Soccer, Unified Bocce, Flag Football
Favorite athlete: Crystal Dunn
Favorite team: Philadelphia Union
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating our rivals, Lower Moreland, on their senior night my freshman year which led us to winning the SOL Freedom Division.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When my teammate and I were singing “Man or Muppet” during a flag football game and the referee joined in and said that it was his favorite song.
Music on playlist: Olivia Dean and Noah Kahan
Future plans: I want to attend college and study occupational therapy while playing soccer.
Words to live by: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
One goal before turning 30: I want to graduate college and travel the world.
One thing people don’t know about me: One thing people don’t know about me is that my lucky number is 14.
By GORDON GLANTZ
It is no coincidence that Samantha “Sami” Roby is interested in studying occupational therapy in college while continuing her soccer career.
The William Tennent senior, who also excels in flag football as a receiver and captains the school’s Unified Bocce team, has plenty of firsthand experience after battling back from a severe knee injury.
“In February of my sophomore year, I tore my (right) ACL,” she said. “I was out for the whole entire junior year of soccer, as well as my whole sophomore season of flag football, too.
“When I went into my physical therapy, I was really interested in that job. From that, I found occupational therapy because it’s something to do to help other people.”
Helping other people is general theme with Roby, as all of her coaches rave about what she brings as a teammate.
“Sami Roby exemplifies the very best of William Tennent through her character, leadership, perseverance and unmistakable dry sense of humor,” said John Creighton, the school’s athletic director and the Unified Bocce coach. “As the captain of our Unified Bocce team, Sami has become the driving force behind our mission of social inclusion, recruiting teammates from both the soccer and flag football programs to join Unified Sports and build meaningful relationships with students with special needs.
“She leads with compassion, treats every athlete with dignity and respect, and has helped create a school community where everyone feels they belong.”
Setting a Standard
Roby certainly led by example was when she was out for the entire soccer season.
“She lost her whole junior year to a knee injury but was still present at every practice or game encouraging the team,” soccer coach Elise Jara, who called Roby the “anchor” for the defense of a team that won
six of its first eight games to start the season. “She was determined to come back and worked hard to come back strong for her senior year, which she has accomplished.”
Roby was a second team All-League selection as a sophomore and is playing at that level again.
“Sami is a hard worker, a physical player, funny, well-liked and an all-around team player,” said Jara. “She will be missed by the team and the coaches next year.”
Those sentiments were echoed by flag football coach Gary Bisacquino, who is also an assistant coach on the soccer team.
“What makes her journey more impressive is the journey she has taken to get back on the field after suffering an ACL tear,” he said. “Her recovery required tremendous, hard work and mental toughness. She never lost sight of returning to the sports that she loves.
“She is a big piece of the program in both sports, and we are so glad to have her back. After coming back from such a significant injury, she has continued to compete with the same passion and determination that has defined her athletic career.”
Roby, though, remains a total team-first player who has learned to live in the moment during the fall season.
“This year, we have a couple of goals,” she said. “Our first goal is to win our division. Our second goal is to make it to playoffs, because we didn’t make it last year.”
No Regrets
Bisacquino convinced Roby and a few of her soccer teammates to give flag football a try when the program was still in its infancy.
“He roped a couple of the soccer girls into playing, and I ended up having a lot of fun and I’ve been playing it ever since,” she said.
And even though she technically injured her knee during flag football season, there are no regrets.
“It’s something new, and it’s something different from other sports I’ve played,” said Roby. “I enjoy the coaches, my friends and just learning new stuff about it every practice.”
Just like many of her male counterparts who try football later in life, there is something about the camaraderie that cannot be matched.
“I feel really close to everyone,” said Roby. “We all have so much fun every day. That is definitely one of the main reasons that I play.”
Feeling Unified
While the goal is still to win against other schools, the Unified Bocce team is more about including student-athletes with special needs.
Roby, as team captain, finds it fulfilling on many levels.
“I started playing it because my sister played it,” she said. “My athletic director coaches it, and he got me and a couple of my friends involved. I started hanging out with some of the athletes, and it has given me a lot of new places to go.
“It’s just really fun for me to be on the court and to be learning a new sport and making new friends.”
And she does it all with a distinctive personality that lets you know she is in the room.
“Sami also makes it her daily responsibility to keep her coach on his toes, usually with a perfectly timed one-liner or witty reminder that no practice is ever too serious,” Creighton said. “Sami proves that the strongest leaders inspire others through kindness, resilience, and just the right amount of humor.”
Making Time
Roby takes AP and honors classes. She belongs to just about every honors society the school has to offer – along with Key Club, Athletes Helping Athletes and student government — and boasts a 3.75 GPA.
How does the second of Sarah and Eric Roby’s two daughters make time for all of her sports and activities?
“I plan ahead a lot,” said Roby, who wanted to thank all of her coaches, trainers, teammates and her family. “I look at what work I have and when I’m going to do it. A lot of time, I’ll go to the library or Starbucks or someplace where I can just focus and do all my work.”
In addition to playing soccer at the next level, Roby is mostly interested in smaller colleges that aren’t too far from home.
It’s all hard to fit into one box, but she has done a good job of not making it overwhelming.
“I have narrowed It down to a couple of colleges, but I just haven’t decided which one I want to be at,” she said. “I started reaching out to coaches by the end of my sophomore year. I went to some clinics, visited some schools and set up phone calls.”
While it’s a confusing time, her coaches have no doubt that Roby will continue her success.
Said Bisacquino: “In her first game back last year, she caught three passes for touchdowns and went on to have a fabulous season. Four years of soccer and flag football, combined with her perseverance through adversity, make her someone who truly represents what it means to be a student-athlete.”