Rochelle Zell's Becker leads
with or without games
By Bill McLean
Members of the Becker household in Northbrook watched and heard their Cavapoo puppy sniff around inside for the first time on April 13. Forget binge-watching some riveting series, or playing board games for five-straight hours, or bench-pressing a sofa as a go-to distraction in these COVID-19 times.
Nothing interrupts the uncertainties and fears of a pandemic better than the sight of a new, panting, head-tilting pup looking right up at you.
“The vet told us our dog would behave like a smart clown,” Rochelle Zell senior outside midfielder Abby Becker said of the pet, a cross between the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle dog breeds. “Silly; our dog is silly.”
They named the Cavapoo “Jeter,” after New York Yankees great Derek Jeter, who served the iconic ball club as its captain from 2003-14 and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January.
“We’re huge Yankees fans,” Becker said, also referring to dad Larry and brothers Adam (now a hospital administrator and graduate student on Long Island) Zach, a recent University of Illinois graduate.
“Our Jeter,” she added, “wears a Yankees collar.”
Becker was all set to don the mantle of co-captain for the Tigers this spring, until the coronavirus spread and prompted the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to cancel all spring sports on April 21. Days earlier, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education had announced high schools would complete the 2019-20 school term from home via e-learning.
“When I think of a leader, or a positive player, Abby is one that comes to mind immediately,” Rochelle Zell girls soccer coach and athletic director David Martinez said. “Her teammates looked up to her. They welcomed her guidance. She did such a good job communicating, making sure her teammates focused on eating right, on training, on staying hopeful in a difficult time. Abby also knew how to rally the troops and motivate them.”
Becker wrote a lengthy, uplifting group message to her teammates and coaches in between the Pritzker and IHSA announcements last month. Nobody told her to do so.
She sensed every girls soccer team in the state would have to settle for a 0-0-0 record in 2020 and forever wonder, “What if?” She sensed her teammates could use a mood enhancer. True leaders empathize and act, for the good of the whole.
A few excerpts from Becker’s feel-good message, dated April 17:
“I know we would have succeeded had we played all of our games. Things happen, and we adjust accordingly.”
“To the freshmen and sophomores — keep touching the ball and exercising. To the juniors — I’m so excited to watch you all become leaders next spring. Make sure everyone comes to conditioning in the winter and continues to touch the ball!!! You guys are gonna be great.
“And to the other seniors on the team — it’s been a wild time with you all. We have had our fair share of ups and downs as Lady Tigers, but it was all a part of the process.
“And to our coaches—thank you for teaching us to become better players and people. What we learned will stick with us forever.”
A two-sport (tennis) varsity athlete since her freshman year, Becker, the future leader, was Becker, the consummate follower, in the 2016-17 academic year. She observed captains and coaches in the fall and spring seasons back then. She listened to captains and coaches in the same seasons.
Years later Martinez essentially told Becker, “You’re ‘captain material,’” in his office.
Martinez tapped Becker to join injured 2019 graduate and captain Ann Kushnir for a pre-match coin toss last spring. It gave Martinez a brief taste of responsibility as a junior.
“I’m all about acknowledging what a situation is,” Becker says of her leadership style today. “I’m a serious, to-the-point leader, but there’s also a fun side to me.
“I was excited and optimistic about this season, after our success (13-2-1) last year. With our returning players this spring, we were going to be better, no doubt. But one of my responsibilities, as a captain, would have been to make sure every player had the right mindset.
“We would not have been an arrogant team.”
Becker, who played forward here and there as a freshman at the Deerfield-based school, emerged as a reliable outside midfielder for Martinez’s squads in 2018 and ’19. The coach of the reigning Chicago Prep Conference champions always felt at ease with the ball at or near Becker’s feet.
“We could always count on her to work hard, both offensively and defensively,” Martinez said. “Abby maintained possession for us on her side of the field, and she delivered the cross when it needed to be delivered. I looked at her as an up-and-coming leader last spring, as well as a quick learner. Abby gets it.”
But not just in soccer. Abby Becker’s family needed her to assume a responsibility that dwarfed her commitments to academics and athletics. Abby embraced the duty, vigorously — and tenderly. Her mother, Andrea, battled cancer and received TLC from RZ soccer’s Becker before and after school.
Andrea died in late 2018.
“I loved taking care of her,” said Becker, who plans to study nursing at the University of Illinois. “She was warm-hearted. My mom put others before herself, especially her children.”
Her middle child, Zach, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in social work on May 16. Bedecked in cap and gown, Zach took part in the ceremony via Zoom video conferencing inside the Becker home in Northbrook. That had to be tough for Zach near the end, not being able to yank that cap off his head and fling it toward a cumulonimbus.
Abby applauded her big brother afterward.
Jeter probably barked.
“Our family,” Abby said, “is a team.”
with or without games
By Bill McLean
Members of the Becker household in Northbrook watched and heard their Cavapoo puppy sniff around inside for the first time on April 13. Forget binge-watching some riveting series, or playing board games for five-straight hours, or bench-pressing a sofa as a go-to distraction in these COVID-19 times.
Nothing interrupts the uncertainties and fears of a pandemic better than the sight of a new, panting, head-tilting pup looking right up at you.
“The vet told us our dog would behave like a smart clown,” Rochelle Zell senior outside midfielder Abby Becker said of the pet, a cross between the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle dog breeds. “Silly; our dog is silly.”
They named the Cavapoo “Jeter,” after New York Yankees great Derek Jeter, who served the iconic ball club as its captain from 2003-14 and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in January.
“We’re huge Yankees fans,” Becker said, also referring to dad Larry and brothers Adam (now a hospital administrator and graduate student on Long Island) Zach, a recent University of Illinois graduate.
“Our Jeter,” she added, “wears a Yankees collar.”
Becker was all set to don the mantle of co-captain for the Tigers this spring, until the coronavirus spread and prompted the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) to cancel all spring sports on April 21. Days earlier, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education had announced high schools would complete the 2019-20 school term from home via e-learning.
“When I think of a leader, or a positive player, Abby is one that comes to mind immediately,” Rochelle Zell girls soccer coach and athletic director David Martinez said. “Her teammates looked up to her. They welcomed her guidance. She did such a good job communicating, making sure her teammates focused on eating right, on training, on staying hopeful in a difficult time. Abby also knew how to rally the troops and motivate them.”
Becker wrote a lengthy, uplifting group message to her teammates and coaches in between the Pritzker and IHSA announcements last month. Nobody told her to do so.
She sensed every girls soccer team in the state would have to settle for a 0-0-0 record in 2020 and forever wonder, “What if?” She sensed her teammates could use a mood enhancer. True leaders empathize and act, for the good of the whole.
A few excerpts from Becker’s feel-good message, dated April 17:
“I know we would have succeeded had we played all of our games. Things happen, and we adjust accordingly.”
“To the freshmen and sophomores — keep touching the ball and exercising. To the juniors — I’m so excited to watch you all become leaders next spring. Make sure everyone comes to conditioning in the winter and continues to touch the ball!!! You guys are gonna be great.
“And to the other seniors on the team — it’s been a wild time with you all. We have had our fair share of ups and downs as Lady Tigers, but it was all a part of the process.
“And to our coaches—thank you for teaching us to become better players and people. What we learned will stick with us forever.”
A two-sport (tennis) varsity athlete since her freshman year, Becker, the future leader, was Becker, the consummate follower, in the 2016-17 academic year. She observed captains and coaches in the fall and spring seasons back then. She listened to captains and coaches in the same seasons.
Years later Martinez essentially told Becker, “You’re ‘captain material,’” in his office.
Martinez tapped Becker to join injured 2019 graduate and captain Ann Kushnir for a pre-match coin toss last spring. It gave Martinez a brief taste of responsibility as a junior.
“I’m all about acknowledging what a situation is,” Becker says of her leadership style today. “I’m a serious, to-the-point leader, but there’s also a fun side to me.
“I was excited and optimistic about this season, after our success (13-2-1) last year. With our returning players this spring, we were going to be better, no doubt. But one of my responsibilities, as a captain, would have been to make sure every player had the right mindset.
“We would not have been an arrogant team.”
Becker, who played forward here and there as a freshman at the Deerfield-based school, emerged as a reliable outside midfielder for Martinez’s squads in 2018 and ’19. The coach of the reigning Chicago Prep Conference champions always felt at ease with the ball at or near Becker’s feet.
“We could always count on her to work hard, both offensively and defensively,” Martinez said. “Abby maintained possession for us on her side of the field, and she delivered the cross when it needed to be delivered. I looked at her as an up-and-coming leader last spring, as well as a quick learner. Abby gets it.”
But not just in soccer. Abby Becker’s family needed her to assume a responsibility that dwarfed her commitments to academics and athletics. Abby embraced the duty, vigorously — and tenderly. Her mother, Andrea, battled cancer and received TLC from RZ soccer’s Becker before and after school.
Andrea died in late 2018.
“I loved taking care of her,” said Becker, who plans to study nursing at the University of Illinois. “She was warm-hearted. My mom put others before herself, especially her children.”
Her middle child, Zach, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in social work on May 16. Bedecked in cap and gown, Zach took part in the ceremony via Zoom video conferencing inside the Becker home in Northbrook. That had to be tough for Zach near the end, not being able to yank that cap off his head and fling it toward a cumulonimbus.
Abby applauded her big brother afterward.
Jeter probably barked.
“Our family,” Abby said, “is a team.”