Pleasant Valley senior Luke Pandolfo is not just an inspiration to his Bears basketball team, but for everyone surrounding him – even off the court.

Pandolfo is diagnosed with autism, but he doesn’t let it slow him down.

He tried out for the Bears’ basketball team, and to no surprise, made it all the way to the starting five on Jan. 18 at home against Pocono Mountain West.

Pandolfo scored two points on the night, and Pleasant Valley head coach Bobby Hahn expressed his great work ethic.

“He works as hard as he can and he plays great when he goes in there,” Hahn said. “He plays tough, he works hard at practice. He has a great attitude and is always asking what he can do to improve, how he can get better. He’s a pleasure to have on the team.”

Pandolfo’s accolades include Special Olympics, where he is a state champion.

Pandolfo also has an interest in other sports, including soccer, which he started watching in sixth grade, and track, which he joined in eighth grade.

His love for sports only continued after joining the Special Olympics, and Pandolfo explained the importance of being a team player.

“I played a lot of sports each season,” Pandolfo said of the Special Olympics. “Fall is football, winter is hockey, spring is basketball, track and softball. Summer is softball a bit. It’s like a new superhero joining the Teen Titans, Justice League or the Avengers. It’s pretty much learning how to be on a team. Like here, it pretty much felt like the Avengers.”

The recent COVID-19 quarantine kept Pandolfo’s Special Olympics involvement to a minimum, but he found a way to fill the void by trying out and making the Pleasant Valley boys’ basketball team.

“The quarantine was driving me crazy, so my mom asked me if I could be on the basketball team,” Pandolfo said. “Coach Hahn put me on the team. Originally, during tryouts, some of the runs I got burnt, but I made the team.

Pandolfo got some input from his dad as well.

“My dad said, ‘You might only be third-string, though,’” Pandolfo recalled. “So I thought about it, and some playing time is better than no playing time.”

Autism Awareness is prevalent throughout society, but Pandolfo ventured into high school sports and overcame the odds to find his way onto the basketball court, providing an inspiration for people with autism.

“It’s one of those things that makes him an inspirational player for our team and other teams, even on-and-off the court,” Hahn said. “He is someone who was told when they were younger that they might never walk or talk. Not only did he overcome that, but he actually became a state champion in the Special Olympics, and someone who’s starting on a varsity team here for basketball.

“It shows that you should never give up, that if you keep pushing through the hard times, the hard work will pay off. That’s a lesson that’s great for our team to see, and other players around the area as well.”

Pandolfo’s excitement was obvious as he broke down a play from a recent game.

“I got a steal and I gave it to my friend Sam and Sam’s like, ‘Shoot that,’” Pandolfo recalled. “He tried to give it back to me, but it got stolen.

“My instinct is to give it to Sam because there’s four seconds left in the game so I probably wasn’t thinking clearly. “

There have been ups and downs for Pleasant Valley’s boys’ basketball team this season, but Pandolfo’s incredible story has proven to be a major bright spot for the Bears.

The heart and determination the Pleasant Valley senior has shown has been a great lesson for everyone who knows his story.

“Keep doing what you’re doing and work hard,” is how Pandolfo summed up his attitude when it comes to sports and life.

It’s advice that everyone should emulate.

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TRIBE PRIDE

… Last Friday night, Hailey Miller became the ninth girl in Lehighton history to reach 1,000 points in a career. In the second quarter against Tamaqua, Miller stole the ball and went on to complete a right-handed lay-up to reach the milestone. Miller finished with 20 points in the game, in which the Indians came out on top with a 54-50 victory.

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MILESTONE MOMENT

... Northern Lehigh’s Emma Niebell scored her 1,000th-career point in a 58-45 loss to Colonial League rival Northwestern on Tuesday. Niebell finished the milestone achieving game with 28 pointsf for the Bulldogs.

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NEMETH FOR THREE

… Those three words have been heard plenty of times throughout the varsity of career of Palmerton senior Raegan Nemeth. And on Tuesday, Jan. 25, in a Colonial League matchup against Southern Lehigh, Nemeth put her name in the school record book when she hit four threes to increase her career total to 127. That pushed her past Linnaea Leister, who held the previous Blue Bomber girls record of 126 career treys. Nemeth needs seven more threes to break the school record of 133 three-pointers held by Justin Hosier.

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BANG FOR THE BUCK

… The Pleasant Valley and Northern Lehigh girls’ basketball teams have gone the distance and then some recently to get the win. On Tuesday, Pleasant Valley captured a 45-42 overtime win over ES North after the game ended in a 38-38 tie in regulation. On Friday, Northern Lehigh scored an all-important Colonial League win, edging Southern Lehigh, 45-44, in OT after the score was tied 35-35 at end of regulation.

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IN THE WIN COLUMN

… Both the Lehighton boys and the Panther Valley girls were able to record victories in league play over the last week. Last Tuesday, the Indians got their first Schuylkill League victory - a 45-39 decision over Pine Grove. Jack Lorenz scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help the Indians end a nine-game league losing streak. Last Friday, the Panthers not only got their first Schuylkill League win after seven straight losses, but also got their first win overall since the opening night of the season. . Sera Robin and Maddison Maynard were the dynamic duo for the Panthers, scoring 28 and 24 points respectively as PV snapped a 15-game losing streak.

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WINNING WAYS

… The Jim Thorpe boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have been rolling. The Olympians are enjoying a four-game win streak on the boys’ side of things, while the Lady Olympians have won three straight since their first loss of the season. The Palmerton girls have kept up their winning ways for 17 straight games. Meanwhile, the Marian girls and Northern Lehigh girls are making noise as the Fillies have won nine straight while the Bulldogs have pushed their win streak to five games.

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SONIC YOUTH

… The Northwestern and Palmerton girls’ matchup is going to be one to circle on the calendar for the next few years. There were only three seniors among the 10 starters who took the floor for the teams. Rachel Dorney, of Northwestern, and Raegan Nemeth and Brianna Moore, of Palmerton, were the only seniors in the starting lineups. The rest were underclassmen, including two freshmen who started for the Tigers. The Bombers took the two regular season meetings between the teams this year, but there’s a chance that they may not have seen the last of each other this season as the potential exists for another meeting in the Colonial League playoffs.

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HUGE TURN-AROUND

… Thirty-seven days after Jim Thorpe suffered a 54-29 loss to Tamaqua, the Olympians got their revenge. Last week when the two teams met again, it was Jim Thorpe posting the victory, routing Tamaqua, 66-36. That marked a 55-point turnaround from their previous meeting.