Basketball, Lacrosse
By Mary Jane Souder
Krista Schneider’s name might not show up in headlines, and the Souderton senior doesn’t live in the spotlight. But mention her name to her high school coaches, and it’s clear Schneider was an invaluable member of her basketball and lacrosse squads.
“Her teammates loved her,” Souderton basketball coach Lynn Carroll said. “She did a tremendous amount this year to help with our team chemistry that needed some repairing.
“She kind of led the way with that. If you talked to any of the underclassmen about her, they would say how great of a teammate and how great of a friend she became for them.”
The respect Schneider commanded was underscored when it came time for the players to elect captains.
“We asked them to vote for three, but we wanted them to be ranked – pick your top and your second,” Carroll said. “Krista was the clear winner.
“As coaches, we really have appreciated everything she has done and the selfless way she contributed to the program. I know without a doubt how much she meant to her teammates, and she formed some really nice bonds with a lot of the girls.”
It took no time at all for first-year lacrosse coach Lindsay Walbrandt to realize that she had inherited a special player in Schneider.
“I remember at tryouts – coming in being my first year and having to evaluate everybody,” the Indians’ coach said. “We had girls in different groups each day.
“Mike McGowan, my goalie coach, and Nancy Offner, my assistant coach, were standing there talking about the girls, and Mike said, ‘Have you noticed that Krista has not said one negative word the entire three days of tryouts? She has only said positive, encouraging things, no matter if she was in a group with five freshmen who couldn’t catch a ball or a group with (talented veterans) who were really challenging her and pushing her.’
“She just is that positive, and that’s why she was voted captain this year because she is such a positive leader.”
Schneider took intentional steps to make sure teammates of all grade levels felt included.
“My senior year when I was captain I realized I had to step up and be a leader – to make sure no one is excluded,” she said. “I always try and have a positive outlook because that makes it 10 times more fun.
“Even if you lose, there’s always a bright side, you always learn something.”
It’s the kind of approach that is rare indeed, but it was second nature for Schneider, who was the very definition of a team-first player.
“I think she played every position for us,” Carroll said. “Her role was constantly changing.
“We needed her to do things that were way out of her comfort zone, and she always did them. She was happy to do whatever it was the team needed.”
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Dance occupied the majority of Schneider’s sparetime in her younger years. A student of ballet, jazz and tap, she took lessons several days a week for more than six years.
“At the beginning, I enjoyed it, but then I started liking competitive sports better,” she said.
Basketball entered the picture when Schneider was eight years old, and she began playing lacrosse in fourth grade. She opted to give up dance in favor of sports when she was in fifth grade and went on to play both lacrosse and basketball at the club level.
Carroll can vividly recall Schneider arriving on the scene as a ninth grader.
“When we got her as a freshman, she was as skinny as can be,” the Indians’ coach said. “She was this little skin and bones girl, and she worked hard to put on muscle and really wanted to do it.
“She shot up a little bit and a little bit more, and she ended up being one of the tallest kids on our team this year. In terms of physical transformation, I don’t know that we’ve had a girl who’s had that kind of growth spurt from ninth through 12th grade.
“She was the point guard for us as a freshman on jayvee, and she had a huge role on that team. She was really required to take a lot of shots, play a lot of minutes and defend the other team’s best player.”
No small order for a player who – at just over five feet tall - was always the smallest player on the court.
“I used to be really tiny,” Schneider said. “It was challenging. I had to work extra hard because I was so much smaller and weaker than anyone else.
“I think it was the summer after ninth grade that I grew a lot, so I wasn’t the shortest anymore.”
As she grew, Schneider’s role on the team changed dramatically.
“This is a player that as a ninth grader was (five feet), and as a senior, we were asking her to defend post players,” Carroll said. “We moved her to the wing as a junior where most of her basketball career she’d been a point guard, and she was happy to do it.
“I just think that really says a lot about the kind of kid she was raised to be.”
A two-year varsity starter, Schneider was the recipient of the Thomas Welch Memorial Scholarship Award. Her work ethic was underscored this past year when she went through a shooting slump.
“We had an away game, and I asked her if when we got to the gym she wanted to shoot around a bit,” Carroll said. “She said, ‘I did spend some time last night with my dad shooting outside.’
“I remember thinking – it was definitely cold out, and it was definitely dark out, so I asked her about it, and they just turned the headlights of the car on in the middle of January outside, so she could shoot around and feel better about her shot. That’s just the type of kid that she is.”
On the lacrosse field, Schneider also was a key contributor and used her height to her advantage.
“We would always joke that she would do slam dunk shots,” Walbrandt said. “Leah (Goodwin) had great vision of the field, and Krista was an incredible cutter.
“She gets that from basketball. She has that vision of the field, and she takes the ball and slams it home. She really shone for us in front of the cage.”
Equally important was Schneider’s ability to bring her teammates together.
“She treats everybody, whether they’re freshmen, sophomores or juniors, like they have a place on the team and like they belong,” the Indians’ coach said. “I see the way she interacts with my sister (freshman Megan Walbrandt) – who can be the shiest girl in the world.
“She had that special bond with her because they play basketball and lacrosse together. Krista brings out the best in girls like that. It doesn’t matter if they’re a freshman. She doesn’t see age. She sees – 'You’re going to be a contributor to the team, and I value you as a person and a player.' She really is a great kid.”
Schneider will continue her basketball career at Ursinus College next year.
“I always played basketball and lacrosse and I wasn’t sure which I would end up playing,” she said. “I ended up choosing basketball because I’ve always loved it more.
“I think it was because of how challenging it is. Basketball takes so much practice and work, and I think that’s what I love about it. Only five people play so you really have to work to earn your spot.”
Schneider is quick to acknowledge those who helped her development along the way. She worked out with Dennis Stanton the summer before her junior year.
“He helped me a lot,” she said. “I always went to his camps when I was younger.”
She went on to credit her trainer Ed Sharr as well as Ray McDermott, the coach of her Perkasie Knights AAU squad.
“During my AAU season last year, a couple of college coaches reached out to him, and he reached out to a few,” Schneider said. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.
“If it wasn’t for my AAU coach, I never would have played (in college).”
An excellent student, Schneider – who has taken six AP classes – is a member of the National Honor Society.
“Grades come before sports,” she said. “I’ve always had to study so much. I’m not a naturally smart person, but it’s really prepared me for college taking all APs and playing sports.”
Schneider was active in all facets of school life. She was a member of SAVE (Students Against Violating the Earth) and student council. She also was the sports editor of the yearbook and volunteered at Peter Becker as well as with the Special Olympics and at this year’s inaugural Night to Shine Prom, a prom for special needs kids at the Indian Valley Boys and Girls Club.
“She’s just a good, solid nice kid.” Carroll said. “She does everything you ask.
“I’m really happy for her that she’s going to be playing next year at Ursinus. I think she’s going to be really versatile for them. Krista sets high standards for herself, no matter what it is that she’s doing.”
