Palatine standout Simon
ready for college soccer
By Gary Larsen
It’s roughly a 200-mile drive from Palatine to St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin, a town that sits six miles south of Green Bay. It’s a drive that Palatine senior Melanie Simon will be happy to make.
“I took my time and visited St. Norbert last spring,” Simon said, “and it always stayed on my mind.”
Simon will play soccer for the Green Knights in the fall, joining former Palatine player Anja Jacobsen at St. Norbert. Jacobsen was a senior at Palatine when Simon was a sophomore.
“I got to see Anja on campus, and she gave me a tour,” Simon said. “She couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved it there. The people there are so nice. I like the feeling at a smaller college, and it’s such a pretty campus as well.”
In Simon, St. Norbert is getting a 5-foot-9 central defender who’s strong, tough, and plays with an edge. Naturally, Simon gets the lion’s share of credit for the years of hard work she put in towards becoming college soccer material, but no player gets there alone.
Simon’s journey from youth soccer in Palatine to future women’s soccer player at St. Norbert followed a path familiar to many a quality high school player. She started in a house league, moved on to a club team, and then made her high school’s varsity team as a freshman.
“She had the skill and physical ability right from the start,” Palatine coach Willie Filian said.
The coronavirus robbed Simon of what would have been her fourth season as a varsity starter for Palatine. The bizarre reality of the virus’s impact hit home for Simon a week or so ago, when she went for a walk and spotted Filian walking on the other side of a residential street.
Player and coach should have been at practice together, but instead all they could do was talk briefly from a safe social distance.
“It was so nice to see him, and he told me how much he missed the team,” Simon said of Filian. “He really made me love and look forward to the high school season, because of how fun he’s been and what a good coach he is. He also gave me an opportunity to be on the field as a freshman, and I’ll always appreciate that.”
Simon's odyssey through the sport started in first grade. Her first coach was Ben McCarthy, the father of Fremd player Madeline McCarthy. McCarthy coached Simon for roughly three years when she first began playing the sport as a six-year-old, and she credits him with meeting the chief responsibility of anyone who coaches young children.
“He made it fun for us at a young age,” Simon said. “He really taught us to have fun. I loved it when I first started as a young kid, and then I just never saw myself stopping.”
What takes a player from a field full of six-year-olds, humorously chasing the ball around as a group, to the next level of development? The simple answer is parents. Supportive parents are the most vital element of a player's development and Simon has had those in John and Carola Simon.
After a few years of house league soccer, Simon was chomping at the bit to test herself against tougher competition. So when she turned 10 years old, her parents signed her up with the club most responsible for training players that ultimately land at Fremd and Palatine, the Palatine Celtics Soccer Club.
The Celtics have been shaping Palatine youth for more than 50 years, and played a primary role in turning Simon into the player she became next, the one Filian put on his varsity roster as a freshman.
Simon went from Ben McCarthy to Celtics coach Mike Keller, who taught her how to head a ball for the first time around sixth grade. She began to learn the intricacies of the game with the Celtics through middle school, played through high school, and Simon loved playing last year on the Celtics for Nick Aguilar, who coached last year’s 19U Girls Presidents Cup Champions.
It was also through the Celtics that Simon met two chief influences on her athletic life: Olivia Radtke and Julianna Mandarino, fellow seniors at Palatine and two of Simon’s best friends.
Radtke and Mandarino attended the same grade school together and the two met Simon for the first time when they were all 10 years old. “As soon as Mel came in, we just knew we were all going to be friends,” Mandarino said.
Radtke and Mandarino joined Simon on the varsity as sophomores and the three friends also played varsity basketball together at Palatine. Simon and Radtke were basketball captains during the winter sports season.
Friendship isn’t credited nearly enough for the way it helps drive the motivation of a high school player. Where club soccer can feel like more of a business, high school soccer adds emotional attachment to the mix, and competition is always better when players are bent on playing for each other.
On the soccer field and on the hardwood, good friends Radtke, Mandarino, and Simon have always played with that added sense of responsibility to each other.
“Your relationship on the field is just stronger when you’re playing with your friends,” Simon said. “It just means more to you.”
Radtke has always been a soccer forward while Mandarino and Simon have been defenders. As one of Simon’s backline mates for years in both club and high school soccer, Mandarino has had a front row seat to what makes Simon the player she is.
And it’s not just her physical attributes.
“She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever met, and she’s so aggressive,” Mandarino said of Simon. “She plays angry on the field. She’s driven, and she’s a great leader.
“She’s just a great player, and her kick is monstrous. She could play higher up the field but with a kick like that, she’s great to have on the defensive side.”
Radtke echoes Mandarino’s assessment of Simon.
“She’s always had a winning mentality, no matter what’s at stake, and she’s super aggressive,” Radtke said. “When she gets on the field it’s ‘game-face on’. She’ll run through the ball no matter who’s around it and she’s willing to run over anyone who’s out there.”
Palatine’s bread and butter during Filian’s long tenure has been staunch defending and scoring via restarts. Simon learned how to head a ball as a young Celtic from Keller, but she truly came to understand the reckless abandon required to go after a head a ball in a crowd by watching players like former Pirate and her coach's daughter Kacie Filian.
“Seeing the way she wasn’t afraid to go up after balls, that definitely improved my confidence,” Simon said. “Now I’m confident to go up there and get it.”
Palatine struggled last season and while their senior season on the pitch has been hijacked, Simon, Radtke, and Mandarino did get to play as sophomores on the Pirates team that won a 3A regional title in 2018. It's a win that all three will always look back at as the highlight of their time at Palatine.
And from her parents to Ben McCarthy, from friends Radtke and Mandarino to coaches Keller and Aguilar and finally to Filian, the guiding forces of Simon’s development came through for her, every step of the way.
All the way to south of Green Bay.
“My parents got me into club soccer and drove me around all these years, and (Aguilar) had me work an extra half-hour at practice on how to kick a ball properly,” Simon said. “Then coach Filian showed me how to love the sport of soccer again, and how it’s more than just a game.
“They've all given me the support and confidence I needed to be the player I am on the field.”
ready for college soccer
By Gary Larsen
It’s roughly a 200-mile drive from Palatine to St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin, a town that sits six miles south of Green Bay. It’s a drive that Palatine senior Melanie Simon will be happy to make.
“I took my time and visited St. Norbert last spring,” Simon said, “and it always stayed on my mind.”
Simon will play soccer for the Green Knights in the fall, joining former Palatine player Anja Jacobsen at St. Norbert. Jacobsen was a senior at Palatine when Simon was a sophomore.
“I got to see Anja on campus, and she gave me a tour,” Simon said. “She couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved it there. The people there are so nice. I like the feeling at a smaller college, and it’s such a pretty campus as well.”
In Simon, St. Norbert is getting a 5-foot-9 central defender who’s strong, tough, and plays with an edge. Naturally, Simon gets the lion’s share of credit for the years of hard work she put in towards becoming college soccer material, but no player gets there alone.
Simon’s journey from youth soccer in Palatine to future women’s soccer player at St. Norbert followed a path familiar to many a quality high school player. She started in a house league, moved on to a club team, and then made her high school’s varsity team as a freshman.
“She had the skill and physical ability right from the start,” Palatine coach Willie Filian said.
The coronavirus robbed Simon of what would have been her fourth season as a varsity starter for Palatine. The bizarre reality of the virus’s impact hit home for Simon a week or so ago, when she went for a walk and spotted Filian walking on the other side of a residential street.
Player and coach should have been at practice together, but instead all they could do was talk briefly from a safe social distance.
“It was so nice to see him, and he told me how much he missed the team,” Simon said of Filian. “He really made me love and look forward to the high school season, because of how fun he’s been and what a good coach he is. He also gave me an opportunity to be on the field as a freshman, and I’ll always appreciate that.”
Simon's odyssey through the sport started in first grade. Her first coach was Ben McCarthy, the father of Fremd player Madeline McCarthy. McCarthy coached Simon for roughly three years when she first began playing the sport as a six-year-old, and she credits him with meeting the chief responsibility of anyone who coaches young children.
“He made it fun for us at a young age,” Simon said. “He really taught us to have fun. I loved it when I first started as a young kid, and then I just never saw myself stopping.”
What takes a player from a field full of six-year-olds, humorously chasing the ball around as a group, to the next level of development? The simple answer is parents. Supportive parents are the most vital element of a player's development and Simon has had those in John and Carola Simon.
After a few years of house league soccer, Simon was chomping at the bit to test herself against tougher competition. So when she turned 10 years old, her parents signed her up with the club most responsible for training players that ultimately land at Fremd and Palatine, the Palatine Celtics Soccer Club.
The Celtics have been shaping Palatine youth for more than 50 years, and played a primary role in turning Simon into the player she became next, the one Filian put on his varsity roster as a freshman.
Simon went from Ben McCarthy to Celtics coach Mike Keller, who taught her how to head a ball for the first time around sixth grade. She began to learn the intricacies of the game with the Celtics through middle school, played through high school, and Simon loved playing last year on the Celtics for Nick Aguilar, who coached last year’s 19U Girls Presidents Cup Champions.
It was also through the Celtics that Simon met two chief influences on her athletic life: Olivia Radtke and Julianna Mandarino, fellow seniors at Palatine and two of Simon’s best friends.
Radtke and Mandarino attended the same grade school together and the two met Simon for the first time when they were all 10 years old. “As soon as Mel came in, we just knew we were all going to be friends,” Mandarino said.
Radtke and Mandarino joined Simon on the varsity as sophomores and the three friends also played varsity basketball together at Palatine. Simon and Radtke were basketball captains during the winter sports season.
Friendship isn’t credited nearly enough for the way it helps drive the motivation of a high school player. Where club soccer can feel like more of a business, high school soccer adds emotional attachment to the mix, and competition is always better when players are bent on playing for each other.
On the soccer field and on the hardwood, good friends Radtke, Mandarino, and Simon have always played with that added sense of responsibility to each other.
“Your relationship on the field is just stronger when you’re playing with your friends,” Simon said. “It just means more to you.”
Radtke has always been a soccer forward while Mandarino and Simon have been defenders. As one of Simon’s backline mates for years in both club and high school soccer, Mandarino has had a front row seat to what makes Simon the player she is.
And it’s not just her physical attributes.
“She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever met, and she’s so aggressive,” Mandarino said of Simon. “She plays angry on the field. She’s driven, and she’s a great leader.
“She’s just a great player, and her kick is monstrous. She could play higher up the field but with a kick like that, she’s great to have on the defensive side.”
Radtke echoes Mandarino’s assessment of Simon.
“She’s always had a winning mentality, no matter what’s at stake, and she’s super aggressive,” Radtke said. “When she gets on the field it’s ‘game-face on’. She’ll run through the ball no matter who’s around it and she’s willing to run over anyone who’s out there.”
Palatine’s bread and butter during Filian’s long tenure has been staunch defending and scoring via restarts. Simon learned how to head a ball as a young Celtic from Keller, but she truly came to understand the reckless abandon required to go after a head a ball in a crowd by watching players like former Pirate and her coach's daughter Kacie Filian.
“Seeing the way she wasn’t afraid to go up after balls, that definitely improved my confidence,” Simon said. “Now I’m confident to go up there and get it.”
Palatine struggled last season and while their senior season on the pitch has been hijacked, Simon, Radtke, and Mandarino did get to play as sophomores on the Pirates team that won a 3A regional title in 2018. It's a win that all three will always look back at as the highlight of their time at Palatine.
And from her parents to Ben McCarthy, from friends Radtke and Mandarino to coaches Keller and Aguilar and finally to Filian, the guiding forces of Simon’s development came through for her, every step of the way.
All the way to south of Green Bay.
“My parents got me into club soccer and drove me around all these years, and (Aguilar) had me work an extra half-hour at practice on how to kick a ball properly,” Simon said. “Then coach Filian showed me how to love the sport of soccer again, and how it’s more than just a game.
“They've all given me the support and confidence I needed to be the player I am on the field.”