Basketball
Favorite athletes: Russell Westbrook, Sue Bird, Ryan Lochte
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Making it to the District One championship game during my junior year.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I had a referee that danced every time he blew his whistle to make a call.
Music on iPod: Maroon 5, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, and Beyonce
Future plans: Attend American University, major in Business and Communications, and play Division One basketball.
Words to live by: ‘Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.’ – John Wooden
One goal before turning 30: Backpack across Europe and start my own business.
One thing people don’t know about me: I used to be a ballerina.
By Mary Jane Souder
Lauren Crisler, according to her coach, is a dream player.
Not because the North Penn senior is one of the area’s premiere basketball players – although that certainly doesn’t hurt – but rather for the way Crisler carries herself on and off the court.
“She is just a really good teammate because you don’t have to worry – is she in a good mood or bad mood because she’s always in a good mood,” North Penn coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “I’ve seen her sad after some of our losses, but other than that, I’ve never seen her in a bad mood. She’s always pleasant, always smiling. That’s just the way she is, and that’s a good way to be.
“She seriously has been no drama and is just really a pleasure to coach because she’s a good kid. She has no attitude ever. She’s just really a dream player.”
Ask deMarteleire her first impression of Crisler, and she doesn’t mention the immense talent the four-year varsity brings to the court.
“I just remember her as being so, so coachable,” the Maidens’ coach said.
deMarteleire goes on to recount her team’s game against Upper Dublin in the season-opening Methacton Tournament when Crisler was a freshman.
“I misread the scoreboard,” deMarteleire said. “I thought we had four team fouls, and Upper Dublin had seven, but it was the opposite. We had seven and they had four, so I told Lauren to foul.
“She was like ‘Really?’ She just looked at me, not in any way disrespectful or anything, but she kind of looked at me. Well, no wonder she looked at me, and, of course, she did foul because that’s what I told her to do. I just remember her being so coachable and just fundamentally sound.
“She could box out. For most ninth graders, that’s a foreign concept because their initial instinct is to go towards the rim instead of creating space for themselves and backing up.”
That combination of talent and a positive approach to the game has been a winning combination for Crisler, who helped lead the Maidens to last year’s District One AAAA title game at Villanova University. This past fall, she signed a letter of intent to accept a full basketball scholarship to American University.
Crisler, who plans to major in business and communications, has goals that extend well beyond the basketball court.
“I kind of want to be an entrepreneur and start my own business,” she said. “I also would like to study abroad – in Italy or somewhere in Europe.”
Crisler began competing in sports when she was four years old and initially played soccer, basketball and softball.
Softball fell by the wayside in seventh grade, but Crisler continued to play soccer for a premiere club team through ninth grade. She also began playing AAU basketball when she was 13.
“I played soccer the first couple of years that I was playing AAU basketball, and that was kind of tough because I would either be missing basketball for a soccer game or missing soccer for a basketball game,” Crisler said. “I would have a basketball game in the morning, then I would run to a soccer game and then back to a basketball game.
“It was a lot of running around. It was busy, but I definitely loved both sports at a young age. When it came time to pick a sport, it was really, really hard, but in my heart, I knew basketball was going to be the thing for me because I enjoyed it the most. I didn’t mind going to practices where with soccer sometimes I would not be super excited to go to practice.”
Crisler began playing AAU basketball with Fencor when she was 13, and unlike many athletes who jump from team to team, she remained with Fencor, turning down every suitor that came her way.
“It was tough, but I stuck with Fencor because I knew that was the best thing for me, and the best coaching was there,” Crisler said. “It worked out so wonderfully. I couldn’t have had any better help throughout the whole process and throughout my whole career.”
As a freshman at North Penn, Crisler was already getting meaningful minutes on a varsity squad that included seven seniors. By the time she was a sophomore, Crisler was a fixture in the starting lineup, and she never left.
“I started to think I definitely wanted to play basketball in college in eighth grade,” she said. “I knew I wanted to play D-1 in ninth grade because I had gotten so many letters from Division One schools. That all came from exposure in AAU.”
American University was one of the first schools to express interest in Crisler, and she selected the Washington, D.C., school from a final list that included Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh and Penn.
“There were a ton of schools interested, but American was one of the more consistent schools,” Crisler said. “They had shown interest in me earliest.”
Loyalty, it seems, goes a long way with the North Penn senior, who displayed that same loyalty to Fencor.
“I stuck with Fencor because I was so loyal to (coach) Steve Chapman, and he made me the player I was,” Crisler said. “That also played into my decision for college because American was so loyal, and I knew I could trust their coaches.”
A two-year captain for the Maidens, Crisler has been asked to pick up some of the slack under the backboards with the graduation of all-league center Steph Knauer, who is excelling at Shippensburg University.
The 6-2 senior, who can play any position on the floor, is playing either the four or five for the Maidens, the same positions she is projected to play at the collegiate level. She is averaging a double-double, pulling down 12 rebounds a game.
“I really don’t mind it,” the North Penn senior said of playing under the basket. “I like it a lot actually. I’ve gotten a lot more used to banging around underneath. I’ve been doing strengthening and conditioning and lifting weights, and that has helped me a lot – in my legs just being able to spring up and get rebounds and in my arms being able to rip rebounds away from people.”
A captain for the second consecutive year, Crisler is an effective leader.
“Lauren is a leader by example, for sure,” deMarteleire said. “She’s not boisterous, she’s not loud. She talks on the court, but she’s just a very determined, focused person who gets the job done.
“She’s bright, and whatever is put in front of her, she just deals with it and doesn’t think about anything else.”
Crisler admits she wasn’t always as even-tempered as she is these days.
“Oh my gosh, when I was younger, I would get so angry at myself if I made mistakes in games, and it would really take me out of the game,” she said. “That’s also something I learned through AAU and playing high school – not letting things snowball.
“If I make a mistake, I just have to get back and make up for that. I’m a perfectionist.”
Crisler carries that trait into the classroom where she is an excellent student. A member of the National Honor Society cabinet, she is enrolled in honors and AP classes.
“It’s definitely been a tough workload, but I’ve learned to balance that out with basketball,” Crisler said. “It’s been rough along the way. There have been many late nights when I’ve been up late studying, but I get through it.
“It’s really prepared me for college because I know college will be a lot harder.”
Crisler also has been involved with Best Buddies, a group of students who participate in activities with special needs children. She also has worked with Special Olympics.
“She’s just a great kid,” deMarteleire said. “She really is a fine example for young girls.”
