The Natural: Twin Valley’s Natali Foster is a winner for all seasons

By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent

Natali Foster can’t tell you how she does it. That’s not false modesty. She genuinely doesn’t know.

From early March through late November, Twin Valley’s senior never picked up a basketball. She didn’t even take a few shots in the driveway. Then after less than three weeks of practice, she poured in 19 points in the season opener.

It shouldn’t be that easy. It should take more time.

“I feel rusty at first,” Foster said. “But I’ve been playing basketball my whole life. Once I get back in the flow of things, I feel better. It’s kind of hard coming right from another sport because it’s completely different. I get used to things after a while.”

Foster is Berks County’s most prolific three-sport athlete. She’s the Player of the Year in field hockey, one of the top scorers in basketball and a cleanup hitter in softball. 

The truly special athletes never know how they do it. It’s some combination of natural gifts, tireless work ethic and uncompromising competitiveness.

Foster only knows what it’s like to play sports in her body. With her talent. She’s starting from a place most rivals will never reach.

Twin Valley basketball coach Doug Myer said Foster could excel at anything. Tennis. Volleyball. He even mused that she could be a middle linebacker in football. 

“She’s just a natural athlete,” Myer said. “She has great footwork. She has incredible hand-eye coordination. She has great hands.

“The thing you don’t appreciate about her until you coach her is just how competitive she is out on the court.”

Foster helped Twin Valley capture the PIAA field hockey championship on Nov. 20. She scored two goals, including her league-leading 64th, in a victory over Gwynedd Mercy Academy.

There were hundreds of text messages sent to Foster in the hours after she and her teammates lifted that trophy. They came from her future college coaches at Drexel to her former teammates in the youth ranks.

One came from Myer. He offered congratulations. Foster responded by asking what time practice was the next day. She showed up for that practice. On a Sunday. One day after winning it all in her No. 1  sport.

“She has ants in her pants,” Myer said. “We had off one day. We came in just to do something, I can’t remember what it was. She said, ‘I’m going to work out.’ I look out. She’s walking across the parking lot to get a workout in.”

Foster is a four-year varsity player in basketball. She has started since the end of her freshman season. She has grown from being a complementary part of the great Peyton McDaniel teams to being a leader on this team.

The 5-6 guard ranks fourth in the league averaging 15.1 points and is tied for sixth with 30 3-pointers. Only one player, Oley Valley’s Morgan Snyder, has made more free throws.

Even though basketball isn’t her primary sport, it might not even be her second-best sport, Foster carries with her the same personal burden of high expectations. She wants to be the best. She wants to win every night.

“Coming to practice I get so focused,” Foster said. “In field hockey, I’m kind of known as that person. I think it carries on into basketball. I want to be that person there, too. I want to push myself as hard as I can.”

Foster entered a new era at Twin Valley this season. Most of the teammates she played with growing up have graduated. Coach Mark Morrow, also Foster’s childhood coach, stepped down over the summer.

The winning has continued. Twin Valley (6-2, 12-5) will capture Berks II and is ranked sixth in District 3 Class 5A. The three senior captains, Foster, Anna Kaplan and Rachel Knight, have kept the program on track.

Foster is nearing the end of her three-sport odyssey. It’ll be field hockey full-time once she arrives at Drexel. The senior said she likes how the different sports break up her schedule. It takes away the monotony. She’ll miss that when it’s gone.

“For all of her athletic success, she’s very humble,” Myer said. “Off the court, off the playing field, she’s a really genuine kid. She never thinks it’s all about me. She thinks it’s all about our team winning.”

Foster has four more months of high school before she ends her Hall of Fame career. That’s more time to accomplish some crazy feats. Feats she can’t explain.