Basketball
Favorite athlete: Candace Parker
Favorite team: Duke men’s basketball
Favorite memory competing in sports: When I scored 23 points my sophomore year of high school basketball.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I was backpedaling while playing defense, and I stepped on my shoelace and landed right on my butt. It hurt so bad!
Music on iPod: I have a lot of country, Taylor Swift and Drake
Future plans: Attend college next fall to study athletic training and play basketball
Words to live by: ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated.’
One goal before turning 30: Travel out of the country for vacation
One thing people don’t know about me: I love fashion. I love the way you can express yourself through something you wear.
By Mary Jane Souder
Rachel Falkowski is passionate about basketball, and the Central Bucks South senior can’t imagine her life without sports.
“If I didn’t play sports, I would probably be sitting on the couch watching TV,” she said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t have a life.”
While that isn’t true, it does underscore Falkowski’s passion for her sport.
“You can just tell she loves basketball,” coach Beth Mattern said. “She’s always loved basketball, she’s always been very competitive.
“She played other sports but gave them up to focus on basketball. She comes in every day ready to play and is very competitive.”
If Falkowski needed a reminder how much she loved basketball, she got it this season when she suffered a sprained ankle in the opening minutes of the Titans’ SOL opener against Pennridge and was sidelined for both the North Penn and Quakertown games.
“She never hid from it,” Mattern said. “She was there for the team, she was visible. She was cheering, she was helping with stats and whatever we needed help with that day and trying to keep the girls moving in a positive direction.”
Sitting on the sidelines during the Titans’ loss to North Penn was particularly painful.
“I wanted to play in that game so bad because North Penn is one of our biggest rivals,” Falkowski said. “I was out for a week and half. I wish I could have played because I think I could have contributed to our games.”
Falkowski is a vocal leader and takes her role of captain very seriously.
“Being a captain, you need to step up, you need to be a leader for your teammates, and you need to show them the right way to do things,” she said. “If you hear them saying something negative, you need to tell them that we need to stay positive, we need to keep playing as a team, which is really what being a captain is all about.”
The senior captain, according to her coach, is a calming presence.
“She’s very aggressive on the glass, and when we’re struggling sometimes, she can pull us out of it,” Mattern said. “She’ll get that really important rebound, start transition or hit the big shot we need at a critical time.”
Mattern acknowledged that Falkowski is her own toughest critic.
“She’s quite hard on herself if she’s having an off day shooting or if she feels she’s not doing as much as she can for the team,” the Titans’ coach said. “I feel as though she’s matured where she’s able to pull herself out of that frustration.”
“I know what I’m capable of,” Falkowski said. “If I’m having a bad game, I get real down on myself.
“In our Souderton game, I had two fouls and didn’t play in the second quarter. I wanted to be out there so bad. I started getting down on myself, and then I start making bad decisions on the court. I need to keep my composure better in those situations. It was definitely a learning experience.”
Falkowski, who also played softball and soccer, has been part of the AAU basketball circuit since she was in third grade. After one year of playing with the Wildcats, she joined Fencor and stayed with the program for the duration of her eligibility.
“I have learned almost everything I know about basketball through AAU,” Falkowski said. “I do not think I would be where I am basketball-wise if I did not play AAU.
“I have learned so much through the years that I have played it. AAU has been extremely important to me. It’s what I look forward to every year, and it’s a very weird feeling knowing that I’m not ever going to play AAU again.”
Falkowski gave up softball in middle school but played soccer until last year when she decided to focus all of her energy into basketball.
As a sophomore, Falkowski played jayvee but last year was a contributing member to the varsity.
“She has always been physically strong and has great ball handling skills and has been a nice shooter,” Mattern said. “Over the past three years, she’s evolved with the game more.
“She’s physically grown, and she has a basketball physique.”
The Titans entered this season with high expectations, expectations that were dashed when junior standout Alysha Lofton went down with a torn ACL and was lost for the season.
“It was heartbreaking,” Falkowski said. “I think we all wish she was here. It’s tough.
“We set our goals high, and we’re still working as hard as we can and trying to improve our record every game we play. Instead of saying, ‘Oh, we don’t have Alysha. We’re not going to be good,’ I try and keep the girls’ mentality positive.”
Falkowski brings a lot of important tools to the basketball court.
“Rachel can help us handle the ball by bringing it up the court,” Mattern said. “She’s a shooting guard, but she’s not afraid to post up.
“She really is willing to do whatever the team needs at that moment for the game plan. That’s what is great about Rachel – she wants to win, and she will step up and want to guard the best player on the other team or even play post defense.
“She’s grown as a leader. It’s nice to see she’s willing to step up. She wants to win, and she wants things to be done the right way.”
Falkowski plans to play basketball at the collegiate level with East Stroudsburg is at the top of her list of college choices. She is planning to pursue a career as an athletic trainer.
“Just observing the athletic trainer in our school – I like the way you’re still involved with sports and you get to interact and help people also,” Falkowski said.
It’s a career choice that underscores the senior captain’s passion for sports.
