team All-SOL National Conference linebacker on the gridiron, Schilling is the starting first baseman for the baseball team this spring and will be playing both sports at Lycoming College next fall. “He’s a kid who has played two sports at a high level,” Pennsbury baseball coach Joe Pesci said. “Unfortunately, he lost a season last year, but we were pretty excited about him last year because he looked great in the winter. He’s a tough, strong kid. What I saw was just the growth mentally and in maturity. The talent level is there, the physical is there, but when you see the growth in the mental approach and the maturity level, you could see a different kid when they approach practices and when they approach the work part of it. Same kid but you saw a different angle, and we were excited to see what he could do. Then you lose your season.”
There’s no mistaking Schilling is a talented athlete, but there’s more to it than that. The senior standout isn’t playing for the accolades or any recognition he might receive. Instead, his inspiration comes from his biggest fan on the sidelines of his games - his brother David, who has cerebral palsy. “He loves sports, he’s at almost every one of my games,” Schilling said. “He watches me to the smallest details, and he’ll tell me what I’m doing wrong. He’ll give me advice here and there. He just pushes me the most.” The two brothers are separated in age by eight years – David is 26, but both share the same passion for sports. “Honestly, he’s one of my best friends,” Schilling said. “He’s been motivating me my whole life. He says he and my dad are coming to my games (at Lycoming), so I’ll hopefully see him there, but I’m going to miss him a ton.” David participated in the Challenger Football program, which provides skill training and game experience for athletes with special needs. For the past three years, Schilling has been active in the program as well. “Why not help kids who have the same problem,” he said. “You just have to motivate them, make them smile.” According to Pesci, Schilling is involved in Challenger Football for all the right reasons. “It’s not something Jake does because the team makes him,” the Falcons’ baseball coach said. “It’s something he’s passionate about, helping out those that are less fortunate, and obviously, it comes from having a brother who is disabled. You see kids in a different light when you learn that stuff about them.” McShane added, “There’s something a little extra there to realize how blessed he is to play the game and to play through his brother and his brother plays through him. You could watch his brother on the sidelines, and you could see that he knew Jake was out there playing for him. It was a pretty cool thing.”
At Lycoming this fall, Schilling plans to major in special education and sports marketing with his sights set on one day coaching. He’s gained valuable experience volunteering at Pesci’s clinics and camps and appreciates his baseball coach’s style. “He sets the standards really high for you,” Schilling said. “He wants you to almost be perfect. It puts pressure on you, but it makes you better.” Pesci has not named captains this year, but he expects Schilling to be a positive leader. “When you have football kids who play baseball, they tend to be some of the natural leaders just because of their toughness and a little bit more of the aggressiveness,” the Falcons’ coach said. “He definitely has risen to the point where the other kids on the team really like him, for sure. He’s not a loud kid, but he is energetic and seemingly positive most of the time. Without being cliché, he is a kid you look forward to going in and working with daily. When they come in as freshmen, you might not know the inner workings of what goes on with them. He revealed his character over the past two years.”
To read Schilling’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/jake-schilling-0093688
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