Senior Spotlight: Spring-Ford’s Ryan had unique three-sport blend for Rams

Julianne Ryan is an athlete for all seasons.

The senior is a three-sport athlete for Spring-Ford with a combination you won’t see everyday: cheerleading in the fall, bowling in the winter and softball in the spring.

It was a diverse high school athletics career for the Collegeville-area resident, her exploits on the softball diamond complemented with appearances in the bowling alley and on the home sideline at Coach McNelly Stadium.

After completing the first two legs of her trio – she became the Spring-Ford girls bowling program’s first player to qualify for regional-level competition in February – Ryan had the desire and motivation to put together another big season on the softball field this spring.

But there was one thing she couldn’t impact: A shutdown of the 2019-20 school year and spring sports. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan saw a chance for continued success with the Spring-Ford softball team slip away.

Ryan was a driving force in the Rams’ run to the PIAA Class 6A playoffs’ semifinal round in 2019 as its primary shortstop and No. 3 hitter. And with the bulk of the team returning, Spring-Ford was primed for another deep postseason one, one with a realistic chance to end at Penn State in mid-June.

“One of the goals for the seniors was to get to the state game and win,” Ryan said.

Instead, her scholastic sports career was halted in mid-March by the coronavirus.

Aside from being a member of the school’s varsity cheerleading squad for three years, performing at football games and in competitive meets, and adding bowling this winter, Ryan made a name for herself in softball, both with Spring-Ford and Xtreme Fastpitch.

Her junior season of high-school play, she batted .478 with a slugging percentage of .783 and on-base percentage. Ryan hit safely 28 times in 69 at-bats, slugging four home runs and driving in 23 runs from the third and fourth slots in the batting order.

In the field, the All-Pioneer Athletic Conference first-team selection played primarily at shortstop. She also saw action at the other infield positions when needed.

“Jules is a steady shortstop that was a major part of our success over the last few years,” Ryan’s head coach, Tim Hughes, said. “She is a smooth fielder and can hit for both average and power.”

In travel ball, Ryan’s resumé is highlighted by appearances in a half-dozen showcases in 2017 and 2018. She also attended another half-dozen camps in that same span of time.

The next stop on her softball journey will be Gannon University, where she will be majoring in occupational therapy and play for the Knights’ NCAA Division II softball program. The college, located in Erie, is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and the softball program had compiled a 9-8 record this spring before the pandemic shut it down.

“I wanted to give my body a rest for college,” she said of her decision to not play another season of travel ball.

At Gannon, which compiled a 30-16 win-loss record in 2018 (14-6 conference), Ryan sees herself with a good chance to crack the starting lineup in 2021. She noted the Knights return a couple of their middle infielders while others will have graduated.

“She was an integral part in our last few state runs and will be missed dearly,” Hughes said of Ryan. “She will do well at Gannon next year.”

Jules’ involvement in scholastic cheerleading began when she was in seventh grade; her participation in the competitive aspect dates back 11 years.

From personal experience, she saw the potential for danger the activity carries. One time, while the team was performing a pyramid stunt, Ryan sustained a concussion and broken nose when a teammate on top flipped off the formation.

“Her elbow smacked me in the face,” Jules recalled. “I dealt with the concussion for four weeks. The nose was not so bad.

“Sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself for others.”

For the remainder of her high-school time, Ryan is involved with virtual learning at home. She described it as “stressful,” noting she misses the classroom environment.

She keeps her softball skills in tune with throwing and hitting drills at home, and she undertakes physical therapy on her shoulder twice a week. She also stays in touch with her teammates through texting and birthday drive-bys.