South Elgin ready
to get back to winning ways
Motivated Storm’s main goal still remains after unwelcome break
By Chris Walker
After being sidelined by the pandemic for 10 months, South Elgin returned to the playing field in strong fashion, beating DeKalb in its opener, earning a 2-1 victory over Fenton in its first conference game and tying then 18th-ranked Naperville Central.
Then the Storm had to shut things down for nearly two weeks due to COVID-19 invading the program.
Conference games against East Aurora, Glenbard South and Larkin were postponed, but with restorative measures in place, the team returned to competition April 1.
The re-entry point was a tough spot on top of the time off. The Storm fought through a 4-2 loss at 23rd-ranked Jacobs before heading to Upstate Eight Conference contender Glenbard East and another growing-pains game in a 4-1 loss on April 3.
After their time away, the team had a training session on March 31 but didn’t even have enough players available to field a team, and coach Jerzy Skowron was unable to attend.
“That was our first practice session since Naperville Central (March 20),” he said. “I’m was not officially cleared to go until April 1, so my assistant took the training session, but with COVID and spring break, we only had nine guys.”
It’s far from the ideal scenario, but the bottom line is South Elgin is getting back to playing soccer and that’s the most important thing right now, even if the student-athletes don’t fully realize the bigger picture dyet.
“It kind of (stinks) to get off to such a good start and then have to push it all away,” senior Edwin Ayala said. “It means a lot to play, and we’ve got a lot to play for. We’ve got a chance to make history for the school and win a conference title.”
South Elgin (2-2-1, 1-1-0) doesn’t want to just play the game again, the Storm want to play it while seriously being in the hunt for a conference title, something the program has never won.
After several days of training the team is back at it against Streamwood today (April 7).
“Streamwood has started slow. They’re good every year, and I know the players going in and out of (coach Matt) Polovin’s program really well. They started off really well but now can’t put the ball in the back of the net,” Skowron said. “Everyone is kind of struggling.
“Streamwood tied Elgin 0-0 and and then Elgin lost (to East Aurora 5, Elgin 0). West Chicago (2-0-1) is still good, but they’re not the dominant team they were. Glenbard East was undefeated in conference (until they lost 2-1 to East Aurora on March 31)."
South Elgin thinks it has the horses to make a run. Ryan Doherty and Nick Floreswill be counted on for scoring this spring. Flores, Bryce Jungers and Ethan Crawford gathered assists early in the campaign. Senior goalkeeper Zach Juszko will play a solidifying role in the back.
Doherty’s stock is on the rise and his role becomes even more important because senior forward Danny Quintana has been lost for the season with an ankle injury.
“To see Danny on crutches at Naperville Central hurt,” Skowron said. “You always think it’s a 17-year-old kid, and he can recover fast. Then you see him on crutches and in street clothes and it hurts even more.”
Skowron said Doherty (five goals, five assists in 2019) is a special player, a third-year starter who could really lift the Storm the rest of the way.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a more talented attacking player in the state, it’s just a matter of having him believe that and put the results out on the field,” Skowron said. “We’ve got Alex Wano, Edwin Ayala and Nick Flores willing to do all the ugly dirty stuff and those three guys don’t look for the stats, don’t look for the accolades, winning is their main motivation, especially being seniors. Then you throw a guy like Ryan in there who wants to lead in a group of experienced seniors, and it makes us better for it.”
Senior Andrew Jordan is new to the varsity squad and more than ready to play meaningful games.
“Right now we’re happy we can still have a season and make a run for the conference title,” he said. “It’s upsetting that we can’t make a state run, but we’ll take whatever we can get. We’ve never won a conference title, but I think we definitely have enough talent and the right chemistry to get the first one.”
The Storm roster features 13 seniors compared to eight from a season ago.
“We lost a lot of guys, but a lot of the seniors have been playing together since freshman year,” Jordan said. “We came out with the two wins and a tie and were looking good and had a lot of confidence. And we were having fun. I’ve never played with a team that’s so much fun, but still works at the same time giving their all. The captains are trying to help everyone be the best they can be, and that’s a huge deal for me, a real team emphasis.”
As freshmen, South Elgin’s seniors may have needed Google to figure out what pandemic meant. As seniors, they’re trying to figure out how to squeeze out the best experience as high school athletes during one, while trying to compete at a high level, stay safe, and enjoy themselves – as well as get ready to graduate, avoid senioritis, etc.
“I think ever since freshman year we’ve been looking forward to senior year, because I think we realized the potential we have with a strong senior class,” Ayala said. “It (stinks) to only get a quarter of the season, but we’ve got to make the most of it at the end of the day.”
Ayala is optimistic that since the group knows each other so well and shares the same drive that the goal of a conference championship will drive them to great things.
“I feel we still have a lot of things to work on defensively and offensively, but I feel like most of us have been playing together for the last three years and even in the off-time playing together, so we have good chemistry,” he said. “It means a lot to play and to have a chance to make school history.”
“I remember seeing the talent at South Elgin, but they weren’t getting the results,” Skowron said. “I remember playing South Elgin when these seniors were freshmen out in Rockford, and I saw how talented they were, but something was missing.
“When I got the job I told them, ‘You guys are just as talented as the Streamwood teams I was a part of, but it’s a matter of having to do the small things – leadership, classwork, showing up always on time, challenging yourself and each other and challenging them to make every level of the program better when they leave it.’”
And in doing so, these soccer athletes are developing into impressive young men, which is the goal all along. Soccer is simply a tool, but it’s a beautiful one and a memory-making machine.
“I tell them all the time, you’re not all going to be college or professional soccer players, but you’re going to be brothers, fathers, boyfriends, uncles and all that kind of stuff,” Skowron said. “We use soccer as a tool, as cliché as that sounds, to make them better people, and they’re believing it and buying it and we’re holding them accountable to it.”
The road to their dreams is extremely tough. With time in the shortened season running out, the Storm are scheduled to play seven conference games in the final 11 days of the campaign.
But the Storm is ready to play and hopes to make good on their big dreams.
to get back to winning ways
Motivated Storm’s main goal still remains after unwelcome break
By Chris Walker
After being sidelined by the pandemic for 10 months, South Elgin returned to the playing field in strong fashion, beating DeKalb in its opener, earning a 2-1 victory over Fenton in its first conference game and tying then 18th-ranked Naperville Central.
Then the Storm had to shut things down for nearly two weeks due to COVID-19 invading the program.
Conference games against East Aurora, Glenbard South and Larkin were postponed, but with restorative measures in place, the team returned to competition April 1.
The re-entry point was a tough spot on top of the time off. The Storm fought through a 4-2 loss at 23rd-ranked Jacobs before heading to Upstate Eight Conference contender Glenbard East and another growing-pains game in a 4-1 loss on April 3.
After their time away, the team had a training session on March 31 but didn’t even have enough players available to field a team, and coach Jerzy Skowron was unable to attend.
“That was our first practice session since Naperville Central (March 20),” he said. “I’m was not officially cleared to go until April 1, so my assistant took the training session, but with COVID and spring break, we only had nine guys.”
It’s far from the ideal scenario, but the bottom line is South Elgin is getting back to playing soccer and that’s the most important thing right now, even if the student-athletes don’t fully realize the bigger picture dyet.
“It kind of (stinks) to get off to such a good start and then have to push it all away,” senior Edwin Ayala said. “It means a lot to play, and we’ve got a lot to play for. We’ve got a chance to make history for the school and win a conference title.”
South Elgin (2-2-1, 1-1-0) doesn’t want to just play the game again, the Storm want to play it while seriously being in the hunt for a conference title, something the program has never won.
After several days of training the team is back at it against Streamwood today (April 7).
“Streamwood has started slow. They’re good every year, and I know the players going in and out of (coach Matt) Polovin’s program really well. They started off really well but now can’t put the ball in the back of the net,” Skowron said. “Everyone is kind of struggling.
“Streamwood tied Elgin 0-0 and and then Elgin lost (to East Aurora 5, Elgin 0). West Chicago (2-0-1) is still good, but they’re not the dominant team they were. Glenbard East was undefeated in conference (until they lost 2-1 to East Aurora on March 31)."
South Elgin thinks it has the horses to make a run. Ryan Doherty and Nick Floreswill be counted on for scoring this spring. Flores, Bryce Jungers and Ethan Crawford gathered assists early in the campaign. Senior goalkeeper Zach Juszko will play a solidifying role in the back.
Doherty’s stock is on the rise and his role becomes even more important because senior forward Danny Quintana has been lost for the season with an ankle injury.
“To see Danny on crutches at Naperville Central hurt,” Skowron said. “You always think it’s a 17-year-old kid, and he can recover fast. Then you see him on crutches and in street clothes and it hurts even more.”
Skowron said Doherty (five goals, five assists in 2019) is a special player, a third-year starter who could really lift the Storm the rest of the way.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a more talented attacking player in the state, it’s just a matter of having him believe that and put the results out on the field,” Skowron said. “We’ve got Alex Wano, Edwin Ayala and Nick Flores willing to do all the ugly dirty stuff and those three guys don’t look for the stats, don’t look for the accolades, winning is their main motivation, especially being seniors. Then you throw a guy like Ryan in there who wants to lead in a group of experienced seniors, and it makes us better for it.”
Senior Andrew Jordan is new to the varsity squad and more than ready to play meaningful games.
“Right now we’re happy we can still have a season and make a run for the conference title,” he said. “It’s upsetting that we can’t make a state run, but we’ll take whatever we can get. We’ve never won a conference title, but I think we definitely have enough talent and the right chemistry to get the first one.”
The Storm roster features 13 seniors compared to eight from a season ago.
“We lost a lot of guys, but a lot of the seniors have been playing together since freshman year,” Jordan said. “We came out with the two wins and a tie and were looking good and had a lot of confidence. And we were having fun. I’ve never played with a team that’s so much fun, but still works at the same time giving their all. The captains are trying to help everyone be the best they can be, and that’s a huge deal for me, a real team emphasis.”
As freshmen, South Elgin’s seniors may have needed Google to figure out what pandemic meant. As seniors, they’re trying to figure out how to squeeze out the best experience as high school athletes during one, while trying to compete at a high level, stay safe, and enjoy themselves – as well as get ready to graduate, avoid senioritis, etc.
“I think ever since freshman year we’ve been looking forward to senior year, because I think we realized the potential we have with a strong senior class,” Ayala said. “It (stinks) to only get a quarter of the season, but we’ve got to make the most of it at the end of the day.”
Ayala is optimistic that since the group knows each other so well and shares the same drive that the goal of a conference championship will drive them to great things.
“I feel we still have a lot of things to work on defensively and offensively, but I feel like most of us have been playing together for the last three years and even in the off-time playing together, so we have good chemistry,” he said. “It means a lot to play and to have a chance to make school history.”
“I remember seeing the talent at South Elgin, but they weren’t getting the results,” Skowron said. “I remember playing South Elgin when these seniors were freshmen out in Rockford, and I saw how talented they were, but something was missing.
“When I got the job I told them, ‘You guys are just as talented as the Streamwood teams I was a part of, but it’s a matter of having to do the small things – leadership, classwork, showing up always on time, challenging yourself and each other and challenging them to make every level of the program better when they leave it.’”
And in doing so, these soccer athletes are developing into impressive young men, which is the goal all along. Soccer is simply a tool, but it’s a beautiful one and a memory-making machine.
“I tell them all the time, you’re not all going to be college or professional soccer players, but you’re going to be brothers, fathers, boyfriends, uncles and all that kind of stuff,” Skowron said. “We use soccer as a tool, as cliché as that sounds, to make them better people, and they’re believing it and buying it and we’re holding them accountable to it.”
The road to their dreams is extremely tough. With time in the shortened season running out, the Storm are scheduled to play seven conference games in the final 11 days of the campaign.
But the Storm is ready to play and hopes to make good on their big dreams.