Basketball
Favorite athlete: Conor McGregor
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Senior Night against Quakertown! Big overtime victory.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Drenched teammate’s pillow and froze it during an overnight team camp at Alvernia.
Music on iPod: Country Music
Future plans: Graduate college, fantastic paying job, and a family
Words to live by: “I am cocky in prediction. I am confident in preparation, but I am always humble in victory or defeat.”
One goal before turning 30: To make my parents proud of me!
One think people don’t know about me: I don’t have a middle name.
By Craig Ostroff
Central Bucks South senior Dan Tecce found his spot, planted his feet and drew a charge.
Such a standard play in an early-season basketball game would not normally be noteworthy.
In this case, however, it was extraordinary. Because Tecce, now a senior starter for the Titans’ boys basketball team, not only had to deal with an oncoming opponent, but the memory of a similar moment two years ago that nearly derailed his basketball career – and far more.
In a late-season junior varsity game during his sophomore year, Tecce found his spot, planted his feet and drew a charge. During the ensuing collision, Tecce took a knee to the stomach and went down.
He knew something wasn’t right.
“I immediately felt the wind taken out of me,” Tecce said. “I got off the court on my own, but I was in so much pain. I got to the bench and grabbed the trash can and threw up. I knew it was probably something bad, but I didn’t know what it was.”
When the pain didn’t subside, Tecce went to his family doctor the next day.
“He told me something was really wrong and sent me to CHOP right away,” Tecce said.
In what the doctors deemed a “one-in-a-million” occurrence, the collision had actually crushed the tail of Tecce’s pancreas, and as a result, three liters of fluid had accumulated in his stomach. Surgery was performed immediately. Had they waited another 24 hours before taking action, the injury could very well have been fatal.
Tecce credits Titans’ assistant coach Josh Williams – a paramedic – for his care and assistance in the moments and hours following the collision.
“Josh really helped me with everything,” Tecce said. “We’ve been really close ever since. He really made sure I did everything I needed to do and was OK.”
While the road back to health was quicker than expected – doctors projected an eight-month recovery period and Tecce was cleared to resume full athletic activities in just three – it wasn’t always easy. With a weakened immune system, Tecce was isolated following the surgery to remain free from infection or virus. Most importantly for him, he was forced to watch his friends and teammates from a distance.
“We set up an account on Hudl for Dan so he could have access and watch the playoffs,” said Titans’ head coach Jason Campbell. “We had a great group of players that visited him in the hospital.
“He sent me an email at one point reflecting on the game of basketball, and that his goal for the upcoming season was to work hard and get back from his injury. He was going to try to recover 100 percent and be a varsity player.”
The doctors had suggested that perhaps the ultra-competitive Tecce should try his hand at other sports.
“They told me I should stick to non-contact sports like golf or bowling,” Tecce said. “I just laughed that off. Basketball, baseball, football were the sports I always loved to play. I wanted to be back playing as soon as I could.
“My family, the coaches, they knew I wanted to play again, and everyone supported my decision. They knew I loved playing, that that’s what I wanted to do and supported me though that.”
Of course, waiting was not always easy.
“As soon as it happened, I was thinking that I need to strengthen my core as soon as I can - my core’s not strong enough, I need to get back and strengthen it,” Tecce said. “Not being able to do anything, that was terrible. I had to sit in my living room and watch movies all day. I’d try dribbling a ball, lifting some weights and my parents would yell at me.
“April 28 (2015) was the date I was cleared. I remember the exact date. That first day back, I was in the weight room and playing ball.”
Tecce – who also plays centerfield for the Titans’ baseball team but was forced to sit out the spring season after missing tryouts and the beginning of the season – targeted his junior year on the hardwood as the place where he would make his dreams come true.
Unfortunately, those dreams of starting for the basketball team would have to wait. While he saw varsity action his junior year, the team needed him in a different role. And because Tecce was willing to play any part necessary to bring his team success, he never complained.
“Dan was more a practice player his junior year,” Campbell said. “He got a little bit of time last season, but we had a lot of seniors ahead of him.
“That says a lot about his character to come back junior year, to be more a practice player for varsity, yet he still sets his goals and continues to work hard to go after his goals. That’s what I love about the kid. Not a lot of high school players can face that type of adversity and be patient enough and know that eventually it will pay off down the road.”
“It was quite frustrating,” Tecce said of his junior season. “But I knew that the hard work would pay off. I knew - senior year, I’m starting. I was going to make that happen.”
Rather than simply biding his time waiting for his chance, Tecce made certain that he’d be ready to step into the starting lineup his senior season.
“This offseason, Danny took the bull by the horns,” Campbell said. “He hit the weight room to get bigger and stronger. He’s stronger and leaner now. He’s worked on his leadership. You see in practice, he works hard and asks questions and learns how to improve on his game, he wants to get better. He wants to learn more. That’s something that’s going to help him succeed not just in athletics, but in life.”
It also helps Tecce as a leader on the Titans’ basketball team now that his senior season has begun. While he doesn’t dwell on the injury, it has certainly affected his outlook on basketball and life, and has helped him to appreciate even the mundane things in life.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Tecce said. “I know that at any moment, something could be taken away from you. So I go 100 percent. It means so much more to me to come and play every day.”
While Tecce has worked hard to improve his offensive capabilities, he remains the type of player who is willing to sacrifice his body to dive for a loose ball, to battle for a rebound, to take a charge. Despite the injury, Tecce has not changed his game.
The injury is not something he dwells on, Tecce said, especially since the doctors assured him that once his pancreas had healed, it was fully healed, and he ran no risk of re-aggravating or damaging his pancreas through normal activity and gameplay.
“I was driving to the first game this season thinking, with everything that happened two years ago, all this hard work to get back in shape and get back to playing, it makes me extremely proud that I’m now starting and helping my team win games. It really means a lot to me,” he said.
“I’ve done my best to move on. I use it as motivation for myself, not just in basketball but in everything, just because it showed me that you never know when something you love can be taken from you. But once I get on the court, I don’t think about it at all. I only know one way to play, and that’s giving 100 percent.”
That means you can expect to see Tecce leading by example, inspiring his teammates by diving for loose balls, fearlessly taking charges, battling in the paint … whatever role his team needs him to play, he is ready and willing to help.
“From everything I’ve seen so far, you don’t see any hesitation on Danny’s part,” Campbell said. “This year, he was the first kid to take a charge. He’s relentless, he doesn’t take plays off. He really is the motor of the team, both in practices and in games.”
Having finally achieved his goal of starting for the Titans’ boys basketball team, Tecce is now focused on his goals for this season. Not surprisingly, he’s more than willing to sacrifice any personal totals for team success … or, if all goes well, team immortality.
“The best way to end this season would be to win the conference championship,” said Tecce, who is looking to major in sports management in college. “To be able to come back each year and see your year on the banner, that’s got to be the best feeling. That’s what I would love to see.”
