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I was at the Cubs game last week...With one college coach, one high school coach and a parent of a former player I've known for years. We all laughed at some of the responses on the blog this season. I said the sad thing is most of these people are adults, who use fake names. The college coach said, "That's pretty sad when you think about it." I said I know it is.
Classiest coach this season...Glenbrook South coach Seong Ha. He is 100 percent pure class on and off the field, in the media and is honest. If you read his comments in the paper or listen to him talk to his team, you realize that he's just a good all-around person.
Jagbag of the Year...Oh do I wish I could hand this one out. And admit it, you wish I would, too.
Classiest player this year...Wheaton Academy's Leah Fortune. She might be the smallest player on the field at times, but she is fun to watch and just a great person off the pitch. When I head to Austin this fall for a Texas football game, I will make sure the Longhorns women's soccer team is playing at home to see how Fortune and Neuqua Valley's Alexa Gaul are doing.
Moment I will never forget...Standing at Toyota Park debating whether the title game of the Pepsi Showdown should be cancelled. It was a tough call. I was ready to cancel it as the hail and wind pounded our Skybox window, but I was overruled by Loyola and St. Ignatius. " We want to play," they said.
I wish...Brian Boll (Sandburg) and Jay Konrad (Naperville North) were still coaching high school girls soccer. I received calls from them this past week and each time we compared the play now to what it was a few years ago, it makes me miss hearing the honest thoughts of two former players who get it.
It's disappointing...That so many people pounded on Huntley at the start of the year. And once again, these were adults ripping on kids.
Some people fail to see the difference...Between the IHSA tournament, three classes and rankings. The IHSA has a tournament, just like many conferences and the Chicago Public League has. It's not perfect. Some people like three classes, some people don't. It does give teams more opportunities to win IHSA prizes like regional and sectional titles. But in terms of rankings and the debate of who is the best - this doesn't figure into the mix. It's a different day and age than what it was in the late 1980s or 1990s.
I still don't understand...Why coaches don't report scores? But that will be my big campaign in the fall from Day 1. I'm going to make sure all the results are sent to me, and I'll have a daily posting on the blog. So that way no coach can say they did call it in and it didn't get in. I'll take on the extra work to make sure players from all teams get equal press. Time to call some bluffs.
Every year...I watch players play in the IHSA finals and then in Rockford the next morning for IYSA State Cup. Seriously, can't the two organizations get together and try to adjust the schedules?
Another year...That CPS still doesn't have a plan to help soccer facilities in the city. I backed off this spring from the whole Public League debate, because I know money is tight right now and their own coaches have just come to accept the poor leadership. Many are afraid to speak up, many have just accepted it. I'm just sick of it, because it's sad. Another year passes by that student-athletes have been ignored.
More to come later...
- Joe Trost
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Hi Joe, I enjoyed this list. Perhaps this would be a good time to also discuss if your pick for 2009 team to watch was a good one. I know that pick caused a big stir and most seemed to think you made a terrible mistake. Being a big Fox Valley Conference fan, I decided to make an effort to see this team a number of times and I did see about 8 or 9 games. I also got to know a couple of parents and was able to get a few details on their season for you which I’ll give below.
First, let’s recall some of the abuse Joe took for this pick. From SoccerGuru2, "...So go ahead, pick a dark horse [Huntley] Joe, but they will fade like all the dark horses you pick...." and then PK who stated “…These 17 wins [that he counted for Huntley] do not include 2 games versus a good Crystal Lake South and an average Libertyville team and most likely Hersey in the 2nd round of Pepsi…Also they will be put in a sub regional for state meaning they will have a few guaranteed wins there…find someone that had a 15 win season last year, plays in a tough conference and has a tough non-conference schedule… I find this [pick] is weak and lazy.” And then from HS Soccer Fan “….Huntley has lots of talent and a good coach, but they are right next door to the MSL teams that the Crystal Lake South's and Cary Grove's of the world go and play as part of their non-conference schedules because they know that it helps them with sectional seeding and that their own conference is weak. Lets face it, PK has valid points, Huntley last year was seeded low and went into the meeting undefeated, but had not played anyone and used that as motivation for their run in the playoffs. This year they will not sneak up on anyone.
So the seasons over. Was Joe right or was SoccerGuru2, PK and others right?
First for Huntley, their 2009 Record was 24-2-1. They won the CL South Regional and again made it to the Sectional finals. The weak schedule included St. Charles North, New Trier, St. Ignatius, Hersey, Libertyville, Cary Grove, Boylan, Hononegah, CL South, Harlem, Dundee Crown and Jacobs twice. Their conference schedule included two games against Prairie Ridge, CL Central and Grayslake Central, all of which had good seasons and quality teams. They made it to the Pepsi semi-finals after wins over Jacobs, Hersey and New Trier (where are you PK?) and then lost a tough game to St. Ignatius even though they outshot Igy. On the year, they recorded 19 shutouts, scored 80+ goals and only allowed just 11. They were 10-0 in conference and ranked in top 10 in state and top 50 nationally most of the season. Tim and time again, this team came up big against good teams and they played well through adversity. This from a soccer program that played its first game in 2003 and scored its first goal in 2004, coach Kris Grabner and crew have done an amazing job. Did they achieve all their goals? No. They believed they could go to state and after watching them, I believe also.
But don’t worry, they will be back. Next year Huntley returns 14 of their top 18 players. Offensively, both Corinne and Aimey Wronski return after along with their 75+ combined goals the last two years, plus midfielders Breanne Burry and Taylor Hening-Fletter return and defensively, standout defenders Jamie Wimberly and Rachel Chapius - who no one likes to tangle with - along with goalie Sara Hoffman will be back. More important is the return of Alyse Williams, one of the state’s top defenders, after going down mid-year with an ACL injury.
And finally, what about that weak sub regional PK mentioned? I say the CL South Regional was THE toughest top to bottom regional in the state. There were no sub 500 teams and all the teams had some quality wins. The bottom two seeds were Prairie Ridge and Jacobs, can anyone name a regional with a stronger 4 & 5 seed? Then Huntley and Cary Grove were the 1-2 seeds with CL South #3. CG was a great team as was Huntley and CL South. Had the IHSA had treated the top MISL teams the same way they did the top FV teams, Fremd, Conant and Barrington would have been the 1-3 seeds in a single regional and certainly wouldn't have 2 teams still alive. Perhaps Huntley or CG would still be playing.
So Soccerguru2, PK and HS Soccer fan, who was right? I for one say Joe made a solid pick here. Furthermore, many of your comments turned out to be untrue. Will you own up to that or give credit where credit is due? Doubtful.
Anyway, Great job Joe!
Interesting to read the game comments and photo captions for the Lemont vs University High 2A supersectional game. The comments definitely lead one to believe that U-High didn't bother to show up. Those of us attending the game know this is not the case. It was a hard fought and close battle, as the 1-0 in double overtime result would indicate. It does a disservice to all the hard work these girls put in to imply that the game was so one-sided. We are all VERY PROUD of their accomplishments this year, and we encourage the girls not to let this one-sided reporting tarnish their season.
In all truth, the Huntley team I saw lose to Barrington was not very good. They hardly even managed a shot on goal. Barrington was a good team, but not that dominant (and they also beat CG 2-0 I believe.) Hersey was a good team in 2008, not in 2009 though. Boylan is down from their usual self.
St. Ignacius was riddled with injuries. Hononegah who you listed had 7-8 players stay in club. Libertyville struggled all season. Jacobs is bad. PR, CL Central, etc... please.
Saying the CL regional is the toughest in the state is just plain silly!
Huntley was not the same in May after losing the state's top defender in Alyse Williams. This team, which was dominated by underclassmen, beat New Trier and played even with St. Charles North - one of the state's best. They beat Hersey, who beat Fremd, and played for the MSL Cup. There were a lot of good teams this year, not many great.
Here we go Bob. The comment was that Huntley would not be a dark horse this year. If Joe wrote an article on how Conant or GBS("find someone that had a 15 win season last year, plays in a tough conference and has a tough non-conference schedule") were his dark horse this year that would have been brave. The one thing I was wrong about was the regional. I beleived that the girls were going to be in the same regional as the boys were this past fall with C-G going to Barrington. Instead Barrington had the free ride until the sectional final. There quality games came from the Pepsi. Libertyville was seeded 13/19 in their sectional. Hersey was average this year. CLS was .500 this year and lost to C-G 3 times and Jacobs, PR and CLC never beat 1 tough team all year and all Jacobs does is put 11 in the box to defend. Like I said they were guaranteed 17 wins. Know one ever said they were bad, just no suprise. So Bob everything besides the regional was spot on.
Scott,
I hope I never have to refer to a team of high school kids as "bad" to feel better about myself as a grown man. Are you a ref or something or do you go around scouting all these games for fun?
Huntley is a good team, no one argued that point. I think PK was making is that they were not a dark horse because they have talent and were expected to win...they did have quality wins against teams that a lot of people did not give them a chance against (NT being the bigges) and they will tested even more so next year as well when they join the "better" side of the FVC and have to play CLS twice, Cary twice, and Jacobs twice. We will see how the rest of the FVC fairs as well and don't be surprised if a few other teams begin to get some press as CG, CLS, and PR all are joining the Pepsi Showdown.
Just an FYI as well... C-G only lost 3 games all year and also beat Hersey this year 2-0.
CLS finished .500 but had 5 shootout losses, 3 of them coming to Huntley, Cary, and Carmel.
Jacobs was up and down, PR took Stevenson to a shootout and finished with 13 wins and CLC went to Sectionals and took the team that is in 2A finals to the wire before losing 1-0.