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glenviewlantern.com sports
the glenview lantern | December 6, 2018 | 35
Athlete of the Month
Orucevic helps Titans
earn 2nd win of 2018
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
Glenbrook South’s Emsela
Orucevic didn’t only
have a successful November
in the pool.
The Titan swimmer
made the Thanksgiving
month memorable by winning
22nd Century Media’s
November Athlete
of the Month competition,
beating out some tough
competitors. Orucevic
won the monthly battle
with 443 votes, edging
out Loyola Academy girls
swimmer Aidan Koconos-
O’Malley, who finished
with 349 votes, and New
Trier boys cross-country
runner Charlie Forbes,
who finished with 130
votes.
Orucevic was a key
leader for the Titans all
season long and earned the
support from Titans fans,
helping the school earn
its second Athlete of the
Month win of 2018.
Voting lasted from Nov.
10-25. The Athlete of the
December Athlete of
the Month candidates
Glenbrook South
Kristin Ralston, girls
basketball
Michael Bukhalo, boys
tennis
Glenbrook North
Grace Heywood, girls
volleyball
Nick Redstone, boys
cross-country
Christina Christos, girls
basketball
Brian Johnson, boys
basketball
Bridget Billig, girls
gymnastics
Loyola Academy
Jack Fallon, football
Mary Kate Lopez, girls
volleyball
Jake Gonzalez, football
Month contest for athletes
selected in the month of
November gets underway
New Trier
Ellie Finnigan, girls
cross-country
Bobby Soudan, boys
hockey
Highland Park
Sebastian Thomas, boys
hockey
Abby Smith, girls
swimming
Ireland Hieb, girls
volleyball
Alexandra Pielet,
equestrian
Ryan Foreman, girls ice
hockey
Lake Forest
Elijah Fietsman, boys
cross-country
Lauren Garriques, girls
cross-country
Flynn McClellan, girls
swimming
Danny Fisher, boys golf
on Dec. 10 and will end on
Dec. 25. Vote at Glenview-
Lantern.com.
Glenbrook South girls swimmer Emsela Orucevic won November’s Athlete of the
Month competition. 22nd Century Media File Photo
Coach Talk
Score one for the geese
Jon ‘Coach’ Cohn
Contributing Columnist
Glenview Resident
I
knew they were laughing
at me.
Squawking, pecking
the ground defiantly, strutting
their stuff with chest
puffed out. You can’t tell
this particular writer that
the huge swarm of geese
patrolling the playground
fields and soccer fields of
Attea Junior High School
and Gallery Park didn’t
know what they were
doing.
They did, and to me, it
was a sad, if not official
sign, of the end of this
year’s outdoor recreation
season.
Oh, I know there is
always sledding, crosscountry
skiing, snowball
fights, ice-skating and the
such, but I wasn’t quite
ready for the dark pall of
winter just yet.
On this late November,
early December, weekend
I was still looking for
some remnants of recent
days gone by.
I longed for seeing
all the action and activity,
the soccer games on
weekends, packed with
multi-colored AYSO
youth teams playing and
parents lining the sidelines
cheering them on.
The baseball and softball
fields still filled with
the last bastion of “fall
ball“ games, which always
starts out as a great idea
(early September is beautiful
for baseball), but by
seasons end, frozen outfielders
jumping around
between pitches trying
to stay warm indicate a
diminishing enjoyment.
I even miss the more
casual activities.
The impromptu touch
football game, the game
of frisbee between mom
and son, or daughter and
dad, or the dog owners
playfully throwing sticks
or balls to their chasing,
happy tail weaving
beloved pets. Man’s best
friend, indeed, enjoying
the final days of outside
play.
But on this late-November,
early-December
weekend, all had come to
a close.
The fields were barren;
not a soul was stirring. It
was quiet, a big old zilch
when it came to human
activity.
Except for those geese,
they were everywhere.
There were dozens of
them. No, make that hundreds
of them. Dare I say
thousands? Spreading out
and completely infiltrating
the soccer fields and
softball fields of days
gone by.
A sad indication to
me that human play had
finally given in to the
weather.
The geese knew it. Oh
yeah, they knew it, and
they reveled in it.
Normally the geese
must scatter in fear on a
moments notice. The mass
hysteria of school recess
will do that. Outdoor PE
classes as well. Clearly
weekend soccer games
and ball games will make
them instantly fly the
coupe, leaving only their
“droppings” as way of
showing their displeasure.
But now, revenge is
theirs. The fields are all
to their own. They roam
the vast greenery in full
regalia.
They strut their stuff
confidently. Those chests
stick out as they walk confidently
in their new found
power. They know exactly
what they are doing, as
they claim their territory,
not afraid of mocking me
as I innocently stroll by.
And the sounds? I don’t
possess the vocabulary to
describe “goose speak?”
But to me, I had no doubt
those squawking sounds
were laughing, and it was
directed at me the innocent
passerby. Their way
of saying, “our time hath
finally come.”
Yes, it is time to move
indoors. Outdoor play
must wait again, for a way
too long winter to subside.
And to the victor goes the
spoils.
To sum it up in prose:
“The cold and snow and
wind, have finally taken
note, to outdoor sports we
have to say, I think that’s
all she wrote, baseball,
soccer, running fun — to
all you must now cease,
the only way to say it ... is
to score one for the geese”
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.
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