June 19, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Tori Roebuck wins Springside’s Vare Award
by TOM UTESCHER

Springside’s Tori Roebuck standing guard at the goal. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Lifelong Springsider Tori Roebuck was an accomplished gymnast during her lower and middle school years, and when she switched her focus to team sports as she entered upper school, she continued to be an outstanding performer.

She would end up as a key starter for the field hockey and volleyball squads, but it was as a lacrosse goalie that she excelled above all. She will continue to play lacrosse in college, having accepted a scholarship to the University of Richmond during the fall signing period last November. For her commitment and enthusiasm, as well as her all-round athletic ability, Roebuck was named the 2008 recipient of Springside School’s Phyllis M. Vare Award, presented annually to the outstanding athlete in the graduating class.

The Mt. Airy resident’s “short list” of college choices included American University and Lehigh, as well as Penn and Cornell. The Richmond Spiders are an NCAA Division I team that regularly confronts traditional powerhouses such as Duke, Maryland and Virginia.

Roebuck only started to play lacrosse as a freshman, and didn’t become a full-time goalie until the following year.

Brooke Fritz, who coached her at Springside up through her junior year, noted, “I don’t think she’s reached her potential at all; with good training in college she’s going to get a lot better. She’s very quick and she’s physically strong. She’s got very good clears and she can get the ball out to the midfield very quickly.

“I think growing up being a gymnast and learning to be self-motivated helps her in the cage,” the Lions’ former mentor continued. “She’s able to push herself, and I think that’s key for a goalie.”

B.J. Zellers, who took the helm of the Springside program this spring, related, “In the coaching transition, she was very supportive of the things we were trying to do. She was a quiet leader, so when she spoke, it carried a lot of meaning.”

In Roebuck’s two years as a varsity starter, Springside won just two league games, so she was often bombarded with shots, and in many contests her total saves were up in the 20s.

“She was challenged a lot in goal,” Zellers said, “and she really hung in there despite being under pressure from some really good teams. I think that her ability to learn quickly enabled her to have that relatively late start in the sport and still get to where she is now.”

An athletic family encouraged Roebuck’s interest in sports from an early age. Her mother was a gymnast, her father competed in football and basketball, and her older brothers, Chester and Chelsey, were multi-sport athletes at Chestnut Hill Academy. In grade school, she joined a gymnastics program at Chestnut Hill’s Water Tower Recreation Center, a team that grew more sophisticated and began competing successfully against private gyms. The squad performed in national competitions, where one year Roebuck placed seventh in the balance beam and 12th overall in her age group.

She phased out of gymnastics after her eighth grade year. Taking up lacrosse as a Springside freshman, she played in the midfield until late in the season.

“In one of the last games,” she recalled, “I played goalie because both of our JV goalies were missing. We were supposed to rotate people in goal, but when it got to halftime, they said ‘You’re doing great, why don’t you stay in?’“

She enjoys the perspective she gets in the goal circle, pointing out, “I’m really the only person on the field who can see everything that’s going on, so at halftime or a time-out I could give advice to the attack, as well as the defense.”

In the summer she began to play club lacrosse for the PA Express, competing alongside and against top players from schools around the region, and from other parts of the country.

On Springside’s field hockey team she played at the other end of the pitch, as a forward.

“Other coaches always commented on Tori’s speed, hustle, and overall presence on the field,” said Susie Macciocca, the Lions’ outgoing coach. “She’s a true competitor in that she plays to win, but always respects her opponents and her teammates. She’ll run faster and play harder in order to win, but she’ll never throw an elbow or anything like that.”

Springside volleyball coach Chuck Matthews stated that on the court, Roebuck was “a solid outside hitter, a strong server, and a tenacious defender.”

It was understood that lacrosse would be the sport she’d stick with after leaving Springside, but Matthews pointed out, “there were also college volleyball coaches that had a lot of interest in her.”

He added that she was an important catalyst in helping the Lion netters bond as a team this past winter.

“Our team didn’t get along particularly well the previous season,” he related, “but her leadership really helped bring the team together this year. The positive attitude she brought to the team and the hard work she put in just kept everybody energized.”

In the classroom she’s had an affinity for math, science, and Spanish and recently she’s developed an interest in creative writing. She says she may pursue a pre-med curriculum at Richmond, and if so, it will be with a long-term goal of becoming a pediatrician.

“I like kids,” she explained, “so I’d like to do something that allows me to interact with kids.”

Roebuck’s genial nature served her well as a student guide for visitors to Springside, and as president of a student organization known as CAFÉ (Cultural Awareness For Everyone). On behalf of the latter group, she attended national gatherings of the Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Seattle and Boston.

She thoroughly enjoyed her many years at Springside, and is optimistic about the future of the school’s sports teams.

“I’ve seen a lot of progress over the past few years, with Mrs. Pauley coming in [as Athletic Director], and new coaches, and with our field house. I have a feeling that the athletic program will be improving a lot over the next couple years.”