Furman the bond that held Bears together
There are very few who understand the current crop of Boyertown High School girls basketball players quite like Kelly Furman. The assistant coach has been instrumental in the Bears’ success.
HERSHEY >> There are very few who understand the current crop of Boyertown High School girls basketball players quite like Kelly Furman.
She’s been in their shoes. She’s walked down the same school hallways. She’s sported the black and red jersey.
Yet even Furman herself hasn’t been where this team is now.
A 2011 graduate and three-sport athlete for Boyertown, Furman currently serves as an assistant coach to the girls basketball team who won its first PIAA championship in program history Friday night’s 6A final with a 46-35 win over North Allegheny.
“It’s incredible,” said Furman prior to the game at the Giant Center in Hershey. “I tell them all the time: I wish I was them, because I’d definitely rather be playing than coaching in this situation.”
Furman was part of the Lady Bears’ deepest postseason run prior to this season — Boyertown eventually falling to Archbishop Carroll in the semifinal round of the 2011 PIAAAAAA playoffs that year. Furman averaged a shade over eight points per game that season and knocked down 43 3-pointers. She scored in double-digits 11 times for the season while then-sophomore Kaitlyn Eisenhard (now at Mount St. Mary’s) was just starting to establish herself as the team’s leading scorer.
“This team reminds me a lot of my team,” she said. “The togetherness, the never-give-up mentality. They’re so coachable and so much fun to be around. It’s been such a great ride.”
Alongside Furman, head coach Jason Bieber’s staff also included Troy Sweisfort, Jackie Miller and Alex Plate.
Furman is no stranger to this crop of players, namely the upperclassmen.
Prior to her senior season, she spent her sophomore and junior summers coaching young girls at basketball camps in Boyertown. Little did she know what she and Bieber had been building from the ground up in those days.
“They were in third and fourth grade,” she recalled of this year’s players, “so seeing them grow up and for them to be able to play on this stage is incredible.”
Following her time with the Bears, Furman went on to play women’s lacrosse and study at La Salle University. Four years later, she earned a chemistry degree.
Far from a coaching degree, nonetheless, Furman has been the bond that’s held together the Bears all season. The solution? Historic. She’s the calm, soothing voice on the Boyertown bench amid the storm. She’s the one who will put her arm around a player after she picks up a mistimed foul. And she’s clearly the one who can relate to each player on such a level that only few can.
“All I want is to spread the joy and memories that I had when I was in high school,” she said. “This team has already achieved so much together. It’s been awesome to not only see them going through this journey — but to know that I’ve been a part of it.”
Sister, Sister
Anyone who’s been around the Lady Bears this season can certainly recognize one thing: Avery Sweisfort wears her heart on her sleeve.
A feisty freshman, Sweisfort has often been first off the bench for Boyertown, a fresh set of legs and a strong piece on the defensive end.
What they may not realize, though, is what she wears on her basketball sneakers.
All season long, Sweisfort has had the No. 24 etched in Sharpie on her sneakers, honoring her senior sister Candice, who tore her ACL over the summer.
“It’s like she’s still out there playing with me,” said Sweisfort moments after the Bears’ won the PIAA Class 6A Championship Friday night. “I kind of took over her role this season coming off the bench after she got injured.”
Sweisfort’s first season with the Bears came along with her father, assistant coach Troy Sweisfort. Together, the trio of Sweisforts brought plenty to the Lady Bears.
Throughout the year, the elder, animated Sweisfort sister could be found fully engaged on the bench, rooting and pushing her teammates all the way to the state championship game. Although she couldn’t be a part of the team on the floor, she was certainly a part of the sideline festivities.
She’d stand up with her hands over her mouth when a Boyertown player blocked an opposing players’ shot. She’d be among the first to stick out her hand for a high-five as a teammate came off the floor. And she was certainly part of each celebration as the Bears plowed their way through the PIAA playoffs.
“My teammates still make me feel like I’m a part of the team,” she said. “Even though I couldn’t be out there playing with them, I’d still get excited for games. I always tried to stay in the moment.”
The older sibling is generally the one who lays the groundwork for the younger to follow.
Even amid injury, that’s still the case for the Sweisforts.
“All these girls on this team are like older sisters to me,” said Avery Sweisfort. “I’ve been playing with most of them since I was in fifth grade, not to mention my own sister, Candice. It’s going to be so hard once they all leave.”