Basketball
Favorite athlete: Steve Nash
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the District One Championship sophomore year at Villanova. Also, beating Coach Heiland (Head Coach at Upper Moreland) in a foul-shooting contest at summer camp before fifth grade. He’s still a little sensitive about it, so I try not to bring it up.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: During the eighth grade basketball season, we were tied with Jenkintown. I stole the ball with about five seconds left with no one within 10 feet of me, and I missed the layup to win the game. Fortunately, we won in overtime.
Music on iPod: Country, Classic Rock, and a little bit of Michael Jackson
Future plans: To go to college, major in engineering and attempt to walk on at whatever college I end up at.
Words to live by: “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”
One goal before turning 30: Find a job I’m passionate about.
One thing people don’t know about me: I’ve taken multiple courses at Montgomery County Community College.
By GORDON GLANTZ
James Martin is firm believer in the adage that one can learn as much from losing as winning.
A case in point was two seasons ago when the Upper Moreland basketball team held a double-digit lead over potentate Plymouth Whitemarsh in a late regular season game.
PW’s Anthony McKie erupted for 20 points in the final quarter, dashing the upset for the Golden Bears, but they came out rightfully believing they could play with anybody.
“That game really carried us,” he recalled. “It gave us motivation. Although it was a loss, it helped to propel us.”
And what the Bears were propelled to was the PIAA District One Class AAA title, earned with a win over Pope John Paul II.
The only sophomore receiving appreciable playing time, Martin witnessed the type of grit from one of his role models – Matt Kohn – that he also catalogued as a lesson learned.
“That was an interesting game,” said Martin. “We were up 10 with about eight minutes left when Matt Kohn broke his wrist. Even though he was in pain, he stayed in the game and played tough. He made two big free throws with a broken shooting wrist.”
Kohn and Kevin McFall, now playing at Alfred (N.Y.) University, were the leaders and Martin was a follower with an eye toward filling their void one day.
“We had our ups and down that season, but I definitely saw what it took to win,” said Martin, the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week. “Being around that type of leadership was a great experience.
“Seeing (Kohn and McFall) lead was a good example. Took what I could from them and applied it when it was my time to lead.”
Steering the Ship
With Kohn and McFall gone, Martin stars in a recurring role as a team captain and spiritual leader. As a player, his role has evolved a bit, going from 3-point specialist (he made 40 as a sophomore dropped to 30 last year), to someone who lets others do a lot of the shooting from downtown.
“Now, I create for myself,” said Martin, who is averaging a career-high 14 points and six rebounds per game from the wing.
He describes himself as more of a quiet leader, who prefers to lead by example, but adds that he will constructively confront a teammate when needed.
Matt Heiland, a longtime assistant and now head coach, appreciates all that Martin brings to the table.
“James is very passionate about the game of basketball, and it is an extreme honor to be his coach,” said the Golden Bears’ coach. “He sets the bar high for future basketball players at Upper Moreland for how he has established a solid work ethic. He works hard for everything and never cuts corners. He is often the first person to the gym and the last person to leave, not to mention a great role model for our younger student athletes within our program. For as good of a basketball player James is, he is 10 times a better person and is one of those kids you know will be successful beyond his time at Upper Moreland.”
When Heiland was an assistant to Brian Corrado, his specialty was shooting and Martin was his prized pupil.
Martin credited Carrado for cultivating his work ethic by “accepting no excuses,” and gave kudos to assistant coaches Justin Chestnut and Dan Heiland, Matt’s brother, but made it clear that the special bond is with his current head coach.
“He was always there helping,” he said. “We have a good relationship and have been close since my sophomore year.
“This season, I know he is looking to me to be his coach on the floor.”
Martin says it is an easy role to play with this year’s set of teammates.
“We have great chemistry this year, and it’s going to carry us far,” he said. “It's easy for the captains (Joe Trovato, Xavier Mulligan, myself) and seniors (Clayton Francis, Raekwon Smith, Aaron Heller) to lead when you have a competitive group of guys who believe in themselves, want to get better every day, and keep in mind that when things get too serious, we've got to take a step back and remember that we're supposed to be having fun,” he said. “It's nice to have a team like that and I know that positive attitude we have will really work to our advantage as the season continues.”
Eye on Annapolis
Perhaps his own harshest critic, the son of Mary and Jim Martin considers his SAT scores and GPA to be on the borderline for what is lofty criteria. Martin has put all the pieces in place for consideration for the Naval Academy.
“That tells you the type of student-athlete he is,” said Heiland.
Martin, active in the National Honor Society, is also vice president of student council and actively volunteers at his church.
He also holds down a job as a valet at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, even maintaining 15 hours per week there during basketball season.
“I like staying involved,” said Martin, whose older sisters, Christie and Tara, both played field hockey at Archbishop Wood, with Christie going on to play at La Salle.
Along with being a two-time captain, those activities will certainly boost his chances for Annapolis.
For now, no news is good news for the aspiring engineer.
“Everything is good, so far,” he said. “It’s a waiting game. All the nominations are in. The process is pretty tedious, but everything is in. It’s a waiting game from here.”
Martin – with a list of backup schools that includes Penn State, Delaware, Pitt, Temple and West Chester (where Kohn attends) – first recalls visiting the Naval Academy when one of his older sisters considered it, but says it was a faint memory.
The idea bubbled back to the surface again a few years back. After a visit last spring, it became a mission.
“It seemed like a great place to be,” said Martin. “In the beginning of high school, I really started to think about it. I read a lot of books and articles, and I got more interested every year.”
Beyond reading, he did a lot of listening.
“I had people tell me that they would have done it, if they had to do it over,” he said. “It’s just the right environment. It’s the right place for me. It’s the best option.
“And what you have coming out is unbelievable.”
