Junior Trevor Newhouse is a welcome addition to the William Tennent golf team, switching from soccer to golf after a near-death experience on the soccer pitch.
By Ben Reese
You've heard about people who are “dying” to play a sport.
Well, William Tennent golfer Trevor Newhouse nearly did that.
Trust me, that is no joke. In October of 2015, Newhouse's heart stopped while he was playing a soccer game against North Penn.
Fortunately, timely assistance from an individual on the sideline got his heart going again and Newhouse is currently doing fine.
But he is playing a new sport. There will be no more high school soccer for the Panther junior.
What happened, Trevor?
"I was playing a soccer game and I got hit in the chest (with the ball) off a six," he said. "I turned to my friend and said that I'm not feeling too well and I just collapsed there on the field.
"A parent who was on the sidelines was able to give me CPR and bring me back to the rhythm. The CPR was able to recover the missed beats.
"I was out, people have told me, about five to 10 minutes. They were able to save me within the five to 10 minutes and I was able to be airlifted to Lansdale Hospital.”
It seems that Trevor, who was later transferred to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has what is called, in medical terms, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. What that means, to quote the American Heart Association, is that "... heart muscle cells enlarge and cause the walls of the ventricles (usually the left ventricle) to thicken. The ventricle size often remains normal, but the thickening may block blood flow out of the ventricle."
In Trevor's case, the blow from the ball caused the wall to shut off the flow of blood and stop the heart.
However, once he recovered and returned to school, he did have something to fall back on. That was golf.
"I played golf when I was younger," he said. "My aunt works at Bensalem Country Club and she talked me into it.
"I knew some of my friends played golf so I just tried it out to see what I could do. It's pretty fun. It takes a lot of time, but it's fun once you get better at it."
Once his decision was made, another figure came into the picture, William Tennent golf coach Fred DiChiara. He approached the situation enthusiastically.
"I actually went and tried to find him," DiChiara said. "When I heard what had happened, I found out because I had kids in class. They were very upset and I didn't know him until then.
"Through family connections, I realized who he was. I graduated with his aunt and his dad worked with my wife when they were in high school."
"I went and said what happened was horrible but we would love to have you out for the golf team. It would be great if you were still playing soccer but we would love to have you out for golf.
"I talked to his parents, talked to him. The concern was if there was ever contact and, with golf, we're pretty safe there."
DiChiara realized that he wasn't getting a polished golfer. But he knew that Trevor was an athlete.
"He was pretty raw when he came to us a year ago," the coach said. "He has improved his game.
"He's not going to make leagues this year, but my goal for him is to get a connection with golf and to be playing in 10, 20, 30 years.
"The kids on our team are aware (of what happened). They give him credit for it.
"His endurance is still a factor at times. When he plays a couple days in a row he says he is sore.
"He's a super kid. It's just great having him on the team."
As for Trevor, while he is now into golf, there is still something missing that he had before. He can't play competitive soccer any more.
"Sometimes I do (miss soccer)," he said, "but I'm able to watch it on TV and I still get to go to the (Tennent) games. It helps me not miss it as much."
The problem has taken something away from the Panther soccer team but has also added a new and different element to the golf team.
ON THE HORIZON
While some teams still must finish off their schedules, the slate for the league, district, regional and state playoffs has been released.
The Suburban One League championships will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 3, for the boys and Wednesday, Oct. 4, for the girls. Both will be held at Five Ponds in Warminster.
The District One tournament will be held once again at Turtle Creek Golf Course in Limerick for the boys and at Gilbertsville Golf Course for the girls on the first day of play. The tourney will begin on Monday, Oct. 9, and continue on Tuesday, Oct. 10, with both the boys and girls playing there.
The Eastern Regional tournament returns to Golden Oaks in Fleetwood. Both boys and girls will play on Oct. 16.
The PIAA tournament is back at Heritage Hills Golf and Spa in York. The first two days, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 24 and 25, will be the individual competition with Wednesday, Oct. 25, set for the team tournament.
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