Barrington Classic serves as measuring stick for WWS, Marmion
By Ken Keenan
A 1-0-1 start for Wheaton Warrenville South may look good on paper, but it doesn't necessarily mean Tigers head coach Guy Callipari is performing handstands heading into his team's match with Marmion Academy in Tuesday's first round of the Barrington Classic.
After a season that finished at 7-11-4 after a loss to state fourth-place finisher Lake Park in the Conant Regional title game, the Tigers expected to return 13 players, instead they have seven back from that group.
"At least half the team is seniors, but we have a lot getting their first year of varsity experience, so we're having to work through establishing familiarity," Callipari said. "I think we're not going blindly, as we have a tradition of success in our program. We know where our bar is, and we want to surpass last year's record. We have the talent to be competitive with most teams."
During Wheaton South's 3-1 win over Hinsdale South in the season opener Aug. 26 and a 1-1 tie against Plainfield Central two days later, the Tigers "showed moments of continuity," Callipari said.
As the campaign unwinds, Callipari will be counting on a core of team captains to lead the way. That includes senior midfielder Elliot Kettle -- who tallied the tying goal against Plainfield Central -- as well as senior fullback Darby Anderson, senior midfielder Haris Hadzic, and senior defenders Ian Daniel (Wheaton South's initial Player of the Week in 2014) and Luis Cruz.
"It starts with that core, but we need to support each other in the process and make everyone around us better," Callipari said. "We need to be disciplined in our roles, and it's a balance of things on both sides of the ball. It only will happen if we make the effort collectively."
Callipari said his team's goals for the Barrington tourney include recovering from the mental fatigue of playing two matches in three days during the opening week of the 2014-15 school year, "and reiterating the things we want to do: play the right ball, being accurate with our finish, being accurate in the air defensively, and offensively, taking calculated risks to capitalize on opportunities. We have to have everyone fall into a system, and take it on their shoulders to complete the task."
Regarding the Marmion camp, the Cadets (1-1-0) opened the season with a 2-0 win over Plainfield East on Aug. 28 and a 3-2 loss to West Chicago on Aug. 30.
Marmion head coach Ricky Del Toro is a big fan of the Barrington Classic, and the third-year skipper said he annually uses the tourney as a means to gauge, "the level of our team" in the early going.
"We see four quality opponents with tradition, great coaches and quality players," he added.
The Cadets (13-8-2 overall in 2013) finished 0-4-0 at Barrington in Del Toro's first go-round, followed by a 2-2-0 mark in 2013.
"Our goal this year is 3-1," Del Toro said. "If we come out 3-1 or better, we meet our expectations -- and a team goal for this season. My first year, I made it clear to that group of freshman and sophomores that 0-4 was unacceptable for our program."
Key players in 2014 include senior forward Gavin Sanchez, junior midfielder Tim Wheeler, junior goalkeeper Matt Fletcher, junior defender Joe Duffield and senior midfielder Trevor Jones, who is currently on the shelf with a knee injury but is expected back in about two weeks.
"Jones is a key component to our midfield," Del Toro said. "We're really missing him right now."
Sanchez, Marmion's points leader the previous two seasons, notched a goal and an assist in the victory over Plainfield East, and Fletcher -- who stands 6-foot-5 -- recorded the shutout.
Wheeler, who was voted a co-captain by his teammates, "is another core (player) of our midfield," Del Toro said.
Marmion finished 13-8-2 overall in the 2013 campaign, which ended with a 3-0 loss to host Metea Valley in regional semifinal play.
By Ken Keenan
A 1-0-1 start for Wheaton Warrenville South may look good on paper, but it doesn't necessarily mean Tigers head coach Guy Callipari is performing handstands heading into his team's match with Marmion Academy in Tuesday's first round of the Barrington Classic.
After a season that finished at 7-11-4 after a loss to state fourth-place finisher Lake Park in the Conant Regional title game, the Tigers expected to return 13 players, instead they have seven back from that group.
"At least half the team is seniors, but we have a lot getting their first year of varsity experience, so we're having to work through establishing familiarity," Callipari said. "I think we're not going blindly, as we have a tradition of success in our program. We know where our bar is, and we want to surpass last year's record. We have the talent to be competitive with most teams."
During Wheaton South's 3-1 win over Hinsdale South in the season opener Aug. 26 and a 1-1 tie against Plainfield Central two days later, the Tigers "showed moments of continuity," Callipari said.
As the campaign unwinds, Callipari will be counting on a core of team captains to lead the way. That includes senior midfielder Elliot Kettle -- who tallied the tying goal against Plainfield Central -- as well as senior fullback Darby Anderson, senior midfielder Haris Hadzic, and senior defenders Ian Daniel (Wheaton South's initial Player of the Week in 2014) and Luis Cruz.
"It starts with that core, but we need to support each other in the process and make everyone around us better," Callipari said. "We need to be disciplined in our roles, and it's a balance of things on both sides of the ball. It only will happen if we make the effort collectively."
Callipari said his team's goals for the Barrington tourney include recovering from the mental fatigue of playing two matches in three days during the opening week of the 2014-15 school year, "and reiterating the things we want to do: play the right ball, being accurate with our finish, being accurate in the air defensively, and offensively, taking calculated risks to capitalize on opportunities. We have to have everyone fall into a system, and take it on their shoulders to complete the task."
Regarding the Marmion camp, the Cadets (1-1-0) opened the season with a 2-0 win over Plainfield East on Aug. 28 and a 3-2 loss to West Chicago on Aug. 30.
Marmion head coach Ricky Del Toro is a big fan of the Barrington Classic, and the third-year skipper said he annually uses the tourney as a means to gauge, "the level of our team" in the early going.
"We see four quality opponents with tradition, great coaches and quality players," he added.
The Cadets (13-8-2 overall in 2013) finished 0-4-0 at Barrington in Del Toro's first go-round, followed by a 2-2-0 mark in 2013.
"Our goal this year is 3-1," Del Toro said. "If we come out 3-1 or better, we meet our expectations -- and a team goal for this season. My first year, I made it clear to that group of freshman and sophomores that 0-4 was unacceptable for our program."
Key players in 2014 include senior forward Gavin Sanchez, junior midfielder Tim Wheeler, junior goalkeeper Matt Fletcher, junior defender Joe Duffield and senior midfielder Trevor Jones, who is currently on the shelf with a knee injury but is expected back in about two weeks.
"Jones is a key component to our midfield," Del Toro said. "We're really missing him right now."
Sanchez, Marmion's points leader the previous two seasons, notched a goal and an assist in the victory over Plainfield East, and Fletcher -- who stands 6-foot-5 -- recorded the shutout.
Wheeler, who was voted a co-captain by his teammates, "is another core (player) of our midfield," Del Toro said.
Marmion finished 13-8-2 overall in the 2013 campaign, which ended with a 3-0 loss to host Metea Valley in regional semifinal play.