Adam Reynolds saluted by long time Sixers announcer Marc Zumoff, plus his receiving of the People’s Choice Award from Shawnee!
against Turkaloo andre Iggonala for the lead yes oh yes hang on everybody we’re coming in for a landing i have a very very very special message for three Shauny High School graduates i’m talking to you Adam Reynolds adam played hoops and finished his athletic career as a top player for Shaunie’s championship soccer team you guys are the best you guys are winners you guys are moving on to bigger and better things adam congratulations once again just a couple things before I let you guys go at night make sure you look around lock all windows and doors and anytime light gives you garbage you turn it into gold once again congratulations graduates my 2025 People’s Choice Award nomination is Adam Reynolds [Applause] i first got to meet Adam when he was in middle school as a soccer player and I have had the privilege of watching him grow up and mature both out on the fields and in the classroom over the last seven years when I first met Adam he was full of energy and he had a lot to say all of the time maybe too much he honestly reminded me of what my son Jack is like right now and it gives me great hope that my son would be able to develop into a young man as mature responsible and respectful as Adam Reynolds now not all of the interactions between Adam and I over the years were always easy early on as a coach I saw in him in him a young man with a ton of potential who just wasn’t quite getting it during one of his years as an underassman and he’ll probably kill me for telling this story here in public at soccer tryyous after the whole team got in trouble for not cleaning up the field fast enough he decided to complete the suicide sprints that they were all doing as punishment together barefoot and in an extremely slow jogging pace finishing way after everyone else was done that was one of the many moments that was followed by some tough conversations and heart-to-hearts between us and I think Adam had to find out the hard way that this type of effort and attitude wasn’t going to work for him to be successful here at Shauna i think we could all think back to ourselves as teenagers and remember a few of our own learning moments like that myself included but of all the conversations I’ve had with students over the years like this I don’t know if I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing it really really click like what has happened with Adam over the last couple of years watching Adam’s maturation process on and off the soccer field has been one of the greatest privileges I’ve ever had as an educator i have no doubt that much of that growth can be tied back to his parents and his phenomenal support system including many of the other wonderful educators here at Shaun 8 who have been such positive role models for him but to even be a small part of his story brings me an immense amount of pride and what a story it has been this year adam broke through into the starting lineup of one of the best teams in Shauny boy soccer history and helped lead them to an Olympic American Conference Championship a South Jersey Coaches Cup championship and a New Jersey state championship and in the South Jersey sectional championship game against rival Morristown late in the match Adam scored what was the game-l to send the crowd into hystericss so many emotions flooded my mind in that moment i was elated to win that championship game but I also couldn’t help myself from smiling that it it was Adam who put us over the top i was beyond happy for him and the team mob them but behind that big moment in front of that huge home field crowd we played in front of in the Shauny Stadium that day were so many smaller moments and right choices that he has made over and over and over and over again the last few years to get him to where he is now coach Marshall and I definitely had to chuckle off to the side a few times this year when we would hear Reynolds chewing out other guys on the team that weren’t working hard enough or weren’t focused enough in practice or the pregame warm-ups things had definitely come full circle all the lessons that we had tried to ingrain in him throughout the years he was passing on to the other players he has embodied the Shauny soccer program’s motto that we have good players on the field and better people off of it in addition I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Adam as a student this year where he took my AP economics class uh he he thought about dropping it at some point we had a tough conversation and we talked and and I was honest with him and I said first of all you know if you leave I’m really going to miss having you around but I also thought that the the class was a good opportunity to challenge himself with something he wasn’t comfortable with and after some reflection Adam decided to stick with the class at the end of the day that now embodies who Adam is there are no shortcuts to success it takes hard work perseverance and resilience and that’s who Adam Reynolds is i look forward to following as many successes as he graduates from Shaune this June and begins his soccer and academic career at Arcadia University but I’ll be right here if you ever need to talk when you inevitably encounter a setback or an obstacle i know you’ve got what it takes to overcome it best of luck
