36 | April 4, 2019 | The Northbrook tower sports northbrooktower.com Girls Lacrosse Spartans ready for teaching lessons Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor Tom Rosenbaum will have to do a lot of teaching during this season. With a lot of new faces, The Tower Sports Editor caught up with the Glenbrook North head coach to see what he’s looking forward to in the season. What are you looking forward to this season? Our goal this is season is to raise the kids’ lacrosse IQ. We’ve got a real young group. We’ve got a lot of kids who are really excited, really motivated to play, but at the same time, playing at the varsity level is new to them. So not only do they need to learn how to work together as a team but also learn how to play at the varsity level. That’s what we’re working for each game. We’re looking to excel in one or two areas per game and that into a total game. What are the challenges of having such a young group and trying to improve that lacrosse IQ? Number one is staying positive. Number two is being very clear in communication. Three is be very resilient, understanding and a good listener. Every day I talk with my assistant coach, every day I talk with my captains, every day I talk with the kids. I don’t give them a thousand things they need to work on. There’s different things that they each work for. And if we’re clear and concise with those goals, then we’re successful. Eventually the wins will come, but for now, to get those wins, we have to play together as a group. Catching the ball backing up, you have to run through the ball. It’s a learning process. But these kids are worth it, 100 percent. They want to come, they want to be better. What has it been like so far? It’s a love-hate relationship. The last couple years, we were really fortunate to have a lot of kids, a lot of returners who knew how to play varsity. We had a nice mix of kids who would learn from those people, so they wouldn’t have to take the burden of everything on, they would learn in short pieces. As far as this year, it’s a learning process. Each day, each game, we work on a very specific goal. If we slow it down and make small goals inside of the big goals, they’re not overwhelming, so they get those and learn from it. In our first game, we didn’t play really well defensively, so now we’ve got the defense down so we can move on to a different thing and remember the defense. Spring sports are so tough because you start inside, you start when it’s dark out in night, because you can’t get outside. You’re trying to teach these things in a gym. Sometimes you’re after school at 3:30, sometimes you’re 6:30 at night. Sometimes you’re at 6 a.m., so it’s really difficult for the kids to get a consistent time so their body and minds are all over the place, but everybody else has to do that. Then you have to battle the elements. Who are some of the players you are looking forward to seeing? You’ve got some leaders and some returners. The kids that stand out are Faith Kim and Molly Alcorn; those are my returners who played extended minutes last year. You have Katie Steinbeck in goal, those are kids who have really stepped up and shown leadership in terms of pressure and that kind of stuff. Those guys are my returners and those guys are all big contributors on and off the field, both mentally and physically. As far as new girls, Amanda Gregory, she’s a sophomore, her and her twin sister Ariana, who got hurt in the second game has been out, we have a couple other freshmen who are doing a nice job. There’s just a lot of kids that we are asking a lot about as freshmen and sophomores. So instead of learning the process 2019 Spartans Schedule April 6 — hosts Lakeville North, 10 a.m. April 6 — hosts Noblesville, 2 p.m. April 8 — hosts Highland Park, 7 p.m. April 13 — hosts Barrington, 3 p.m. April 16 — at New Trier, 6:15 p.m. April 17 — hosts Fenwick, 7 p.m. April 24 — hosts Vernon Hills, 7 p.m. April 27 — at Schaumburg, 2 p.m. May 2 — at Glenbrook South, 6:15 p.m. May 6 — at Lake Zurich, 5:30 p.m. May 11 — at Hoffman Estates, 12:30 p.m. and learning how to do it, they’re learning the process under fire, and they’re doing a good job. Anything else you want to add? I just think the area that we play in, the level of lacrosse has improved so much in the past eight to 10 years. The committed that these kids have put forth, it’s really good, but they’re getting better while everyone else is getting better too, which I love. That’s the cool thing. They work hard, they never give up on the person to their right, the person on their left, and it’s enjoyable. I’m the lucky one because I get to work with them. Sports From Your Neighbor Loyola tabs former Chicago Bear for new athletic position Michael Wojtychiw, Contributing Sports Editor Football has always been a part of Mark Carrier’s life for as long as he can remember. After playing as a defensive back in the National Football League from 1990- Carrier 2000 — including a stint with the Chicago Bears from 1990-96 — Carrier coached in the NFL and college football from 2004-2016. After his coaching career ended, he knew he wanted to stay involved with sports, and that dream continued when Loyola Academy named Carrier as its new associate athletic director on March 13. “What led me to it (the Loyola position) is the ability to be around kids,” Carrier said. “My love for sports, love for high school sports and being a positive influence on kids going forward is what would draw me to this.” Carrier’s path to the new role is actually a bit of an ironic one, as he originally applied for and pursued the role of vice president of athletics and fitness, a position the school awarded Genevieve Baisley Atwood. His relationship with some people affiliated with the school, as well as his knowledge of Loyola — Carrier said Loyola is most likely where his kids would have attended high school if they were here for their high school years — helped him in his pursuit of the position. When the thought of adding another person in the athletic department would be a good idea, Carrier’s name came up and the rest is history. Even though the Pro Bowl safety has been around sports his entire life, moving into the athletic administration and athletic director roles was not something he saw himself getting into. “Actually I did in the sense, not because this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “To me it was more what I thought I needed to do because I think I’ve always reached out and helped others, through charity, through others, through my own family. “I was helping kids in the community. I was helping friends and friends of kids and find out what’s the best choices for them in life and through sports and benefit for it. And also not just being a former player but being a former coach and how tough that can be on coaches.” His role and his duties are still a work in progress but he knows it will involve mentoring students as well as working with parents and discussing things they can do to help their children going forward. He will also work with administration.
northbrooktower.com northbrook the northbrook tower | April 4, 2019 | 37 THE NORTH SUBURBAN YMCA CELEBRATES 50 YEARS IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH ALTA THIEL My husband Ken and I moved to Northbrook in 1956. Ken was working then at the Evanston YMCA as the physical director. We saw all the new families moving here in the 1960s and felt accomplished as a satellite of the Evanston Y. Soon Ken thought it would be better to have a separate YMCA to Suburban YMCA opened its doors. the North Suburban YMCA chaperoned skate and swim evenings and Summer Adventure Club Just like it takes a community to raise a child, it took a community to make the North Suburban YMCA a success. involvement throughout the state of Illinois. We also traveled to YMCAs all over the country so Ken could inspect their buildings and safety procedures. I personally have been in at least 90 YMCAs! part of my association with the Y was the opportunity to meet so I probably would not have met. I truly feel lucky. North Suburban YMCA • 2705 Techny Rd. Northbrook, IL 60062 • 847-272-7250 • www.nsymca.org Do you have a great Y story or want to get involved with the Y’s 50th anniversary initiatives or events? Please contact Kanda McMullen at kmcmullen@nsymca.org.
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