AROUND TOWN: Abdalla finds perfect pitch off the soccer field

Apr. 23—He was an all-region soccer midfielder at Abington Heights. These days, Temple University senior Luke Abdalla is working on another pitch, one that recently saw him offered a recording contract in his burgeoning music career.

"I started singing from a very young age," Abdalla said. "I just remember singing in the car. My mom was playing Michael Bublé and stuff like that. But yeah, I started singing at venues and I took vocal lessons for a little bit. I sang at some little bars, I sang the national anthem for the RailRiders a few times.

"I've always had a passion for singing. I took a little bit of a break for a few years to focus on sports, but then I rekindled and came back with singing around my junior year of high school."

That's when Abdalla started to try his hand at songwriting.

"Ever since from there, probably, is where I started to get the equipment and make my own music."

Along the way, both at Abington Heights and then for a season at Ursinus College, his teammates pushed him to perform, even before he started writing and performing his own music.

"They were always like, 'C'mon, Luke,' and they'd play a song and say 'Sing it, sing it,'" he said. "But honestly, my teammates and friends — why I always kept going with my music is they've always been so supportive of me.

"I remember my whole team (at Ursinus) would be playing my songs in the locker room before games and they'd be promoting my music whenever I released it. So, I've got to give them big thanks because my friends have helped me keep going forward with being so confident in my music."

Whatever happens down the road, Abdalla won't forget that first song, released in March of his junior year at Abington Heights.

"The song's called 'It's Alright.' It played over the radio, and I remember having some of my friends come over for a listening party," Abdalla recalled. "That was the first song. When I heard it on the radio, all my friends were singing. It was in that moment, I was like, 'Yes!,' this is a feeling like no other, This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. So, that's when I just started pursuing music."

While he loved soccer, it quickly became clear that he needed a bigger platform.

"I obviously love soccer, and I loved playing soccer at Ursinus," Abdalla said "The one big thing, though, Temple has one of the best music and media programs in the country. They're known for it. I also wanted to be in the city and create (contacts), because in the entertainment business it's a lot about who you know.

"I wanted to go out and spread my wings and try to meet as many people as I can. I loved Ursinus but it was smaller. I wanted to have the bigger vibe of things, make more connections. So I made the transfer to Temple and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made because I love it here and I felt like I've grown really well with my music, meeting people and I've gotten a lot of opportunities."

One of those is through Bell Tower Music, Temple's own record label for its students. Besides artists, it also includes a media team, which Abdalla is part of, and a marketing team.

So far, Abdalla's released seven songs which are available through Spotify and Apple Music. It's still a big leap to stardom, but for now, that's not the goal.

"I just want to wake up every day and be happy, and love my job, and be in the music scene," Abdalla said. "Because that's what's going to make me happy. The money, the money will come, but when you wake up every morning and your job doesn't feel like a job, that will push your limits and that will make you a stronger person and it eventually will lead you toward where you're meant to be in life."

This ace counts

The guy who owns the Scranton Muni course record for fewest strokes taken to get from the 10th tee to the cup on the 11th green finally has a hole-in-one that will count.

Years ago, Muni Rats and others may remember, George Travis teed off on the par-5 10th and drove it dead right, onto the green and into the cup on the par-4 11th.

Travis finally got a more conventional ace when he knocked it into the cup — from the 14th tee to the 14th green — at Stone Hedge Golf Course last week while playing with Chuck Weisberger, Jeff Ziegler and Randy Cleary.

Getting his kicks

Former Lackawanna Trail softball coach John Brander will be watching the NFL Draft intently — at least the second day.

His sister Deb's son, Chad Ryland, is projected to be the first placekicker taken, probably in the sixth or seventh round. Chad, who went to Cedar Crest High School and started his career at Eastern Michigan before transferring to Maryland last season, booted field goals of 53 and 52 yards at Michigan, the first time in Terps history a kicker made two 50-yard kicks. The second team All Big Ten selection was 39 for 40 on extra points and made 19 of 23 field goals.

And one

As the 10th anniversary of the state championship approaches, former Valley View pitching star Gina (Chieffallo) Moreno and her husband, Kyle, have something else to celebrate.

Mom, dad and little brother Luca welcomed a little girl, Adelina Michela, on April 17. Little Chief checked in at 7 pounds,

7 ounces, and 19 inches.

MARTY MYERS is a Times-Tribune sports writer. His Around Town column appears on Sundays. To contact him, email mmyers@timesshamrock.com, call 570-348-9100, ext. 5437 or follow him on Twitter @mmyersTT.