SuburbanOneSports.com recognizes a male and female featured athlete each week. The awards, sponsored by Univest, are given to seniors of good character who are students in good standing that have made significant contributions to their teams. Selections are based on nominations received from coaches, athletic directors and administrators.
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete (Week of Dec. 24, 2015)
Whether she is in the natatorium, the classroom or out in the world, Norristown Area High School’s Dani Martorella believes she has something a little extra to prove. “There is a stereotype about Norristown,” she said. “People hear you are from Norristown, and they look at you differently. People look down on you. I don’t think that’s fair. I just feel as though people shouldn’t stereotype. They judge off of what they see, and there is more to Norristown than what they see. I have had the opportunity to meet different people and experience different cultures at Norristown that they never will.”
Martorella, for her part, has taken care of her own world to prove detractors wrong. A member of the National Honor Society and French Honor Society, she is carrying a course load of all honors and AP classes. She is also the senior captain of the swim team. At swim meets, the Eagles – out-numbered in terms of bodies – are not always able to fill up all the lanes, but they are able to get the most out of what they have for coach Beth O’Neil. Martorella is a huge part of that as she not only motivates her teammates and challenges them to get better, but she also participates in multiple events to score as many points as possible. “Dani is a senior captain and team leader,” said O’Neil. “She has been swimming for four years and has grown, not only in swimming but as a team leader as well. She leads by example and wants everyone to be involved. She works hard in practice and will swim in any event that I place her in for the meet. Dani wasn’t sure she wanted to swim in high school but, with some encouragement, she decided to swim alongside her sister Nicole and follow the family tradition.”
Martorella – who was burned out with swimming competitively - credits her sister Nicole, who she calls her ‘best friend,’ for doing the necessary prodding. “She has been inspirational for me, and I wanted an activity to be with her more,” she said. “I didn’t have the same passion in ninth grade. I had my doubts about returning in 10th grade, but that’s the year I started to appreciate swimming again. I have come a long way since my freshman year.”
A lifeguard and swim instructor at the Greater Plymouth Community Center, Martorella is teaching youngsters to enjoy swimming as much as she does. “A lot of parents push their kids,” she said. “I try to make it be something other than dreadful, like it was for me (when I was young). I try to keep it fun.”
Martorella, whose career goal is to be a nurse – more specifically a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) – has narrowed her college choices to Pitt and Temple. She was selected as one of two seniors to be added to Norristown’s Wall of Champions. The honor was a crowning achievement for a student athlete who is as proud of what she has accomplished as she is of the school where she did it.
To read Martorella’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/dani-martorella-0058479
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Dec. 24, 2015)
Roll back the calendar to the fall of 2013. Upper Dublin teammates Ryan Stover and Michael Sowers were walking to football practice together when Sowers raised an interesting question. “He said, ‘Where do you see yourself playing football after high school?’” Stover recalled. “I was like, ‘I’ve got this weird feeling – a school like Towson.’” Funny how things work out sometimes. Stover recently made a verbal commitment to accept a full scholarship to play football at Towson University. “I didn’t see myself at the time to be a Division One quarterback, but I felt like I had the potential to get to that 1AA level. It just happened to be something crazy.” Crazy perhaps but also prophetic.
The senior quarterback was the catalyst of the Flying Cardinals’ magical run to the program’s first ever District One Quad A title this fall. All told, Stover accounted for 3,528 yards of offense and 38 touchdowns. “He had a firm grip of our offense, everybody’s assignment on every play,” said coach Bret Stover, who is also Ryan’s father. “Being in complete command of what we did offensively obviously helped him. He’s doing things that I didn’t do until I was a senior in college. His ability to run the offense at the line of scrimmage – maybe that’s attributed to growing up in the household he grew up in and being around the game so much.”
As a junior, Stover led the Flying Cardinals – who had never won a district game – into uncharted territory when they advanced to the district semifinals. This year, the Cardinals advanced to the state semifinals where they fell to Parkland. Making the run so remarkable was the size of the school. Upper Dublin has 569 male students. North Penn – the squad it beat in the district title game – has 1,861. “We became a real tight-knit group,” Stover said. “To have done that under the circumstances was something that’s got to be noted.”
While football is Stover’s number one sport, he is a three-year varsity player in basketball as well. “I can’t say enough about Ryan Stover,” coach Josh Adelman said. “Every year he has improved as a player based upon the confidence he exudes on the court. He has a tremendous work ethic, and he hates to lose. If he wasn’t such a great football player, he could definitely play basketball in college. Ryan is the kind of guy you root for and understand that his future is going to be a bright one. He wants to be great, and he will continue to stay grounded based on his strong family and his work ethic. He is a great person.”
Although he hasn’t settled on a major, Stover is leaning toward something in the business field, possibly accounting.
To read Stover’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/ryan-stover-0058480
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