Basketball
Favorite athlete: Kyrie Irving
Favorite team: Syracuse Orange
Favorite memory competing in sports: Playing at the Palestra with my travel team.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Having to do the tip-off against a kid who was a foot taller than me in 5th grade.
Music on iPod: Rap and Alternative
Future plans: Go to college and major in business/entrepreneurship.
Words to live by: “Work hard, stay humble.”
One goal before turning 30: Graduate from college and start a business with a product/idea that I am really passionate about.
One thing people don’t know about me: I play the guitar.
By GORDON GLANTZ
From the moment CB East basketball coach Erik Henrysen approached Sean Dann halfway through his freshman year with the news that he would be splitting time between junior varsity and varsity, a plan – and a glimpse into the future – took form.
Dann spent the next years providing depth for the Patriots, knowing that an intense 2016 summer would place him in the starting lineup as a senior.
And when the 2016-17 season commenced against Boyertown, it seemed like the vision was going to become a reality, as he dropped a career-high 13 points in a 60-52 winning effort.
In the second game, at Pottsgrove, the best laid plans were put to rest with an ankle injury.
“I knew right away,” said Dann, of the severity of the injury, which occurred less than three minutes into the game.
The diagnosis confirmed what he knew already – a third-degree high ankle sprain, three ruptured ligaments and bone and tendon bruising.
If justice were to be served, this is not how the last chapter of Dann’s basketball career would have been written.
“Basketball life just hasn’t been fair to Sean,” said Henrysen. “He was penciled in to be a starter this year, and we anticipated Sean being a 25-30 minute player for us. His year essentially lasted one game. He finished with 13 points in our opening win versus Boyertown. He made senior plays in the win - drawing charges, scoring, and making heady decisions. I remember talking with my coaches that night thinking Sean was going to take on a leadership role as the season went on.
“No one was more frustrated than Sean. He was willing to play on one leg if he had to. Sean is a program guy. He put his time in, and this year should have been his year to shine.”
Despite some signs of hope, and a brief comeback attempt during the season, Dann had to contribute in other ways and make peace with the hand he was dealt.
He had to wrestle with the harsh reality, but found a way to work it out and move on to play another role on the team, as he became what he calls “an extra coach” during games.
“It was tough, but it happens,” he said. “I had to adjust my mindset. I was working so hard to have a great senior season, the kind everyone dreams about. I tried to stay positive, and work every day to get back.
“I still found ways to make my presence felt, whether it was on the bench or in the huddle. At practice, I watch all the scrimmages and drills. I watched the younger guys, and I would try to help them out.”
In retrospect, the attempt to return only made the ride on the emotional roller coaster more difficult to handle.
Dann credited Henrysen, his teammates and his family – parents Michael and Maureen and younger sister, Emily – with trying to keep his spirits up during the trying time, but there was sometimes no real salve for his wounded heart and soul.
“There were points where I’d go a week and really feel like I was making progress,” he said. “Then, I’d hit a wall. That was frustrating. I could sense the season slipping away after I had worked all those years getting to this point.”
He tried coming back about approximately five weeks after working with a physical therapist 3-4 times a week.
“I was as close to 100 percent as I could be,” he said. “I thought I could at least help the team, but the injury was still lingering.”
The morning after the second or third game back ended the valiant comeback.
“I went to bed and then the ankle swelled up super big,” he said. “It felt just like it did after the injury. I had a MRI, and it showed that I still had ligament damage that didn’t heal. The doctor and the trainer were not sure if it was ever better in the first place, or if it was something I did during the (last) game.”
Either way, the bottom line was the same.
A basketball career that began when he was in grade school, and picked up intensity playing for CBAA (Central Bucks Athletic Association) was over.
“This was my last hurrah,” said Dann, a top-flight student with a 4.32 weighted GPA, who is considering collegiate choices geographically ranging from one hour (Penn) to 10 hours (Michigan) away from home.
So far, the pending business major and aspiring entrepreneur, has been accepted to five schools – Penn State, Virginia, Boston College, Syracuse and the aforementioned Michigan.
All he knows, as he awaits more acceptance letters, is that he better pack warm clothes.
All Henrysen knows is Dann will continue to be a high-achiever.
“Sean is headed for bigger and better things than basketball,” said the Patriots’ coach. “He is a highly involved student and is at the top of his class. He has a great head on his shoulders.”
To say he is “heavily involved” in the school community may be putting it mildly.
While his sports career included basketball and only freshman football, consider the following:
-Treasurer of student council;
-President of the Peer Tutoring Club;
-Taking charge of the merchandise for the Coaches vs. Cancer drive;
“I was always really motivated from a young age to get involved in as many things as I can,” said Dann. “I gravitated toward things I was passionate about, and I was always passionate about ways I could help others.”
Dann credits his youth coach, Jim Reichwein, for engraining a sense of social responsibility and painting a larger picture – beyond the final score of a basketball game – for his players.
“He always stressed having a bigger perspective beyond basketball, and that there are worse things than a bad game or missed shots,” said Dann. “Coach Reichwein is right up there. He meant so much to everyone on our travel team. He helped me become who I am today.”
The team brought dinners to families at CHOP whose children were awaiting transplants, and worked with challenged youth.
That’s when Dann had a life-altering moment.
“I guess my interest in Athletes Helping Athletes started with Reichwein in fifth grade, with clinics at the YMCA,” said Dann. “When I was in seventh grade, there was a boy named Andrew, who was in fourth grade, and had autism. He was super shy. It took a lot of coaxing to get him out of his shell. We bonded a lot.”
And he parted with Andrew promising he was going to practice every day and get better.
The next year, they met again.
“He ran up from behind and hugged me,” said Dann. “That was a super cool moment. And that really pushed me to continue.”
He has enjoyed similar satisfaction with the Peer Tutoring Club, which matches up students from CB East with counterparts at Holicong Middle School. In this, the third year of existence, the now-president is proud to announce that 100 potential tutors signed up. Among them were some who were tutored themselves as middle-schoolers.
“When I got involved in 10th grade, that was its first year,” he said. “It has been really successful.”
This year’s basketball team, aching to be on the floor, missed the cut for the state playoffs in a triple overtime loss at Lower Merion.
While it was not the best vantage point to enjoy his long-anticipated swan song, he never felt like an outsider.
“I want to thank my teammates,” he said. “They all knew how much this season meant to me. They helped to keep my spirits up, and they were like brothers to me.”
He may or may not fully realize it yet, but the feeling was mutual.
“When Sean looks back on his basketball career, he will probably be disappointed because of the injury,” said Henrysen. “I am, too. Sean’s contributions to the program aren’t going to show up on the stat sheet. But he never missed a practice during his recovery. He was there for his teammates and was always fully invested. We ask each graduating class to move the program forward. This group of seniors accomplished that goal, and Sean was a huge part of that.”
