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 Jan. 28, 2016)
Morgan Goldenbaum might want to seriously consider a career in human relations. Neshaminy’s senior captain has a unique understanding of the importance of team dynamics and has adopted a leadership style that would translate well into the workplace. Goldenbaum, it turns out, has never forgotten what it felt like to be a freshman on a varsity loaded with upperclassmen. She filed that experience away and, as a senior, joined forces with fellow captain – junior Devon Storms – to make a conscious effort to ensure that everyone, no matter their grade, would feel a part of the team. “I think Morgan had a vision of what she would like to see that transition be like when she became a senior, and she really never forgot that,” coach Joe Lally said. “I think it’s more treating freshmen and other kids like they belong. Not that it didn’t happen in the past, but I think it’s something she made a focal point – ‘I’m going to make sure these kids feel accepted’ and they know that.”
Goldenbaum’s intentional efforts to be inclusive are not because she had a bad experience as a freshman on the varsity – she didn’t, but she hasn’t forgotten the rough days, the days when she would leave practice feeling very much like a rookie. “It ended up working out – I ended up being close with some of them, and it was a great experience, but it really made me think about how I was upset for them judging me because I 
was a freshman and how I wished I was treated as if I was the same age as them,” Goldenbaums said. “But that’s how it is in high school. I’m not really a fan of that, so I wanted to focus on welcoming them.” It’s not a coincidence that freshmen Allison Harvey and Brooke Mullin are excelling in that environment. “It’s been fantastic,” said Harvey, the team’s leading scorer (13.2 ppg). “I can speak for myself – their support has helped my confidence grow on the court. If they would have treated us like freshmen or given us the cold shoulder just because we were on the varsity team, it would have changed things drastically.”
As it is, the Redskins – thanks in no small part to the seamless addition of Harvey and Mullin – have clinched a share of the SOL National Conference title with two games remaining. If Goldenbaum’s unique leadership style was all she brought to the court, the senior captain would have immense value, but it’s more than that. She’s the Redskins’ undisputed floor general and leads the team in rebounding, assists and steals while averaging just over 10 points a game, but it’s defense that Goldenbaum enjoys most. “It’s very infrequent that Morgan guards the other team’s point guard,” Lally said. “If we’re playing man defense, she is generally guarding the three, four or five. She’s been so versatile over her four years. It’s been pretty special. It’s great for a coach to have a player like that.
Goldenbaum, an honors student, will continue her basketball career at Ursinus College where she plans to major in exercise and health physiology with a career goal of one day becoming a physical therapist or dietician.
To read Goldenbaum’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/morgan-goldenbaum-0059354
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Jan. 28, 2016)
Brendan O’Donnell tries to make whale watching in Cape Cod an annual event and considers it one of his favorite hobbies when he breaks away from his athletic and academic endeavors at Upper Moreland High School. There’s more than a bit of irony in this pastime. As much as O’Donnell appreciates watching the planet’s largest creatures in their natural habitat, he has no time for such admiration when it comes to competition. As one of the smaller schools in the Suburban One League, Upper Moreland is often playing the role of David looking to slay Goliath. While O’Donnell has been a midfielder for the varsity soccer team since his freshman year, he was a freshman call-up late in the season for the 2012-13 Class AAA District One championship basketball team. That’s a lot of time behind the slingshot. It is a constant source of adversity that he not only acknowledges but has come to embrace. “We are in a league with a lot of bigger schools,” O’Donnell said. “That means that myself and my teammates always know we have to overcome that. That means we can’t take any time off at all, at any time.”
In many ways, O’Donnell personifies Upper Moreland. The point guard measures in at 5-8 (he is listed at 5-10), but the stat sheet reflects a big effort. He is averaging 12.5 points, 6.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game this year, impressive numbers by any standard. “He’s a kid that has a ton of heart and determination,” coach Matt Heiland said. “If you look at Brendan, he isn’t the biggest, quickest or strongest person. He is probably the smallest guard in our league, but he doesn’t let that stop him. He doesn’t make that an excuse. He believes he is one of the best guards in our division, and I think he is as well. He never gives up, he strives to get better every day, he loves to prove people wrong, and he is enjoyable to coach.” O’Donnell says he learned a lot of his work habits from being around the District One title team when he was a freshman. “Just practicing with them was good for me,” he said.
As the only senior on the team, O’Donnell, who this year has had the opportunity to play with his younger brother, freshman Christian O’Donnell – is a role model for the younger players. “He has been a great leader on and off the floor this year,” Heiland said. “Guys on the team look up to him and respect him. He carries himself extremely well in and out of school. Brendan is a class act and a person who will be successful in whatever he does in the future.” Speaking of that future, O’Donnell weighed playing basketball in college against what West Chester University has to offer him for his long-term goal of being a teacher and basketball coach. “I ruled out playing, and I wanted to be in a great school, but (coaching) would be a way for me to stay in the game,” he said. “I’m very competitive, and it would be for the competition.”
To read O’Donnell’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/brendan-odonnell-0059344
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