School: Central Bucks South
Basketball
Favorite athlete: Gilbert Arenas
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Ninth grade Unami basketball went undefeated, and we won the championship.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: In seventh grade while playing football for Unami, I was running down the sideline, and my pants fell down.
Music on iPod: lil Wayne, Drake, Eminem, Mac Miller
Future plans: Go to college next year and also play basketball there.
Words to live by: “I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.” MJ
One goal before turning 30: Graduate college and start my own basketball training business.
One thing people don’t know about me: I hold the record at Total Body Fitness Gym in Lansdale for consecutive free throws made – 102.
It's easy to see what makes Steve Schneider such a special player on the basketball court.
The Central Bucks South senior and leading scorer possesses unmatched intensity and desire on the hardwood. He can shoot from the outside or drive to the basket. He can pull down rebounds, dish out assists and do anything else asked of him in order to help his team succeed.
As impressive as that is, though, it's the way that Schneider has dealt with setbacks that impresses his coach the most.
"What really makes Steve special is his resilience and being able to handle adversity," said Titans coach Jason Campbell.
It was the summer before his sophomore season when adversity struck Schneider. During an AAU tournament, he sustained two concussions in week's time.
"That was definitely the most devastating injury of my life -- one of the hardest things I had to go through in my life," Schneider said. "I got a concussion playing, and at the time, we really didn't know the severity of what could happen if I got another concussion.
“I waited a week, and obviously it wasn't enough time because I went to play again and the first game coming back I got hit in the head and got another one. From there I got post-concussion syndrome and that's what caused me to be out for nine-and-a-half months."
For the first month following the concussions, there was dizziness and sensitivity to light. And the headaches lasted for months.
"I was out of school those nine months," Schneider said. "I had tutors coming to my house because I couldn't go through a whole day of school without getting severe headaches.
”After the dizziness went away, I had a headache pretty much every day, and depending on how much I did, that would affect how bad the headache would get. It wasn't until nine-and-a-half months before I started to feel myself again."
Once he did, though, and once he started receiving the clearances to resume physical activities, there was no stopping Schneider.
"My sophomore year, even though I couldn't play, I was part of the team," Schneider said. "That was the year we beat Roman Catholic and we were in States, and it stunk because I had to sit out the whole year.
"My goal was to come back and be a starter on varsity, which I did, and I was incredibly happy with that. My friends and coaches know I really am a gym rat, I'll stay at the gym for hours, so as soon as I got the news that I could play again, I was right back in the gym every single day."
Perhaps even more than what he brings to the floor, it's that determination that impresses his coach.
"Once he started getting clearances to do little things, he was right there doing it," Campbell said. "He spent an entire offseason trying to get back into shape and as a junior he started for us. So he basically went from ninth grade, playing middle school basketball, being out his entire sophomore year, and starting for us last year. And now he's the only returning varsity starter for this season.
“He's pretty mature, and he's able to handle things that most high school students might not be able to. I think a lot of kids would feel bad if they were in the situation he had been in, put their heads down, but he had a lot to prove."
And while Schneider has no problems talking about his injury, it's not something he dwells upon. He doesn't use it as an excuse and he won't allow it to hold him back form doing what he needs to do, whether it's in the classroom or on the court.
"When I first came back, it would obviously be in the back of your mind," he said. "When I first came back junior year, that summer I was a little bit hesitant. But once I started playing the games and practicing every day, it's just something you don't think about anymore. If I'm thinking about it, then I'm not going to be playing the game I know how to play and play 100 percent.
"Overcoming things like that makes me who I am today and makes me a stronger person, but honestly, I really don't think about it."
What he does think about is finishing his senior season on a positive note. The Titans opened the season at 1-5 heading into this week's Athletes Helping Athletes Classic at Council Rock North. Schneider, a co-captain and the only returning starter, is also taking on the crucial responsibility as a leader to an inexperienced team.
Both Schneider and Campbell wouldn't want it any other way.
"Steve is someone I can rely on as almost another coach," Campbell said. "He practices the hardest, he really does all the things we ask him to do and he doesn't hesitate to do any of it. He keeps things positive -- whether we're winning or losing -- and people draw off of that. The team does a nice job believing in him and our other captain, Matt Johns."
"I like having that pressure on me," said Schneider, who is looking to play Division III basketball in college. "You want to go out there and get the job done. I've been in this situation before, I am a senior and captain this year, I like having the team lean on me if they need to."
And while Schneider is leading the Titans in scoring, point totals are not his ultimate goal -- wins are.
Whatever it takes for the team to get a mark in the win column, Schneider is ready, willing and able to do.
"I don't care if I score 0 points, 10 points, 20 points, the most important thing is getting wins," he said. "Anything I can do, whether it's rebounding, setting other guys up with assists, or if I have to take control and have to try to score myself ... I really just look to get wins and help the team out any way that I can.
"I know we're having a tough season so far, but I'm definitely looking forward to turning it around and I really think we can turn it around. I want to see the season end by CB South turning it around, win the conference, and if we can't do that, hopefully we can make the playoffs."
And anyone who knows what Schneider can do and what he's battled through can tell you to expect him to do everything in his power to make that goal a reality.
