Soccer, Basketball
Favorite athlete: Abby Wambach
Favorite team: Duke Men’s Basketball; runs in my blood.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the district championship junior year for Pennsbury Soccer.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I was young, I slipped in a mud puddle at soccer practice and cried because I was all dirty. My coach, Maggie, in hopes of making me feel better, started sliding through the mud herself and making my teammates do it as well.
Music on iPod: Songs from Disney Movies
Future plans: Get a job on Wall Street and marry an equally rich man with a British accent that can cook.
Words to live by: “Live with fire in your pants.”
One goal before turning 30: Own five dogs
One thing people don’t know about me: I once ate 15 chicken wings in two minutes.
By Craig Ostroff
Pennsbury girls soccer coach Kaitlyn Battiste remembers watching an eighth-grade Abby Wick playing soccer in middle school. Even then, Battiste noted Wick’s consistency and fearless play.
That’s impressive enough for a middle schooler. What made it more impressive was that Wick’s middle school soccer team was co-ed.
“Playing with and against boys, that wasn’t anything that ever phased her,” Battiste said. “As a freshman, she was immediately a member of the varsity program.
“The way the team has developed over the last four years, this group of seniors has had one of the most successful records over the last four years. We’ve seen a lot of growth in this program, and Abby has had a hand in a little bit of everything.”
Wick’s consistency, both in her play and her positive approach toward not just sports—but to other aspects of school and life—have become defining characteristics of the senior two-sport standout.
“The thing that’s always drawn me to her, her personality as a player and the rest of her social life and school life—she has that sense of confidence, but not in a cocky way,” Battiste said. “There isn’t anything she thinks she can’t do. She really believes that. She has that can-do mentality on and off the field.”
A four-year varsity player and two-year captain, Wick’s leadership both in practices and on the field, where she plays center midfield and often serves as the keystone between the attack and defense, has been a crucial part of a Falcons’ team that has won two consecutive National Conference titles and reigned supreme last season as District One Champions.
“I’m in the center of the field, and it’s a big thing to keep people motivated and to keep the team together,” Wick said. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. Since I was little, that’s where I’ve played. I love that role, I love being able to encourage my teammates.”
Quick to congratulate a teammate after a good play or to offer a consoling pat on the back and words of encouragement following a mistake, Wick does not take lightly her responsibility as a team leader.
“I really like to keep the girls motivated,” she said. “I will never say anything negative. I try to encourage everyone. I tend to be upbeat and outgoing, so I like to bring that to the field.”
That positivity was crucial once Wick put away the cleats and soccer ball and headed onto the hardwood. A senior captain on a very young, inexperienced team, Wick’s leadership was essential in keeping the players focused and positive despite struggling through a 4-15 season.
“Coming from a winning (soccer) season to a season where you’re coming close at times, but you’re not winning a lot, it was hard mentally,” Wick said. “Going into the season, we knew we had a lot of work to do. We were a young team and needed to blend together. We knew this would be a rebuilding year.
“We saw progress throughout the season, confidence-wise. A lot of the girls were first-year starters, and the biggest thing was confidence and making sure the girls didn’t get too down on themselves.”
According to coach Keith Gabor, Wick proved to be the glue that held the team together despite some trying stretches.
“Abby kept everybody engaged and wanting to get better in practice,” Gabor said. “Being around her was a plus for the program. When you go on a losing streak, it’s easy to lose the kids. But Abby being the person and captain she is, she was able to keep everyone engaged. The girls naturally followed her.
“She was the coach on the floor. Everything went through her. She totally accepted that role, never wavered when things got bad. She was able to keep all the girls together.”
Despite all her successes on the soccer field, Wick had no problem knowing that her final season wearing orange and black would not yield many wins.
“I’m not devastated over the fact that we only had four wins. I’d hate to let something like that get me down,” she said. “I love playing basketball and I love the girls I play with. So despite the losses, I had a great time. I didn’t have to play basketball the last four years, but I love it so much I couldn’t not play. I love the girls and the coaches and the support.”
Basketball also gives Wick – a triplet - the opportunity to spend time with her sister Katie, who spends her fall seasons playing field hockey. Having the ability to pursue separate interests and develop different skills has been crucial for the sisters, as well as for their brother Thomas, since the three have spent an awful lot of time together.
Though Abby says that she and her sister have the same friends, the triplets (Abby is the youngest of the three, though she admits she often lies about that) have spent enough time apart throughout their schooling to find their own paths.
“In elementary school and middle school, we were always in different classes,” said Wick, who also has an older brother at Bloomsburg University and a younger sister in elementary school. “In high school, I’ve had maybe one class with each of them.
“It’s definitely helped with our personalities, and that separation is what helped us not be competitive, to grow into different people.”
And just as she can be counted on to support her teammates on the athletic fields, Wick can also be counted on to support her schoolmates. She serves as Student Council President, something she admits has been a goal for a long time, and much like her role as a captain on the field, she takes her responsibilities as president very seriously.
“It’s always been a dream of mine - to get that is a dream come true,” she said. “I love that position and that role. I don’t do it to have something to put on a resume. I do it because I want to be in the position to help other people. And I remember when I was younger, that was a goal I had. That’s what I wanted to be. If I can inspire other kids to be that person and to be someone who is active in making the school better, that’s what I want to do.”
Wick also participates in the schools video program, The Pennsbury Channel; in fact, following a recent press conference in which numerous Pennsbury athletes – including Wick - were recognized for signing with colleges, she could be seen interviewing the other participants.
She is a member of the Principal’s Advisory Council, a group of students nominated by teachers and coaches who help promote character and positive attitudes in school.
Wick was also named the captain for the Black Team in Pennsbury’s upcoming Sports Night. It’s a big responsibility and a large time commitment, but it’s yet another goal that Wick had set for herself when she was younger and achieved through her work ethic and positive attitude.
“I had debated whether or not I wanted to run for this, and my mom reminded me that when I was going into high school, I said, ‘I want to do that. I want to be that captain,’” Wick said. “I love being a part of things and taking a leadership role and making things awesome for everyone and getting them pumped up.”
For all Wick has accomplished in school and for all her work at making Pennsbury a more positive place, she knows that her time as a Falcon grows short. In less than four months, Wick will put on the cap and gown, deliver the graduation speech she is entitled to give as Student Council President, and she and her classmates will go their separate ways. For Wick, that means due north.
Wick will head to SUNY Binghamton next fall. She has signed a letter of intent to play soccer for the Bearcats and is leaning toward a field of study in business or economics. Not surprisingly, Wick knew exactly what she was looking for in a college, and she believes she found the one that fits her perfectly.
“I knew I wanted to play soccer in college, but didn’t want to go somewhere where it was too much soccer and not enough academics,” she said. “I wanted to be able to balance the two and to be able to do it mentally and physically. Binghamton has that balance I wanted. They treat athletes like Division I athletes, they have great facilities, it’s a great school academic-wise and I think it’s a place I can excel in and grow in.”
Those who know her best know that Wick will be able to accomplish anything she puts her mind to. She’s done it countless times in the past.
“It’s been a lot of fun the last four years to watch her grow into this person where she’s able to handle all these things she does and to watch how she acts in a leadership position in everything she’s involved in,” Gabor said. “Abby is a special kid. She’s going to do some great things.”
Perhaps her soccer coach summed it up the best.
“I don’t think I’ll ever coach anyone like her ever again,” Battiste said. “Abby may be a triplet, but I don’t know anyone that’s like her.”
