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northbrooktower.com sports
the northbrook tower | March 21, 2019 | 39
Girls Soccer
Valsamis excited for new lead role
22nd century media
file photo
1st-and-3
Teams of the winter
1. Natalie Sandlow
(Above) The
Spartan sophomore
won the
1,600-meter run
and helped win
the 3,200 relay at
the Central Suburban
League North
indoor conference
meet on Thursday,
March 14.
2. Ryan Purdy and
Jake Shapiro
North’s boys
swimmers helped
their club team
win at the state
meet.
3. Zoe Klapman The
Spartans senior
tennis player
signed her letter
of intent to play
collegiately at
Middle Tennessee
State University
next fall.
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
Timing is everything, at
least that’s how Glenbrook
North’s Tony Valsamis is
approaching his new role
with the program.
The new Spartans head
coach might be a rookie
varsity coach, but he won’t
be the lone new face for
North. GBN will feature
five freshmen with plenty
of new faces as the program
tries to replace a
large senior turnover from
last season’s team.
So while he might have
to make adjustments to his
style, it’s good to have a
fresh start with his players.
“I think it’s really the
perfect time for me to transition
into the program
with nearly a fresh team
and coaching staff,” Valsamis
said. “I think it’s great
for the long term of the
program to start building it
up from scratch.”
Valsamis won’t totally
start from the dark,
though. He joined the
school as a teacher and
coach four years, serving
as the freshman coach
before he became the junior
varsity coach. When
former head coach Craig
Loch announced that he
would step down from his
position to spend more
time with his family, Valsamis
seemed to make the
most sense in filling the
position.
New Glenbrook North girls soccer head coach Tony Valsamis looks forward to taking
the helm at his alma mater. Photo submitted
“I’ve had a nice transition
into the position,” he
said. “I’ve got really good
support around me. Craig
Loch is still involved with
the program at the JV level,
so he’s been helpful getting
me set up and going as
well as my assistants at the
varsity level. I feel level at
this point.”
Valsamis is also aware
of the what it means to
play soccer at GBN. He
played varsity boys soccer
during his time at the
school before he played at
Lake Forest College from
2008-2011 as a defender.
Familiarity will be the
key for Valsamis and his
young team as they both
try to adjust to the varsity
level of play. The new
coach admitted there will
be some learning curves in
the first few weeks of the
season. The team’s lone
senior Alyssa Nekritz is
out with for the beginning
of the season with injury,
putting more pressure on
players like captain Olivia
Kosla to try to bridge
the gap. The defender will
be playing with underclassmen
and has already
shown the leadership the
Spartans will need this
season.
“Having a similar style
has made it easier to start
the season off,” Kosla said.
“Instead of learning and
changing everything we
know, it’s easy to be doing
what we’ve been doing.”
It helps to have someone
who’s been in their
shoes before as a studentathletes,
which Valsamis
credits as a major help
with connecting with the
Spartans.
2019 Spartans Schedule
April 5 — at Lake Zurich
Invite, 4:45 p.m.
April 6 — at Lake Zurich
Invite, 10 a.m.
April 6 — at Lake Zurich
Invite, 2 p.m.
April 9 — hosts Grayslake
Central, 7 p.m.
April 12 — hosts Mundelein,
7 p.m.
April 16 — hosts Highland
Park, 7 p.m.
April 18 — at Maine
East, 7 p.m.
April 23 — at Deerfield,
7 p.m.
April 25 — hosts Glenbrook
Cup, 5 p.m.
April 26 — hosts Glenbrook
Cup, 5 p.m.
April 27 — hosts Glenbrook
Cup, 8 a.m.
April 30 — hosts Vernon
Hills, 7 p.m.
May 2 — at Maine
West, 5:30 p.m.
May 6 — hosts Hoffman
Estates, 7 p.m.
May 7 — at CSL Crossover,
7 p.m.
May 10 — hosts Buffalo
Grove, 5 p.m.
“I think I’m in a good
position to have a good influence
where he was once
where we were,” he said.
“I feel like I’m making
that positive influence.”
Listen Up
“I think it’s really the perfect time for me to
transition into the program .”
Tony Valsamis — The Glenbrook North girls soccer
head coach on taking over the program.
tunE in
What to watch this week
The Glenbrook North baseball team hosts Nazareth
on Friday, March 22.
4:45 p.m., Friday, March 22, at GBN
Index
37 - Girls Tennis
36 - Boys Volleyball
Fastbreak is compiled by The Tower’s staff. Send comments to
m.dwojak@22ndcenturymedia.com.