Feature story: Krautsack family
ties bind Carmel defense
By Dave Owen
If forwards denied by the Carmel defense this season exclaim ‘Oh brother!’ it would be appropriate.
It’s quite likely their scoring attempts were futile due to the work of Carmel goalkeeper Camden Krautsack or his younger brother, Corsairs standout junior center back Avery Krautsack.
“They really run the team from the back,” Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. “They help each other out and are always supporting each other – you can tell that, either in the games or off the field talking about each others’ play. Even when they’re critical of each other, it’s very constructive.”
One year apart, the Krautsack brothers weren’t soccer teammates until joining forces on the Carmel varsity last fall.
Senior goalkeeper Camden has enjoyed the extra family bonding time.
“It’s fun to be playing next to your brother,” Camden said. “We work together. It’s good chemistry in the back. We put everything going on at home to the side and just play soccer and help each other out.
“It is different (playing alongside a sibling),” Camden added, “but at the end of the day it’s still your soccer team. It definitely helps having an added connection there. I think it’s a good thing.
“It’s really cool. I’m definitely going to miss it next year.”
Outside of the inevitable little squabbles common among all siblings, Avery sees the Krautsack brothers’ family ties as an unbreakable chain.
“I always look up to Camden,” said Avery, in his first year as a varsity starter for Carmel after seeing time off the bench last fall. “He’s not one I argue with much – when he tells me what to do, I know he’s probably going to be right.
“He sees the whole field as a goalie, and as my brother I know he’s just trying to do the best for me.
“We argue some,” Avery added, “but he motivates me as the older brother. He’s always motivated me to work hard in the back. He talks to me, and I talk to the rest of our defense to work hard. It’s a good system.”
When moments of friction do occur, Krawzak sees humor in the typical result.
“It’s always funny watching them get into a conflict, and instantly the older brother wins by default,” Krawzak said. “But it’s rough on the field when Avery’s right, and Camden isn’t.”
Camden has shown all the right stuff as a goalkeeper since taking hold of the Corsairs’ starting job last fall as a junior.
Carmel posted shutouts in four of the first seven games of 2018. As for Camden, his individual brilliance in that stretch included making saves on two breakaways in a 4-0 win at Grayslake Central.
“He’s awesome,” Krawzak said. “It’s funny, because I remember in his freshman year we were on like our fifth-string goalkeeeper – injured, injured, injured, injured.
“We said, ‘Camden, you’re playing varsity.’ And he just freaked out. So the level of growth, he had a horrible game that first time as a freshman on varsity, and now his growth has been amazing. And his leadership, it’s great to see a kid go from the scared little freshman to the strong leader that he is.”
Now a senior captain, Camden has really grabbed hold of the leadership mantle this fall.
“The vocal leadership in back this year (is his biggest improvement),” Krawzak said. “Last year to this year, the way he speaks and commands the field is the biggest thing.”
Said Camden: “I definitely feel more confident, especially being a leader of the team now. It’s different.
“You have a lot more responsibility. Just looking up to the captains we had last year (graduates Sean Seidl and Eli Larson), it’s kind of filling their shoes.”
After posting a 7-10-1 record last season, Carmel is 2-4-0 this fall entering its league game against Marist on Saturday.
The match will be just the Corsairs’ second home tilt of 2019, after beating Grayslake North 4-1 in their home opener earlier this month.
“It’s been OK so far,” Camden said of the season, “but a lot of ups and downs. I think as we progress in the season, we’ll see a lot more improvement and a lot more skills being brought out. I think we’re going to get there. I think this is going to turn into a season where we have a chance at a lot of success.”
A corps of 10 seniors that also includes Aidan Harrison, Matt Grzesiak, Matt Duffy, Tim Milner, Will Nickles, Tyler Kelly, Ian McKernan, Jack Wojcik and Ben Moseley provides a good veteran core.
As one of Carmel’s five juniors (including fellow starters Ryan Cawley and Riley Pierson), Avery also sees much better times right around the corner.
“I think we’re at a good point in the season,” Avery said. “The beginning of the season was a lot of experimenting, and we’re almost at the point where we can be a solid team, start winning games and go on a run.”
While his older brother is the center of attention defensively as goalkeeper, Avery also carries major responsibility.
“Avery’s been put in a big leadership role (at center back),” Krawzak said. “We have all these other athletic guys, and he needs to be the soccer-minded conductor in the back.”
The Krautsack brothers are helping to engineer the Carmel train over the always treacherous stretch of track called the East Suburban Catholic Conference schedule.
“It is a tough conference,” Avery said. “Overall every team you play is tough in a different way. You just kind of need to adapt to the other team’s playing style. Just play hard every game and hope you get the wins.”
Playing hard is a tradition at Carmel, which took third at state in 2015 in Class AA and went 15-3-1 in 2017 en route to a share of the ESCC title. The Corsairs hope to add another great chapter to their history this fall.
“We have a very talented team this year, a very physical and strong team,” Camden said. “We’re confident every time we step on the field to just work hard, outplay the (other) team and get some goals early.”
The motivation to succeed is especially high for seniors like Camden.
“It would be terrible to leave here and not have anything (regional or conference titles) to your name,” he said. “You always want to bring home some hardware and kind of leave a legacy.”
Always listening to and learning from big brother, Avery sounds just as motivated.
“This is my second year with Camden here,” he said, “and I just work for our team to build a legacy, but also for my brother, for something to go down in his name.”
ties bind Carmel defense
By Dave Owen
If forwards denied by the Carmel defense this season exclaim ‘Oh brother!’ it would be appropriate.
It’s quite likely their scoring attempts were futile due to the work of Carmel goalkeeper Camden Krautsack or his younger brother, Corsairs standout junior center back Avery Krautsack.
“They really run the team from the back,” Carmel coach Ray Krawzak said. “They help each other out and are always supporting each other – you can tell that, either in the games or off the field talking about each others’ play. Even when they’re critical of each other, it’s very constructive.”
One year apart, the Krautsack brothers weren’t soccer teammates until joining forces on the Carmel varsity last fall.
Senior goalkeeper Camden has enjoyed the extra family bonding time.
“It’s fun to be playing next to your brother,” Camden said. “We work together. It’s good chemistry in the back. We put everything going on at home to the side and just play soccer and help each other out.
“It is different (playing alongside a sibling),” Camden added, “but at the end of the day it’s still your soccer team. It definitely helps having an added connection there. I think it’s a good thing.
“It’s really cool. I’m definitely going to miss it next year.”
Outside of the inevitable little squabbles common among all siblings, Avery sees the Krautsack brothers’ family ties as an unbreakable chain.
“I always look up to Camden,” said Avery, in his first year as a varsity starter for Carmel after seeing time off the bench last fall. “He’s not one I argue with much – when he tells me what to do, I know he’s probably going to be right.
“He sees the whole field as a goalie, and as my brother I know he’s just trying to do the best for me.
“We argue some,” Avery added, “but he motivates me as the older brother. He’s always motivated me to work hard in the back. He talks to me, and I talk to the rest of our defense to work hard. It’s a good system.”
When moments of friction do occur, Krawzak sees humor in the typical result.
“It’s always funny watching them get into a conflict, and instantly the older brother wins by default,” Krawzak said. “But it’s rough on the field when Avery’s right, and Camden isn’t.”
Camden has shown all the right stuff as a goalkeeper since taking hold of the Corsairs’ starting job last fall as a junior.
Carmel posted shutouts in four of the first seven games of 2018. As for Camden, his individual brilliance in that stretch included making saves on two breakaways in a 4-0 win at Grayslake Central.
“He’s awesome,” Krawzak said. “It’s funny, because I remember in his freshman year we were on like our fifth-string goalkeeeper – injured, injured, injured, injured.
“We said, ‘Camden, you’re playing varsity.’ And he just freaked out. So the level of growth, he had a horrible game that first time as a freshman on varsity, and now his growth has been amazing. And his leadership, it’s great to see a kid go from the scared little freshman to the strong leader that he is.”
Now a senior captain, Camden has really grabbed hold of the leadership mantle this fall.
“The vocal leadership in back this year (is his biggest improvement),” Krawzak said. “Last year to this year, the way he speaks and commands the field is the biggest thing.”
Said Camden: “I definitely feel more confident, especially being a leader of the team now. It’s different.
“You have a lot more responsibility. Just looking up to the captains we had last year (graduates Sean Seidl and Eli Larson), it’s kind of filling their shoes.”
After posting a 7-10-1 record last season, Carmel is 2-4-0 this fall entering its league game against Marist on Saturday.
The match will be just the Corsairs’ second home tilt of 2019, after beating Grayslake North 4-1 in their home opener earlier this month.
“It’s been OK so far,” Camden said of the season, “but a lot of ups and downs. I think as we progress in the season, we’ll see a lot more improvement and a lot more skills being brought out. I think we’re going to get there. I think this is going to turn into a season where we have a chance at a lot of success.”
A corps of 10 seniors that also includes Aidan Harrison, Matt Grzesiak, Matt Duffy, Tim Milner, Will Nickles, Tyler Kelly, Ian McKernan, Jack Wojcik and Ben Moseley provides a good veteran core.
As one of Carmel’s five juniors (including fellow starters Ryan Cawley and Riley Pierson), Avery also sees much better times right around the corner.
“I think we’re at a good point in the season,” Avery said. “The beginning of the season was a lot of experimenting, and we’re almost at the point where we can be a solid team, start winning games and go on a run.”
While his older brother is the center of attention defensively as goalkeeper, Avery also carries major responsibility.
“Avery’s been put in a big leadership role (at center back),” Krawzak said. “We have all these other athletic guys, and he needs to be the soccer-minded conductor in the back.”
The Krautsack brothers are helping to engineer the Carmel train over the always treacherous stretch of track called the East Suburban Catholic Conference schedule.
“It is a tough conference,” Avery said. “Overall every team you play is tough in a different way. You just kind of need to adapt to the other team’s playing style. Just play hard every game and hope you get the wins.”
Playing hard is a tradition at Carmel, which took third at state in 2015 in Class AA and went 15-3-1 in 2017 en route to a share of the ESCC title. The Corsairs hope to add another great chapter to their history this fall.
“We have a very talented team this year, a very physical and strong team,” Camden said. “We’re confident every time we step on the field to just work hard, outplay the (other) team and get some goals early.”
The motivation to succeed is especially high for seniors like Camden.
“It would be terrible to leave here and not have anything (regional or conference titles) to your name,” he said. “You always want to bring home some hardware and kind of leave a legacy.”
Always listening to and learning from big brother, Avery sounds just as motivated.
“This is my second year with Camden here,” he said, “and I just work for our team to build a legacy, but also for my brother, for something to go down in his name.”