‘Bueller?’ Too many soccer days off
for Lake Forest’s Asmussen
By Bill McLean
Future film director and current Lake Forest junior outside back Lindsey Asmussen has seen the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” more times than a longtime ophthalmologist has examined eyes.
The movie hit theaters in 1986.
Asmussen watched it for the first at age 10. It remains top-ranked on her all-time list of favorite movies.
“No idea,” Asmussen said of the number of times she has watched the flick about a high school slacker (portrayed by Matthew Broderick) who pretends to be sick, skips school and enjoys time at landmark after landmark in Chicago, including Wrigley Field.
“The movie had me, had me right away,” the tri-captain added. “Ask my friends. They’ve heard me say, ‘Let’s watch this ‘Ferris’ movie,’ so many times. It’s an interesting movie. It’s funny.”
Not so funny: the number of days Asmussen and her teammates—and the rest of girls soccer players in Illinois—had to take off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) canceled the spring seasons for all sports on April 21.
“Our three weeks, in preseason, were exciting,” said Asmussen, a varsity Scout since the start of her freshman season and youngest of LF’s three captains in 2020. “Every day was competitive. And I could tell we had really good chemistry. I was getting to know our new players. I was looking forward to seeing what we could do, to seeing how we’d do against [reigning Class 3A state runner-up] Barrington right after spring break.
“A lot of anticipation,” she added.
Lake Forest girls soccer coach Ty Stuckslager had stockpiled reams of high expectations, too—decades ago, before the release of a certain movie. Stuckslager, after all, lived in Winnetka in the 1980s, across the street from the trailer Broderick hung out in during the filming of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
The coach’s movie review?
“I loved it,” he said.
The coach’s assessment of Asmussen’s soccer game?
Two thumbs up and plenty of stars.
“Lindsey,” Stuckslager said, “understands the game beautifully. There’s nothing flashy about her game, and that’s what’s great about it. Focused. When I think of Lindsey, the soccer player, I first think of her focus. She’s focused in practices, focused before games, focused in games, focused between halves.”
Asmussen first eyed a soccer ball intently in the presence of her big sis, Morgan, now a senior-to-be outside back and marine science/atmospheric science double-major at the University of Miami (Florida). Li’l sis was 3, maybe 4, somewhere on a lawn at home, when she knew soccer would be her thing, her passion, her sport.
“My sister is competitive, super competitive, and she never took it easy on me when we’d get together to drill or play soccer,” Lindsey said. “I’m glad she didn’t take it easy on me. Watching my sister play soccer made me love the sport even more.”
The pair of sisters occasionally battled 1-v.-1 under their roof at home in Lake Bluff, with a dog gate serving as a partition between in- and out-of-bounds day. A couch doubled as one goal; the family’s oven represented the other goal. (Heat up a pie one minute, absorb an Asmussen blast the next).
Not one piece of furniture suffered a break during the in-house contests, Lindsey reported.
That didn’t surprise Stuckslager in the least.
“They’re both very good soccer players,” the coach said.
Lindsey Asmussen has developed her game with FC Wisconsin, a club team based in Germantown. Her mother, Colette, researched clubs two years ago, and the one located a 90-minute drive from home netted Lindsey’s talents.
“Real fast-paced,” Asmussen said of FC Wisconsin’s style of play. “So competitive. The coaches hold their players accountable, making sure we all give a 100-percent effort each day.”
Colette, a native of Crete, Ill., and a former gymnast, met her future husband, Eric, in the United States Air Force.
“My dad,” Asmussen said, “was a California kid.”
The kid was deployed in Turkey, South Korea and Japan before Lindsey was born.
“My parents have been my biggest supporters,” Asmussen said. “Soccer, school, my interest in majoring in film in college … they’ve backed me in everything.”
For Lake Forest’s girls soccer program, Asmussen plays simple, sturdy soccer in the back. She plays for everybody but herself.
There’s not a microscope powerful enough to detect her ego.
“Push the ball up in order to set up my outside midfielders—that’s what I like to do,” Asmussen said of her kickoff-to-final-buzzer mindset in each match. “Our middle this spring would’ve been great. Our forwards, our offense in general, would have been incredibly strong.
“I put other players first.”
Second on Asmussen’s all-time list of favorite movies is the 2019 drama “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” followed by multiple Academy Award winner “Casablanca.” She was all set to attend a two-week film camp at Syracuse University in July until the COVID-19 pandemic reduced that opportunity to cutting-room-floor status.
Oh, well. Maybe she’ll use those weeks to re-watch flicks directed by her favorite director, Stanley Kubrick.
Or maybe she’ll finally complete the art project she started earlier this spring, that paint-by-number Monet (one of Claude’s Water Lilies oil paintings).
“It’s taking forever,” Asmussen said.
Or maybe she’ll watch—and thoroughly enjoy—“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for the 2,358th time.
for Lake Forest’s Asmussen
By Bill McLean
Future film director and current Lake Forest junior outside back Lindsey Asmussen has seen the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” more times than a longtime ophthalmologist has examined eyes.
The movie hit theaters in 1986.
Asmussen watched it for the first at age 10. It remains top-ranked on her all-time list of favorite movies.
“No idea,” Asmussen said of the number of times she has watched the flick about a high school slacker (portrayed by Matthew Broderick) who pretends to be sick, skips school and enjoys time at landmark after landmark in Chicago, including Wrigley Field.
“The movie had me, had me right away,” the tri-captain added. “Ask my friends. They’ve heard me say, ‘Let’s watch this ‘Ferris’ movie,’ so many times. It’s an interesting movie. It’s funny.”
Not so funny: the number of days Asmussen and her teammates—and the rest of girls soccer players in Illinois—had to take off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) canceled the spring seasons for all sports on April 21.
“Our three weeks, in preseason, were exciting,” said Asmussen, a varsity Scout since the start of her freshman season and youngest of LF’s three captains in 2020. “Every day was competitive. And I could tell we had really good chemistry. I was getting to know our new players. I was looking forward to seeing what we could do, to seeing how we’d do against [reigning Class 3A state runner-up] Barrington right after spring break.
“A lot of anticipation,” she added.
Lake Forest girls soccer coach Ty Stuckslager had stockpiled reams of high expectations, too—decades ago, before the release of a certain movie. Stuckslager, after all, lived in Winnetka in the 1980s, across the street from the trailer Broderick hung out in during the filming of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
The coach’s movie review?
“I loved it,” he said.
The coach’s assessment of Asmussen’s soccer game?
Two thumbs up and plenty of stars.
“Lindsey,” Stuckslager said, “understands the game beautifully. There’s nothing flashy about her game, and that’s what’s great about it. Focused. When I think of Lindsey, the soccer player, I first think of her focus. She’s focused in practices, focused before games, focused in games, focused between halves.”
Asmussen first eyed a soccer ball intently in the presence of her big sis, Morgan, now a senior-to-be outside back and marine science/atmospheric science double-major at the University of Miami (Florida). Li’l sis was 3, maybe 4, somewhere on a lawn at home, when she knew soccer would be her thing, her passion, her sport.
“My sister is competitive, super competitive, and she never took it easy on me when we’d get together to drill or play soccer,” Lindsey said. “I’m glad she didn’t take it easy on me. Watching my sister play soccer made me love the sport even more.”
The pair of sisters occasionally battled 1-v.-1 under their roof at home in Lake Bluff, with a dog gate serving as a partition between in- and out-of-bounds day. A couch doubled as one goal; the family’s oven represented the other goal. (Heat up a pie one minute, absorb an Asmussen blast the next).
Not one piece of furniture suffered a break during the in-house contests, Lindsey reported.
That didn’t surprise Stuckslager in the least.
“They’re both very good soccer players,” the coach said.
Lindsey Asmussen has developed her game with FC Wisconsin, a club team based in Germantown. Her mother, Colette, researched clubs two years ago, and the one located a 90-minute drive from home netted Lindsey’s talents.
“Real fast-paced,” Asmussen said of FC Wisconsin’s style of play. “So competitive. The coaches hold their players accountable, making sure we all give a 100-percent effort each day.”
Colette, a native of Crete, Ill., and a former gymnast, met her future husband, Eric, in the United States Air Force.
“My dad,” Asmussen said, “was a California kid.”
The kid was deployed in Turkey, South Korea and Japan before Lindsey was born.
“My parents have been my biggest supporters,” Asmussen said. “Soccer, school, my interest in majoring in film in college … they’ve backed me in everything.”
For Lake Forest’s girls soccer program, Asmussen plays simple, sturdy soccer in the back. She plays for everybody but herself.
There’s not a microscope powerful enough to detect her ego.
“Push the ball up in order to set up my outside midfielders—that’s what I like to do,” Asmussen said of her kickoff-to-final-buzzer mindset in each match. “Our middle this spring would’ve been great. Our forwards, our offense in general, would have been incredibly strong.
“I put other players first.”
Second on Asmussen’s all-time list of favorite movies is the 2019 drama “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” followed by multiple Academy Award winner “Casablanca.” She was all set to attend a two-week film camp at Syracuse University in July until the COVID-19 pandemic reduced that opportunity to cutting-room-floor status.
Oh, well. Maybe she’ll use those weeks to re-watch flicks directed by her favorite director, Stanley Kubrick.
Or maybe she’ll finally complete the art project she started earlier this spring, that paint-by-number Monet (one of Claude’s Water Lilies oil paintings).
“It’s taking forever,” Asmussen said.
Or maybe she’ll watch—and thoroughly enjoy—“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for the 2,358th time.