Mackenna McIlhenny doesn’t need to be on the field to help her team.
Sure, McIlhenny is able to do a lot more for her teammates on the Franklin Towne Charter High School girls soccer team when she’s actually on the field and she’s able to show off her skills. But for now, she’s unable to play because of a bum knee.
“I thought I tore my ACL, but it was just a sprain,” said McIlhenny, a Bridesburg resident. “It wasn’t too bad, but I have to miss three weeks. I’m doing physical therapy, that’s how I’m trying to get back. It doesn’t hurt.”
Sure, the Warriors would be better off if the striker and outside midfielder was on the field doing her thing, but since she’s not there, she’s still around the team, and doing whatever she can to help the team succeed.
“I’m trying to help while I’m hurt, so I’m doing whatever I can,” McIlhenny said. “I can’t play but I still go to every practice and game. I do the (score) sheet we have and do things like that to help the team.
“My cousin is the goalie, I’m able to help them. I’ll help any way, and when I can, since I played before, I try to give advice to the other girls, the new girls, and try to help that way since I can’t be in the game. And I try to be there as a leader. That’s something I’m working on.”
It’s something she’s doing a great job on, and while she’s turning into a great leader for the Warriors, she’s also becoming a leader away from Franklin Towne.
She was selected to be part of the Live Like Blaine Leadership Academy, where sophomores “enhance their leadership and interpersonal skills through a comprehensive toolkit fostering self-awareness, confidence, teamwork and much more. This journey of personal growth unfolds within a diverse community of enthusiastic, skilled and like-minded peers from local high schools. Leadership Academy students will also have the opportunity to meet and network with female leaders in sports and business, attend an overnight retreat and participate in community service opportunities.”
It’s a great opportunity for young high school students to take the next step in becoming leaders not just in their school, but in the community.
It’s one McIlhenny is taking seriously and one she hopes she can use to make a huge difference in her growth as a leader.
“An email from my school about leadership and I was very interested,” McIlhenny said. “It’s a huge honor. My mom went there for a dinner and it’s a lot of people, all sophomores, from all over all different neighborhoods, we’re all athletes.
“We talked about a lot of things. All different leadership things to make us better. It’s fun, we do fun things, but we want to learn these things and bring it back to our school and our neighborhoods.”
McIlhenny recently was in the hospital and had a lump removed from her chest. While there, she saw children who were dealing with illnesses who needed a boost.
She hopes to use what she learns in the leadership program to assist people who need a little pick me up.
“Some people picked mental health or help kids in hospitals for their projects,” McIlhenny said. “I think I want to do something with raising toys or something for kids in the hospital. Just because not too long ago I was in the hospital for surgery. It’s overwhelming, so many doctors and it can be scary. Some kids live there and they might not have toys. I hope to do what I can to help them be a kid.”
McIlhenny is focused on her program, but she’s also looking forward to getting back on the field to help her team.
The Warriors are always one of the top teams in the Public League, and this year is no different. Once she returns, she’ll be ready to go.
She’s also a member of the school’s flag football team, so athletics are a huge part of her life.
“It was the first year they had it and we didn’t win every game, nobody really knew how to play but we were learning together and having fun,” McIlhenny said. “We didn’t do half bad. We lost a few games but we won a lot, too. It was different. And the Eagles sponsored it. It’s their program they gave us uniforms. We were in the stadium and ran on the field and they gave us food. It was fun.”
McIlhenny is also involved in other clubs, including Best Buddies, which partners a student up with a student from the special education department. She’s also a mentor and involved with student government.
While Franklin Towne has given her a great bump in growing as a leader, she also credits her family with paving the way for her.
“My parents are great leaders, I’ve learned from them,” she said. “They guide me through everything and if I do something wrong, they teach me to go about things in a different perspective. And seeing how other people take things on. I watch and listen and I try to go about it in a different way to make myself better while helping people around me.
“I’m learning a lot, I’m lucky to have a lot of people help me. That makes me want to help people. I like helping people and I’m doing my best. I’m learning and I think I’m making a difference.”
