Field Hockey, Basketball, Softball
Favorite athlete: Chase Utley
Favorite team: Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: Storming the field after beating Wissahickon for a second time and becoming undefeated SOL American Conference Champs!
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Banging heads the second day of practice freshman year with my field hockey teammate Bryn Frankhouser and getting five stiches while she got 15 stitches!
Music on iPod: Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, and the Temptations
Future plans: Finish college and live a life of happiness.
Words to live by: “Outwork the hardest worker.” – Rich Froning
One goal before turning 30: Find a career that I am passionate about and have a family of my own.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m not crazy, I’m just passionate!
By Mary Jane Souder
It didn’t take Marianne Paprone long to realize she’d inherited a special player in 5-foot, 3 ¾-inch dynamo Rachel Konowal.
Roll back the calendar to the fall of 2010.
Plymouth Whitemarsh, after an opening round district win over Unionville, traveled to Central Bucks South for a night field hockey game against the top-seeded Titans. The Colonials lost the game 4-0, but Konowal – then only a freshman - stood out in a crowd.
“My kids were pretty intimidated just because of their reputation and it was a night game and all that kind of stuff,” Paparone said. “She was a freshman and was probably the least intimidated of anybody, and I said, ‘This kid – she’s a player’ because it’s not just athletic (ability) but also your mind and your heart, and she clearly showed that from the beginning.”
A fearless competitor, Konowal was a first team all-league and all-state field hockey player who has accepted a scholarship to compete collegiately at Monmouth University.
“She was our heart and soul,” Paparone said of her center midfielder. “She was a great leader by example just because she worked so hard all the time.
“She set very high standards for herself. She didn’t expect any more from anyone else than she would give herself. She had a very positive attitude, never hung her head and always welcomed a challenge. She trained a ton off the field to improve her skills. Her work ethic was tremendous every day all the time.”
Konowal also played basketball and softball and will leave PW with 12 varsity letters.
“She’s old school,” Paparone said. “Who plays three sports anymore? She’s a throwback.”
Konowal is a throwback for more reasons than simply because she played three sports.
“The thing I’ll remember most about Rachel is she always said thank you at the end of every practice, even the ones we finished with countless sprints,” PW basketball coach Daniel Dougherty said.
In field hockey, Rachel and twin sister Courtney - the undisputed stars of this year’s undefeated SOL American Conference championship squad – never left the field without saying thanks.
“They would make a point to come over and thank each coach,” Paparone said. “They have been doing that since they were freshmen.”
Konowal displayed a similar approach in the classroom.
“When I had her in class, she had an 89.4,” Paparone said. “Well, every other kid would be in there saying, ‘Oh please, can’t you give me the A’ and all that kind of stuff.
“Rachel would say, ‘I’m proud of myself. I got a really good grade, and I worked really hard.’ Who says that? She didn’t get an A, and she didn’t ask for the A. She’s like, ‘I worked really hard, and I’m proud of my effort.’ End of discussion. That’s very special.”
An honors student, Konowal carries the work ethic she displays on the hockey field into the classroom.
“Playing three sports, you walk out of the house at seven o’clock in the morning to go to school and don’t get home until six o’clock, grab dinner and get the homework done,” she said. “It was definitely a struggle.
“I don’t have any AP courses, but I challenge myself with honors courses because I did have a learning disability, but with the help of my teachers, my parents and Courtney – they helped me stay on the right path and focus on my grades because at the end of the day, it’s not all about field hockey.”
Athletics have been part of Konowal’s life for as long as she can remember, and making her journey even more memorable was the fact that she shared it with her twin and best friend.
“It’s awesome,” Rachel said. “It’s amazing to think about because not only do you have your best friend to practice with, but she also enjoys the same things that I like.
“She brings that competitive edge and makes me want to play harder and better, and I think I do the same for her too.”
“They push each other,” Paparone said. “The two of them would run a distance run. They would run two miles together, and that last 50 yards, Rachel would make sure she had to beat Courtney.”
Much as they loved to compete, Rachel and Courtney were also each other’s biggest supporters.
“The expression – ‘There’s no I in team’ – Rachel epitomizes that,” Paparone said. “She never looks for attention. She’s always happy or even happier when someone else scores, especially when Courtney scores. Rachel would be way more excited for her than she was about herself.”
Both players had plenty to be excited about last fall. Rachel and Courtney were the SOL’s most prolific scorers, finishing with 42 goals, 39 assists and 123 points between them. Rachel had 20 goals and 23 assists while Courtney had 22 goals and 16 assists for a Colonials squad that rolled through conference play without a loss.
“It was great,” Rachel said of her senior hockey season. “Courtney and I didn’t really have any expectations going into senior year.
“Obviously, you want it to be your best year athletically and academically, but to be able to have Miss Paparone back and all the other assistant coaches, it was really helpful. All the girls, especially our senior class, we really wanted to make it special this year, and I think we did.”
The twins began their athletic careers playing t-ball together and then added soccer, basketball and – in fifth grade – field hockey.
Courtney elected to give up basketball after her freshman year but remained the team manager for the next three. The duo also competed together on the club hockey circuit, initially playing for Mystx before joining the WC Eagles the past two years. Once a week during basketball season, Rachel left practice and made the 45-minute trek to West Chester for indoor hockey.
Voted a captain of the basketball squad by her teammates, she earned third team all-conference honors and was voted ‘teammate of the year’ by her teammates.
“Rachel was the heart and soul of our team for the past four years,” Dougherty said. “This past year was her best. It’s very sad to think she won’t be here next year.”
PW softball coach Dana Moyer doesn’t have captains but admits if she chose one it would be her speedy centerfielder.
“Rachel is an exemplary competitor,” Moyer said. “She’s extremely versatile. She can play the infield well, but she’s been the anchor in center field for us since her freshman year.
“Rachel has also been one of the greatest leaders that any coach could ask for. She is a fierce competitor and has been a major reason for the success of our squad, but more impressive than her ability on the field is her personality off the field.
“Rachel Konowal is an intelligent, spirited, positive and talented young lady who is as kind and generous a person as they come – a coach’s dream. She will be missed tremendously.”
This fall, the twins will be heading to separate colleges. While Rachel will attend Monmouth, Courtney will take her talents to Kutztown.
“It’s going to be difficult, strange and awkward all at the same time,” Rachel said. “I don’t know what to expect because we haven’t been away from each other this long.
“It’s definitely a big, huge adjustment, but I think it’s going to be good for both of us to get out of our comfort zone and try to find who we are without being near each other.”
Rachel chose Monmouth from a final list of schools that included Kent State, Lafayette and Temple.
“I’m super excited,” she said. “I don’t think I ever thought this would be an opportunity for me, but just keeping my head down and doing everything I was supposed to do between all the practices and the homework, I knew if I worked hard what I wanted would come out at the end if it was meant to be.
“Just working hard and having the support of my family and friends and especially my coaches and teammates really helped me out. I’m just thrilled and excited to continue athletics next year.”
Paparone admits it won’t be the same without her.
“She always has a smile on her face and was always there to pick other kids up,” the PW coach said. “She comes from a good family that has instilled tremendous values in her. She's very sure of who she is."
A student-athlete who's a throwback and finds joy in competing, no matter what the sport.
