Coach's challenge helped
GBS tackle adversity in a difficult year
By Gary Larsen
Teenagers have had a rough year. During a time in their lives when social interaction is preeminent in importance, they’ve been largely isolated from one another during a full year of American life severely impacted by COVID-19.
In the summer of 2020, when it was announced that there would be no fall season for boys’ high school soccer in Illinois, Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara wanted to take the bull by the horns.
Knowing that no one could blame high school athletes for feeling frustrated or even wallowing a bit in self-pity, Lara decided to challenge his players. It was a quest reflected in a two-part question:
“How do you fill the void when soccer is missing?” Lara asked, “and how do you improve yourself when you face adversity?”
Fast forward to the spring of 2021. Glenbrook South played a truncated, 11-game spring season devoid of the chance at any postseason glory. The Titans finished 5-4-2 overall and placed third in the Central Suburban League’s South Division with a 2-2-1 record.
But it was last summer, long before anyone in Illinois knew if there would any kind of boys soccer season for the current school year, that Lara thinks the Titans did their best work. The way the players faced the void and adversity is what made the coach the most proud.
For starters, there was senior goalkeeper Colin Morse, who participates in Glenbrook South’s model UN program, which has taken off at the school in recent years. He's also a member of South’s debate team.
Those activities allowed Morse to step outside himself and see the big picture.
“They gave me an outlet to be a part of a community,” Morse said. “Some of those activities, even though a lot of them were virtual, still gave me an outlet to be a part of a community, and that was really valuable.”
That value extended to inform Morse’s view on how to combat the level of adversity that the pandemic brought with it and appreciate every victory against it.
“The biggest lesson was resilience and staying positive, and kind of seizing every moment that you get,” Morse said. “So when we learned that we were getting a (spring) season, I enjoyed each and every moment of being out there, playing soccer with my teammates again.”
Senior defender Danny Peters learned the exact same lesson.
“With everything everyone has gone through, it taught me to just appreciate all of the small things, because you don’t realize how much they mean to you,” Peters said. “Just having gratitude for those small things we can take for granted in life.”
Like Morse, Peters channeled his time away from fall soccer into an activity that focused on the group, rather than the individual. He did so through a novel activity: woodworking.
Peters has always enjoyed artistic endeavors and appreciates the time he has spent under the guidance of Glenbrook South woodworking instructor Stephen Silca.
Prior to the fall of 2020, Lara knew about Peters’ involvement in woodworking and he had an idea.
“I approached him in the spring about possibly building some rapid-fire boards, where the boys can pass against a board that folds out and stands up on its own, so they can pass off it for technical drills,” Lara said.
Peters researched rapid-fire boards, and Silca helped him plan their design. He built them out of oak and plywood, and the Glenbrook South soccer logo is laser-engraved on the boards. “I was pretty satisfied with how they came out,” Peters said.
Long after Peters graduates, players will benefit from what he contributed to Glenbrook South soccer.
“I thought it would be cool to leave a little bit of myself behind in the program,” Peters said. “I’m really happy that we were ultimately able to have a season. The group of guys we had was a lot of fun and honestly, it was a blessing that we got to play this year.”
Senior forward Costa Kendall had to deal with a bit more adversity than most where soccer was concerned.
Before the fall season of 2020 was canceled, Kendall planned to play his final season for the boys’ team before getting required double hip surgery in the winter. Once the fall season was re-scheduled for the spring of 2021, Kendall’s final chance to play high school soccer was over before it began.
If any high school athlete was entitled to a spell of self-pity, Kendall was, but he also chose to look outward rather than inward.
Kendall helped start a chapter of an organization called WE at Glenbrook South. WE is an organization involved in a movement to help communities empower people to escape poverty, and its mission is global in scope.
“(Kendall) was devastated because he knew he was having hip surgery and wouldn't be able to play his senior year,” Lara said. “But he stayed involved and stayed positive. He’s also part of our KEY club, which is another service club at school, and he's also a debater.”
Lara is additionally grateful for players like senior defender Drew Mayturn, who juggled overlapping basketball and soccer seasons at Glenbrook South, and senior forward Jeffrey Keating, who negotiated overlapping hockey and soccer seasons.
“I’m constantly surprised at how involved these kids are in things outside of soccer especially in the face of sports specialization,” Lara said. “But I know the caliber of student that is typically involved in our soccer program. These are kids that excel in the classroom beyond athletics. So I'm surprised to some extent, but then I'm not surprised by what they’ve done for us.”
GBS tackle adversity in a difficult year
By Gary Larsen
Teenagers have had a rough year. During a time in their lives when social interaction is preeminent in importance, they’ve been largely isolated from one another during a full year of American life severely impacted by COVID-19.
In the summer of 2020, when it was announced that there would be no fall season for boys’ high school soccer in Illinois, Glenbrook South coach Reggie Lara wanted to take the bull by the horns.
Knowing that no one could blame high school athletes for feeling frustrated or even wallowing a bit in self-pity, Lara decided to challenge his players. It was a quest reflected in a two-part question:
“How do you fill the void when soccer is missing?” Lara asked, “and how do you improve yourself when you face adversity?”
Fast forward to the spring of 2021. Glenbrook South played a truncated, 11-game spring season devoid of the chance at any postseason glory. The Titans finished 5-4-2 overall and placed third in the Central Suburban League’s South Division with a 2-2-1 record.
But it was last summer, long before anyone in Illinois knew if there would any kind of boys soccer season for the current school year, that Lara thinks the Titans did their best work. The way the players faced the void and adversity is what made the coach the most proud.
For starters, there was senior goalkeeper Colin Morse, who participates in Glenbrook South’s model UN program, which has taken off at the school in recent years. He's also a member of South’s debate team.
Those activities allowed Morse to step outside himself and see the big picture.
“They gave me an outlet to be a part of a community,” Morse said. “Some of those activities, even though a lot of them were virtual, still gave me an outlet to be a part of a community, and that was really valuable.”
That value extended to inform Morse’s view on how to combat the level of adversity that the pandemic brought with it and appreciate every victory against it.
“The biggest lesson was resilience and staying positive, and kind of seizing every moment that you get,” Morse said. “So when we learned that we were getting a (spring) season, I enjoyed each and every moment of being out there, playing soccer with my teammates again.”
Senior defender Danny Peters learned the exact same lesson.
“With everything everyone has gone through, it taught me to just appreciate all of the small things, because you don’t realize how much they mean to you,” Peters said. “Just having gratitude for those small things we can take for granted in life.”
Like Morse, Peters channeled his time away from fall soccer into an activity that focused on the group, rather than the individual. He did so through a novel activity: woodworking.
Peters has always enjoyed artistic endeavors and appreciates the time he has spent under the guidance of Glenbrook South woodworking instructor Stephen Silca.
Prior to the fall of 2020, Lara knew about Peters’ involvement in woodworking and he had an idea.
“I approached him in the spring about possibly building some rapid-fire boards, where the boys can pass against a board that folds out and stands up on its own, so they can pass off it for technical drills,” Lara said.
Peters researched rapid-fire boards, and Silca helped him plan their design. He built them out of oak and plywood, and the Glenbrook South soccer logo is laser-engraved on the boards. “I was pretty satisfied with how they came out,” Peters said.
Long after Peters graduates, players will benefit from what he contributed to Glenbrook South soccer.
“I thought it would be cool to leave a little bit of myself behind in the program,” Peters said. “I’m really happy that we were ultimately able to have a season. The group of guys we had was a lot of fun and honestly, it was a blessing that we got to play this year.”
Senior forward Costa Kendall had to deal with a bit more adversity than most where soccer was concerned.
Before the fall season of 2020 was canceled, Kendall planned to play his final season for the boys’ team before getting required double hip surgery in the winter. Once the fall season was re-scheduled for the spring of 2021, Kendall’s final chance to play high school soccer was over before it began.
If any high school athlete was entitled to a spell of self-pity, Kendall was, but he also chose to look outward rather than inward.
Kendall helped start a chapter of an organization called WE at Glenbrook South. WE is an organization involved in a movement to help communities empower people to escape poverty, and its mission is global in scope.
“(Kendall) was devastated because he knew he was having hip surgery and wouldn't be able to play his senior year,” Lara said. “But he stayed involved and stayed positive. He’s also part of our KEY club, which is another service club at school, and he's also a debater.”
Lara is additionally grateful for players like senior defender Drew Mayturn, who juggled overlapping basketball and soccer seasons at Glenbrook South, and senior forward Jeffrey Keating, who negotiated overlapping hockey and soccer seasons.
“I’m constantly surprised at how involved these kids are in things outside of soccer especially in the face of sports specialization,” Lara said. “But I know the caliber of student that is typically involved in our soccer program. These are kids that excel in the classroom beyond athletics. So I'm surprised to some extent, but then I'm not surprised by what they’ve done for us.”