Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer
Favorite athlete: Zach Ertz
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Upsetting Garnet Valley in district playoffs to give us a bid to my first State playoff tournament and the bus ride home after.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: My eyelashes were ripped off of one of my eyes during the game against Souderton my junior year.
Music on playlist: 80s music and today's top hits
Future plans: Attend college and study health sciences
Words to live by: “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think” - Winnie the Pooh
One goal before turning 30: Travel to Europe
One thing people don’t know about me: I’ve been a Type 1 Diabetic for 10 years
By Mary Jane Souder
Alli Lindsay – without even trying – gave lessons on what it means to be a leader, and the North Penn senior captain did it under the most adverse of circumstances during the COVID-19 abbreviated basketball season.
“I don’t know what we would have done without her,” Knights’ coach Jen Carangi said. “The basketball side is self-explanatory, but it’s the off-the-court things. I can’t imagine trying to navigate the season without her.”
And what a season it was for the young Knights, who – in addition to the state-mandated shutdowns – were twice shut down for COVID protocols. When the season began, there were three seniors on the young squad. When it ended, only Lindsay remained. Making things even more difficult was the fact that the Knights, who played only 11 games, lost their first eight.
“I’m so grateful for Alli,” Carangi said. “A lot of seniors would have put their head down, felt sorry for themselves and thought, ‘Why me? Why did I have to have a season like this?’ Look at the senior class and the amount of things they have lost and the things they missed out on – to see a kid like Alli who just keeps going, just keeps leading, I’m so proud of her for that.
“Instead of being disappointed, being frustrated with the younger kids, she has just taken them under her wing. She’s going to help our team even though she’s not going to be here next year. She is helping us grow and learn, and she’s not going to benefit from any of it. You need kids like that, and I feel so lucky she’s in our program, that she stuck it out.
Lindsay has modeled what a good leader looks like and given her young teammates someone to emulate.
“I’ve been watching Alli play as I grew up, and being able to play with her this season was such a great experience since I’ve looked up to her so much,” freshman Caleigh Sperling said. “Her biggest characteristic that stood out to me the most was her leadership - she always included everyone. She was nice, and it was good for us to play with her this season.
“We hung out a lot on and off the court, and we became really good friends. Even though there’s an age difference, our positions on the team were the same, and I really hope I can be as much of a leader as she was.”
From the outset, Lindsay fell effortlessly into the role of leader, organizing Zoom meetings and even setting up video workouts when the team was shut down. The fact that the Knights boasted a young and inexperienced team did not faze the senior captain.
“I didn’t want to come into the season saying, ‘Oh no, we’re going to have a young team, we’re going to lose,’” Lindsay said. “Even though we did lose, all of our games were super close, and we worked our butts off every game, which I was so proud of the girls.
“There were some instances when we were winning. We just didn’t know how to keep a lead. That’s what they have to work on. You’ve got to learn how to win and keep that lead, which I think they started to figure out at the end of the season.”
Keeping the team’s traditions alive was important to Lindsay, although there were plenty of limitations.
“In past seasons, we would have pasta parties,” she said. “We did have one pasta party outside – it was a little cold. We had group chats with everyone on the team. We tried to do as many things as we could.”
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Lindsay, it turns out, is no stranger to adversity. At the age of seven, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a life-altering diagnosis, but she took it in stride.
“Since I was so young, I didn’t know any better, so I’ve grown up figuring out what I need to do,” she said. “It has impacted me greatly.
“Sometimes I have to leave my classroom because my blood sugar is too low, and I can’t focus, so I have to go to the nurse. At practice sometimes, I have to step off, which stinks because I’m not able to continue to practice, and I have to sit out because my blood sugar is too low or too high. It’s impacted me so much, but that’s my life now. I’ve lived with it for 10 years. I figured I had to adapt.”
Lindsay served as an inspiration when Carangi’s son Rob – also a basketball player - was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was a freshman.
“She was a fantastic resource,” Carangi said. “It was really helpful for me and it was really helpful for Rob to see somebody like Alli, so he didn’t miss a beat because he saw Alli, and she’s been doing this no problem. Look at (her brother) Joey – they’re playing varsity level sports.
“We get to see the other side of it – everything you do, everything you eat, every activity that you do is impacted by your diabetes. When you look at her and you see what she does - she’s the kind of kid you would never have known. There may be times where she has to step off and her blood sugar is low. She handles it and takes everything in stride.”
Lindsay has an insulin pump on her at all times, even when she’s competing in sports.
“I don’t let it stand in my way,” she said. “I do eat healthier to maintain my blood sugar, but it doesn’t mean I can’t eat a cupcake every now and then or I can’t have a piece of cake at a birthday party. I just have to give myself insulin to correct for it to keep my blood sugar at a good level.
“I don’t want people to see it – oh, it might stop you from doing something or they’re too worried about me. I’m not going to let it stand in my way. I want to live my life the way I can. It does impact me every day, but I try to make sure it doesn’t change everything about me.”
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A rare three-sport athlete, Lindsay has been playing basketball and soccer since she was four or five years old.
“I started playing lacrosse in eighth grade because my friend told me I would like it better than softball,” she said. “Growing up I played basketball, soccer, field hockey, and softball.
“Basketball has always been my number one. It is a very big sport in my family with my dad (Joe Lindsay) refereeing Division 1 NCAA men’s basketball and my uncle (Mark Lindsay) refereeing in the NBA. Both followed in the footsteps of my grandfather (Joe Lindsay Sr) who also refereed colleges basketball.”
A four-year varsity veteran in basketball, Lindsay and her teammates notched their first win the final week of the season against Wissahickon and one night later defeated a Pennridge squad it had fallen to earlier in the season.
“The bus ride after our first win was insane,” Lindsay said. “Everyone was screaming and singing on the bus. It was just a fun time. There was so much joy, it was just a relief.
“That momentum going into our Pennridge game the next day was outstanding. I think that was my favorite game when we played Pennridge because we played as a team. Everyone passed the ball, everyone was playing great.”
Although Lindsay – a fierce competitor – would have liked more than two wins, she’s put the season in perspective.
“The season wasn’t what I hoped it to be, and that’s okay,” she said. “I personally became a better leader helping these younger girls. I felt like I was able to communicate better with these girls.
“They wanted to make sure I would get a win this season as a senior. I was doing everything for them, and they were doing everything for me because it was my last season. They were just amazing. I learned that even through adversity I can still come out learning new things and new ways of approaching things.”
Lindsay plans to stay in touch with her young teammates.
“I’m hoping they keep in touch with me,” she said. “I hopefully will come back and see them play. It’s a great group of girls. They’re all so kind, and they’re great people.”
Last fall, Lindsay played varsity soccer, and this spring, she is a member of the lacrosse team that saw its season cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Alli is an all-around great athlete and competitor,” North Penn lacrosse coach Heather Mellow said. “Her basketball skills and natural athletic ability have been a welcome addition to our lacrosse team over the last few years. Allis is also a strong leader, both on and off the field. You can count on her to handle any situation with poise and confidence.
“I felt like Alli was going to have a great lacrosse season last year as a junior, coming off a strong sophomore finish. As disappointing as it was not to get to see her play last year, I think Alli has saved up the best for her final season at North Penn, and I can’t wait for it to unfold.”
Although the pandemic has delayed Lindsay’s college decision, she is close to making a decision and hopes to continue her basketball career. She plans to pursue a major in the health sciences field.
“I want to continue with medicine to help others,” she said.
In addition to playing three sports, Lindsay – an excellent student – is a member of National Honor Society. She is also involved in Key Club and class cabinet.
Although she didn’t put her name in the program’s record books and she wasn’t a headliner, Lindsay leaves behind quite a legacy on the basketball court.
“Through the whole season, she was so strong and resilient, putting up with so many things other than basketball,” Carangi said. “When I think of what she’s done and what she’s overcome – without her, this team doesn’t develop this year. Without her, we don’t get the wins we got.
“She helped us so much prepare for the future. Even speaking to the parents of our younger players, they just cannot say enough positive things about Alli.”
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