GL_061418

glenviewlantern.com sports
the glenview lantern | June 14, 2018 | 35
Coach Talk
Full steam ahead for
summer Titan hoops
Jon ‘Coach’ Cohn
Contributing Columnist
Glenview Resident
Offseason rest?
Forget about that,
it’s overrated.
School may be over, but
the work has just begun
for Glenbrook South boys
basketball.
How does four weeks
of high-intensity practices,
conditioning, strength
training, league games and
tournaments with multiple
games in one-day sound?
In fact, compared to the
summer schedule, the
regular season may seem
like a piece of cake.
Here is a sample of
what’s on the docket for
the Titan hoopsters the
next few weeks. Four
weeks of two-hour a day
summer camp practices,
night league play
at Loyola, a Maine East
shootout, Marquette
team camp, University
of Wisconsin team camp,
the DeKalb Shootout
and while were at it, let’s
thrown in a partridge and a
pear tree.
Thirty games in total,
not counting the practices.
The madcap, gym rat
hysteria is not just the Titans
mind you. This summer
“blitz” has become all
the rage for many Illinois
high school basketball
teams who try and pack in
as much as possible in just
a short period of time.
The coaches don’t want
to overwork the kids with
a long summer, so they
try and wrap up before the
July 4 vacation season.
But those first four
weeks? A whirlwind of
activity, with much to accomplish.
It’s actually fun to watch.
Teams and players develop
new identity during this
offseason. The new players
— the past years freshman
and sophomores — have
to be molded into varsity
players, meanwhile the
past years juniors, many of
whom played varsity for
the first time, now have to
take on leadership roles.
Individual development
is interesting to watch as
well.
Players who have shown
potential in the past but
maybe are late developers
may suddenly start to
blossom. Others who may
have matured early could
start to peak out during the
summer.
Positions aren’t guaranteed
by any stretch during
summer-league games,
but you can definitely see
lineups and rotations starting
to form, and rarely are
they what is expected. The
changes and surprises are
all part of the “summerhoops
experience.”
“Every year, one or two
kids will really blossom in
the summer,” coach Phil
Ralston said. “Sometimes
it’s someone you never
expected. It’s one of the
fun parts of the offseason
experience “.
Ralston has been
through the summer
routines many times with
his teams at Grant High
School and most recently
at Geneva, and knows how
important the offseason is.
“It is a key time for skill
development,” the coach
said. “Players can really
work on their game. We
like to see which kids are
truly committed and who
puts the time in to get better.
At Glenbrook schools,
we talk about the pursuit
of excellence. Really, this
is what we are trying to do
in the summer. From a basketball
standpoint, pursue
that excellence.”
Then he added an interesting
comment, hopefully
one which the players will
take note:
“Most of our successful
teams that I have coached
in the past had great summers,”
Ralston said. “It
is where the team bonded
together, developed that
closeness and belief in
each other. The correlation
between success during
the season and successful
summers is strong. It is all
about the will of the team
in coming together.”
Strong words from
coach. Busy summer for
the boys. Will it pay off
come November? Only
time will tell.
A great coach once said:
“It is not what you do from
November to March that
counts, but instead what
you do from March till
November.”
Cohn has been a coach,
physical education teacher,
sports announcer and athletic
supervisor in the community
for over 35 years. He can be
reached at jcsportsandtees@
aol.com.
Glenbrook South alumnus and Arizona State junior Fitz Stadler was drafted by the
Toronto Blue Jays in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft. Submitted photo
Toronto Blue Jays draft GBS alumnus Stadler
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
Sometimes something
might not come as a surprise,
but that doesn’t mean
it isn’t exciting.
That’s the way Glenbrook
South alumnus Fitz
Stadler felt when the Toronto
Blue Jays drafted
him in last week’s Major
League Baseball Draft in
the 18th round. The former
Titan knew from talking to
area scouts that something
could come on draft day,
but he still appreciated the
moment of himself coming
closer to realizing his
dreams.
“Throughout last fall and
this past spring, you kind
of just have conversations
with area scouts, you have
a good feeling of whether
you will get drafted or not,”
Stadler said. “I didn’t have
that great of numbers, it
was kind of a disappointing
year for me, honestly,
but I’m blessed enough and
thankful that I got the opportunity
to get drafted by
the Blue Jays.”
Last week wasn’t the
first time a Major League
team drafted the Arizona
State junior. The Chicago
Cubs drafted him after he
graduated from GBS, but
Stadler had committed to
the Sun Devils and wanted
to receive an education before
heading off to professional
baseball.
“Every year I go back,
it’s just very exciting,”
Stadler said. “In Arizona,
baseball is a lot bigger
there I think. Not that it’s
not very big here, but the
Spring Training places are
there and it’s just a rich history
with the program. Every
year that I go back it’s
a lot of fun and I really like
the culture there.”
Stadler wasn’t sure what
his next move will be. He’ll
need to make a decision
soon as most draftees prepare
to either continue with
their plan or sign with the
team that drafted them and
prepare for their professional
careers.
Whatever choice he decides
to make, he knows
he’ll be in a good situation.
“I’m still not really of
what I’m going to do,”
Stadler said. “I know it’s
a good opportunity for me
and I’m very thankful for
it. I’m just really not sure.
I still have a great opportunity
at ASU to go back and
have my education because
obviously with my family,
education is an important
thing.”
While Stadler decides
on what to do, he’s great
for what he’s accomplished
in his young career. After
helping lead his baseball
and football teams at GBS,
he’s had a successful career
with ASU although he admitted
there’s still room for
improvement.
He’s thankful for the
people who helped him
have a surprise he saw
coming.
“I’m just very thankful
for where I’m at right
now and for all the people
that helped bring me to
this point,” Stadler said.
“I would like to thank all
my coaches, family and
friends and things like
that have supported me
through it.”