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 Feb. 18, 2016)
If you can imagine being a skier growing up on a ski slope or a figure skater with a rink in the backyard, you know what it’s like to be in the shoes of Hannah Fireman. The Hatboro-Horsham senior happens to be a golfer who was raised at Talamore Country Club and inherited her love for the game from her dad, Michael. “I grew up learning the course,” she said. “And my dad is the best player I know, and he has always been there. My dad introduced me to the basics. He’s the best short-game player I’ve seen. He really works hard at it.” When Fireman got to high school, there was no girls’ golf team. She played on the boys’ team as a freshman, and while it was not an ideal scenario, she made the best of it and qualified for districts.
But the best was yet to come. Fireman had bigger plans. She wanted the girls at Hatboro-Horsham to have their own team and compete against other girls’ teams. Glenn Kaiser, who had been the interim coach of the boys’ team, liked the idea. “I said to all the girls that were interested, ‘You go find one friend and bring them back and we have a team,’ and that’s what they did,” Kaiser said. “She really spearheaded this as a student-athlete in the building to make it happen.” The Hatters played a non-league schedule the first season and 
then had an opportunity to join the PAC-10 where they won back-to-back championships. It was only fitting that Fireman more or less clinched that first league title with strong showings against Downingtown East and Great Valley. “She launched it,” Kaiser said. “I was just along for the ride.”
Fireman, who will take her talents to perennial Division III power Gettysburg, started thinking about playing golf at the next level toward the end of her sophomore year. She played in the International Junior Golf Tournament and Philadelphia Elite Series and also its regular junior tournaments. “That’s when she jumped a whole another level,” Kaiser said. “She really took off.” The Hatters’ coach credited the three-time captain for the leadership she provided. “She’s kind of a leader by example,” he said. “She has respect for the game and the rules of golf etiquette. She carried herself well. Plus, her good play made everyone around her want to emulate that.”
Fireman, who helped launch the Jewish Awareness club at Hatboro-Horsham, is an honors student, serves on student council and is part of a freshman mentoring program called the Link Crew.
To read Fireman’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/hannah-fireman-0059866
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete (Week of Feb. 18, 2016)
“Family” is a term that is often used to describe the bond that forms between members of a sports team. For Tom Doyle, basketball is truly a family affair. Because for nearly a decade, Central Bucks South basketball has been a part of his family, and for nearly a decade, his family has been part of Central Bucks South basketball. A nine-year relationship with the program that began with eldest brother Brian and continued through his brother Kevin has come to a close with Tom proudly upholding the family legacy. “Growing up, every day, it was basketball with my family,” said Doyle, whose father has also played a part in the family legacy, having served as the Parent Club President for five years. “My brothers would never let me win. But honestly, that’s what gave me that determination to become better.”
While he never had the opportunity to play on the same floor as his brother Kevin, who was a senior while Tom played jayvee as a freshman, the youngest Doyle did log significant time on the court with members of the varsity that year, playing with his older brother and his buddies whenever they needed an extra guy for pick-up games. The confidence and experience he gained helped Doyle fill his role perfectly for the Titans in his senior season. “Tommy wasn’t always the tallest or most athletic kid out there, but he’s always the most hard-working,” said South coach Jason Campbell, who coached all three Doyle brothers. “He’s quiet at times and doesn’t always say much, but he leads by example. My assistant coach, Josh Williams, put together an offseason weightlifting program, and Tom was one of the guys that really took that program and went all-in with it.” Dedication to the program is what Doyle is all about, according to his coach. Whether it was playing out of position during a game to fill in for an injured player or a teammate in foul trouble, or spending countless hours refining and improving his game on his own, Doyle epitomized the selfless team player. “The whole Doyle family has always been about the team,” Campbell said. “Tom obviously wants to win and wants to score, but he’s more about the team and representing the school and doing what’s best for the entire program. That says a lot about the kid. You need guys like Tom who lead by example, who are encouraging to the younger players and who are the first to show up for practice and the last to leave.”
Doyle is unsure about his next step. He’s mulling over several colleges and is considering criminal justice as a possible major, though he adds he would love to stay involved with basketball and possibly coach at a high school in the future.
To read Doyle’s compete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tom-doyle-0059869
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