Football, Baseball
Favorite athlete: Johnny Manziel
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Beating #1 seed Garnet Valley in the second round of the playoffs sophomore year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: During a football game when I was 12, I broke my wrist. I stopped the game for 30 minutes and an ambulance drove on the field.
Music on iPod: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Portugal.The Man, Vampire Weekend
Future Plans: Go to Penn State and pursue a math-based major
Words to live by: “Hard work will pay off.”
One goal before turning 30: Achieving success in my profession
One thing people don’t know about me: I can solve a Rubik’s cube.
By GORDON GLANTZ
Abington coach Tim Sorber will have one lasting vision of outgoing senior quarterback David Kretschman.
It goes back to the 2013 season, when Krestschman – then a sophomore who became the team’s third starter with three games left in the regular season – was at the controls as the Ghosts rallied from a 21-7 deficit for a 26-21 win over second-seeded Garnet Valley in the District One Quad-A Tournament.
The comeback concluded with a long touchdown drive that was capped in the closing seconds when Kretschman hit 6-foot-3 receiver Khari Jefferson on a fade pattern.
“The visiting sideline was going nuts,” recalled Sorber. “But he was just very nonchalant, just grabbing for his water bottle. He may have pumped his fist a little, but that was about it. But that’s just reflective of the type of kid he is.”
As it turned out, winning that district quarterfinal playoff game was the pinnacle – at least team-wise – of a career that will conclude against crosstown rival Cheltenham on Thanksgiving Day.
“It had to be difficult for him,” continued Sorber. “Here he was, starting as a sophomore and reaching the District One semifinals. He tasted a lot of success early on. While it had to be disappointing, it didn’t reflect in his practice habits or during games.”
And with his football career about to conclude, the Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week will let us in on a little secret.
He may not have been animated at the time, but he remains as psyched up about the sight of Jefferson hauling in that pass as he was at the time.
“I definitely remember that,” he confirmed. “I was really happy.
“I just always try to keep a level head, whether you are winning or losing. On that last drive, I remember just pretending it was the first or second quarter. I was just playing football.”
Mixed Emotions
Kretschman – who has “just been playing football” since he could barely walk – considered the notion of playing at the college level, at a Division II or III school, but has instead chosen to focus on academics at his first choice, Penn State.
“I just got accepted three days ago,” he said. “And that’s always where I wanted to go.”
Kretschman, who carries a 4.1 GPA and is a member of the National Honors Society, will enter Penn State undecided but plans to focus on “something math-based,” such as engineering or statistics.
“I went to a few (recruiting) camps. I definitely considered it, but it just wasn’t my No. 1 priority. I wanted to focus on academics.”
His father, Chris Sr., started him off by signing him up for flag football with the Abington Raiders. He stayed with that program until he was no longer eligible. He then played a year in CYO for the St. John’s Crusaders before moving on to Abington as a freshman.
That’s a lot of football for a lot of years, and he will be walking away with mixed emotions.
“There are parts about it that I’ll miss, and part that I won’t miss,” said Kretschman. “I’m going to miss being on the team and hanging out with the guys every day, and seeing results of our hard work.”
What he won’t miss is the time commitment, which leads to a balancing act with schoolwork and other school activities, such as Mini-Thon, which raises money for pediatric cancer.
“I gave up a lot of time to play football,” said Kretschman, who also mans the hot corner for the school’s baseball team. “It’s a huge commitment – way more than other sports.”
After what he felt was a disappointing junior year, Kretschman was determined to rectify a completion percentage under 50 percent and more interceptions than touchdowns thrown.
He put in the work necessary to get it straightened out, which was not lost on his coach.
“He improved, tremendously,” said Sorber. “It’s a credit to him, what he did over one summer.
“Football really means something to him.”
Balancing Act
This year, Kretschman’s stat line – nearly 54 percent completion rate, 1,605 yards, 16 touchdown passes against six interceptions and four rushing touchdowns – shows the work was not in vain.
However, with one eye on the won-loss record, he remains his harshest critic.
“I’m still not satisfied with that,” he said. “You can always do better.”
It is this type of attitude that makes him a leader who does not have to rely on being demonstrative.
“I always try to lead by example,” he said. “It comes down to what you do on the field – in practice and in games – and what you do in school.
“If you don’t do the things you say, nobody is going to listen to you.”
Through it all, though, Kretschman was keenly aware of maintaining balance. He got involved in Mini-Thon – which uses a Penn State event as its model – as a sophomore and remained involved, taking on a leadership role.
“It was a chance to raise a lot of money for a good cause, and it was a lot of fun,” said Kretschman, who credited his parents for their support.
Example: His mother, Virginia, was always in sync with his hectic schedule.
“I have to give a lot of credit to my parents,” he said. “My mom always had a meal ready, so I could go from one thing to the next.”
And the next thing, after practice, was the books.
“It’s just a matter of working hard each day,” said Kretschman, whose older brother, Paul, played football at Abington and now attends Pitt and whose younger brother, Chris Jr., will be an incoming Abington freshman next year. “You just have to focus on what’s important.
“My dad would never make me go out in the backyard and do push-ups. But if I wanted to do something, he always supported me.”
Kretschman also pointed to the coach who gave him a chance to be his starting quarterback as a sophomore.
“I have to thank Coach Sorber,” said Kretschman, who also credited former quarterback coach Kevin Morton and running back Craig Reynolds, the epicenter of the 2013 team, for setting examples to follow. “It’s hard not to work when you see the effort Coach Sorber puts in.”
To that end, the feeling is mutual. Sorber points to Kretschman’s “poise and character” and to the fact that he threw for 200 yards – while taking a physical pounding – against playoff teams North Penn and Pennsbury as proof of his valor.
“I’m going to look back on him very fondly,” said Sorber. “He always kept a positive attitude. Despite our won-loss record, he has had a great year.
“I never had a quarterback taste team success like he did and then, through no fault of his own, not have it. I think if you ask a lot of coaches in our league, they would agree that he is one of the top offensive players in the conference.
“We don’t have a cupcake schedule. If you look at, I think something like six of the 10 teams we played made the playoffs. Another team, Pennridge, just missed. It has been a tough season. But David is always very even-keeled. He never gets too high on top of the mountain or too low in the valley. He’s just that type of a kid. You don’t see much of a difference. It takes maturity to keep an even keel when things are going so poorly.”
Kretschman, who points to bad luck with injuries and lack of depth in key spots as a reason for some of the team’s struggles, deployed the same mental approached that kept him from visibly celebrating that night against Garnet Valley.
“I kind of just control the things I can,” he said. “I just have to go out there and do my best every practice and every game, no matter what the circumstances are.”
