Expectations are high for this fall sports season and so are the stakes for these Malvern teams. The talented teams competing this fall are Cross Country, led by Coach Koenig; Golf, with Coach Duda; Football, led by Head Coach Gueriera; Soccer with Coach Barr; Rowing with Coach Konopka; Rugby, with Coach McCurdy and Water Polo led by Coach Schiller. All of these teams may be different but their competitiveness and morals are pervasive throughout the programs.
Head Coach Duda has set the bar high. Planning to win tournaments, the golf team is ready.
“We expect to compete at a high level; we expect to get better each day; we expect to work hard; we expect to be great teammates to one another. Our goals each year: win the Inter-Ac title, win the PAISAA title; win the LCCHS Invitational; and to represent our school with class & humility,” Duda said.
Luckily for the golf team, their new locker room fitted with a Trackman golf simulator will allow them to practice without having to commute to a golf course.
“This will be the first golf season that our Golf Room and Trackman Simulator will be in full use for our JV & Varsity teams. This will allow our players to practice during the school day during a free period and before leaving for matches. It will also enable our players to continue to work on their games during the winter months,” Duda said.
As for the golfers themselves, Duda explains that many students have returned to the team including the senior captains of the varsity team Michael Henry, Brody Bell, Eamon Cochran, and Mac Traynor. In addition, several new players have been added to the program through tryouts. These new players will be respected and held to the same high standards as returning players.
“We welcomed several new players to the program that qualified through our tryout process. All will get opportunities to play and prove themselves during practice & matches. For me, I ask these players to work hard, get better each day, be great teammates, and have a positive attitude. These are areas all of our players can control.” Duda said.
Golf fans should be excited for the season to come. They should expect to see our golfer’s technical skills and the team morale improve.
Next, Coach Koenig with our Cross Country program is planning on re-building the team this year.
“We are looking forward to improving on pretty much everything from last year. We brought back almost all of our varsity runners and they trained very hard over the summer,” Koenig said.
As well as returning players, new runners have been integrating into the program since the summer. Koenig emphasized veteran players’ roles in mentoring their new teammates.
“The new guys get integrated into the team culture right away. In fact, they got together with our veteran team members a few times over the summer to meet them and do some workouts,” Koenig said.
Four new runners, Brock Yoder ‘27, Nico Velez ‘28, Alex DeVries ‘26, and Chase Niewinski ‘26 will be running for the varsity team this season. So, get ready to see a rebuilt team of runners on the terrain this fall.
This year, Coach Schiller, Head Coach of the water polo team, is excited to coach a team that holds itself to high standards and tough competition.
“I am looking forward to a much-improved group of water polo athletes who are committed to changing the culture of our program to help get us back to characteristics and behaviors exuded by a winning team,” Schiller said.
For the water polo team, winning is in their culture. Two players to note that embody this culture are captains, Peter Hicks and Warner Consolino.
As for new players, Coach Schiller emphasizes the importance of their mentorship from other teammates.
“Water polo is a sport where all JV and Varsity athletes practice together. By doing this, our younger athletes can learn from their older brothers in the Junior and Senior classes. We have a small but talented group of freshmen who I am excited to coach,” Schiller said.
Overall, the water polo team is set up for a prosperous season. Thankfully, Schiller states that they are well taken care of by the athletics department which is pivotal to a successful team.
“Mr. Stewart and the Athletics department always make sure we have what we need,” Schiller said.
This season, the Rugby team is switching up their schedule this year with the return of “Fall Sevens”. Sevens will give our Rugby team more off-season opportunities. Coach McCurdy proclaims that the whole program is excited for the return of Sevens.
“As a coaching staff, we are looking forward to bringing the ‘Fall 7’s’ rugby program back to Malvern. This is the first time that Malvern will field a team in the fall competition since before the pandemic. The team is excited to hit the field and compete against the top teams in the area for a state championship,” McCurdy said.
Coach McCurdy proudly states that most of his players come from very diverse sports backgrounds. But, other sports bring diversity to a player’s skills as well.
“The rugby team is often made up of guys that used to play other sports- football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, wrestling. These new Rugby players often find that skills from other sports carry over to rugby- in one way or another,” McCurdy said.
Returning from the pandemic, “Fall Sevens” will be a great way to enjoy Rugby in the off-season.
On the football field, Coach Gueriera is faced with a tough schedule and trying to find the identity of this year’s football team.
Coach Gueriera shares the fact that he enjoys finding outstanding players and the overall identity of his roster each year.
“I love each year that you actually find your identity as a team. I love that piece of it. As juniors become seniors, they become leaders. Guys become more vocal, and your culture gets set. So overall, I love having the opportunity to compete with this [years] group of guys,” Gueriera said.
The Malvern Prep football program is always ready to be challenged. This is why the football team has set themselves up with a tough schedule playing the top teams in our area. Coach F acknowledges their tough schedule.
“[We play] the top teams in Pennsylvania, and also the top teams in New Jersey. And you know, we’re playing really tough teams.
To prepare for the schedule to come training rarely stops. Off-season training and lifts bring everyone together and the team gets on the field for pre-season in June.
“We start practicing in June, but really the off-season starts in the weight room, and that’s where a lot of guys will start to ‘gel’ and come together. But, June is when we really get on the field.”
The Friars on the gridiron this year are stronger than ever. Their coaching staff holds them to high standards and has high expectations to go along with these standards. Most importantly, the football players hold themselves to high standards which shows through their dispositions and playstyles.
“They’re good, solid people. They respect their opponents, they respect their coaches. I just feel like they do everything the right way. I think we have talented kids who are going to go off to play at some good colleges. I think that that adds expectations in, but nothing will add up to the expectations that they put on themselves as being one of the top programs in the tri-state area,” Gueriera said.
From the boat house, the rowing team has been training under Coach Konopka’s leadership. The rowing team’s expectations are higher than ever, looking to win out this year.
“My expectations are always the same and very straightforward – It is to race our hardest and to win. We speak every year about winning every event at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta and Scholastic nationals, as well as winning the Youth National championship. As someone once said to me, ‘Every year is unique. But, I don’t believe in rebuilding, just retooling.’ There’s always a way to win, it’s just a matter of figuring out how to do it,” Coach Konopka says.
Konopka speaks highly of his crew and believes they can reclaim the honor of the Malvern Rowing program.
“The athletes now understand our expectations and the work that is required. They understand the high level of accountability it requires in order to go fast and take Malvern Prep rowing back to where it was for 25+ years – a program which was known both nationally and internationally.”
Competitions will be held on the banks of the Schuylkill River. So show out for our rowing team and support them on their way to reclaim Malvern’s rowing title.
After reaching out numerous times, we unfortunately never received a season preview from Malvern’s Soccer Coach, Coach Barr. The Friar’s Lantern hopes Malvern Prep soccer has a successful season.
All Malvern Prep fall sports teams seem to be in great hands. Now, let’s do our part for brotherhood, and support these teams by showing up to games and events. Go Friars!
