Mixed photographs from Friday's game. The York Catholic Fighting Irish beat the Hanover Nighthawks, 76-51. Ty Lohr, The Evening Sun
Before she even hits the court, Avery Martz is a leader for the Hanover Hawkettes basketball team.
Prior to each game, the Hanover senior stands at the chalkboard in the locker room and writes down her team's goals for the game. Specifically, she writes down what her teammates shout out they want to do as a visual reminder.
"She's just a leader," Hanover head coach Denny Garman said. "It's just what she does."
The 5-foot-4 senior point guard has helped her Hawkettes to a 10-7 record this season, heading a young Hanover team.
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But she's used to being the leader — a different kind of leader, though.
"She's not the leader that's chatty and that's going to pump up the team," Garman said. "She's not too high, she's not too low. She's just consistent."
That's shown in the boxscores, as she's averaged almost 13 points per game this season. Not only does she continuously put up double-digits for the Hawkettes, she leads by example, one of many traits that Garman believes makes others look up to her on the court.
"It's never dramatic with her," Garman said. "It's never up or down. It's just always even keel. She just shows up every day and works hard. I think in today's (sports) world it's more challenging to find that. She is the glue that kind of holds us together."
While basketball isn't an individual sport, Garman added that Martz makes everyone better when she's on the floor. He said the Hawkettes are a "completely different team" with her.
Being in the spotlight isn't new for Martz, who was also a standout on the Hawkettes field hockey team.
In the fall, she helped Hanover secure a division title and end the season 16-3-1 overall. She was a big contributor, scoring 35 goals and distributing six assists breaking the school record — again — for goals in a season.
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The youngest of three children, Martz was brought up in a competitive household. Her two older brothers — Hunter, 19 and Jordan, 26 — were standout athletes for Hanover as well.
Jordan is working for the Milwaukee Bucks' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, as a video coordinator. Hunter is currently enrolled at Lebanon Valley College, where he plays football for the Dutchmen.
"My family does not like to lose," Martz joked. "We're always competing."
Even while on vacations, Martz said she and her brothers find a way to make a competition, whether that's playing basketball or making a tennis tournament.
She's set high goals for herself throughout her four years on the Hawkettes' field hockey team. One in particular was to set the school record for goals in a season. She did that twice.
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Holding herself to a higher standard has allowed her to branch out and try to help teammates. She believes that showed during field hockey as she focused more on assists and being a better team player.
"I'm more of an all-around player now," she said. "And I think that started in field hockey, (where) my confidence really built up."
Garman said that, despite Martz usually being the team-leader in points, she recognizes the balance.
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"There's nights where she's a scorer when she needs to be, but sometimes she's just a distributor when teams try to key in on her," he said.
Moving forward, Avery is hoping to play field hockey at Messiah College. Playing for the Falcons on the field will be a plus, but she's more excited about pursuing her degree in nursing.
"The Christian aspect really got me ... and their nursing program," she said of Messiah. "It was just really awesome."
Her future goal is to become a midwife, but for now, she's focused on basketball and helping the Hawkettes land a spot in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs.
"There's no doubt in my mind that she'll be on the Hall of Fame wall (in the school) when it's time," Garman said. "This is just what she does."
Ty Lohr can be reached at tlohr@eveningsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @tylohrphoto.
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