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 Sept. 24, 2013)
Sierra Spencer won’t find her name in the headlines, but that’s just fine with the Plymouth Whitemarsh senior. It turns out Spencer is quite comfortable wearing the mantle of unsung hero for a Colonials’ field hockey team that finds itself atop the SOL American Conference standings at the midway point of the season. “She’s a kid that’s just there for us every day,” coach Marianne Paparone said. “She’s always at practice, always taking care of the little things. She gets along with everyone. You kind of don’t notice her sometimes, which is kind of a disservice. At the same time, you’re like – where would we be without her?” With Spencer anchoring a young and inexperienced defense at sweeper, the Colonials have allowed just nine goals in 10 games this season. It is a new position for the senior defender. “She’s a thinker, and she wandered over one day and said – what are the qualifications to play sweeper?’” Paparone recalled. “I said, ‘You have to be consistent, you have to be a good decision maker, you have to be a good communicator, and you have to be ready to take risks and learn from mistakes.’ Everything I said was describing Sierra, and I wasn’t even attempting to do that, so it’s kind of been a perfect position for her.”
Spencer is a ‘thinker’ off the field as well. A semifinalist in the prestigious 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program, she boasts a weighted GPA of 4.98 and, according to her coach, has never received anything less than an A. “She’s a phenomenal student,” Paparone said. Spencer is taking a full course load of nothing but AP classes this semester, four in all, and by the time she graduates she will have taken eight AP classes.
Playing hockey is just one small piece of Spencer’s life. She is secretary of the National Honor Society. She participates in the Science Olympiad and is a member of Student Government and the Spanish Club. She is on the Principal’s Advisory Council, a group of students that meet with the principal once a month to discuss concerns and find solutions. For the past two years, she has volunteered at the Whitemarsh Art Center, serving as an assistant in the kids’ art classes. Her list of colleges is an impressive one and includes Swarthmore, Haverford, Amherst, Georgetown and Brown. She is undecided on a major.
Spencer hopes hockey will be part of her future, but it depends on her college choice. For now, she’s enjoying her final high school season with good friends she admits she wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t been cut from soccer in middle school and opted to play hockey instead.
To read Spencer’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/sierra-spencer-003782
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Sept. 24, 2013)
There were early signs that Tom Fisher was going to be a natural on the golf course. The first indicator might well be the family photos of the Hatboro-Horsham senior taking swings at a whiffle ball when he was four years old. When Fisher arrived on the high school scene, it didn’t take long for coach Mike Harmon to realize he’d inherited a special talent. “We’ve had quite a few good ones come through Hatboro,” the Hatters’ coach said. “It’s easy to see when you’ve seen it before. I knew he had some talent.” Fisher has been Hatboro’s number one golfer the past two years and aspires to play at the Division One collegiate level, and while golf is his unmistakable passion, he is hardly one-dimensional.
For the past three years, Fisher has been part of swim team relays that advanced to the state meet. His name is in the record books at Hatboro-Horsham as part of two relay teams that hold records. “He’s been a sprinter for us,” coach George ‘Kip’ Emig said. “He’s a big, strong kid, and big, strong kids make great sprinters.” Fisher not only was part of the swim team in the winter, he also played baseball in the spring, a rare three-sport athlete in an era of specialization. And that, according to Harmon, sets Fisher apart from the rest. “With the idea of so many coaches wanting their kids to be one-sport athletes, it’s very unusual in this day and age,” the Hatters’ coach said. “I’m glad to see he’s doing that. It makes you a well-rounded individual. If you talk to a college scout, if a kid is just playing one sport and that’s all they’ve ever done, there’s a good chance that kid has already peaked in high school.”
Although he has found time to enjoy swimming and baseball, Fisher has invested countless hours on the links. “I pretty much would play golf every day and weekends,” he said. “I would caddy in the morning at Commonwealth, so even when I’m not playing, I’m still learning. If I caddy a good member at Commonwealth, I can learn a good bit from the way he would play. It’s just constantly learning and practicing.”
Fisher, one of the SOL’s elite golfers, is captain of his high school team. “He’s more of a quiet leader,” Harmon said. “He’s a lead by example type kid.” In November, Fisher will be back in the pool with his swim team. He has already been named a captain. “He doesn’t train year round any more, so we just work on core strength and speed work in the pool,” Emig said. “When he comes back in November, he’s a little bit behind some of the guys, but by the end of the season, he’s catching up to them. We look forward to having him back. He’s going to be a big part of the team as a senior.”
Playing golf at the Division One level is on the horizon for Fisher, who says he is leaving ‘all the windows open.’
To view Fisher’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tom-fisher-0037894
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