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.
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Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Female Athlete for week of Feb. 14, 2019
Miranda Liebtag boasts an impressive resume.The Abington senior has been a contributor on district, conference and SOL championship squads, but the four-year varsity player has rarely, if ever, found herself in the spotlight.“She’s so used to being the unsung hero,” coach Dan Marsh said. The senior captain is more than just used to it, she’s embraced her role.“Miranda does the stuff that non-coaches would not notice,” Marsh said. “Everyone talks about what a great defender Cam Lexow is. They don’t understand what a great defender Miranda is because she is a contain defender. We put her on kids, and they’re going to have to shoot with her contesting it. She’s so good at contesting shots that it makes kids uncomfortable. That doesn’t show up in the stat book. She takes pride in that kind of stuff.”
Playing stifling defense is just one aspect of Liebtag’s role.“She’s going to be the one setting the screens,” Marsh said, “doing all the dirty work for us, but every team needs that. ”At least if they hope to be successful, and the Ghosts have certainly been successful, just last week picking up the program’s first ever Suburban One League title. Liebtag had just one basket in the Ghosts’ hard fought 51-44 win over Neshaminy in the title game, but it was a game changer. Liebtag’s patented three-pointer came with 6:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, breaking a 38-38 tie and giving the Ghosts a lead they would not lose. She also was effective on the defensive end where she was assigned the task of containing Bucknell-bound senior Brooke Mullin. She admits this wasn’t exactly the role she envisioned when she came on board as a swing player her freshman year. “I just went in there kind of like – I’m going to give my all to this program,” Liebtag said. “I never expected to be the defender on the team, so my role has changed throughout the years. I thought I was going to be the three-point shooter and that was going to be my role. Last year it changed and I was more the defender on the court. At first I was kind of iffy about it – is this my role? Then I realized how much it contributed to my team and how well we worked as a unit when I was on the floor. I accepted my role and I loved my role.”
This year she is one of four senior captains on a squad with high expectations heading into the postseason.“She’s a great leader,” Marsh said. “She’s the one that calms everyone down and says, ‘Guys, we’re okay.’ She’s done it numerous times this season. Even to me – ‘Marsh, relax, we got this.’ She’s almost a coach on the floor. She keeps the team together really. She’s like a go-between. If the younger kids have a problem, they go to Miranda. If the older kids have a problem, they go to Miranda. She’s kind of like the player coach.”
Liebtag came into her senior year with the idea that this year could well mark the end of her basketball career. But then Cabrini College came calling.“When I was there (on a visit), the coaches and the girls - it felt like home basically,” she said. “It was kind of like, ‘I feel comfortable here, I could see myself here.’(Playing in college) wasn’t even in the picture, but I’m actually super excited. I feel good about myself, good about the offer, good about my decision and how everything has gone this year.” She is uncertain of her major, but for now, Liebtag is focusing on her final high school season, continuing to do all the little things that make Abington such a formidable opponent.“She’s very selfless, very team oriented,” Marsh said. “It’s never about Miranda, it’s always about us.”
To read Liebtag’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/miranda-liebtag-0083041
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of Feb. 14, 2019
When Tali McIver took the court for North Penn’s opening round district playoff game at Cheltenham last week, he brought his sixth man and guardian angel out there with him. The fact that McIver even made it to this point is a testament to his determination and fierce love for his family. When McIver was a sophomore, his older brother, Timothy, was killed in a car accident four days after he was released from a two-year prison stint. “He was my mentor, so when he died everything went downhill,” the North Penn senior point guard said. “I looked up to him, and he wanted me to be better than him. He bought me clothes, made sure I ate, did my schoolwork and took me to practice, just helping me out with things like a big brother does. I was just broken. He was the piece of our family who kept everything together, even when he was incarcerated. He was so loving and cared for everyone. He didn’t get to see me play the way I am now, but I have a chain that I wear with his face on it. I always look at it and kiss it when I pray before every game, and it feels like he’s still with me every day. It calms me down a bit.”
When Timothy died, the man-of-the-house responsibilities shifted to a teenage Tali. His father, who he speaks to every day, lives in North Carolina taking care of Tali’s grandmother, who is battling cancer; not only that, but Tali, who lives with his mom, has three older sisters in their 20s (with four nieces and two nephews between them), as well as a 17-year-old younger brother to look out for. Tali had to grow up fast, but he didn’t handle it well straight out of the gate. His grades slipped so far his sophomore year after Timothy died that he was academically ineligible to play basketball, and he almost ended up failing tenth grade entirely. He played as a junior, but persistent academic issues cost him three weeks during the season.“Back then, I was in the moment and I just didn’t care about anything,” McIver said. “But then I realized, people were watching me and depending on me. I’ve got nieces and nephews and a little brother who look up to me. When I was failing tenth grade, my mom sat me down and she told me she knew what I was going through. She saw the ambition I have with this game, and she told me I needed to get back up. I want to thank her for that, because if not for that talk I wouldn’t have done anything. But I started working out every day and got my grades back up. I was focused.”
Coach John Conrad gushed about McIver’s perseverance, his character and his ability to not let adversity break him.“He’s had to juggle a lot of things and has worked his way back to become a low-B student,” Conrad said. “At first, he kind of had a woe-is-me attitude, but he’s progressed to the point where he battles and overcomes. It’s been a learning curve for us both, but he’s turned into an incredibly reliable young man. It’s a happy story from my end, too. He embraces his teammates’ success, which is the very nature of being a point guard. More than anything, coaching Tali has taught me that this is about a heck of a lot more than just wins and losses. At the end of the day, here is a young man we’ve helped mature and put in a position to be successful in life, and because of what he’s overcome to still play and start for us, he has a lot of confidence. It’s been fun to watch.”
McIver has his eye on college or a trade school in the fall. He would love to play basketball and also said he would be interested in a career in construction or carpentry.
To read McIver’s complete profile, please click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/tali-mciver-0083043
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