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When it comes to soccer in the south suburbs, it's like watching a dead man walking.
It's definitely fallen harder than the "I've fallen... and I can't get up" catchphrase of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The popular line was spoken in a television commercial for a medical alarm and protection company called LifeCall, starting in 1989 to 1990...when they went out of business.
Ironically, the storyline of the south suburban soccer scene follows suit. The area I grew up in and used to defend has seen its day come and go. I'm worrying it's getting worse every year. What's sad is its heyday didn't even last as long as a Red Bull energy drink or as long as the color did on this now black-and-white photo of the 1999 Lincoln-Way girls soccer team.
Today, the individual and team talent level south of the Stevenson pales in comparison with the great Lincoln-Way and Sandburg teams of the past. But while those were the great state-contending programs, the south suburbs always had good, solid teams.
Before we continue, let's just get this out of the way - here's the moment of silence for the programs at Rich East, Rich South, Rich Central, Thornton and Thornwood. We had some good times, didn't we? RIP.
It's just not the same in the south suburbs and probably never will be again.
Everyone knows about Lincoln-Way and Sandburg. Lincoln-Way earned state berths eight times between 1990-2000, finishing second in 1999 and 2000. Sandburg advanced to the state quarterfinals four times between 1991 and 2001, finishing second in 1996 and 2001.
On the boys side, Lincoln-Way went Downstate four times between 1992-2000, finishing second in 1999 and 2000. Sandburg earned five state berths between 1993 and 2002, capturing state crowns in 1993, 2001 and 2002.
But even during their dominating years, there were countless other programs in the south suburbs that were very good. Providence, Brother Rice, Homewood-Flossmoor, Joliet, Eisenhower, Marist, Mother McAuley, Marian and many others.
You want stud players, the south suburbs had them. Brad Guzan, Ned Grabavoy, Jed Zayner (right middle), Cole Glassner, Julie Lipinski (right bottom), Elyse Nikonchuk, Kara Kabellis (right top), Katie Hertz and the list goes on.
It seemed as though no matter where you looked, there were good players everywhere.
I'd listen to people north of the Stevenson nail the south suburbs during that span. Former Sun-Times reporter Steve Cline used to call me each week and say, "Joe, just how good is this team or that team? I'm hearing good things."
The arrogance of the north and west suburbs was amazing then, because they didn't respect the south suburbs at all. The south suburbs were up and coming when Will County was the fastest growing county in America at one point.
But then it all went down the drain about five years ago and here's why:
*Lincoln-Way split into two, then three and now four schools.
*The Frankfort-based Chicago Magic stopped training just local south suburban kids, expanding to kids throughout the state and other states. Local kids, who were starting on top teams, were now pushed to 'B' teams, because of new players from outside the area. Recently, it hasn't produced anywhere near the same number of quality kids as it did five years ago.
*Windy City Pride is nowhere near the same girls club it was five years ago. And it's not in the same world as it was 10 years ago.
*You have 101 ma and pop shops coaching teams now. You know the teams that start from the parent being ticked off and taking his or her ball and starting a team (and then somehow calling it a club - hu?).
Please don't get me wrong, I'm all for hometown club teams. I am, so relax people in Downers Grove and Hyde Park. But realize there is no comparison between the premier clubs and the hometown club teams. And yes, I know many of the premier clubs get the hometown club kids later in life and tend to get more credit than they should for developing them. I realize it's tough to beat all-star teams and compete with the big club names and bigger tournaments.
But I also know when the premier players practice and play against kids of their level, it also makes a huge difference. I love when coaches, parents and players talk about professional athletes not being loyal. Look at the club scene throughout the area. It's a hopscotch game at times from the under-12 to under-19 ages.
Former Sandburg girls coach Brian Boll and I spoke six months ago and shook our heads in disbelief as to how far the talent level in the south suburbs has dropped. When Homewood-Flossmoor girls coach Todd Elkei called me Sunday night, I said, "What has happened to the private school programs out there like Providence, Mother McAuley, Illiana Christian and Marian?"
Elkei, whose team has the most talent of any in the south suburbs this spring, agreed, "I know, it's not the same."
Someone needs to call 911 before we reach the final moment of silence.
- Joe Trost
Cell Phone Alerts
Joe:
I think some out there might disagree with you slightly on you rather bleak assessment of talent level. I’m pretty sure that if you assembled an all star team of south and southwest suburban girls they would hold up very well against West suburban and North Suburban all star teams. I see one of the problems that soccer faces with girls teams is a rise in the popularity of other sports . Girls are drawn in many directions these days. Softball, volleyball, track, field hockey, basketball, Lacrosse , water polo, etc. and most of these sports have their own club teams developing so girls and guys can practice ‘their” sport all year long if they really want to. And I’ve seen more than a few girls who were very good soccer players just decide that they preferred a different sport more. Yes, I’ve passed by groups of athletic 6 foot tall lady volleyball players and said to myself “ With some good training any one of those girls would make fantastic soccer goalies”.
I see a lot of talented lady athletes out there. But unfortunately acquiring good soccer skills require more than a few years of good coaching and a lot of player and parental commitment. I think the best thing that high school soccer coaches out there can do to attract players is simply to do the best they can to make soccer a positive experience . Is it just possible that there are a few high school soccer coaches out there that live a little to much by “It’s my way or the highway” mentality? Well , coaches, that “highway” can easy lead to a softball field or a volleyball court or a swimming pool with a coach that is a little more understanding. As I pointed out before, Coaches should strive to INSPIRE the girls; to make them WANT to play for you. When you do that….. the word gets out…. And possibly the “highway” from those other “fields of dreams” gets turned back toward the soccer field.
And finally, possibly it’s just a misconception on my part, but I think the Western and Northern suburbs have made a generally greater commitment to physical facilities for soccer than the South suburbs and possibly that is a factor in the overall equasion.
Girls and boys are drawn to different sports throughout the state. I have yet to find one high school coach in the south suburbs that has been around for at least 10 years to tell me I'm wrong. This morning, Brian Papa emailed me and said, "Ouch, but true." I do agree with you about the facilities issue, but I don't think that is keeping kids from playing soccer in the south suburbs. Football, baseball and softball are king out there - always has been. The demise of the clubs have hurt the sport - no question.
Interesting article , Joe , Pretty much on target and long overdue in my opinion .
South suburbs soccer has been much maligned over the past 8-9 years . Many people would think that with the population explosion over that period , you would have seen a similar talent growth in the sport similar to that of the Western Suburbs . In fact , the gap has widenend and continues to grow year by year.
The reasons you give are right on . The Magic have expanded into a much bigger , more encompassing organization and a lot of the local talent has struggled to keep up with the added competition .
The split of the Lincoln Way schools has decimated the teams in Dist. 210 . 2010 would have seen a strong squad of talented seniors which I beleive would have challenged for honours next year , but additional schools were needed , so no point in pursuing that argument.
Your point about the "Ma and Pa" clubs carries some weight , even though there are some strong club teams (LincolnWay SC has improved immensely over the last 2 years and PSG have a strong core of talent with excellent coaches ) but I think that here we start to see some of the problems that have led to the current situation.
There is a serious conflict which exists in the South between soccer clubs and high schools . The two entities operate like "ships in the night" . Co-operation is almost non-existent and in some cases , the people involved actually deliberately work against each other . If I'm correct , it contradicts the state of affairs in the West where you have coaches who are actively involved at the club and the HS level . That leads to continuity for the players and teams so that their development is enhanced , and not retarded .
Some may ask why that is the case. Why can soccer people not work together for the benefit of their players ? The club coaches think the HS guys don't know the game and can't coach , and the HS coaches think the club people are not supportive and torpedo their programs . Both of those claims are correct . I've seen them in action.
This game of ours has made huge strides in the last 10 years . It is hardly the same sport . It's called the "modern era" for a reason . Consequently , our coaches have to change to reflect those advances . I think club coaches have done that to varying degrees of success , the pinnacle of that being the Magic . With that shift in attitude , however , has come a level of arrogance which affects the HS programs . When the clubs actively pressure their players to not participate in HS school soccer , and prevent them from playing Summer League , it's no wonder the HS guys want no part . The flip side is that some HS programs are living in the 90's . They teach long ball , kick and run , which flies in the face of what the kids are taught 9 months of the year . There are some exceptions . For example ,Coach Papa has recognized the shift and brought in a talented group of young coaches who have put together a solid program at East . They have left the other two 210 programs behind in that regard . Lockport , Sandburg and Lemont have also progressed forward in the last few years and have reflected the changes in their approach.
It's a sad reflection on the area that in times of growth we have seen a deterioration in the talent pool . There are challenges to face to move forward , but until everyone is on the same page , I doubt we will see much improvement.
I understand programs need to move forward and look for changes, but looking back on my career at Sandburg (1998-2002) I still get goose bumps remembering those Stink-in-Way showdowns and how exciting it was to play against them (and then turn around and wear the same jersey in club season).
In fact, once the sectionals started we all knew what was on the line in those elimination games…you either win bragging rights for the next year or if you lose it is BACK TO CLUB where you ran and your ego was brought back down to reality (thanks Ko) in order to prepare for State Cup (which I never understood why the first State Cup games were played the day after the ISHA tournament ended). In 2001, four of my teammates and I played the championship game at 7pm for Sandburg and then reported to Rockford for a 8am game with Windy City Pride Sunday morning.
Bottom line, we LOVED every minute of it. We lived, ate, breathed soccer. We all excelled in the classroom and still attended family events, but our parents were known to eat a quick Christmas dinner and then fly to Orlando for the Orange Classic for the last week of December, or I remember watching CNN every night as we packed for WAGS because of the sniper in D.C. (the tournament was cancelled at the last minute). Or spending an entire weekend in February at O’Hare Airport wondering if we would ever make it to Phoenix for the President’s Day Tournament (that happened 3 years in a row).
I think the last straw was eating Easter Brunch at Denny’s on the way home from Ohio (apologizing to relatives the entire way home because we made it to the finals and had to play that morning). But my parents never complained and never questioned why we did it. We had an amazing team and knew even if I received a small scholarship, you can’t put a price on the lessons and experience I gained.
This article was absolutely correct. Things have changed so much with this sport. But the memory lives on and I can’t thank my coaches (HS and coach), teammates and parents enough for the memories. But the biggest thank you goes to Joe, for covering our sport and giving us a voice when baseball, softball and track seemed to take center stage and when soccer did get a front cover, it was usually north or west side. But Joe changed that and I have the scrapbooks of his articles to prove it! Thank you Joe.
Side note: It would be interesting to do a “Where Are They Now” issue and catch up with some local former standouts.
That is actually coming...'Where Are They Now." The Lincoln-Way/Sandburg games will never, ever be the same. Sort of sad.
You mean Sandburg/Stink-in-Way games...you know you were a bigger Eagle fan ;)
Have you ever considered that schools like Providence, Mother McAuley, Illiana Christian and Marian Catholic are non- boundary schools? Many people forget about the MULTIPLIER! Multiply by 1.65 and that is your real enrollment. This is unfair to a sport like soccer because they are not recruiting kids to come to the school for that purpose, not that public schools are, but also there is a smaller pool of kids to choose from. Also, because of the multipler, schools like Providence and Marian are in what is now AAA, big schools. Because sports like football have been dominated by these non bonudary schools, they needed a way to keep them from wining everything. Soccer is something that gets the short end of the stick at these schools because the other sports excel. If you look back, Providence, Marian, McAuley were all good when they were in small schools.
Marian and Mother McAuley were never smaller schools - facts. The point is they are not winning during the regular season like they used to - another fact.
Mental note for 2010 boys season . Providence will be no pushovers. Solid program whose coaches are producing a tight knit squad who can play.