Pennsbury signs three to Division II
Morotti (pictured, right) headed to Holy Family; two others going to Chestnut Hill to play LAX
By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Pennsbury High signed a trio of athletes headed to Division II programs next year.
One is golfer Bob Morotti and the other two are moving on to the next level to play lacrosse.
The lacrosse players juggled various sports until committing to their current game. Morotti made up his mind he wanted to play golf at a high level more than seven years ago after watching Tiger Woods blow away the competition at the U.S. Open.
The year was 2000. The place was Pebble Beach. Woods was the only player to finish the tournament below par, a whopping 15 strokes ahead of runnerups Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Woods was just 24 then and already had taken the Masters (1997) and the PGA championship (’99). Later that year at St. Andrew’s when Tiger took the British Open by 7 strokes, he became the youngest player ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
“He’s one of the greatest golfers I’ve ever seen play the game,” said Morotti. “When I saw [Woods] on TV in the U.S. Open, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Wanting something and doing it are two different things, though.
As late as last year, Morotti was still hovering around in the mid-90s working his game at Yardley Country Club, home of the Falcons.
“I was a mess,” admitted Morotti.
In the past year, however, Bob has sliced more than 10 strokes off his handicap. His varsity handicap at YCC presently stands at 3.6, measuring out between 6 and 7 over 18 holes (varsity matches are just 9 holes).
Last fall, for the first time in his varsity career, Morotti made it to the SOL Golf Championships that took place at Indian Valley CC.
The improvement is a big part of the reason why Bob recently made a commitment to play golf next fall at Holy Family University.
A job Morotti obtained tending to the golf carts at Makefield Highlands has helped. It’s given him both the venue and the time he’s needed to work on his game. Of course Bob was more than a willing partner in all this.
“I just decided one day if I was ever going to get good at this that I needed to practice hard,” he said. “I haven’t stopped since.”
Morotti is always tweaking his game, most recently using a method off the tee called Stack-and-Tilt, a technique he used during varsity season but has since abandoned.
“He’s not afraid to take a round and try new things,” stated Pennsbury golf coach Glenn Goldsborough.
Bob has also worked on the mental part of his game, adding that the best way he’s found to get focused is to play for money.
“I’ve worked a lot on my short game and practice a lot of irons--shape shots--I’ve gotten really good at it.
“I figure if I work hard enough, I’ll try to go all the way to the [PGA] Tour.”
***
Pennsbury goalkeeper David Cutler is a 3-year varsity player for the Falcons, who also plays club ball for Head Coach Dean Curtis’ Arrowhead club team. Until this season, he was a perennial backup.
He got his chance to start when the starting keeper Chris Shubert--last year's first team all SOL National Conference goalie--came down with an illness and he’s made the most of it.
Cutler made 9 saves in a recent win over SOL National Conference rival Council Rock South. Of course it helped that the Pennsbury attack kept the pressure on the Golden Hawks outshooting the opposition 35-19.
In that battle, the Falcons were up, 4-1, before blowing the game open with 4 goals in the final frame. The win kept Pennsbury perfect at 4-0 in the conference, and pushed their overall mark to 6-4.
Against Rock North, Cutler upped the ante, making 10 saves in a 10-3 win over the league rival Indians.
Come fall, Cutler will be joined by classmate Corey Hook, a midfielder who played varsity last year but who has been held from the lineup this season nursing a knee injury.
Hook’s story is a little different from Cutler’s. The Falcon middie started out playing ice hockey--a sport in which he competed since the age of five. Hook didn’t start playing lacrosse until he was 11 but he fell in love with the sport almost instantly.
Oh he still played ice hockey but gradually his desire started leaning more and more toward lacrosse.
“I just fell in love with lacrosse,” said Hook. “Hockey went to the back burner.”
Corey says he has Curtis to thank for improving his game and enabling him to take lacrosse to the next level.
“Coach Curtis makes you strive to work hard at reaching your potential,” Hook said. “He pushes you as far as you can go--there’s no limit. You’re as good as you make yourself.”
Looking back, Corey says he has no regrets about choosing lacrosse over ice hockey.
“Hockey just wasn’t any fun anymore; but lacrosse was.”
***
NOTES: Falcon golf coach Glenn Goldsborough reports that senior Laura Schiavo has committed to play golf at West Chester.
By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor
Pennsbury High signed a trio of athletes headed to Division II programs next year.
One is golfer Bob Morotti and the other two are moving on to the next level to play lacrosse.
The lacrosse players juggled various sports until committing to their current game. Morotti made up his mind he wanted to play golf at a high level more than seven years ago after watching Tiger Woods blow away the competition at the U.S. Open.
The year was 2000. The place was Pebble Beach. Woods was the only player to finish the tournament below par, a whopping 15 strokes ahead of runnerups Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Woods was just 24 then and already had taken the Masters (1997) and the PGA championship (’99). Later that year at St. Andrew’s when Tiger took the British Open by 7 strokes, he became the youngest player ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
“He’s one of the greatest golfers I’ve ever seen play the game,” said Morotti. “When I saw [Woods] on TV in the U.S. Open, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Wanting something and doing it are two different things, though.
As late as last year, Morotti was still hovering around in the mid-90s working his game at Yardley Country Club, home of the Falcons.
“I was a mess,” admitted Morotti.
In the past year, however, Bob has sliced more than 10 strokes off his handicap. His varsity handicap at YCC presently stands at 3.6, measuring out between 6 and 7 over 18 holes (varsity matches are just 9 holes).
Last fall, for the first time in his varsity career, Morotti made it to the SOL Golf Championships that took place at Indian Valley CC.
The improvement is a big part of the reason why Bob recently made a commitment to play golf next fall at Holy Family University.
A job Morotti obtained tending to the golf carts at Makefield Highlands has helped. It’s given him both the venue and the time he’s needed to work on his game. Of course Bob was more than a willing partner in all this.
“I just decided one day if I was ever going to get good at this that I needed to practice hard,” he said. “I haven’t stopped since.”
Morotti is always tweaking his game, most recently using a method off the tee called Stack-and-Tilt, a technique he used during varsity season but has since abandoned.
“He’s not afraid to take a round and try new things,” stated Pennsbury golf coach Glenn Goldsborough.
Bob has also worked on the mental part of his game, adding that the best way he’s found to get focused is to play for money.
“I’ve worked a lot on my short game and practice a lot of irons--shape shots--I’ve gotten really good at it.
“I figure if I work hard enough, I’ll try to go all the way to the [PGA] Tour.”
***
Pennsbury goalkeeper David Cutler is a 3-year varsity player for the Falcons, who also plays club ball for Head Coach Dean Curtis’ Arrowhead club team. Until this season, he was a perennial backup.
He got his chance to start when the starting keeper Chris Shubert--last year's first team all SOL National Conference goalie--came down with an illness and he’s made the most of it.
Cutler made 9 saves in a recent win over SOL National Conference rival Council Rock South. Of course it helped that the Pennsbury attack kept the pressure on the Golden Hawks outshooting the opposition 35-19.
In that battle, the Falcons were up, 4-1, before blowing the game open with 4 goals in the final frame. The win kept Pennsbury perfect at 4-0 in the conference, and pushed their overall mark to 6-4.
Against Rock North, Cutler upped the ante, making 10 saves in a 10-3 win over the league rival Indians.
Come fall, Cutler will be joined by classmate Corey Hook, a midfielder who played varsity last year but who has been held from the lineup this season nursing a knee injury.
Hook’s story is a little different from Cutler’s. The Falcon middie started out playing ice hockey--a sport in which he competed since the age of five. Hook didn’t start playing lacrosse until he was 11 but he fell in love with the sport almost instantly.
Oh he still played ice hockey but gradually his desire started leaning more and more toward lacrosse.
“I just fell in love with lacrosse,” said Hook. “Hockey went to the back burner.”
Corey says he has Curtis to thank for improving his game and enabling him to take lacrosse to the next level.
“Coach Curtis makes you strive to work hard at reaching your potential,” Hook said. “He pushes you as far as you can go--there’s no limit. You’re as good as you make yourself.”
Looking back, Corey says he has no regrets about choosing lacrosse over ice hockey.
“Hockey just wasn’t any fun anymore; but lacrosse was.”
***
NOTES: Falcon golf coach Glenn Goldsborough reports that senior Laura Schiavo has committed to play golf at West Chester.
Labels: boys lacrosse, GOLF, Pennsbury
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