You can never have too many homes.
That’s what Adrianna Storck found out.
Storck is a senior on the Gwynedd Mercy girls soccer team, and she couldn’t be happier with her school and team.
But it wasn’t where she started. She began her high school career at St. Basil’s, and she loved it. But during her sophomore year, she found out the school was closing. At the time, it was terrible news. But it turned out just fine.
“It was pretty hard when they announced it, because it felt like home to me,” said Storck, who lives in Fox Chase. “Both of my sisters went to St. Basil’s. They loved it, and I loved it. I never imagined going somewhere else, so it was hard.
“It really worked out because I made the transition to Gwynedd Mercy, and it became my home. I love it. It helped that about 15 to 20 girls came with me, it was a good amount. I love St. Basil’s, but now I love Gwynedd Mercy. It turned out to be great.”
The youngest of three sisters, Storck always had great mentors leading the way. Her oldest sister, Paulina, starred at Basil first. She became a teacher this year after graduating from Bryn Athyn. Her other sister Maria also played for Basil and she’s now a sophomore at Bryn Athyn, where she also plays soccer.
So for the first time in her life, she’s at a place where her sisters didn’t lead the way. And while she always appreciates everything she’s learned from her sisters and credits them for a lot of what she’s done, she’s doing quite well forging her own path at Gwynedd Mercy.
“I knew I loved Basil’s going in because I was always at the games,” Storck said. “I remember when my older sister played there, I would be the ballgirl. They would always have JV players doing it, but I would run up and down the sidelines and do it. I was just so excited to be part of the game. I would just grab the ball and volunteer.”
Her sisters also had an impact on what she does on the field. Just like them, she plays defense.
“When I was little, I started out as a midfielder, but one game my coach put me on defense and I knew my sisters played it and I loved it,” Storck said. “Since my sisters played it, I wanted to be like them in every aspect of my life, my coach let me play and now it’s what I trained as. It made a lot of sense to be a defender because I always work out with my sisters, if they’re working on it, I was, too. It kind of made it easier for me to become a defender.”
Just like her sisters, she’s a very good defender and the Monarchs are reaping the rewards of her talents.
Gwynedd Mercy is 11-4 on the season, 6-3 in the always tough Catholic Academies League. Things couldn’t be going much better for Storck and her teammates, and the goal is to be just as successful there as she was at Basil.
“We’ve only lost a few games, it’s better than it has been in seasons prior, I’m hoping to win district and go to states,” Storck said. “I think we can do it. We have the team for it. We have such a good community of girls on our team, we’re like a family. Everyone comes to practice, works hard and wants to get far into states.
“I’ve loved it since I got here. I was lucky because they had an orientation for transfers before I got here, and I had some friends come from Basil. Most went to Villa, but a good amount came here. And I had soccer practice before I started, so by the time I got to school, I knew a lot of people. Plus, I knew some of the girls just from playing them. They made it such an easy transition.”
Storck is now starting to think about her transition to college. It will probably be an easy one because she’s back to following in her sisters’ footsteps.
She’s talked to the coach at Bryn Athyn and she intends to play there next year, just like her sisters.
She’s even more familiar with her future college because not only did her sisters go there, her cousins are Payton and Shea Gormley. Payton graduated last year from the school, but Shea is still there. They are the daughters of Northeast athletic director Phil Gormley, and the girls are very close with their cousin.
“I love the smaller community, everything I’ve seen, it looks like a family, a tight-knit group,” Storck said. “I love smaller schools, I loved St. Cecilia’s, St. Basil’s and I love Gwynedd Mercy. I love their sports programs. My sisters told me how great their time has been, so I want to take part in that myself. Growing up, I let my sisters test out everything, and if it works out, I do it! Plus, my cousins played there, and we’re really close. It’s just like a really good place and I want to be a part of it.
“I’m going to major in biology maybe, I definitely want to go into the medical field. My mom is a nurse so that’s always been what I want to do. I wanted to be a surgeon, but I’m not sure my hands are steady enough. I’m thinking maybe be an anesthesiologist. I look up to my mom, and ever since I was little, I never thought about doing anything else but working in medicine.”
But before she joins her family, she has high hopes playing for the Monarchs, both in basketball and soccer.
“I would love to go and win district and state championships, but to make this the best season yet. It’s going to fly by, but I want to have a great time on and off the field and hopefully win championships. Same thing for basketball.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. I loved Basil’s, it was my home, but now this is my home. I love both schools. It’s now my family.”
