Thanks to our continued partnership with Univest Financial, SuburbanOneSports.com will once again recognize a male and female featured athlete each week. The recognition is given to seniors of high character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams or who have overcome adversity. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Sept. 30, 2024)
Ella Haag is described by her field hockey coach as patient, kind and calm. No one will argue that the Central Bucks South senior is all those things, but don’t be fooled. The senior captain is fiercely competitive and a whole lot tougher than her kind demeanor might suggest. Need proof? Haag was injured after a collision with another player in the Titans’ game against North Penn with what was later determined to be a bruised sternum and concussion. “She played through the entire game without telling us how much it hurt to breathe,” South field hockey coach Kelli Chioffe said. Turns out Haag was reluctant to even get checked out after the game “I had to go and get all these tests to see if I had concussion,” she said. “I didn’t want to because I wanted to continue playing, and I knew I was going to be out for a while.”
If there was any question about the significance of Haag’s role on the team (and there wasn’t), they were answered when she was sidelined for two weeks after suffering the injury. “She missed a lot of games against the strong teams in our division and then three crossover games,” Chioffe said. “We had to switch out of our new formation that we had been working on since the start of the season and go back to basics – it was hard because I had just started getting the team to really start to figure it out. We had to find someone to fill in on both our offensive and defensive corner teams in her absence. So needless to say, we certainly felt a big void without her. She has a huge presence on our team and is so respected as a captain.”
While it was difficult for the Titans to be without her, it was even more difficult for Haag. “I think it helped me watching my team when I was out because I got to see how everyone else plays, but it was also frustrating because during games when we were down, I just wanted to get back on the field and help the team,” she said. Haag is back on the field helping her team, and when her playing days at South are behind her, she is committed to continue her hockey career at Drexel University next fall.
Haag is the third of four sisters, and field hockey is the undisputed sport of choice in the Haag family. Older sisters Grace and Lily both played field hockey, and their influence has been unmistakable. Haag lists playing with her older sisters as her favorite sports memory, and although she never had the opportunity to play with her younger sister, Aoife – who is in sixth grade - is also hooked on hockey.
The senior captain has been a fixture in the starting lineup since she was a sophomore. “Ella Haag is a committed and complete athlete,” Chioffe said. “She works to better herself constantly and is the ultimate team player. Her defense is stellar, and her field hockey IQ is excellent. Ella is explosive on offense and can bring the ball down the field when necessary.” A key player on both her team’s defensive and offensive corners, Haag, according to her coach, is involved in every aspect on the field. Her leadership is also significant. “As a captain, she is very willing to lead and has great rapport with her teammates and coaches,” Chioffe said.
Away from the hockey field, Haag is an excellent student with diverse interests. “I’m really into art classes, so I take a couple art classes each year,” she said. “I like ceramics, and I like drawing and painting, so I guess I like all of it.” Haag Is looking forward to next semester when she will take a new class being offered. “It’s unified art, so it’s helping kids with intellectual disabilities in art class, which I’m super excited to be taking it,” she said. “I also do unified track. I help out with that, and I love doing that and being able to run with them.” Haag is involved with Athletes Helping Athletes as well as Titans Connect. She is also the female athlete representative for her grade, attending meetings to look for ways to better the athletic experience for student-athletes at South.
Next fall, Haag will join her sister Lily on the hockey field at Drexel. She is leaning toward a business major but is not completely certain. In Haag, Drexel will inherit more than just an outstanding field hockey player. “Ella is a true role model to for the younger players,” Chioffe said. “She is well liked and respected by her peers. She is patient, kind and calm, but don’t let that fool you. She is one of the toughest players around.”
To read the complete Haag story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/ella-haag-00115214
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Sept. 30, 2024)
Cheltenham boys’ soccer coach Bill Tonkin still has high hopes for the rest of the season. However, the coach can’t help but look down the road. At season’s end, three-year captain Xavier “Xavi” Chanoine will no longer be around. “It’s going to be a huge loss,” said Tonkin. “I’m trying to find some people to fill his shoes, but I don’t know if there is one person who is going to be able to fill his shoes.” In addition to his obvious skill level, it is Chanoine’s presence and leadership that will leave a void that may take more than one player to fill. “He’s a really, really good leader,” said Tonkin. “He has been our captain since his sophomore year. He showed the ability, in his freshman year on the JV team, to just motivate his teammates. He can organize things and keep everybody together. He’s just a really positive person.”
During games, if an observer hears a voice on the field, rising above the din of all others, it is usually that of Chanoine. He plays defensive center midfield, which naturally makes the connection between the offense and the defense. “He is like that coach on the field,” added Tonkin. “Everyone looks to him for guidance and leadership. He really takes it personally, in terms of how much the other guys look up to him. “He is the one talking in the huddle to all of them, saying stuff like, ‘Let’s calm down. We’re getting away from this, let’s do that.’ There are times, in the huddles, that myself and the assistants don’t even say anything. Like I said, he’s that coach on the field. He makes my job and my assistants’ jobs easier. We don’t have to yell out onto the field. He is already doing it for us.”
Looking back on his sophomore year, when the Panthers only had two wins, Chanoine has enjoyed the progression of now being a key part of a squad that made the district playoffs for the first time in memory a year ago (before falling, 3-0, to Lower Merion in the first round) and has that same expectation this year.
Academically, Chanoine currently sports an unweighted GPA just shy of 4.0. He is taking a course load that includes four AP classes. He is also senior class president and a member of the National Honor Society. In the winter, between sports seasons, he is part of a ski and snowboarding club. Although he considers soccer his No. 1 sport, having played it at an elite club level, Chanoine is also a four-year member of the varsity baseball team. This all makes him a master juggler of time, which will serve him well at one of the schools he is considering. Duke is the top choice, but he has a long list. Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, UCLA, Yale, Penn State, Pitt and Miami are all within the wide geographic net he is casting.
Aside from all those schools having serious Division I sports, his focus will be on becoming a doctor, following in the footsteps of his father (Pierre Chanoine, a pediatrician, and his mother, Reem Tarazi, a neuropsychiatrist). “For the last few years, I’m pretty much set on wanting to become a doctor,” he said. That means this season – his last hurrah – is magnified. “It’s very important,” said Chanoine. “Most of us aren’t going to play in college, so every game feels like a final game. Whenever it’s all done – and, hopefully, it’s a while from now and we make it pretty far – it’s going to be hard. I’ve been playing soccer since I was 4. This is my last year doing it competitively, so every game seems like, you know, ‘We need to win this one.’ It really has been a sort of emotional season. There is really a lot of passion on the team, both when we win and when we lose.”
Chanoine is hopeful the tightly-knit team can ride their passion a bit further. “Our goal is to win a playoff game or two,” he said. “Last year, we qualified for the playoffs, but we lost in the first round. This year, I’m hoping we can advance a couple of rounds in the playoffs.”
To read Chanoine’s complete story, please click on the following link: https://suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/xavier-chanoine-00115175
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