Soccer, Football, Basketball
Favorite athlete: Nick Chubb
Favorite team: Cleveland Browns
Favorite memory competing in sports: The bus rides with my teammates after winning.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that
has happened while competing in sports: Scoring an own goal by letting a ball go under my foot.
Music on playlist:
- My System-C4STL3
- November Air- Zach Bryan
- Rooster-Alice in Chains
- Where the Skies are Blue- The Lumineers
Future plans: Attend a college for either business or biology
Words to live by: “One percent better every day.”
One goal before turning 30: Have a nice house with a good job
One thing people don’t know about me: I enjoy playing the guitar and playing cards with my friends in my free time.
By GORDON GLANTZ
The tide has clearly turned for the New Hope-Solebury boys’ soccer program. This year’s senior-heavy squad is making up for past frustrations with wins over the same teams that it could not quite match up with in the past.
The most recent example was when the Lions – winners of just one game last season - recently bested Cheltenham 1-0.
The Lions were outshot 19-1, meaning goalkeeper John Nettles was stellar in earning in his fourth shutout of the season.
“He has put in some fantastic performances this year,” said first-year coach Chris Van Pelt. “Both on and off the field, he has been awesome.”
While the win was as gargantuan as it could be at this stage of the season, Nettles was maintaining the perspective and wisdom
that matches his 4.5 weighted GPA and class rank of second.
“It was great to keep the winning going,” said Nettles. “It wasn’t our best game, but the back line stayed solid the whole game.
“Two-three years ago, we couldn’t even have imagined beating some of these teams. It’s exciting to compete with some of these same teams, and start to beat some of these teams.”
Nettles, who has been the starting goalkeeper since the last five games of his freshman year, is looking beyond some get-even moments in the regular season.
There is a big picture that has come into full view.
“It’s exciting,” said Nettles. “In the past, in the last couple of years, we’ve struggled. This year, there is a different culture. It’s a different environment.
“We were really a young group the last few years, but we have 15-16 seniors this year. It’s good to grow with the same guys from our sophomore and junior years.”
More to Come
For Van Pelt, he couldn’t have walked in the door to a better situation as a first-year coach.
He feels the best is yet to come.
“We have had incredible buy-in this season,” said Van Pelt. “It’s a really talented group, and we feel we are ready for a really good season.
“It has been awesome. We had offseason stuff throughout the summer, and a lot of guys came out to that. For a school of this size, we have had a great turnout to tryouts and all of that.”
As such, he can see that his senior-heavy team is singularly focused on a postseason bid.
“We had a team meeting at the start of the season, and kind of really laid out our plans, and we hope to really get into the postseason,” he said. “This is a hungry group. I just hope we can get there, because this is a program that has had a rough couple of years in the past.
“So, getting there is the first goal, but we are determined to also make a deep run.”
No soccer team makes a deep postseason run without a goalkeeper to save the day, and that’s where Nettles comes in.
“He has great instincts,” said the coach. “He knows exactly when to come out and when to stay home. We play a pretty high defensive front. Most of the time, that would scare me. But, with John’s athleticism, he can come out and field the ball. He is pretty good with his feet. I even joked with him in the offseason about playing up top, just to get him a goal. He’s just a real, real athletic kid.”
No Wasted Motion
Nettles carries a course load with five AP classes.
He is open to playing soccer at the next level but is unsure if it will fall into place at schools like Notre Dame or Vanderbilt or Miami or Texas.
Nettles, who is also a member of the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America, says he has learned to be a master of time management.
“It’s about always keeping yourself active and not wasting time,” he said. “After practice, I just get down to my homework and make sure I’m on top of everything.”
One Final Kick
As if he didn’t have enough on his plate, Nettles added another helping.
Also a guard and hopeful senior starter on the basketball team, Nettles (5-11, 165) added football to his bag of tricks this year as well.
It is something has been doing on his own for the last 12-18 months and made it official this season.
“I thought - for my senior year - I would try to do both,” said Nettles, who approached Van Pelt about it before the football coach, Ian Bell about being a kicking specialist.
“It was always something I really wanted to do, so I ended up asking (Van Pelt),” said Nettles. “He was really nice about it. He said, ‘Sure, don’t get hurt. Just have fun with it.’”
Van Pelt was not about to keep Nettles from trying his foot at the new venture.
“I saw him kind of watching football practice one day during preseason,” he recalled. “I wasn’t sure if he was hurt or not, so I went over to talk to him. He said he was about to ask the football coach if he could do it. He just had the biggest smile on his face when he was talking about it. It was impossible to say no. It’s his senior year. If he wants to do both, and have some success doing that, I wasn’t going to stop that.”
Bell reportedly knew a bit about Nettles through the athletic trainer, who had taken a video of him kicking and punting, but Nettles made his intentions official.
“I introduced myself to (Bell),” said Nettles. “We just took it from there.”
Thus far, his one field goal try was blocked, but he has three extra-point kicks to his credit.
“I’ve been getting a lot better, just improving and enjoying it,” said Nettles, who has also made a few tackles. “It’s been a good experience.”
Nettles, who also plays tennis in the spring as a “fun thing,” says his field goal range extends to 50 yards, but has seen more action as a punter so far.
“I have had, like, 10 or 15 of them so far,” he said. “It’s a lot different than not having anybody coming after you, but I’m getting used to it.”
Leading in his Own Way
Whether it fits his persona or not, being a student-athlete of his stature at a small school has made Nettles a leader.
“I think I’m more of a leader by example type of person,” he said. “But, obviously, I’m the goalie. I do have to talk quite a bit.”
As far as Van Pelt sees it, Nettles is solid in the leadership department.
“John is awesome,” he said. “He’s just fantastic. He’s a real leader. We have a lot of seniors this year, and they are all really hungry to have a successful season. He is definitely one of those guys.
“While he is not really always a vocal leader, he is a guy who puts in the work. He really leads by example, and he is one of those guys you can always count on to show up.”
A debt of Gratitude
On his list of those to thank, it begins with his parents, Rick and Natalie.
“They have been so supportive over the years,” he said. “And, I’d also like to thank my coaches – not just the ones this year, but those I had in the past – and also the athletic director, PJ Scarpello.
“And, I want to thank the football coaches for welcoming me onto the team. I know it’s tough for them, not always have a kicker around at practice, but they have been supportive.”
(Photos courtesy of Karla Donohoe)
