MARPLE TWP. — Among the many sporting challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ava Hneleski found a brief opportunity.
In her freshman year at Cardinal O’Hara in 2020-21, Hneleski played soccer in the fall (albeit in a truncated season) and golfed in the spring. As a sophomore, when the calendar normalized, those seasons overlapped in the fall. Hneleski, her expectations distorted by an unusual freshman experience, had to recalibrate.
“It was so hard sophomore year,” she said this week. “I didn’t know, especially expecting to contribute in both sports like I did the previous year, I wanted to come back and do the same thing. But you’ve got conflicts you have to balance, you have to juggle, and I didn’t understand that. I had one point where I was thinking about, do I make a call? Do I not play one instead of the other?
“After assessing what both teams mean to me and what I can give to them, it wouldn’t be fair to quit either of them, whether that means having to juggle harder and having no free time, but that’s OK.”
Hneleski stuck with both. Two years later, the starting goalkeeper and first state golf qualifier in O’Hara history is a two-sport captain with no regrets. She’s crafted a daunting schedule. But however busy her agenda, it’s preferable to giving up a sport.
Hneleski, who also plays basketball for O’Hara, started all three sports around age five. She grew up on the links at Llanerch Country Club, where she still squeezes in a round or practice whenever she can.
Once fall starts, it’s go time from the very beginning. Golf season opens two weeks before team sports, which allows O’Hara to get much of its schedule done in August, while the soccer team remains in preseason. Hneleski calls it her, “most wonderful time of the year,” thinly concealing joy with a patina of faux ruefulness: Three hours of soccer training in the mornings, three hours on course in the afternoons.
Once school and soccer matches start, it only gets moderately easier. Last week, for instance, O’Hara had four games in five days. Wednesday brought soccer practice before a late golf match. Thursday presented a rare conflict, Hneleski missing a golf match for the combination of a soccer game and a school function. (Oh by the way, Hneleski is O’Hara’s student council president.)
She embraces the differences between her chosen sports. On the pitch, she’s physical, vocal and team oriented. On the course, the challenge is cerebral, internal and individual. Her ability to lead in both domains speaks volumes about her character.
“Her leadership skills are off the charts,” O’Hara golf coach John Caramanico said. “… She really is a great kid, and it plays well for being a great golfer.”
“Here, you’re able to, not yell, but use your voice (and) get the girls pumped up and going, whether that’s being tighter on tackles or marking people better,” Hneleski said. “It’s a quick yell, a quick adjustment. But golf, it’s so mental. I kind of have to train my team to give them the mentality and offer them advice to be able to perform in those kinds of situations. It’s not a quick fix; it’s more of a long-term process.”
Hneleski first started in goal as a sophomore. She finished runner-up at the Catholic League girls championships at Jeffersonville Golf Club last year, earning a trip to the PIAA Class 3A Championships. At states, she was 25th out of 36 competitors and fell one place shy of a spot on the All-Catholic team, a combined boys and girls squad.
This year, as O’Hara’s only female golfer, she’s regularly been the Lions’ low scorer.
“It’s really cool to have any kind of first in anything you do, especially something as important to me as golf, especially at O’Hara,” she said. “I try to do everything here I can, so to have a first and have my name in some type of sentimental thing, it means a lot. I played with so many great guys before me, so to finally get that done for O’Hara and for myself, it’s big.”
Watching Hneleski play goal, it’s clear she wouldn’t be intimidated by the mostly male environment of Catholic League golf. She’s fearless charging off her line after shots, a tenacity that makes up for being undersized in goal. It’s the same ferocity she brings to her schedule obligations and that makes her unflappable in the tee box.
“The guys are great, but it’s hard to intimidate me,” she said. “As a player, you’ve got to prove yourself. As a goalie, I’m usually not scared. I’ve just learned to not be intimidated by anything or anyone and let them prove themselves to me.”
Part of Hneleski’s high school goal was to be able to do it all. So far, she’s achieving that pretty well.
“When I got to high school, I was like, I’m going to do everything in my power to balance,” she said. “People say, you can’t do everything. I don’t believe that. So I’ve tried to do everything.”
