Sophia Rosica is a student athlete like many other students at Pennridge High School. She has been involved in track and field, tennis, powderpuff, and the newly instated varsity seven on seven-on-seven women’s flag football team, which many girls have been fighting for and looking forward to. Rosica is also one of the team captains for the new flag team and stated, “I am so happy to see and hear that people think of me as a leader, because sometimes I feel like I am much more of a follower.”
On the field, she truly dominates defence and offense. In the first flag game against Palisades, she got the team’s first pick-six, scoring a touchdown with ease. As a whole, Rosica’s life is truly busy, she stated, “I think that I have gotten much better at managing my time over the years, but for a while I struggled a bit.” She also manages to be a committee head in Mini THON, whose sole purpose is to help children with cancer be able to afford treatment by raising money. Rosica also has after-school jobs, one at the Perk, A popular dinner spot, where she works during the day, and Nina’s Waffles, an ice cream and waffle joint not far from Pennridge, where she works nights. Time management is a valuable skill Rosica has mastered.
Rosica’s plans after high school have been something that, like most seniors, has been another stressor, but she made the decision to commit to Penn State and will be attending her first year in the fall of 2025. She plans to major in Forensic Science, and because she is focusing primarily on her education, she stated, “I plan on joining recreational sports at Penn State.” Being in a new environment and balancing that and everything else that comes with college life makes sense.
Rosica, being involved in so many sports and activities, has allowed her to meet new people. “I think I stressed myself out too much on being good, and focusing on only negative things, like when I would mess up, rather than when I did well, it really made me lose confidence, and also made me forget that these things were meant to be fun.” This is something that many athletes struggle with. The pressure to be perfect on the field often prevents athletes from performing their best in games, which in the long run affects their confidence as well as their mental health. Many student athletes can be crushed by the combined weight of sports, school, and maintaining a social life. Even Rosica confesses that “At one time I struggled with having friends outside of sports just because it took up so much of my time, but now I think I’ve overcome that.”
The many friends of Rosica also spoke about the positive impact Rosica has made in their lives, Avery Riley, a good friend of Rosica, Spoke of their friendship saying that “she is an inspiration for the other girls on the team, being good at the sport and encouraging the younger girls shows how much of a leader Soph is. She is so inclusive and makes sure she is playing to her best ability and making sure that everyone is also playing to their best ability.” Rosica and Riley have been friends since second grade, and as they are now seniors, their friendship has stood the test of time. “Rosica is a leader, and I am happy to call her a capitan and also a friend.”
When asked who Rosica looked up to, she stated, “ My sister Grace really is someone that I look up to. She has been through so much with sports and even mental health, and yeah, just someone that I admire.” Even though this is Rosica’s last year at Pennridge High School, she has made a positive impact on so many people, and Pennridge can only hope to have more students like Rosica who are ready to help out young athletes and their community.
