On Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at the Pennsbury Racquet Club, Pennsbury senior Ava Sciolla celebrated signing a letter of intent to continue her basketball career at perennial national powerhouse University of Maryland.
Ava Sciolla – University of Maryland (Basketball)
Major: Journalism
Final list of colleges: Maryland, Northwestern, University of Arkansas
Reasons for choosing Maryland: “I chose Maryland because I absolutely love the coaching staff. From the literal first conversation when coach (Brenda) Frese offered me, I thought to myself, ‘This is a woman who genuinely cares about her players.’ Coming from my dad coaching me, it’s always felt like home. The Zooms, the FaceTimes and the conversations made it feel like I would be going to my second home. Honestly, the University of Maryland offers a great combination of academics and athletics, which is what I need because I take school seriously, and I like winning.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in basketball at the Division 1 level? “I feel like every young basketball player’s goal is – ‘I want to be a Division 1 basketball player.’ In eighth grade, I started to take basketball seriously. I’d always played and worked out, but in eighth grade, I thought to myself, ‘This is really what I want. This is what I want my life to be about,’ so I dedicated myself to that. I started to get a little bit of recognition in ninth grade and then it started blowing up in 10th grade.
“My first offer was from Fordham – coach (Stephanie) Gaitley, I absolutely love her. It made it feel real for the first time ever. Committing last year was – ‘Oh my god, this is actually happening,’ and this morning when I signed – ‘So it is real.’ All of these years of my life that I’ve dedicated to it are leading up to this and now it’s happening.”
How much have the coaches along the way influenced you – especially your father? “My dad is obviously the biggest influence. He introduced me to the game, he taught me to love it. It got to the point where he never had to be – ‘Let’s go shoot, let’s do this.’ I just wanted it, and he encouraged me and would drive me anywhere. He would work out with me any time at all or take me to any team because he knew how bad I wanted it.
“Obviously, the other coaches that are here today – coach Bob Falconiero was my AAU coach for two years. He’s just an incredible human being. He was tough on me, and I needed that. Coach (Kevin) Lynch, who runs Philly Rise, is a great guy. He’s the connection to Maryland for us. He’s how it happened, so we have him to thank. Coach (Ryan) Hohman, who coached LFE (Lady Falcons Elite), and his daughter, who I’m really close to, introducing me to Pennsbury basketball. So many faces – I can’t even think of all the names.”
Coach Frank Sciolla says: “In our community, this is really big. It’s hard to put it into place. For me, you try to measure all the experiences of having done this with boys and looked at it through their eyes and helped them through the experience, going back to the first one being Torrian Jones all the way up to now. Being a parent as well is a different dynamic. You’re watching it, and to be honest, you almost don’t have as much impact as you did with the other people because you don’t want the decision to be based on what you’re thinking. In our community, this is enormous because the rise of girls’ basketball has been a big thing. She has been one of the leaders of that. Our games are packed, and they’re packed with girls who put their hair in braids (like Ava when she’s playing basketball), and when you see that, it gives you goosebumps at times, and you understand that now it’s something for our girls to look for. There’s someone they can look at and be like, and we haven’t had that in a long time. That’s a great thing. As for me, for Ava to be able to go to Maryland, she’s going to one of the best programs in the country with one of the best coaching staffs in the country. It’s deep waters, and we feel she’ll be able to swim in them.”
Philadelphia Rise coach Kevin Lynch says: “Watching Ava play and the things she does well – she plays with a high IQ, she can really shoot the basketball, and the name of the game is putting the ball in the basket. When you watch Ava play, you know she’s a coach’s kid, and that’s one of the things I always liked about her. She’s a great teammate also. I have no qualms in recommending
her for any school that she would want to go to and be a fit for.”
Philadelphia Belles coach Bob Falconiero says: “Ava has a great basketball IQ, she’s fun to coach, she’s easy to coach – it’s always, ‘Yes, coach,’ never complaining. She shoots the ball really well and pretty much will do anything you ask her to do if it will help the team win. When she was being recruited, I told the same thing to everybody – she is a pleasure to have on your team, and she’s going to make her team better and make her team a winner.”
About Ava:
Favorite food: Honey balsamic glazed salmon
Favorite movie: The Lost Boys
Favorite artists: Nirvana & U2
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