Skupa plans to make up
for lost Batavia season at next level
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Haley Skupa always felt a peculiar twinge during that moment the calendar turned toward late February and early March.
Every month serves as its own line of demarcation of time, scheduling and decision-making. As a bright young soccer prospect, Skupa had options.
That was the good part.
That did not make her choices any easier: to continue in the Palatine-based Sockers futbol club; or her high school team at Batavia.
As the adage goes, you only get one chance to play high school sports. Skupa naturally pondered whether the time was right.
“Every year, once the high school season came on, I really had to make a tough decision,” Skupa said. “I never was fully set on playing in the DA (club development academy) the whole year.
“I had a lot of friends who were playing on the high school team; and it sounded super fun, and they were doing very well. I definitely felt like I was missing out, and I was really looking forward to getting that experience this year.”
In the spring of 2020's sudden changes and profound reversals, Skupa saw an abrupt end to what was planned as an idyllic finish. As a technically skilled midfielder, she was another piece to a loaded Bulldogs program that featured some 14 returning starters from a sectional qualifier.
Three of those players — midfielders Abby Zipse and Bella Zink and keeper Hailey Flannagan — had committed to play at the next level. Skupa was their peer, a newcomer bolstered by a degree of familiarity.
The anguish and personal toughness of that decision was now different this spring. Skupa took part in the tryouts and training as the build-up to what promised to be a great year.
It was a liberating moment.
“It was really fun and also really different for me, because it was a group of girls who I had played with in the past, mostly when we were a lot younger,” Skupa said.
“Coming back to that was really cool, and I had a lot of fun. The practices were super fun in the weeks that we had together. I was really surprised at seeing the level of competition and how high it was.”
Skupa did what any enterprising prep player did. She seized the moment.
“I wanted to play high school, and this was my last opportunity,” she said. “I felt the time was right, and I wanted to play with my friends and represent my school.”
On a team with a lot of fixed identities, Skupa brought something new and unexpected to the equation.
“I have never really played with Haley,” Grace Salyers said. “We have never really crossed paths in club. From the few practices I had with her, I was definitely interested to see how she fit in with the team.
“I believe she would have brought another element to our play.”
Skupa also interrupted a general trajectory. Most of the time club players make the shift to high school after they have committed to a college.
During Batavia’s training, she was still undecided about the next stage of her playing career. Regardless, she maintained her natural confidence, technical feel for the game and a track record of success.
She demonstrated a toughness and creativity with the ball. By itself that made her stand out.
“I think I have always been a very technical player,” Skupa said. “I like looking for that through-pass that is going to get my teammate toward the goal.
“I think I see the field very well, and I am able to pick out good passes.”
She is competitive, a natural by-product of her childhood. Her fraternal twin Alex Skupa was a standout baseball player for the Bulldogs.
Her parents put her in the Tri-Cities recreational leagues at a young age and she flourished there. She also branched out and divided her time between soccer and basketball. The fit was natural and intuitive with the emphasis on control, balance, vision and the necessity of chemistry.
She joined her first travel team at the age of 7. Eventually soccer took hold of her.
“I just love how you have to be mentally in the game for the whole 90 minutes,” Skupa said. “I love watching it; I love playing it. I think it’s so interesting how the outcome is dependent on how the day is going.”
In the spring of her freshman year, Skupa made the decision to switch to Sockers. If high school is an amalgamation of styles and forms, of athletes and technical players and those finding their way, the club program is more naturally refined and compressed, of players focused on qualifying for the next level.
“It definitely took some getting used to once I made the switch,” she said. “The speed of play was faster and the level of competition was higher, and it took some adjustment.
“I loved the competitiveness of every practice. Everyone was giving it their all, and everyone had the same goal of playing in college. It helped me prepare for where I am now.”
Rudy Cleveland is the Sockers’ Girls Development Academy U-16 to U-19 head coach. He coached Skupa for three years, appreciating her growth and unselfish style of play.
“I think Haley is the ideal teammate, the kind of player any coach would want on their side,” Cleveland said. “Her mentality is top-notch. Her commitment to the team is stellar.
“Tactically flexible, she has always been willing and able to take on multiple positional roles. She excels at the 10, with an eye for creating opportunity and a knack for scoring on her own.”
The pandemic has been almost universally cruel and heartbreaking in what it denied to spring athletes -- the chance at fulfillment and having a final great run.
In the rare case it has been an eye of the beholder. COVID-19 took away much of what was enviable and exciting about Skupa's senior year at Batavia.
But in an unusual twist of fate, she had a slightly more optimistic response.
“The pandemic in a weird way actually kind of helped me realize what I wanted,” Skupa said. “In my recruiting process, I had a lot of last-minute changes and had a lot of things not going my way.
“I think with the time on my hands, at the beginning of the pandemic in March and April, it allowed me to refocus on my goal of playing college soccer.”
Skupa took the initiative to contact a range of college coaches. One group that showed interest was the staff at Alabama-Birmingham.
With her parents and brother, she took a visit to the campus. It was kind of a surreal moment, the campus eerie and closed off. Skupa saw what she needed to acquire a sense of place.
Now, she is already on campus, ready to start the next phase in her career. She got in a couple of runs with the Soccers as a prelude. She has had consultations with the coaching staff, and they want to take a look at her as an outside back, taking advantage of her size, speed and physicality.
“The last real game I played was back in December,” she said, calling from Birmingham. “It’s been a while without having a spring season. I have been running a lot, trying to make sure I have my conditioning.
“It will be an adjustment to how fast the game is.”
Her brother is playing baseball at Webster University, in suburban St. Louis. Sports are not just the connective thread binding the twins.
It offers continuity and stability. The UAB season is still on, until Skupa hears differently. Part of Batavia is going to be hard to give up, she says.
“I am going to miss the Batavia community,” Skupa said. “Even in those two weeks, I was really looking forward to my parents, my friends, my teachers coming out and watching the games.
“I am going to miss that tight-knit community.”
for lost Batavia season at next level
By Patrick Z. McGavin
Haley Skupa always felt a peculiar twinge during that moment the calendar turned toward late February and early March.
Every month serves as its own line of demarcation of time, scheduling and decision-making. As a bright young soccer prospect, Skupa had options.
That was the good part.
That did not make her choices any easier: to continue in the Palatine-based Sockers futbol club; or her high school team at Batavia.
As the adage goes, you only get one chance to play high school sports. Skupa naturally pondered whether the time was right.
“Every year, once the high school season came on, I really had to make a tough decision,” Skupa said. “I never was fully set on playing in the DA (club development academy) the whole year.
“I had a lot of friends who were playing on the high school team; and it sounded super fun, and they were doing very well. I definitely felt like I was missing out, and I was really looking forward to getting that experience this year.”
In the spring of 2020's sudden changes and profound reversals, Skupa saw an abrupt end to what was planned as an idyllic finish. As a technically skilled midfielder, she was another piece to a loaded Bulldogs program that featured some 14 returning starters from a sectional qualifier.
Three of those players — midfielders Abby Zipse and Bella Zink and keeper Hailey Flannagan — had committed to play at the next level. Skupa was their peer, a newcomer bolstered by a degree of familiarity.
The anguish and personal toughness of that decision was now different this spring. Skupa took part in the tryouts and training as the build-up to what promised to be a great year.
It was a liberating moment.
“It was really fun and also really different for me, because it was a group of girls who I had played with in the past, mostly when we were a lot younger,” Skupa said.
“Coming back to that was really cool, and I had a lot of fun. The practices were super fun in the weeks that we had together. I was really surprised at seeing the level of competition and how high it was.”
Skupa did what any enterprising prep player did. She seized the moment.
“I wanted to play high school, and this was my last opportunity,” she said. “I felt the time was right, and I wanted to play with my friends and represent my school.”
On a team with a lot of fixed identities, Skupa brought something new and unexpected to the equation.
“I have never really played with Haley,” Grace Salyers said. “We have never really crossed paths in club. From the few practices I had with her, I was definitely interested to see how she fit in with the team.
“I believe she would have brought another element to our play.”
Skupa also interrupted a general trajectory. Most of the time club players make the shift to high school after they have committed to a college.
During Batavia’s training, she was still undecided about the next stage of her playing career. Regardless, she maintained her natural confidence, technical feel for the game and a track record of success.
She demonstrated a toughness and creativity with the ball. By itself that made her stand out.
“I think I have always been a very technical player,” Skupa said. “I like looking for that through-pass that is going to get my teammate toward the goal.
“I think I see the field very well, and I am able to pick out good passes.”
She is competitive, a natural by-product of her childhood. Her fraternal twin Alex Skupa was a standout baseball player for the Bulldogs.
Her parents put her in the Tri-Cities recreational leagues at a young age and she flourished there. She also branched out and divided her time between soccer and basketball. The fit was natural and intuitive with the emphasis on control, balance, vision and the necessity of chemistry.
She joined her first travel team at the age of 7. Eventually soccer took hold of her.
“I just love how you have to be mentally in the game for the whole 90 minutes,” Skupa said. “I love watching it; I love playing it. I think it’s so interesting how the outcome is dependent on how the day is going.”
In the spring of her freshman year, Skupa made the decision to switch to Sockers. If high school is an amalgamation of styles and forms, of athletes and technical players and those finding their way, the club program is more naturally refined and compressed, of players focused on qualifying for the next level.
“It definitely took some getting used to once I made the switch,” she said. “The speed of play was faster and the level of competition was higher, and it took some adjustment.
“I loved the competitiveness of every practice. Everyone was giving it their all, and everyone had the same goal of playing in college. It helped me prepare for where I am now.”
Rudy Cleveland is the Sockers’ Girls Development Academy U-16 to U-19 head coach. He coached Skupa for three years, appreciating her growth and unselfish style of play.
“I think Haley is the ideal teammate, the kind of player any coach would want on their side,” Cleveland said. “Her mentality is top-notch. Her commitment to the team is stellar.
“Tactically flexible, she has always been willing and able to take on multiple positional roles. She excels at the 10, with an eye for creating opportunity and a knack for scoring on her own.”
The pandemic has been almost universally cruel and heartbreaking in what it denied to spring athletes -- the chance at fulfillment and having a final great run.
In the rare case it has been an eye of the beholder. COVID-19 took away much of what was enviable and exciting about Skupa's senior year at Batavia.
But in an unusual twist of fate, she had a slightly more optimistic response.
“The pandemic in a weird way actually kind of helped me realize what I wanted,” Skupa said. “In my recruiting process, I had a lot of last-minute changes and had a lot of things not going my way.
“I think with the time on my hands, at the beginning of the pandemic in March and April, it allowed me to refocus on my goal of playing college soccer.”
Skupa took the initiative to contact a range of college coaches. One group that showed interest was the staff at Alabama-Birmingham.
With her parents and brother, she took a visit to the campus. It was kind of a surreal moment, the campus eerie and closed off. Skupa saw what she needed to acquire a sense of place.
Now, she is already on campus, ready to start the next phase in her career. She got in a couple of runs with the Soccers as a prelude. She has had consultations with the coaching staff, and they want to take a look at her as an outside back, taking advantage of her size, speed and physicality.
“The last real game I played was back in December,” she said, calling from Birmingham. “It’s been a while without having a spring season. I have been running a lot, trying to make sure I have my conditioning.
“It will be an adjustment to how fast the game is.”
Her brother is playing baseball at Webster University, in suburban St. Louis. Sports are not just the connective thread binding the twins.
It offers continuity and stability. The UAB season is still on, until Skupa hears differently. Part of Batavia is going to be hard to give up, she says.
“I am going to miss the Batavia community,” Skupa said. “Even in those two weeks, I was really looking forward to my parents, my friends, my teachers coming out and watching the games.
“I am going to miss that tight-knit community.”