Libertyville builds momentum, and beds
By Jim Berklan
Coaches speak often about building a quality team in order to compete. Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm, however, has taken it to an extra dimension, assembling a team of builders.
While the young Wildcats have been honing their onfield identity this fall, they’ve complemented those efforts with strides in the off-field, character-building department as well. Most recently, they embarked to make wooden beds Monday night for the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity.
Every rostered Libertyville varsity player, except one who was ill, took part. The 22 teens along with their coaches built 63 beds in just under two hours.
“All the boys and coaches did a great job,” said Keith Tobler, who oversaw the indoor-outdoor session of sawing, sanding, staining, drilling, branding and assembling the all-pine bed frames. Tobler is co-leader of the Libertyville chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace with St. Joseph Church facilities director Dan Harris.
Tobler pointed out the inherent team-building nature of the activity, but it’s a distinction no one needs to point out to Thunholm. In each of his five years as head coach of the elite program, he had led his players to undertake charitable projects.
“My first year, before we even touched the field, there was a flood of the Des Plaines River, and we were asked to help. I called around, and we had 75 boys filling sand bags and stacking them up,” Thunholm recalled. “We just kind of built off that.”
Until this year, that meant sessions at the Feed My Starving Children program in town, which assembles food packages for needy populations around the world.
“We love soccer, but getting away from the field is so important for us,” said Thunholm, who called off practice the day of the charity work. “They’re learning new skills, and I think it’s important to them. They know how to kick a soccer ball, and they’re pretty good in the classroom. Giving back to the community is really important too.”
The bed-building break came at a good time, just after a tough weekend when five players were out due to either injury or sickness. The scrappy Wildcats still put in noble performances with a one-goal loss to then no. 3 Lyons and a tie against Morton on back-to-back days at the Mustangs’ new Premier Invitational in Berwyn.
“We tied the no. 1 team in the state (Morton), which is not something a lot of teams can say,” said senior co-captain Jon Melcher. “I would have loved to have come away from that with a win but you take what you can get, and we’ll be ready for them if we play them again.”
Leading from within
Thunholm credits Melcher, a strong defender who was first brought up to the varsity as a sophomore, and his fellow captains with setting the tone early for the season.
“The team started training as soon as it could, June 6, and he took over the reins right away,” Thunholm recalled. “The younger guys, and we have a lot of them, just looked up to him, respected him and listened to him. I just opened the gate and said, ‘Here are the balls’ and stayed away until camp.”
Melcher and fellow defender Joey Yurek were “overwhelmingly” chosen by their teammates and coaches as senior co-captains. Alek LaRoi and Andrew Phillips are the team’s junior captains.
“We’ve got really good team chemistry. All the guys like being around each other, and that’s really important,” Yurek said. “Everyone’s got that collective attitude.”
He acknowledged that trait was evident during the woodworking outing.
“Right now we’re in a good spot where we’re playing well collectively and improving, which is good to see especially as we play against some of these better teams,” Yurek said. “We have to trust the process. I think we can make a good run this season.”
Leading from the back
Yurek and Thunholm agree that the Wildcats draw their strength from their backline, which features Melcher, Yurek and LaRoi, who joined the group five games ago. Senior keeper Mike Krukonis further solidifies the defense.
“Having that strong backline, we anchor it down and that allows us to get creative and just work on things on the offensive side,” Yurek noted. “We don’t have to worry about being down 3-0.”
Thunholm praised the 6-foot-1 Yurek as a “big, tall, strong guy who wins every ball in the air.
“He’s got this calm presence about him. All the guys look to him to do the right thing,” he added. “Ever since Alek (LaRoi) has been back there, he’s been better with his technical touches, and he wins every 50-50 ball and dominates in the air.”
Thunholm said combining LaRoi, who played striker last year, with Melcher and Yurek has made a world of difference and set a new tone. The squad also concurrently shifted from a 4-4-2 lineup to a 4-3-3.
“LaRoi is big, strong, fast and technical, too. His game IQ is off the charts. Now the boys feel like we can make a mistake and not worry about it as much,” Thunholm observed. “We’ve competed in every game.”
It’s also allowed Melcher, whom Thunholm ID'ed as one of the team’s speedsters, to attack from the back as desired.
“He kind of does it all back there. He could be like a midfielder for us, too, but we know he can lock down their best player. We typically put him on their best, and he shuts them down.”
Junior co-captain Andrew Phillips roams the center of the pitch with classmates Cole Danner and Jake Berlowski. Speedster senior Michael Kelly, who’s recently returned from a back injury and a precautionary COVID quarantine, is another veteran influence and figures to change the on-field dynamic, Thunholm said.
Freshman Noah Finnema and sophomore Mateo Portillo are the youthful starters up-front who are gaining valuable experience each time out. Every bit helps for a team that scored 25 goals in its first 16 games.
Rising hopes
“We have the pieces coming into place. I’m excited about the playoffs,” Thunholm said Monday.
After the team’s 4-2 conference win in Zion on Thursday and a 1-0 nonconference score against Carmel on Friday, Libertyville still has North Suburban Conference rivals Warren and Stevenson, and out-of-league neighbor Vernon Hills on the docket before the postseason begins.
With a 2-1-2 record in the league, the Wildcats will need some help if they want to claim a piece of the title.
The Wildcats received the no. 7 seed in the tough 17-team Fremd Sectional on Friday.
“All 16 or 17 teams are solid (in the sectional),” Thunholm said. “(No. 10) Waukegan’s overall record doesn’t look pretty, but I know they’re good. The same with Zion-Benton (no. 12). Round Lake (no. 11) is there. We beat them 3-1, but I know they’re better than 3-1. So, I’d say any team can come out of that and shock the world.”
Melcher believes that a squad that can transform hundreds of pieces of raw wood into valuable furniture for the needy also have it in them for a strong postseason run.
“In the past, Libertyville has had some players and you just looked at the pitch and said that kid’s the star,” he said. “This year, we have some players who are pretty technical, but we’re more of a team where we all work together. We can’t hope one of our players does all the work for us and scores all our goals. I’m optimistic. I think we’ll do well. It’s the way we all work tougher that makes us strong.”
By Jim Berklan
Coaches speak often about building a quality team in order to compete. Libertyville coach Kevin Thunholm, however, has taken it to an extra dimension, assembling a team of builders.
While the young Wildcats have been honing their onfield identity this fall, they’ve complemented those efforts with strides in the off-field, character-building department as well. Most recently, they embarked to make wooden beds Monday night for the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity.
Every rostered Libertyville varsity player, except one who was ill, took part. The 22 teens along with their coaches built 63 beds in just under two hours.
“All the boys and coaches did a great job,” said Keith Tobler, who oversaw the indoor-outdoor session of sawing, sanding, staining, drilling, branding and assembling the all-pine bed frames. Tobler is co-leader of the Libertyville chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace with St. Joseph Church facilities director Dan Harris.
Tobler pointed out the inherent team-building nature of the activity, but it’s a distinction no one needs to point out to Thunholm. In each of his five years as head coach of the elite program, he had led his players to undertake charitable projects.
“My first year, before we even touched the field, there was a flood of the Des Plaines River, and we were asked to help. I called around, and we had 75 boys filling sand bags and stacking them up,” Thunholm recalled. “We just kind of built off that.”
Until this year, that meant sessions at the Feed My Starving Children program in town, which assembles food packages for needy populations around the world.
“We love soccer, but getting away from the field is so important for us,” said Thunholm, who called off practice the day of the charity work. “They’re learning new skills, and I think it’s important to them. They know how to kick a soccer ball, and they’re pretty good in the classroom. Giving back to the community is really important too.”
The bed-building break came at a good time, just after a tough weekend when five players were out due to either injury or sickness. The scrappy Wildcats still put in noble performances with a one-goal loss to then no. 3 Lyons and a tie against Morton on back-to-back days at the Mustangs’ new Premier Invitational in Berwyn.
“We tied the no. 1 team in the state (Morton), which is not something a lot of teams can say,” said senior co-captain Jon Melcher. “I would have loved to have come away from that with a win but you take what you can get, and we’ll be ready for them if we play them again.”
Leading from within
Thunholm credits Melcher, a strong defender who was first brought up to the varsity as a sophomore, and his fellow captains with setting the tone early for the season.
“The team started training as soon as it could, June 6, and he took over the reins right away,” Thunholm recalled. “The younger guys, and we have a lot of them, just looked up to him, respected him and listened to him. I just opened the gate and said, ‘Here are the balls’ and stayed away until camp.”
Melcher and fellow defender Joey Yurek were “overwhelmingly” chosen by their teammates and coaches as senior co-captains. Alek LaRoi and Andrew Phillips are the team’s junior captains.
“We’ve got really good team chemistry. All the guys like being around each other, and that’s really important,” Yurek said. “Everyone’s got that collective attitude.”
He acknowledged that trait was evident during the woodworking outing.
“Right now we’re in a good spot where we’re playing well collectively and improving, which is good to see especially as we play against some of these better teams,” Yurek said. “We have to trust the process. I think we can make a good run this season.”
Leading from the back
Yurek and Thunholm agree that the Wildcats draw their strength from their backline, which features Melcher, Yurek and LaRoi, who joined the group five games ago. Senior keeper Mike Krukonis further solidifies the defense.
“Having that strong backline, we anchor it down and that allows us to get creative and just work on things on the offensive side,” Yurek noted. “We don’t have to worry about being down 3-0.”
Thunholm praised the 6-foot-1 Yurek as a “big, tall, strong guy who wins every ball in the air.
“He’s got this calm presence about him. All the guys look to him to do the right thing,” he added. “Ever since Alek (LaRoi) has been back there, he’s been better with his technical touches, and he wins every 50-50 ball and dominates in the air.”
Thunholm said combining LaRoi, who played striker last year, with Melcher and Yurek has made a world of difference and set a new tone. The squad also concurrently shifted from a 4-4-2 lineup to a 4-3-3.
“LaRoi is big, strong, fast and technical, too. His game IQ is off the charts. Now the boys feel like we can make a mistake and not worry about it as much,” Thunholm observed. “We’ve competed in every game.”
It’s also allowed Melcher, whom Thunholm ID'ed as one of the team’s speedsters, to attack from the back as desired.
“He kind of does it all back there. He could be like a midfielder for us, too, but we know he can lock down their best player. We typically put him on their best, and he shuts them down.”
Junior co-captain Andrew Phillips roams the center of the pitch with classmates Cole Danner and Jake Berlowski. Speedster senior Michael Kelly, who’s recently returned from a back injury and a precautionary COVID quarantine, is another veteran influence and figures to change the on-field dynamic, Thunholm said.
Freshman Noah Finnema and sophomore Mateo Portillo are the youthful starters up-front who are gaining valuable experience each time out. Every bit helps for a team that scored 25 goals in its first 16 games.
Rising hopes
“We have the pieces coming into place. I’m excited about the playoffs,” Thunholm said Monday.
After the team’s 4-2 conference win in Zion on Thursday and a 1-0 nonconference score against Carmel on Friday, Libertyville still has North Suburban Conference rivals Warren and Stevenson, and out-of-league neighbor Vernon Hills on the docket before the postseason begins.
With a 2-1-2 record in the league, the Wildcats will need some help if they want to claim a piece of the title.
The Wildcats received the no. 7 seed in the tough 17-team Fremd Sectional on Friday.
“All 16 or 17 teams are solid (in the sectional),” Thunholm said. “(No. 10) Waukegan’s overall record doesn’t look pretty, but I know they’re good. The same with Zion-Benton (no. 12). Round Lake (no. 11) is there. We beat them 3-1, but I know they’re better than 3-1. So, I’d say any team can come out of that and shock the world.”
Melcher believes that a squad that can transform hundreds of pieces of raw wood into valuable furniture for the needy also have it in them for a strong postseason run.
“In the past, Libertyville has had some players and you just looked at the pitch and said that kid’s the star,” he said. “This year, we have some players who are pretty technical, but we’re more of a team where we all work together. We can’t hope one of our players does all the work for us and scores all our goals. I’m optimistic. I think we’ll do well. It’s the way we all work tougher that makes us strong.”