Baseball
Favorite athlete: Bryson Stott, the second baseman of the Phillies. I have enjoyed watching him mature through last year's rookie season and this year's season to become a leader of his team. He has become a big part of his team and will continue to grow as his career goes on.
Favorite team: The Phillies, I enjoy watching them in person or on TV. You never see a player give up, and they always have each others’ backs regardless of what happened. I try to take these traits onto the field with my teammates.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Hitting two home runs in one game last year against Abington High School.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened to me while competing in sports: Getting stuck in an elevator with my travel teammates, and the local fire company coming to the hotel to get us out.
Music on my playlist: Country music, more modern artists.
Future plans: To continue my education and baseball career in college.
Words to live by: “Keep your head in the game.” Knowing the situation at the plate and what to do with the ball defensively if it is hit to you. This can change pitch by pitch and also out by out and also depends on the score of the game.
One goal before turning 30: To own my own house.
One thing people do not know about me: I go fishing a lot to relax and clear my head. Most of the time I put the fish back and don’t keep them.
By GORDON GLANTZ
In this day and age, the ability to feel true empathy could be considered a superpower.
As such, Pennridge senior baseball player Matt Atchley is a bit of a superhero.
In addition to being a standout student-athlete, he is a true rarity, as he will be a third-year captain and fourth-year varsity middle infielder.
The son of Lisa and Scott, Atchley describes himself as both a vocal leader and a leader by example, and he has carried that example off the field with a commendable spirit of volunteerism.
A kindhearted soul who likes to fish to relax, often while listening to the likes of Luke Combs or Darius Rucker, Atchley usually throws back the fishes he catches (unless they are truly edible).
After his freshman year at Pennridge, Atchley had a bit of an awakening about the world around him.
He saw that others playing his sport were not as fortunate and could not keep up with the expenses.
“As a kid, I never really realized how much sports cost and how much the costs can really add up,” he said. “Even playing for a team -without the cost of equipment and stuff like that - can be expensive. After my first year of high school, I saw some kids who struggled with equipment and stuff like that. I did see if before, but never really noticed it until that one high school year. Ever since then, I just wanted to help as many people as I could.”
That’s when Atchley got involved with Pitch In for Baseball and Softball.
“Basically, I’ve been doing this since the summer after my freshman year,” said Atchley. “The first year I did it, it was more equipment-driven. I would go out and collect lightly used equipment – catcher’s gear, bats, gloves and any other equipment. It was over 100 pieces of equipment.”
He took the collections to a warehouse in Hatfield, first dealing with Chris Albright and Lauren Nagata and then CEO Meredith Kim, who took over.
“She receives letters from programs or associations that need help with baseball and softball equipment,” said Atchley, who was invited to an event in Philadelphia and met with Ben Davis for a bit. “She takes the orders, and takes the equipment that’s donated and says, ‘Well, we can send you this or that.’ That’s basically what I did. This year, I targeted more businesses. I did still collect some equipment, but I was mostly driving for business donations this year.”
Danny Long, who will be a first-year head coach for the Rams after serving as an assistant, sees the community work as an extension of what Atchley is all about.
“Matt is always there and always willing to lead the way when a coach isn’t around,” said Long. “He’s a pleasure to have in our program.
“Him giving to the baseball community the way he does, I just think that’s awesome. I know he is involved in raising money to provide equipment for those who are less fortunate. I think that’s just an amazing thing, to be able to give back within the baseball community. It’s pretty cool.”
A Class Act
Schoolwork first. That is a family rule, one that included his older sister, Lauren, a former soccer player at Pennridge who is now in college.
Atchley has never had much of a problem following the high standard.
“In the classroom, I like to challenge myself,” said Atchley, who maintains a 4.0 GPA. “Throughout high school, I’ve pretty much only taken honors and AP-level classes.”
In addition to hitting the books and his year-round dedication to baseball after dropping soccer as a freshman, he is involved in several activities --Future Business Leaders or America, Key Club, National Honor Society and others.
Because he is aspiring to play baseball at the collegiate level – a goal Long, a college player at Monmouth University after a stellar career at Pennrdige, feels is more than doable – strong academics will help kick in some doors that may only partially be open.
“If you think about it, a coach is given a certain number, in terms of dollars, per year that he is allowed to spend on kids,” said Atchley. “He might look at someone who they can get on an academic scholarship, instead of an athletic scholarship. It always helps if you keep your grades up in the classroom.”
Keeping All Options Open
Atchley is kind of playing the field right now with his college choices.
“It’s going good,” he said. “I’m still in the whole recruiting process. I’m visiting a lot of different schools. I’ll probably make my decision by the end of the (calendar) year. I’m kind of just exploring my options right now.”
Anywhere on the map is fine, but the lover of country music is fascinated by what might be waiting for him down South.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I’d love to go to Florida or North Carolina or somewhere down there.
“I just enjoy the weather, and how people are down there. I’m not trying to say that people up here are mean, but the people down there seem real nice.
“Wherever I’m playing baseball is a good time. That’s what I’m looking for.”
Springing Forward
Atchley and Long share a vision for the upcoming season, and that is one in which Pennridge is more of a contender once again.
“I really like him,” said Atchley of Long, who was also his coach on the club level last season. “I think him coming in to be the head coach at Pennridge will be really good for the team. He’s a good fit for the job and he’ll perform well.”
Long, a 2013 Pennridge graduate, believes he has a blueprint for success.
“I’m looking forward to getting rolling,” said Long. “We need to just move one practice at a time and one game at a time. Our main is to get back to the playoffs. It’s been a few years since Pennridge has been to the District One playoffs. If we can just keep that as our main goal – and take one practice at a time and one game at time – we’ll have the chance to get back in there.”
A lot that success will begin with Atchley, and they both know it.
“I feel like I have to stay in my role of being a captain,” he said. “Also, I just want to make sure everyone is doing what they need to do, but in a good way. I’m just there to support them through it and help them. Instead of yelling at them, I need to be able to tell them what to do to improve.
Added Long: “Matt is a great kid. He is a competitor. He also does the little things for a team, and for a program, that don’t always get seen or that he doesn’t always get credit for, but it goes a long way for us. My expectation for him is to be a leader on the team this year.”
And when it’s all said and done, Atchley will know he will know he didn’t do it on his own.
“I would thank all of my family,” he said. “They’ve helped me with all of this. I’d also like to thank all of my coaches for making me love the game of baseball and giving me the drive to do this.”
