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 for week of April 12, 2021
It started out simple enough. Council Rock South lacrosse coach Madison Hurwitz went to watch a basketball game in support of some of her players. In the process, another player – then-freshman point guard Carley Irvin – caught her eye. “Her athleticism – her footwork and her speed and versatility on the basketball court – just all translated right over to the lacrosse field,” recalled Hurwitz. “I noticed her right away.” The reaction was mostly one of surprise. “She was, like, ‘Me? You want me to play lacrosse,’” recalled Hurwitz. “We still laugh about it to this day.” Irvin remembers the life-altering moment much the same way. “I heard my friends were doing it, and it sounded really fun,” she said. “My brother (Trey) played when he was younger, but I never really had an interest in it. I went and tried out and made varsity. Now, I love it. I could not be more thankful that I learned about the sport, especially with (Hurwitz) encouraging me. It’s been a great opportunity.”
Irvin’s mother, Kelly, was not officially convinced about the experiment and was reluctant to even buy her daughter a stick. Hurwitz knew better. “I’ll never forget that,” said the coach. “I said, to her mother, ‘You need to buy her a stick.’ She was, like, ‘I don’t know if she is going to make it. They’re very expensive.’ I just said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Buy her a stick.’ And she did.” The rest is history, as Irvin – while not giving up her basketball or soccer – evolved to the point where she has nailed down a Division I lacrosse scholarship at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Irvin says playing in tournaments in her sophomore and junior years opened up recruiting opportunities, and she found herself in the driver’s seat. “Schools contacted me, and I eliminated like three schools,” she said. “I got contacted by Wofford, which I didn’t know about at the time. My coach texted me, and she was really enthusiastic about it. I looked into it. The offered me a scholarship. I took the time to visit the campus and it just felt like home.” Her ascension to scholarship athlete belies the stereotype that lacrosse is a sport that needs to be learned while still in diapers. “For the vast majority of lacrosse players, that is the case,” said Hurwitz. “But not for Carley Irvin. She is going to be awesome at Wofford. She’s going to be playing Division I lacrosse after picking up a stick only her freshman year.”
After being thrown to the proverbial wolves as a freshman on the varsity basketball team, she went from getting by on athleticism to becoming a refined player and, like lacrosse, a two-time captain. “Carley is someone whose growth overall, physically, maturity, socially, athletically, as a leader, etc. in her four years has been something to be really impressed with,” said Klumpp, who described Irvin as the team’s engine. “I don’t think you ever expect a freshman to come in and be a leader, but her basketball IQ was so high. She kind of forced her way into our rotation. She physically was not ready for the varsity game at that time but she used her high hoops IQ to compensate. “
What Irvin’s coaches value most about her is who she is as a person, not what she is as an athlete. “I have called her mom on numerous occasions, simply to say that she is just the best kid,” said Hurwitz. “She goes above and beyond for her teammates. She is exceptionally caring and respectful. She’s very, very coachable. She’s a good kid, a good daughter, a good friend and a good teammate.” And a good student, with an approximate 4.0 GPA and involvement in many activities (National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, Athletes Helping Athletes, etc.). All this while playing three varsity sports (she also plays soccer) and playing both club soccer and lacrosse. “She works very, very hard,” said Hurwitz. “Even while in our lacrosse season, she is still going to soccer games and practices after our games and after our practices. She doesn’t stop. She is just one of those once-in-a-lifetime athletes that you get to coach.” Added Klumpp: “I am most proud of just her overall growth, the big picture outside of basketball. She’s really come into her own and will have such a successful future ahead of her. She’s in top classes. She’s in honor societies and clubs. She has taken some of our younger players under her wing in terms of leadership. In short, she is the epitome of what you want someone in your program to emulate. She’s a tremendous example of what a student athlete and contributor to the school and community should be.”
To read complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/female/carley-irvin-0093886
Univest’s SuburbanOneSports.com Featured Male Athlete for week of April 12, 2021
Joe Jaconski is a special talent on the baseball diamond. That much was obvious at first glance when Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Chris Manero saw the then sophomore transfer in action at workouts in the winter of 2019. “That’s when I knew he was going to be a different kind of player,” the Colonials’ coach said of the University of North Carolina recruit. “I could almost say the first time I saw the ball come off his bat – you could just tell.” What Manero didn’t know was that he’d inherited a pretty special person as well, a team-first person who cared as much if not more about his team’s success than his own. “It’s so hard for kids who are very good at something to be more caring of others, and as good as he is at baseball and as tremendous of a talent that he is, he wants to win,” Manero said. “He wants his team to win, and that’s just the kind of person he is. He is just genuinely a good kid. I really didn’t know him before he came here, but he’s become a part of this team, and this team’s become a part of him, and that’s never lost.” For the first time in Manero’s head coaching tenure, he named only one captain. Jaconski was an easy choice. “That’s not to say we don’t have guys that are good leaders,” the PW coach said. “We have a lot of guys, but I don’t want to have five captains. I think he’s number one in that role, and he serves that role very well. He’s very down to earth. Players learn a lot by watching him. We always think a captain is the link between the coaches and the players, but it’s very rare that you would get players to buy into it that much where (your) becomes their message.”
Jaconski’s journey to Plymouth Whitemarsh High School was hardly typical. He attended Ridge Park Elementary School from kindergarten through third grade, but from there, he went to St. Philip Neri School fourth through eighth grades. In ninth grade, Joe – as well as younger brother Jesse - attended Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy, and both returned to SCH the following fall. In January of 2019, the Jaconski brothers transferred to PW. From the outset, Joe knew he’d found a home, fitting in immediately with a senior heavy squad that went on to capture the program’s first SOL American Conference title since 2005 and advanced to the PIAA 6A state quarterfinals. A first team All-SOL American Conference shortstop as a sophomore, Jaconski hit .442 in league play with a .547 on-base percentage and a 1.315 OPS. His brother Jesse – then a freshman – also was an impact player on that squad. “We got a two-for-one deal,” Manero said. “We had a really good crop of players two years ago, but there’s no doubt – those two players accentuated it. They talk about the Phillies of the late ‘70s that were really good, but it wasn’t until Pete Rose came that they won the World Series. (Joe) is the starting shortstop, and that is the most important position on the field. They were huge additions. They have really helped to elevate the program.”
In October of his freshman year, Jaconski committed to perennial powerhouse University of North Carolina. “I grew up a North Carolina fan,” he said. “I went on a visit to Virginia Tech, and the next weekend I went to North Carolina, and I got offered there. I was just blown away by the campus and just starstruck, so I said ‘yes’ right on the spot. There were definitely other schools I was talking to, but North Carolina was my dream school since I was eight years old. When I stepped on campus, I was like, ‘This is where I want to be.’” As far as choosing a major, Jaconski is considering exercise and sports science but has his sights set on a career as a professional baseball player. “He’s one of those special kind of players that absolutely has a chance,” Manero said. “It’s definitely realistic. It’s a goal a lot of kids dream of, but by the time they get to high school, they can’t really say that, but I think for him it’s real. It takes a special kind of person – it’s not just being good at a sport. Just like we say to our kids in high school – if you want to play in college, it takes a whole another level of work, a whole another level of commitment. He definitely has that.”
To read Jaconski’s complete profile, please click on the following link: https://www.suburbanonesports.com/featured-athletes/male/joe-jaconski-0093887
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