Konrad brothers are a stand-out pair
Each earns coach-of-the-year accolades for recent feats
By Matt LeCren
They've made their names synonymous with soccer success.
Naperville residents Jim and Jay Konrad are the products of and progenitors of a rich soccer culture that dates back decades.
The brothers starred as players at Naperville North and were pro teammates for a year before eventually returning to their alma mater to coach.
In the two decades since, the Konrads have compiled a tremendous record of success, Jim at Naperville North and Jay primarily in the club world.
Their success reached new heights in 2018, when Jay guided the Galaxy FC U17 team to the USYS national championship and was named Illinois club coach of the year, and Jim coached Naperville North to its third-consecutive Class 3A state championship, for which he was later awarded National Coach of the Year honors by the United Soccer Coaches.
“It’s crazy,” Jay Konrad said. “Jim has been recognized numerous times. It’s a nice honor, but we also realize that the coaches who have the best players are the ones who get recognized with awards. There’s a whole bunch of great coaches out there, and when you’re a high school coach you get what the bus drops off.
“The talent at any school goes up and down in any sport. Sometimes you get a long ride, and Naperville North has been very fortunate that they’ve continued to get quality soccer kids coming in and obviously Jim does a great job with the kids that he gets.”
The Konrads’ ride began when they moved to Naperville with their parents, Jim and Colette, when Jim was in first grade. He was introduced to soccer that year and immediately was smitten. Jay, who is two years younger, soon followed suit.
“We grew up in a really special time when Naperville was kind of (at the) emergence of soccer,” Jim said. “I was able to start (playing) soccer maybe before a lot of the kids in the country did and then the Naperville Park District did such a great job of cultivating the right way to play sports. So I fell in love with soccer from the first time I played.
“I was fortunate to have a number of incredible coaches along my development. Mike Stephens was my first coach. He grew up in England and knew soccer. Then later I was coached by Ron Keller. I had great adult mentors in my life as a kid that made it fun for me but also competitive.”
The Konrads are nothing if not competitive, both with each other and opponents. Their teams are a reflection of their personality and values, which goes a long way toward explaining their success.
That foundation was built at home, where they were taught that being a gentleman and a tough competitor were not mutually exclusive concepts.
“We were raised that being a kind person and being nice is the most important piece,” Jay said. “People watch what kind of person you are.
“But you’re also taught that when you step on that field of competition, you fight and battle to the last breath. You can be a person as a competitor that’s different from the person that you are when you’re not competing.
“Our sister, who was not an athlete, has the kind heart all the time; whereas Jim and I are only kind hearts part of the time.”
Jim said his parents, who attend all of their sons’ and grandsons’ games, continue to play a big role in their lives. The elder Jim Konrad expects his offspring to emulate the respect and politeness he shows others at all times.
“Our parents expected us to be classy at all times,” Jim said. “Off the field, be ‘yes, thank you,’ and be humble. My dad said you will be the hardest-working player on the field every time you step on the field and then to compete to your fullest.
“That was all he really asked of us. Our mom loved us no matter what, but dad was the one that (drove us to excel).”
Excel they have, first as players and students and now as coaches, teachers and parents. The Konrads both starred for the Huskies under Hall of Fame coach Dave Bucher, who built the program into a powerhouse and won the 1998 state title with Jim as his assistant.
Jim, who graduated in 1989, played on the first Naperville soccer team to win a state trophy. The Huskies took fourth in 1987.
Jim and Jay played together on varsity in 1988 and Jay later became an All-American before graduating in 1991. They competed with and pushed each other during an era when Naperville North, which opened in 1975 and graduated its first class of seniors in 1977, was becoming an athletic power.
“As a younger brother, I always felt that I should compete with my brother,” Jay said. “I would lose my mind if I lost at anything, even Uno.
“I don’t care about Uno, but I’d lose my mind at that or playing a game of tag or horse in the driveway. I was very fortunate because I had an older brother who was athletic and would let me play and be involved with his stuff.
“And in our neighborhood growing up, there were a ton of kids from Naperville North from the late-80s to the mid-90s who were all-staters because we always competed and fought and played and battled all the time. It was just an environment where competitiveness was part of what we did, so when it’s time to compete, you compete. When the competition was done, you move on to whatever the next challenge is.”
The Konrads have always relished a challenge and usually rise to the occasion. Both played in college, Jim at Bowling Green and later Benedictine, and Jay at Northern Illinois.
They were teammates during their one year of pro soccer, 1995, when they played for the Rockford Raptors of the USISL, the forerunner of the USL.
The MLS began play in 1996 and Jay thought hard about whether to continue his playing career. But he opted to begin his teaching career at Washington Junior High in downtown Naperville, where he teaches P.E. and health and coached football, boys and girls basketball and cross-country at various times.
“I was really excited about my teaching career,” Jay said. “I wasn’t sure the MLS thing was going to be an option long-term. If it goes belly-up. now I’m starting my teaching career three years late.”
Ironically, it was Jay who got Jim into teaching. Jim attended two years of medical school before taking a year off to decide what he wanted to do.
“I had been coaching all through college with a club team and loved it and working with kids,” Jim said. “I decided to go into education.
“Jay had already made that decision and from talking to him about it I decided that was the right path for me. I was able to come back to North and lucky enough to work with Dr. Bucher for some years.”
Jim and Jay both began their high school coaching careers as assistants at North, Jim under Bucher and Jay under girls coach Al Harris, another Hall of Famer.
When Harris retired in 2001, Jay took over. Two years later, he succeeded Hall of Famer John Paskvalich as the boys coach at Naperville Central, while Jim took the reins from Bucher.
Jay initially intended on keeping both of his coaching gigs long-term but stepped down as North girls coach after a three-year run in which he compiled a 44-29-8 record, capped by a fourth-place finish at the 2004 state finals. He and his wife, Natasha, a former basketball player who was on Montini’s 1989 and 1990 teams that qualified for the state quarterfinals, had two toddlers, Mitch and Ty.
“When I took (the North girls job), I thought it was a lifetime thing,” Jay said. “My brother would take the boys side, and I would take the girls side, and we’d both have a long career there.
“Life happens and kids come, and I decided I can’t coach my kids and coach other people’s kids.”
Ironically, Jay did exactly that, but not right away. He led the Naperville Central boys for seven seasons, during which the Redhawks went 100-42-19 and won four regional titles.
After stepping down after the 2009 season, Jay began coaching Mitch and later Ty with the Galaxy.
“I love the high school game,” Jay said. “I miss it. At some point I imagine I’ll try to get back into it, but I would never trade the memories of the experiences of coaching Mitch and Ty. And I got to coach Jim’s son, Ryan, for three years.
Mitch Konrad, who graduated from North in 2018, played for his uncle on two state championship teams, while Ty, who is two years younger, has played on all three. Their cousin, Ryan, will be a freshman at North next year.
But the seeds of North’s current run, which last fall included the first perfect season in Illinois history, were sown, perhaps unintentionally, over a decade ago when Jay first put together a team of 8-year-olds.
“With Mitch’s group, in 2007 we knew that the whole plan was to find some athletic kids that are going to go to Naperville North so Mitch can have a bunch of kids that he knows on his freshman soccer team,” Jay said. “That was the dream -- can we build friendships and learn?
“Then it grew out of the Naperville North pocket and got bigger and bigger and pulled in kids from all different towns. But it’s funny to look back at the photo of this 10-year-old team. Eight kids from that team were on the (North) state championship team.”
Last fall, nine boys who played on Jay’s Galaxy national championship team also played for Jim’s Huskies, who went 26-0-0. Senior Colin Iverson, the Bowling Green-bound defender who scored the game-winning goal in the last two state title games, was one of them.
“I’ve played (under) Jay since sixth grade and Jim since freshman year,” Iverson said. “They’re both so fun to play for. I really have enjoyed it.
“Coming from club season with Jay and going to high school with Jim, they work so closely together, and it’s a whole year-round thing.
“It’s been so successful because they’re so supportive of each other. That’s nice because what we use in club we take into high school, not just in tactics but the values -- the hard work and putting in 100 percent at practice. That’s what has helped us be so successful.”
For all of their success, the Konrads do have different personalities. Jim is reserved and calculating, while Jay tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve and is far more likely to yell at referees and pick up yellow cards.
“Jay is a lot more outgoing,” Iverson said. “You will never see him not talking to somebody. When Jay talks, Jay is a very smart guy. He always knows what is going on.
“Jim is very quiet but when he speaks you know it something very important, so everyone listens. It’s funny because they always talk after games about strategy.”
That they do and those conversations can get interesting because they don’t always see eye-to-eye.
“Jay and I talk multiple times a day,” Jim said. “We argue non-stop about tactics and decisions.
“It’s such an advantage for me to have someone like Jay to have conversations with and to be surrounded by a bunch of great friends who know the game. To have a brother who is so invested in what I do has made a huge impact.”
Since taking over for Bucher, Jim has compiled a 276-58-27 record and four state trophies. He briefly handed the reins to Steve Goletz, who coached the team in 2013 after District 203 changed its policy to prevent athletic directors from coaching.
Jim is so passionate about coaching that he resigned as athletic director to resume coaching. He is now a dean of students and Goletz is his assistant. In soccer the pair reverse roles in the spring, with Goletz leading the girls team with Jim as his right-hand man.
Goletz, a star goalkeeper at Downers Grove South and Northern Illinois, first met the Konrads when he was 12. Jim coached Goletz’s club team and later hired him at Naperville North.
They have since become best friends. Jim was a groomsman and Jay an usher at Goletz’s wedding.
“They’re both ultra-competitive people,” Goletz said. “I think Jim does a really good job of keeping his competitive fire buried deep down, where Jay is a little bit more like me and kind of lets it bubble out at times.
“But as far as coaches who care about doing the right thing for kids and the right thing for a team, there’s not two guys that are more similar. Those guys will do anything to get the game right, anything to get their players motivated and continue to have the success that they’ve had.”
They have played a big role in Goletz’s success in coaching the girls team. When Brent Terada, who like the Konrads coaches for Galaxy, stepped down before the 2012 season, Goletz took over and has led the Huskies to two state championships and a third place finish in his first seven seasons.
Like Jay, Goletz’s coaching style can reach the volume of a rock concert, while Jim’s decibel-level is more like a classical music recital. Yet thanks to Jim’s influence, Goletz has gradually mellowed over time.
“Jay is definitely the more goofy, fun-loving, doesn’t-take-himself-too-seriously type person, but Jim is definitely the more quiet and reserved one when it comes to his interactions on the field,” Goletz said. “But both of those guys are so loyal to their friends and to their community and their teams, it is really fun to have two mentors like those in my life.”
The Konrads aim to be mentors to their players as well. They demand a lot of the kids and want them to represent the community in a positive manner.
“I have always been the one that has been a little more serious, more calculating,” Jim said. “I’m always in control, not that Jay’s out of control ever, but I’m very analytical, and I’m very careful.
“I don’t ever want to put out the appearance that I’m out of control. I want our players to know that we’re OK. If I stay calm and present a calm demeanor, my players will do the same. I hope that impacts my boys, and I think the way that North has played over the years hopefully mirrors that in the way they perform.”
Indeed, while the Huskies are known for their physical style, they are highly respected by opposing coaches and players. Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson lauded them after North edged his team for the DVC title on October 9.
“The most frustrating thing is how class of an act that they are all the time, so when they keep beating me and (assistant coach) Chris (Whaley) it’s frustrating because they are the best guys in the business,” Robinson said. “Yeah, you want to win but at the same time, the kids do it with class and (the coaches) do it with class.
“It’s almost aggravating. It’s like, ‘I wish you guys weren’t so darn nice and so darn good people because then I could be mad at you.
“But we love playing against Jim. Their kids are great and after the game these kids are hugging each other. They all know each other from the club team, and it’s a good environment.”
As someone who has benefitted from the environment the Konrads have fostered, first as a player and now a coach, Goletz is uniquely qualified to assess the impact they have had on student athletes.
“How fun that they’re both from the same family,” Goletz said. “It’s obviously a testament to their parents.
“They both, probably Jay more so than Jim, sacrificed so much for their kids with their own family time.
“For Jim to win state championships and Jay to win a national championship, both win Coach of the Year Awards, it’s just awesome that they are recognized for the amount of blood, sweat and tears that they’ve both put in and how much they help not only kids but so many other coaches in this area continue to develop.”
Yet both brothers are quick to point out their success stems not only from their efforts but those of their players and families.
“It’s a tribute on the one hand to the amazing kids that we have the opportunity to coach and the time and energy and passion that they and their families have put into it,” Jay said.
“Jim and I put in a ton of time. The amount of time we spend arguing, discussing, yelling at each other after a game, watching game film, is ridiculous.
“The successes that we’ve been so thankful to share, the constant desire to learn and tweak and how can we make this piece better, is the key for the sustained excellence that every program wants to have. It’s continual work. How can we do better?”
One way to be better is to work harder. Effort is something that can’t be controlled by your opponent.
“We demand the absolute most out of our kids,” Jim said. “Any kid that plays with us will say that they expect so much of us and set the bar so high. Fortunately for Jay and I, the boys constantly meet our standard for them.”
Those standards will never be lowered, and the Konrads have no intention of stepping down any time soon. Jim’s son, Ryan, will enter North in the fall but even when he graduates, his dad will be ready for new challenges.
When and where will the story end? Nobody knows, but what already has been written is something for the history books.
“The experience of coaching family and knowing all their friends and the connections that you make, that was so special,” Jay said. “When you look at the end product, with the state championships and the national championship, that’s a storybook.”
Each earns coach-of-the-year accolades for recent feats
By Matt LeCren
They've made their names synonymous with soccer success.
Naperville residents Jim and Jay Konrad are the products of and progenitors of a rich soccer culture that dates back decades.
The brothers starred as players at Naperville North and were pro teammates for a year before eventually returning to their alma mater to coach.
In the two decades since, the Konrads have compiled a tremendous record of success, Jim at Naperville North and Jay primarily in the club world.
Their success reached new heights in 2018, when Jay guided the Galaxy FC U17 team to the USYS national championship and was named Illinois club coach of the year, and Jim coached Naperville North to its third-consecutive Class 3A state championship, for which he was later awarded National Coach of the Year honors by the United Soccer Coaches.
“It’s crazy,” Jay Konrad said. “Jim has been recognized numerous times. It’s a nice honor, but we also realize that the coaches who have the best players are the ones who get recognized with awards. There’s a whole bunch of great coaches out there, and when you’re a high school coach you get what the bus drops off.
“The talent at any school goes up and down in any sport. Sometimes you get a long ride, and Naperville North has been very fortunate that they’ve continued to get quality soccer kids coming in and obviously Jim does a great job with the kids that he gets.”
The Konrads’ ride began when they moved to Naperville with their parents, Jim and Colette, when Jim was in first grade. He was introduced to soccer that year and immediately was smitten. Jay, who is two years younger, soon followed suit.
“We grew up in a really special time when Naperville was kind of (at the) emergence of soccer,” Jim said. “I was able to start (playing) soccer maybe before a lot of the kids in the country did and then the Naperville Park District did such a great job of cultivating the right way to play sports. So I fell in love with soccer from the first time I played.
“I was fortunate to have a number of incredible coaches along my development. Mike Stephens was my first coach. He grew up in England and knew soccer. Then later I was coached by Ron Keller. I had great adult mentors in my life as a kid that made it fun for me but also competitive.”
The Konrads are nothing if not competitive, both with each other and opponents. Their teams are a reflection of their personality and values, which goes a long way toward explaining their success.
That foundation was built at home, where they were taught that being a gentleman and a tough competitor were not mutually exclusive concepts.
“We were raised that being a kind person and being nice is the most important piece,” Jay said. “People watch what kind of person you are.
“But you’re also taught that when you step on that field of competition, you fight and battle to the last breath. You can be a person as a competitor that’s different from the person that you are when you’re not competing.
“Our sister, who was not an athlete, has the kind heart all the time; whereas Jim and I are only kind hearts part of the time.”
Jim said his parents, who attend all of their sons’ and grandsons’ games, continue to play a big role in their lives. The elder Jim Konrad expects his offspring to emulate the respect and politeness he shows others at all times.
“Our parents expected us to be classy at all times,” Jim said. “Off the field, be ‘yes, thank you,’ and be humble. My dad said you will be the hardest-working player on the field every time you step on the field and then to compete to your fullest.
“That was all he really asked of us. Our mom loved us no matter what, but dad was the one that (drove us to excel).”
Excel they have, first as players and students and now as coaches, teachers and parents. The Konrads both starred for the Huskies under Hall of Fame coach Dave Bucher, who built the program into a powerhouse and won the 1998 state title with Jim as his assistant.
Jim, who graduated in 1989, played on the first Naperville soccer team to win a state trophy. The Huskies took fourth in 1987.
Jim and Jay played together on varsity in 1988 and Jay later became an All-American before graduating in 1991. They competed with and pushed each other during an era when Naperville North, which opened in 1975 and graduated its first class of seniors in 1977, was becoming an athletic power.
“As a younger brother, I always felt that I should compete with my brother,” Jay said. “I would lose my mind if I lost at anything, even Uno.
“I don’t care about Uno, but I’d lose my mind at that or playing a game of tag or horse in the driveway. I was very fortunate because I had an older brother who was athletic and would let me play and be involved with his stuff.
“And in our neighborhood growing up, there were a ton of kids from Naperville North from the late-80s to the mid-90s who were all-staters because we always competed and fought and played and battled all the time. It was just an environment where competitiveness was part of what we did, so when it’s time to compete, you compete. When the competition was done, you move on to whatever the next challenge is.”
The Konrads have always relished a challenge and usually rise to the occasion. Both played in college, Jim at Bowling Green and later Benedictine, and Jay at Northern Illinois.
They were teammates during their one year of pro soccer, 1995, when they played for the Rockford Raptors of the USISL, the forerunner of the USL.
The MLS began play in 1996 and Jay thought hard about whether to continue his playing career. But he opted to begin his teaching career at Washington Junior High in downtown Naperville, where he teaches P.E. and health and coached football, boys and girls basketball and cross-country at various times.
“I was really excited about my teaching career,” Jay said. “I wasn’t sure the MLS thing was going to be an option long-term. If it goes belly-up. now I’m starting my teaching career three years late.”
Ironically, it was Jay who got Jim into teaching. Jim attended two years of medical school before taking a year off to decide what he wanted to do.
“I had been coaching all through college with a club team and loved it and working with kids,” Jim said. “I decided to go into education.
“Jay had already made that decision and from talking to him about it I decided that was the right path for me. I was able to come back to North and lucky enough to work with Dr. Bucher for some years.”
Jim and Jay both began their high school coaching careers as assistants at North, Jim under Bucher and Jay under girls coach Al Harris, another Hall of Famer.
When Harris retired in 2001, Jay took over. Two years later, he succeeded Hall of Famer John Paskvalich as the boys coach at Naperville Central, while Jim took the reins from Bucher.
Jay initially intended on keeping both of his coaching gigs long-term but stepped down as North girls coach after a three-year run in which he compiled a 44-29-8 record, capped by a fourth-place finish at the 2004 state finals. He and his wife, Natasha, a former basketball player who was on Montini’s 1989 and 1990 teams that qualified for the state quarterfinals, had two toddlers, Mitch and Ty.
“When I took (the North girls job), I thought it was a lifetime thing,” Jay said. “My brother would take the boys side, and I would take the girls side, and we’d both have a long career there.
“Life happens and kids come, and I decided I can’t coach my kids and coach other people’s kids.”
Ironically, Jay did exactly that, but not right away. He led the Naperville Central boys for seven seasons, during which the Redhawks went 100-42-19 and won four regional titles.
After stepping down after the 2009 season, Jay began coaching Mitch and later Ty with the Galaxy.
“I love the high school game,” Jay said. “I miss it. At some point I imagine I’ll try to get back into it, but I would never trade the memories of the experiences of coaching Mitch and Ty. And I got to coach Jim’s son, Ryan, for three years.
Mitch Konrad, who graduated from North in 2018, played for his uncle on two state championship teams, while Ty, who is two years younger, has played on all three. Their cousin, Ryan, will be a freshman at North next year.
But the seeds of North’s current run, which last fall included the first perfect season in Illinois history, were sown, perhaps unintentionally, over a decade ago when Jay first put together a team of 8-year-olds.
“With Mitch’s group, in 2007 we knew that the whole plan was to find some athletic kids that are going to go to Naperville North so Mitch can have a bunch of kids that he knows on his freshman soccer team,” Jay said. “That was the dream -- can we build friendships and learn?
“Then it grew out of the Naperville North pocket and got bigger and bigger and pulled in kids from all different towns. But it’s funny to look back at the photo of this 10-year-old team. Eight kids from that team were on the (North) state championship team.”
Last fall, nine boys who played on Jay’s Galaxy national championship team also played for Jim’s Huskies, who went 26-0-0. Senior Colin Iverson, the Bowling Green-bound defender who scored the game-winning goal in the last two state title games, was one of them.
“I’ve played (under) Jay since sixth grade and Jim since freshman year,” Iverson said. “They’re both so fun to play for. I really have enjoyed it.
“Coming from club season with Jay and going to high school with Jim, they work so closely together, and it’s a whole year-round thing.
“It’s been so successful because they’re so supportive of each other. That’s nice because what we use in club we take into high school, not just in tactics but the values -- the hard work and putting in 100 percent at practice. That’s what has helped us be so successful.”
For all of their success, the Konrads do have different personalities. Jim is reserved and calculating, while Jay tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve and is far more likely to yell at referees and pick up yellow cards.
“Jay is a lot more outgoing,” Iverson said. “You will never see him not talking to somebody. When Jay talks, Jay is a very smart guy. He always knows what is going on.
“Jim is very quiet but when he speaks you know it something very important, so everyone listens. It’s funny because they always talk after games about strategy.”
That they do and those conversations can get interesting because they don’t always see eye-to-eye.
“Jay and I talk multiple times a day,” Jim said. “We argue non-stop about tactics and decisions.
“It’s such an advantage for me to have someone like Jay to have conversations with and to be surrounded by a bunch of great friends who know the game. To have a brother who is so invested in what I do has made a huge impact.”
Since taking over for Bucher, Jim has compiled a 276-58-27 record and four state trophies. He briefly handed the reins to Steve Goletz, who coached the team in 2013 after District 203 changed its policy to prevent athletic directors from coaching.
Jim is so passionate about coaching that he resigned as athletic director to resume coaching. He is now a dean of students and Goletz is his assistant. In soccer the pair reverse roles in the spring, with Goletz leading the girls team with Jim as his right-hand man.
Goletz, a star goalkeeper at Downers Grove South and Northern Illinois, first met the Konrads when he was 12. Jim coached Goletz’s club team and later hired him at Naperville North.
They have since become best friends. Jim was a groomsman and Jay an usher at Goletz’s wedding.
“They’re both ultra-competitive people,” Goletz said. “I think Jim does a really good job of keeping his competitive fire buried deep down, where Jay is a little bit more like me and kind of lets it bubble out at times.
“But as far as coaches who care about doing the right thing for kids and the right thing for a team, there’s not two guys that are more similar. Those guys will do anything to get the game right, anything to get their players motivated and continue to have the success that they’ve had.”
They have played a big role in Goletz’s success in coaching the girls team. When Brent Terada, who like the Konrads coaches for Galaxy, stepped down before the 2012 season, Goletz took over and has led the Huskies to two state championships and a third place finish in his first seven seasons.
Like Jay, Goletz’s coaching style can reach the volume of a rock concert, while Jim’s decibel-level is more like a classical music recital. Yet thanks to Jim’s influence, Goletz has gradually mellowed over time.
“Jay is definitely the more goofy, fun-loving, doesn’t-take-himself-too-seriously type person, but Jim is definitely the more quiet and reserved one when it comes to his interactions on the field,” Goletz said. “But both of those guys are so loyal to their friends and to their community and their teams, it is really fun to have two mentors like those in my life.”
The Konrads aim to be mentors to their players as well. They demand a lot of the kids and want them to represent the community in a positive manner.
“I have always been the one that has been a little more serious, more calculating,” Jim said. “I’m always in control, not that Jay’s out of control ever, but I’m very analytical, and I’m very careful.
“I don’t ever want to put out the appearance that I’m out of control. I want our players to know that we’re OK. If I stay calm and present a calm demeanor, my players will do the same. I hope that impacts my boys, and I think the way that North has played over the years hopefully mirrors that in the way they perform.”
Indeed, while the Huskies are known for their physical style, they are highly respected by opposing coaches and players. Metea Valley coach Josh Robinson lauded them after North edged his team for the DVC title on October 9.
“The most frustrating thing is how class of an act that they are all the time, so when they keep beating me and (assistant coach) Chris (Whaley) it’s frustrating because they are the best guys in the business,” Robinson said. “Yeah, you want to win but at the same time, the kids do it with class and (the coaches) do it with class.
“It’s almost aggravating. It’s like, ‘I wish you guys weren’t so darn nice and so darn good people because then I could be mad at you.
“But we love playing against Jim. Their kids are great and after the game these kids are hugging each other. They all know each other from the club team, and it’s a good environment.”
As someone who has benefitted from the environment the Konrads have fostered, first as a player and now a coach, Goletz is uniquely qualified to assess the impact they have had on student athletes.
“How fun that they’re both from the same family,” Goletz said. “It’s obviously a testament to their parents.
“They both, probably Jay more so than Jim, sacrificed so much for their kids with their own family time.
“For Jim to win state championships and Jay to win a national championship, both win Coach of the Year Awards, it’s just awesome that they are recognized for the amount of blood, sweat and tears that they’ve both put in and how much they help not only kids but so many other coaches in this area continue to develop.”
Yet both brothers are quick to point out their success stems not only from their efforts but those of their players and families.
“It’s a tribute on the one hand to the amazing kids that we have the opportunity to coach and the time and energy and passion that they and their families have put into it,” Jay said.
“Jim and I put in a ton of time. The amount of time we spend arguing, discussing, yelling at each other after a game, watching game film, is ridiculous.
“The successes that we’ve been so thankful to share, the constant desire to learn and tweak and how can we make this piece better, is the key for the sustained excellence that every program wants to have. It’s continual work. How can we do better?”
One way to be better is to work harder. Effort is something that can’t be controlled by your opponent.
“We demand the absolute most out of our kids,” Jim said. “Any kid that plays with us will say that they expect so much of us and set the bar so high. Fortunately for Jay and I, the boys constantly meet our standard for them.”
Those standards will never be lowered, and the Konrads have no intention of stepping down any time soon. Jim’s son, Ryan, will enter North in the fall but even when he graduates, his dad will be ready for new challenges.
When and where will the story end? Nobody knows, but what already has been written is something for the history books.
“The experience of coaching family and knowing all their friends and the connections that you make, that was so special,” Jay said. “When you look at the end product, with the state championships and the national championship, that’s a storybook.”