Club bolsters Lake Park,
creates Lancers 'for life'
By Ken Keenan
More than merely a feeder program for Lake Park High School, the Roselle-based Lancer Soccer Club truly is a labor of love for founder, owner and president Nick Tricase.
Tricase, who grew up in Itasca and learned the game from his Italian-born father Giuseppe, moved through the youth ranks in his hometown before joining the Lake Park sophomore squad as a freshman. That was followed by three varsity campaigns during which Tricase, a forward, helped the Lancers win three-consecutive regional championships (2003-05).
The Class of 2006 graduate also earned all-conference, all-area and all-sectional honors as a senior.
"At that point, I was a Lancer for life," Tricase said. "It was a program I planned on being a part of for a long time."
Tricase continued playing soccer at Dominican University, in River Forest, before earning a teaching certificate in physical education from Eastern Illinois University. He also "dove into coaching head first," he said, assisting with summer camps and the like at Lake Park.
Upon graduating from EIU, Tricase took a job as an assistant in the dean's office at his high school alma mater and quickly became head coach of both the Lancers' JV1 boys and girls soccer squads.
"I grew up in the area, so as soon as I started coaching, I wanted to continue giving my services to the community," said Tricase, currently dean of students at Medinah Middle School. "We knew if we could develop a program in the area, and get the community to buy in -- getting kids that fundamental knowledge five to six years prior to Lake Park -- we'd be a mile ahead of getting them ready for high school soccer."
Tricase continued: "Instead of just camps here and there, we wanted to create a structured home base in town. So I incorporated a business, Lancer SC (in 2011). Business-wise, I was out of my territory. But we did it."
Lancer SC began with one U14 (ages 14 and under) and one high school-age team in 2011 and '12, but "started multiplying pretty quick," Tricase said, expanding to three boys teams (U10, U13, U14) and two girls teams (U12, U14) by 2014. Currently, the organization includes six high school-age indoor teams, three boys teams (U10, U12, U15) and a U15 girls group.
The coaching staff also includes former Lake Park players Pasquale Maranto, Chris Jahns, Joe Keane, Zach Czesak and Joe Riter.
One of Lancer SC's biggest fans is Lake Park boys and girls head coach Sean Crosby, a former standout defender/midfielder on the Lancers boys team (Class of 2005). He assumed the dual coaching role at his old stomping grounds prior to the 2016-17 school year.
"It's tremendously important," said Crosby, who guided the Lake Park boys team to a fourth place finish in the 2018 IHSA Class 3A state tourney. "We're lucky, as coaches, to get so many players who are committed 100 percent to play at Lake Park High School. Lancer SC started the push to do that, to grow interest in the sport."
Crosby continued: "All the coaches, they played at Lake Park and then in college. They bring a depth of knowledge and passion for the sport. Our boys and girls, they come in as freshmen, and they already have ball-handling skills, positional skills. Their knowledge of the game is definitely advanced by the time they reach high school."
Tricase said that installing solid fundamentals "goes hand-in-hand with the players wanting to be there ... how much they enjoy it, regardless of age. That's our biggest 'sell,' that community aspect. Then we can hammer the fundamentals, and also the strategies of where to be, and when to be there. And touches, 600 touches. It's all about how to work with the ball, handle the ball."
Added Tricase: "If you don't have those fundamentals, it's hard to learn the deeper aspects of the game. For example, as a forward or outside midfielder, you want to have a player who can receive the ball, make the right touch, use the proper foot -- all that stuff."
With such preparation in place, Crosby and his coaching staff have time to focus on those "deeper aspects."
"Since the players have seen it all and have training in all those concepts, they have a baseline to work from," Crosby said. "So we're building on the foundation. At our level, we're working on progressive defending, transition defending, multi-player movement. Our boys and girls, they already have the baseline knowledge, so we're building on full-field concepts they already have a foundation of."
For Tricase and Co. it all circles back to the community bonds that begin at a young age and blossom into complete camaraderie at the high school level.
"The chemistry, the bonding, the community aspect, it's all about keeping the Lancer family together," Tricase said. "Instead of spreading out to different clubs, they can continue to play together all year long. You can teach as much as you want, but you see them climbing to new heights by themselves as well."
Tricase pointed to the Lake Park boys team's 2018 run, as well as a fourth place finish at state in 2013, as examples of Lancer SC's impact. Crosby backed up that claim.
"We had many former Lancer SC players on that (2018) team," Crosby said. "What their coaches do, it does show signs of success."
Though the Lake Park girls team hasn't matched the success of the boys team in recent years, expectations were high entering the 2020 campaign. The seeds for such optimism were planted years ago.
"Our starting lineup consists of almost all Lancer SC players," Crosby said. "Our senior class, all five (goalkeeper Lilija Briedis, defenders Sarah Novak, Olivia Wroblewski and Sophie Giron, and forward Lilli Giron) played together at Lancer SC. There's such a chemistry, because they've been involved with the same teams growing up. So that's a big plus."
Added Crosby: "They definitely have great connection ... friendships. So the team-building part is easy for us because of that familiarity. They've got a great sense of pride playing with each other. And the sense they have on the field, the non-verbal communication. They know each other's moves, so they can take bigger risks."
One of those Lancer SC alums is junior forward/midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens, an all-DuKane Conference honorable mention selection in 2019.
"When I joined Lancer SC in middle school, it was still new," Ahrens said. "Everybody was at that fresh starting point, so we could form a team bond pretty quickly. That chemistry from middle school to high school, that's six years of chemistry and it builds as you go along."
Ahrens continued: "It's very important. If you have great chemistry off the field, it will reflect on the field. The (Lancer SC) coaches, they really pushed us to work as a team ... work together toward a common, team goal. That helped by the time we reached high school."
Ahrens, who joined the Lake Park varsity squad as a freshman, also acknowledged Lancer SC's focus on teaching fundamentals as being key to her development.
"Knowing and having the fundamentals in my head helps calm me down," she said. "Then it becomes what you could do next, not what you should have already done. Knowing that, you can rely on your teammates in a stressful situation. Communication is just as important off the ball as when you have the ball."
Added Ahrens: "Trust is also a big part. Teams that have the best records, it's because of that trust you have on the field. Having confidence on the field is also a must. Otherwise, you won't play to the best of your abilities. But confidence comes not just from yourself. It comes from parents, teammates, coaches."
At Lancer SC, it comes from the heart.
"They definitely care about us a lot, and that helps us want to care about each other," Ahrens said. "They're good role models for us. We definitely are one big family."
creates Lancers 'for life'
By Ken Keenan
More than merely a feeder program for Lake Park High School, the Roselle-based Lancer Soccer Club truly is a labor of love for founder, owner and president Nick Tricase.
Tricase, who grew up in Itasca and learned the game from his Italian-born father Giuseppe, moved through the youth ranks in his hometown before joining the Lake Park sophomore squad as a freshman. That was followed by three varsity campaigns during which Tricase, a forward, helped the Lancers win three-consecutive regional championships (2003-05).
The Class of 2006 graduate also earned all-conference, all-area and all-sectional honors as a senior.
"At that point, I was a Lancer for life," Tricase said. "It was a program I planned on being a part of for a long time."
Tricase continued playing soccer at Dominican University, in River Forest, before earning a teaching certificate in physical education from Eastern Illinois University. He also "dove into coaching head first," he said, assisting with summer camps and the like at Lake Park.
Upon graduating from EIU, Tricase took a job as an assistant in the dean's office at his high school alma mater and quickly became head coach of both the Lancers' JV1 boys and girls soccer squads.
"I grew up in the area, so as soon as I started coaching, I wanted to continue giving my services to the community," said Tricase, currently dean of students at Medinah Middle School. "We knew if we could develop a program in the area, and get the community to buy in -- getting kids that fundamental knowledge five to six years prior to Lake Park -- we'd be a mile ahead of getting them ready for high school soccer."
Tricase continued: "Instead of just camps here and there, we wanted to create a structured home base in town. So I incorporated a business, Lancer SC (in 2011). Business-wise, I was out of my territory. But we did it."
Lancer SC began with one U14 (ages 14 and under) and one high school-age team in 2011 and '12, but "started multiplying pretty quick," Tricase said, expanding to three boys teams (U10, U13, U14) and two girls teams (U12, U14) by 2014. Currently, the organization includes six high school-age indoor teams, three boys teams (U10, U12, U15) and a U15 girls group.
The coaching staff also includes former Lake Park players Pasquale Maranto, Chris Jahns, Joe Keane, Zach Czesak and Joe Riter.
One of Lancer SC's biggest fans is Lake Park boys and girls head coach Sean Crosby, a former standout defender/midfielder on the Lancers boys team (Class of 2005). He assumed the dual coaching role at his old stomping grounds prior to the 2016-17 school year.
"It's tremendously important," said Crosby, who guided the Lake Park boys team to a fourth place finish in the 2018 IHSA Class 3A state tourney. "We're lucky, as coaches, to get so many players who are committed 100 percent to play at Lake Park High School. Lancer SC started the push to do that, to grow interest in the sport."
Crosby continued: "All the coaches, they played at Lake Park and then in college. They bring a depth of knowledge and passion for the sport. Our boys and girls, they come in as freshmen, and they already have ball-handling skills, positional skills. Their knowledge of the game is definitely advanced by the time they reach high school."
Tricase said that installing solid fundamentals "goes hand-in-hand with the players wanting to be there ... how much they enjoy it, regardless of age. That's our biggest 'sell,' that community aspect. Then we can hammer the fundamentals, and also the strategies of where to be, and when to be there. And touches, 600 touches. It's all about how to work with the ball, handle the ball."
Added Tricase: "If you don't have those fundamentals, it's hard to learn the deeper aspects of the game. For example, as a forward or outside midfielder, you want to have a player who can receive the ball, make the right touch, use the proper foot -- all that stuff."
With such preparation in place, Crosby and his coaching staff have time to focus on those "deeper aspects."
"Since the players have seen it all and have training in all those concepts, they have a baseline to work from," Crosby said. "So we're building on the foundation. At our level, we're working on progressive defending, transition defending, multi-player movement. Our boys and girls, they already have the baseline knowledge, so we're building on full-field concepts they already have a foundation of."
For Tricase and Co. it all circles back to the community bonds that begin at a young age and blossom into complete camaraderie at the high school level.
"The chemistry, the bonding, the community aspect, it's all about keeping the Lancer family together," Tricase said. "Instead of spreading out to different clubs, they can continue to play together all year long. You can teach as much as you want, but you see them climbing to new heights by themselves as well."
Tricase pointed to the Lake Park boys team's 2018 run, as well as a fourth place finish at state in 2013, as examples of Lancer SC's impact. Crosby backed up that claim.
"We had many former Lancer SC players on that (2018) team," Crosby said. "What their coaches do, it does show signs of success."
Though the Lake Park girls team hasn't matched the success of the boys team in recent years, expectations were high entering the 2020 campaign. The seeds for such optimism were planted years ago.
"Our starting lineup consists of almost all Lancer SC players," Crosby said. "Our senior class, all five (goalkeeper Lilija Briedis, defenders Sarah Novak, Olivia Wroblewski and Sophie Giron, and forward Lilli Giron) played together at Lancer SC. There's such a chemistry, because they've been involved with the same teams growing up. So that's a big plus."
Added Crosby: "They definitely have great connection ... friendships. So the team-building part is easy for us because of that familiarity. They've got a great sense of pride playing with each other. And the sense they have on the field, the non-verbal communication. They know each other's moves, so they can take bigger risks."
One of those Lancer SC alums is junior forward/midfielder AnnMarie Ahrens, an all-DuKane Conference honorable mention selection in 2019.
"When I joined Lancer SC in middle school, it was still new," Ahrens said. "Everybody was at that fresh starting point, so we could form a team bond pretty quickly. That chemistry from middle school to high school, that's six years of chemistry and it builds as you go along."
Ahrens continued: "It's very important. If you have great chemistry off the field, it will reflect on the field. The (Lancer SC) coaches, they really pushed us to work as a team ... work together toward a common, team goal. That helped by the time we reached high school."
Ahrens, who joined the Lake Park varsity squad as a freshman, also acknowledged Lancer SC's focus on teaching fundamentals as being key to her development.
"Knowing and having the fundamentals in my head helps calm me down," she said. "Then it becomes what you could do next, not what you should have already done. Knowing that, you can rely on your teammates in a stressful situation. Communication is just as important off the ball as when you have the ball."
Added Ahrens: "Trust is also a big part. Teams that have the best records, it's because of that trust you have on the field. Having confidence on the field is also a must. Otherwise, you won't play to the best of your abilities. But confidence comes not just from yourself. It comes from parents, teammates, coaches."
At Lancer SC, it comes from the heart.
"They definitely care about us a lot, and that helps us want to care about each other," Ahrens said. "They're good role models for us. We definitely are one big family."