Brett Kosciolek is a special athlete with special talents.

From strikeouts and home runs to slam dunks and jump shots, the Tamaqua junior has made a career of stuffing stat sheets, filling up box scores and leading his teams to victory.Whether on a baseball field or basketball court, his dizzying array of skills has made Kosciolek quite the headache for opposing coaches and players.However, this past season, the focus wasn't solely on Kosciolek's ability to score points or rebound basketballs; rather, it was his ability to rebound from a trauma-induced headache that helped him score his second straight TIMES NEWS Boys Basketball Player of the Year award.During a game at Pine Grove, Kosciolek was injured after an awkward fall to the ground. Several days later, the 6-foot-7 junior was diagnosed with a concussion.After guiding Tamaqua to a 7-3 start to the season, the Blue Raiders found themselves without the services of their leader for the next three weeks as they lost five of their next seven games. When Kosciolek was finally able to return to the starting lineup, it was hardly a coincidence that Tamaqua won four of its remaining five games to clinch consecutive District 11 playoff appearances for the first time since 2002."Before the concussion, I've never missed a game, so sitting on the bench for a few weeks and knowing that I couldn't be out there for my team was very difficult," Kosciolek said."I felt fine, but my balance was a little off, so sitting out a few games was the right decision. Concussions are a serious matter, and you definitely don't want to mess around with them."Kosciolek is only the third Tamaqua player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Ray Kinder (1989) and Joe Ligenza (1995). He is also the first basketball standout since Pleasant Valley's Tom Kresge accomplished the feat in 2006 to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.In addition to being named the TIMES NEWS Baseball Player of the Year in 2013, Kosciolek joins an elite company of Marian's Erin Brady, Northern Lehigh's Ryan Hluschak and Northern Lehigh's Tim Pfluger to win a Player of the Year award three or more times in two different sports."Any time you get recognized for something like this, it's a prestigious honor," Kosciolek said. "While this may be an individual award, I certainly couldn't have done it alone. I'm very fortunate to have great teammates and great coaches helping me every step of the way. Without them, none of this would be possible."In only 17 games this season, Kosciolek led the TIMES NEWS coverage area by tallying 126 field goals and averaging 18.82 points per game. In addition, he led his team in rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game), was second in assists and steals, and knocked down 15 three-pointers.Kosciolek scored double figures in 16 of his 17 games and topped the 20-point mark in eight of those contests, including a career-high 31-point performance against Minersville.He recorded his 1,000th career point in a game against Panther Valley, and is only the 11th boys basketball player in Tamaqua history to join the "century club." With 1,034 career points, Kosciolek currently sits in seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list and will more than likely climb into the top three by the time his high school career concludes.While Kosciolek might be best-known for his ability to put points on the scoreboard, his versatility and intangibles are perhaps his greatest assets."In his first two years, I think Brett was regarded as more of a perimeter-oriented player that relied on jump shots and outside shooting," said Tamaqua head coach Caszy Kosciolek, who is also Brett's father. "This year, due to a change in personnel and the fact that we already had a lot of guards, we really emphasized getting the ball inside to Brett with his back to the basket. I think he did a nice job with making that transition and becoming more of a complete basketball player.""I definitely have to give a lot of credit to Coach (J.C.) Dietz for working with me on my inside game this season," added Brett Kosciolek. "He taught me a lot of good moves in the post, how to box out to get better rebounds, and just how to use my size to be a more physical player in the paint."As a scoring threat from anywhere on the court, Kosciolek has seen his statistics climb in each of his three years starting for the Blue Raiders. Kosciolek averaged 14.73 points as a freshman, 16.25 points as a sophomore and 18.82 points as junior. In 63 career games, he's averaged 16.41 points per game, while knocking down 97 three-pointers and shooting .770 from the free throw line.With Kosciolek returning for his senior season, and four of five starters back from a squad that went 13-10 last year, expectations will once again remain high at Tamaqua, both individually and as a team."We've accomplished a lot of great things in the past three years here at Tamaqua, but we still have a lot of unfulfilled goals yet to be achieved," said coach Kosciolek. "On Brett's end, he does a lot of great things, but there are also a lot of areas that he needs to improve on as well. If Brett can continue to get better, then we can continue to get better."And if Brett Kosciolek continues getting better, the headaches he causes opposing teams will continue getting worse.