Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Marie McCool
Favorite team: Philadelphia Phillies
Favorite memory competing in sports: Committing to play D3 Lacrosse at Neumann University
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: My first game back from injury I was running to goal, got tripped and belly flopped into the turf.
Music on playlist: We have a team playlist that varies between rap songs and Rihanna!
Future plans: To become an FBI agent and coach Lacrosse. My goal is to help individuals in
the community and make people happy.
Words to live by: "It only takes one person to
make someone's life better" or "Leaders are
meant to help others become the people God
created them to be.”
One goal before turning 30: To coach lacrosse for 2 years for Council Rock High School North.
One thing people don’t know about me: Last year, I won PASLA All Academic Award
By GORDON GLANTZ
It would be fair to say that Council Rock North senior Taylor Deppi was born to play lacrosse.
“While I tried a lot of different sports, I have been playing lacrosse since I was 3,” she said. “My whole family is lacrosse-based. My younger siblings play. After I tried the other sports, I said, ‘I don’t like this.’ Now, it’s
just lacrosse, and I’m sticking with it.”
Her father, Paul Deppi, is the JV coach at her school and also coaches youth lacrosse. Younger sisters Addison and Kaitlyn both play as well.
Her mom, Bethany, suggested that she referee.
You put it all together, and it is all lacrosse all the time.
“Literally, lacrosse is her life,” said head coach Denise Noseworthy. “She’s a hard worker. She’s very reliable. She has such a great heart. She really cares about the girls. That’s my biggest thing. She really cares about the team, and she wants to help everybody.
“When somebody forgets something, and they’ll say, ‘I bet Taylor has that.’ And, then, out of her bag will come tweezers. Whatever it is, she always seems to have it. She’s a leader, and she is a lovely girl.”
Added Deppi: “I’m always prepared and bringing extra in case anyone needs it. I’m like Mary Poppins.”
Battling Back
Although she got off to an early start in the sport, Deppi had a serious setback in the fall of her freshman year when she broke three bones in her foot in a club game.
Because of COVID, there were some hiccups in her physical therapy and the recovery took 8 months.
Deppi only played some JV at the tail end of the season, with the most memorable moment being a bad fall that she was able to shake off with her usual good cheer.
“It didn’t really matter, honestly,” she said. “It made the whole team laugh, and we were down anyway. It kind of lifted the whole team up.”
That has remained a trait throughout her career.
“She’s solid,” said Noseworthy. “She is such a team player. She really rallies the girls and helps everyone.
“When we have clinics, she attends all of them to help the younger girls. She is just a really caring person.”
While not officially a team captain, Deppi can’t help but wear the title of an unofficial captain.
“This year, while I’m not a captain, I’m very much up there,” she said. “I assist the captains. I am the one senior who talks to all the freshmen and who helps them.
“I’m really big on being a leader. That’s really my main focus. I don’t have to be the one who is scoring all the goals. Being a leader means that I’m making sure that everyone is happy. That’s the most important thing, just making sure that everyone is happy.”
Those efforts are not lost on the coach, who also made the Mary Poppins analogy.
“She really focused in on supporting the team,” said Noseworthy. “That’s great for the other kids to see. She is always prepared. She is like Mary Poppins. She has scissors, an extra stick, mouth guards … Whatever you need, she has. She is super responsible in that sense.”
Loud and Clear
Deppi’s background in the sport earned her a varsity spot as a sophomore, and she has carved a niche from her low attack spot.
“She plays down by the crease,” said Noseworthy. “She is great. If there is shot, she is right there to recover it. That’s one of her strengths.”
But another strength is being a good teammate.
“Besides on the field, I’m the one that’s hyping up my teammates,” she said. “I’m the loudest person on the field. Everyone should be able to hear that they are doing well. You shouldn’t be silent when they are doing something good. A lot of teams are very quiet and don’t support each other, but I am that one that you can hear from the opposite sideline.”
In her huge heart, Deppi believes a strong team spirit can go a long way.
“Having a team that supports each other is definitely like the No. 1 thing,” she said. “You don’t have to be the best team, but it’s definitely a lot harder when you don’t support each other. You don’t feel like you’re having as much success, even when you are having success, when people are constantly bringing you down. I like to be that person who hugs you up and tells you that you’ll do better next time.”
Acknowledgements
Deppi wanted to thank both her parents for introducing her to the game she loves.
“My dad has definitely been the one to push me and to take me to practices, even when I didn’t want to, just so I could get the reps in,” she said. “My mom got me into refereeing lacrosse, so I could see it from a different perspective.”
She also wanted to thank Noelle Powell, the coach of Club Reign Lacrosse.
“My club coach, has made a huge impact, and really helped me through my injury and getting back,” said Deppi. “It was really hard, especially with recruitment. Having that type of person to lean on was super helpful.”
Law and Order
As determined as she is about helping her team win on the field, Deppi has a clear view of her future.
She will be playing Division III lacrosse at Neumann University and studying criminal justice and psychology.
She plans to emerge with a master’s degree and then will spend the two gap years -- before applying to join the FBI -- coaching lacrosse, ideally at her alma mater.
“I love coaching,” said Deppi. “Once I moved up to the higher level, I knew I wanted to coach older kids instead of younger kids. I can get farther with them.”
And she has first-hand experience, as she currently coaches first and second grade girls and fifth and sixth grade boys, which she actually prefers.
“My dad is the head coach and I’m the assistant. It’s easier than girls’ lacrosse,” she said. “There’s more contact. There’s less drama. No one is crying.”
Noseworthy said that as long as she is where she is, Deppi can consider herself hired.
“I would take her on with me, 100 percent,” said the coach. “I think she has a great understanding of the game. She is very clear on what needs to be done on the field. She has a good grasp of the whole field.”
As for going into law enforcement, she is again following the trail blazed by her dad, a sergeant with the Newtown Township Police Department.
“My whole family is First Responders,” said Deppi, whose mother is an audiology technician. “I was trying to figure out if I wanted to stay in the police aspect of a career or if I wanted to go medical. I always wanted to help people.”
Hitting the Books
Deppi loves lacrosse enough to not want to put down her stick – or coaching whistle and clipboard -- after high school, but academics were always the priority.
She says she started with a wide search – as many as 45 schools -- and narrowed it down from there.
The right fit was Neumann in Aston, Pa.
“I think she will be fine there,” said Noseworthy of the level of competition. “She has a high lacrosse IQ.”
For Deppi, it was the whole picture that made Neumann the right place for her.
“I can do more with academics, and it has more opportunities to help out with youth programs throughout the area and to have more free time,” said Deppi, who has challenged herself as much as possible at Council Rock North with accelerated classes and sports a 3.5 GPA.
“School is more important than sports, especially in high school. When I get home from practice, I just keep grinding. Like I said, academics are more important than sports. If you are an athlete, you still have to put your academics first.”
As a student-athlete, Deppi was recognized with a PASLA All-Academic Award, which is voted on by coaches after being nominated.
“It means a lot. It’s very heartwarming to be recognized by coaches for what I’ve been driving for,” she said.
Staying Involved
While it would be easy to just stay in that student-athlete lane, Deppi feels the need to be of service to the school community. She somehow finds the time – between coaching and playing all year and keeping her head in the books – to get involved in many activities at school.
That includes Athletes Helping Athletes (working with students with special needs), Rock Ambassadors (helping freshmen adjust), North Outreach (community service) and Applied Leadership (peer interaction).
For Deppi, leadership – on and off the field – is instinctive, so she goes with it.
“I have always been a natural leader,” she said. “Leadership skills are something I have as a quality and I just like to be able to fulfill that.”
