Soccer, Track & Field
By Craig Ostroff
Every senior strives to make his or her senior season the best it can possibly be.
For Bensalem’s Ryan Molz, earning second-team All-National Conference Honors while helping lead the Owls to a rare postseason berth certainly made his senior season a stellar way to end his high school soccer career.
Of course, for Molz, simply being able to play an entire season was a victory on its own.
“This was my first season where I was able to play a complete season,” Molz said. “It was my first complete season healthy and with no injuries.
“It was awesome to get (all-league honors). I’m proud of everyone from Bensalem who made all-league, to know we were recognized by the other teams in the league. But it’s not about personal goals. It’s about the team. Our goal this year was to make the playoffs, which we did. We were only the fifth or sixth team in school history to ever make it. That felt good.”
It was truly a triumphant return for Molz, who spent a vast majority of the first three years of his high school soccer career on the sidelines, nursing multiple long-term injuries. Yet despite those injuries – tears to both ACLs and a fractured ankle – Molz took to his senior season with no fear or hesitation.
“There’s not a player or coach in this league who would say that Ryan didn’t give 100 percent out there,” said Bensalem coach Joe Leone. “He was aggressive, he gave it his all every play, every game. Some kids may get injured and shy away from contact or not be as aggressive as they used to be. Ryan was the opposite – he left it all on the field. He was out there making the most of every game.”
“When I tore my ACL in my right knee (as a freshman), I was so hesitant,” Molz said. “I was scared, and I didn’t want to do anything to reinjure it. When I tore the left ACL (during junior year), I knew the only way to ever get back was to conquer my fears and go at it. I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I was afraid. I didn’t want to be afraid of anything. The second time, it was just another obstacle. I knew I could get over it and come back. I already had.”
The first significant setback of his high school career happened during his first game as a Bensalem Owl. Having stood out immediately to the coaching staff during preseason camp prior to his freshman year, Molz found himself on the varsity squad as a freshman. And he found himself getting his first opportunity to show off his talents in the Owls’ first game.
Things didn’t quite go as planned.
“We immediately recognized Ryan at practice as being a step above not only his grade, but even above some of the older kids,” Leone said. “He had the enthusiasm, he had the knowledge, he could run the drills at a higher level. We immediately recognized him as a special player. And in that first game, against Archbishop Ryan, I wanted to give him some experience and some playing time as a freshman.”
“I was so excited when Coach Leone told me to warm up,” Molz said. “I knew, ‘This is my time to shine, I’m ready.’ I got in, and it was maybe five minutes later, I was side shuffling in the middle of the field, I planted my right leg and heard my knee just pop. I ended up getting an MRI and found out my ACL was torn. I was devastated.”
Though the injury would keep him off the pitch for the remainder of the season, it didn’t keep him away from the team. Molz continued to show up to practices and attended games to help cheer on his teammates.
“Ryan would sit on the bench with a smile on his face,” Leone said. “He was happy to be part of the team. Some kids might get an injury and bag the team; he was there for every practice. He sat there and watched, and as he slowly got better, he’d help with the equipment, kept score; he continued to participate as a team member.”
For Molz, there was never a thought about abandoning his team.
“I’m still a part of the team, even if I can’t play,” he said. “I didn’t want to give up going to the games. I still enjoyed going and cheering them on. And they always kept me positive. They knew it was tough for me, but they were always positive, telling me, ‘You’ve still got three more years.’”
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way, as the injury bug bit Molz again. In his first club team tournament after rehabbing his ACL, Molz fractured his ankle. He would miss his entire sophomore season for the Owls.
Despite having played all of five minutes in his high school career, Molz was named a captain for his junior season. But early in the year, during a game against Abington, more bad luck struck as Molz was running with the ball when his left knee gave out. It turned out to be a torn ACL.
“It was insanely frustrating,” he said. “I was so excited to play high school soccer, and for the third year in a row, I’m out for the season.”
After so much bad luck and so many injuries that cost him so much playing time, what kept Molz from simply throwing his hands in the air and admitting that he was snakebitten and throwing in the towel on his athletic career?
“I’m just not the type of guy to give up on anything,” said Molz, who began running the 400 and 800 meter runs in track during his junior year to help rehab and strengthen his legs and will do the same in indoor and outdoor track as a senior. “I love soccer so much I can’t just walk away from it. It was difficult to push through it all, but I love to play the game. I have so much love for the game I can’t leave it.”
As a senior co-captain – along with his twin brother Ricky Molz and Omar Luviano – on this year’s squad, Molz brought a unique outlook and provided the perfect example for the underclassmen about perseverance and overcoming setbacks.
“We used to joke about it when he was injured his junior year,” Leone said. “I’d always tell him, ‘One of these years I’m going to actually get to see you play.’ Not only did he stick with it, he turned it into something positive. He shows his teammates that you work hard and don’t give up.
“Ryan really was the heart of our team. He was always there to talk to the kids. As a leader, he was all about giving it 100 percent, being positive. He was inspirational to the other players on the team. And he has a lot of talent. He’s someone who is a good motivator, and he backs it up on the field as well.”
Molz, who always considered himself more of the lead-by-example type, found himself stepping into more of a vocal role.
“I thought I was a lead-by-example captain, but I leave that to Omar and Ricky – they’re the quiet guys who perform well on the pitch,” Molz said. “Omar and Ricky really did a lot to help push me through.
“I was the guy who would amp you up and throw it all on the line. Before every game, we would circle up, and I have a quote for every game: ‘A moment of pain is worth a lifetime of glory.’ That’s a quote that has always stuck with me. So this year we used it to add fuel to the fire before every game, to pump everyone up and make sure they gave 100 percent.”
Molz also gives 100 percent in the classroom and when he represents his school and community. A solid student with numerous Honors and AP classes on his high school transcript, Molz is also part of the Owls Television Network, serves as Vice President in student government, is a member of the National Honor Society, and participates in Building Bridges, a program where high schoolers visit the district middle schools to talk to the youngsters about social and societal issues.
“I really do enjoy being able to give back,” Molz said. “I’ve met so many different people though all that. I’m really grateful for what I have. And giving back is important. I love the canned food drive (run by the student government). Things like that bring smiles to people’s faces and really help them out.”
As his time in Bensalem draws to a close, Molz is looking to the future. He’s looked at close to two dozen colleges, though he said his top choice would be to attend the University of Pittsburgh to study physical therapy.
“That’s my dream school – I absolutely loved it there,” said Molz, who acknowledges that if he does end up at Pitt, he would not plan on playing soccer at anything above a college club level. “I always wanted to be a teacher or a soccer player, but going through all that I went through, I think I can excel in physical therapy because I know how people react to it.”
Wherever he ends up, his coach expects Molz to prove – as he has done time and again at Bensalem – that hard work and dedication can overcome any obstacle that life might put in his way.
“Whatever Ryan decides to do, wherever he goes, you want a kid like that in your program and in your school,” Leone said. “Wherever he ends up, you want people who are team-oriented and determined. You want people like Ryan.”
