Friendship adds enjoyment to rivalry
game, prep soccer for Brown, Williams
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD -- A crosstown rivalry has never been friendlier than the one Sept. 26 in Plainfield was.
Plainfield North at Plainfield South produced a hard-fought win in penalty kicks for the visiting Tigers.
But that fierce battle obscured a feeling more like a family reunion and understandably so.
Plainfield North coach Dave Brown faced his good friend and former assistant Bryant Williams for the first time and returned to the Plainfield South field for the first time since leaving there as head coach after the 2015 season.
“I’m not going to lie,” Brown said, “this is the one game on the schedule I was dreading to play. Just because you know there’s extra emotion involved with it, and coaching against Williams.”
When Brown was suddenly named Plainfield North new head coach early in the season, an already special Tigers-Cougars rivalry took on added significance.
“When I heard Dave had taken over at North, I automatically looked at when do we play these guys,” Williams said. “It’s pretty exciting. And like Dave said, a lot of emotion and a lot of fun.
“I knew there wouldn’t be any surprises coming out,” Williams added, “and there wasn’t anything I was going to do that would surprise him. It would just be a fun game.”
Then Brown said to his former assistant: “If you noticed, we were running the same corner kick plays with the same names.”
Turning back the clock, the pair seemed destined for a good friendship from the day Brown started work at Plainfield South.
“I was telling my players that not only were we coaches together on the same staff, we were also next door neighbors in the English department in room 419 and room 420 for nine years,” Brown said.
“So for nine years not only was he the first teacher I saw in the building, but he was the first coach I saw after school, bus rides home, all those things.”
And even after Brown moved to Plainfield North as the new English Department chairman and no longer coached soccer, their strong bond remained.
“USA soccer games, we’re texting each other the whole time,” Williams said, “Blackhawks games we text. My wife gets mad, because I’m texting Dave all the time.
“And we get together at least once a month, if not more often. Probably when the season gets done it’ll be a little more often. So it’s a really close, special friendship.
“I coached with Dave for three years as an assistant and learned a lot from Dave at that time,” said Williams.
Twenty years ago, Brown was in the midst of a great playing career at Lincoln-Way High School, playing fullback on back-to-back state second place finishers in 1999 and 2000. He followed that up with a four-year college career at Eastern Illinois.
Williams graduated from high school in 1984 and played prep soccer as a senior, the first year his school offered the sport. He worked in the insurance industry at one time and began teaching at Plainfield South in 1999 and started coaching soccer as an assistant for the Cougars in 2002.
“Dave calls me Dad,” joked the mid-40s-aged Williams. “I prefer to be called the slightly better-looking older brother.”
A sign of the closeness between the two is how each affected the other's coaching style.
“Dave’s always a guy who was really fair with players,” Williams said, “and I kind of learned from that. Before, I had more of an old school, my-way-or-the-highway style.
“I was able to learn a lot of how to basically relate to these guys during this stage of soccer from Dave, and sort of mellow out a little bit. And a lot of the tactical part of soccer I learned, just watching him in practice every day ... not taking anything for granted, all of those things.”
As Williams loosened up, Brown learned a greater attention to detail.
“He (Williams) was always making sure that the little things are right,” Brown said. “It goes to your warm up, stretching. I distinctly remember Williams getting on a few of our better players who hated to stretch or warm up right, and he would call them out every time, ‘You’re not going to be ready.’
“Just those little things, of making sure you’re doing the right things to prepare mentally and physically. If you’re not going to do them, it’s not going to work out right. Those little things add up over time.”
Returning to his old campus was also a big deal for Brown.
“I have a lot of history here,” he said. “The varsity seniors (at South) were freshmen right before I moved to North that summer. So I know some of them from summer leagues and camps that year.
“The (South) seniors that were out there like (Max) Treptow, Josue (Jimenez) and (Ryan) Kabaker, those are all guys I was working with (as South head coach) for one summer.
“It certainly made this a little different,” Brown added, “coaching at your former school for the first time.”
Then came the North vs. South game and a fittingly dramatic outcome.
“We said to each other after the game, 'It could only come down to this, right?,'” Brown said. “You knew this (a match decided by PKs) was going to happen.”
The lead-up to the game for Williams and Brown was unexpectedly low key.
“Not much talking,” Williams said. “We’ll do the talking now (after the game) and later tonight.”
Said Brown: “It’s one of those things where we’re both busy in the season. I had a ton of other things to focus on the last few weeks.”
It has certainly been a whirlwind fall for Brown, who was coaxed into returning to the sideline after the departure of former Tigers coach Steve Berry.
“It’s been really smooth,” Tigers junior Shea Bechtel said of the coaching transition. “Because both of our coaches know how to coach the game and know how to play the game.”
Brown turned to another Plainfield South friend (head girls coach Alfonso Lopez) to be an assistant.
“Brown came in and is an amazing coach,” Tigers senior Alex Noser said. “He’s helped us improve, and his assistant (Lopez) is amazing. I really like them.”
After playing .500 soccer for the first six games, Plainfield North has won seven of its last eight games. The only loss in the stretch was a shootout defeat to eventual Plainfield Classic champion Waubonsie Valley in a tourney semifinal.
“It’s a little bit different because I wasn’t with them in the offseason,” Brown said. “I walked in to the middle of a team. They all knew each other, they had a system. As a coach, it’s a little different when you walk into that situation. Luckily they’ve been great.
“They’ve been tremendous young men who I began coaching a few weeks ago, and I think we’re now starting to put our own imprint on it and they know what to expect from me and what I expect of them. We’re learning together and going in a positive direction for sure.”
Williams recalled how Brown’s laid-back personality and positive attitude made an immediate impact.
“Going back to something I learned from Dave as well,” Williams said, “these rivalries against the Plainfield schools can be a healthy rivalry.
“Up until Dave took over, we had some people who thought the other schools were more or less to be hated. Dave was more like ‘This can be a good healthy rivalry with Plainfield East, North and Central.’
“You don’t have to hate the guys and get to the point where you’re seeing red by the time the game starts,” Williams added. “We can have a great rivalry and play a tough game with mutual respect and keep it healthy.”
Brown sees how other soccer circumstances have softened the old-school view on rivalries.
“We’re at the point now where all these guys play club together in the summer and spring,” Brown said. “It’s changed a little bit since I took over at South in 2010.
“The club scene has changed to where I think our goalie (Noser) and (South senior) Max Treptow are on the same club team. I heard them joking after the game, ‘You knew where I was going (on the PK).’
“It’s a respectful, healthy crosstown rivalry, Brown added, “where you want to win but also play the right way and shake hands, look each other in the eye and know that you competed the right way when the game is over.”
game, prep soccer for Brown, Williams
By Dave Owen
PLAINFIELD -- A crosstown rivalry has never been friendlier than the one Sept. 26 in Plainfield was.
Plainfield North at Plainfield South produced a hard-fought win in penalty kicks for the visiting Tigers.
But that fierce battle obscured a feeling more like a family reunion and understandably so.
Plainfield North coach Dave Brown faced his good friend and former assistant Bryant Williams for the first time and returned to the Plainfield South field for the first time since leaving there as head coach after the 2015 season.
“I’m not going to lie,” Brown said, “this is the one game on the schedule I was dreading to play. Just because you know there’s extra emotion involved with it, and coaching against Williams.”
When Brown was suddenly named Plainfield North new head coach early in the season, an already special Tigers-Cougars rivalry took on added significance.
“When I heard Dave had taken over at North, I automatically looked at when do we play these guys,” Williams said. “It’s pretty exciting. And like Dave said, a lot of emotion and a lot of fun.
“I knew there wouldn’t be any surprises coming out,” Williams added, “and there wasn’t anything I was going to do that would surprise him. It would just be a fun game.”
Then Brown said to his former assistant: “If you noticed, we were running the same corner kick plays with the same names.”
Turning back the clock, the pair seemed destined for a good friendship from the day Brown started work at Plainfield South.
“I was telling my players that not only were we coaches together on the same staff, we were also next door neighbors in the English department in room 419 and room 420 for nine years,” Brown said.
“So for nine years not only was he the first teacher I saw in the building, but he was the first coach I saw after school, bus rides home, all those things.”
And even after Brown moved to Plainfield North as the new English Department chairman and no longer coached soccer, their strong bond remained.
“USA soccer games, we’re texting each other the whole time,” Williams said, “Blackhawks games we text. My wife gets mad, because I’m texting Dave all the time.
“And we get together at least once a month, if not more often. Probably when the season gets done it’ll be a little more often. So it’s a really close, special friendship.
“I coached with Dave for three years as an assistant and learned a lot from Dave at that time,” said Williams.
Twenty years ago, Brown was in the midst of a great playing career at Lincoln-Way High School, playing fullback on back-to-back state second place finishers in 1999 and 2000. He followed that up with a four-year college career at Eastern Illinois.
Williams graduated from high school in 1984 and played prep soccer as a senior, the first year his school offered the sport. He worked in the insurance industry at one time and began teaching at Plainfield South in 1999 and started coaching soccer as an assistant for the Cougars in 2002.
“Dave calls me Dad,” joked the mid-40s-aged Williams. “I prefer to be called the slightly better-looking older brother.”
A sign of the closeness between the two is how each affected the other's coaching style.
“Dave’s always a guy who was really fair with players,” Williams said, “and I kind of learned from that. Before, I had more of an old school, my-way-or-the-highway style.
“I was able to learn a lot of how to basically relate to these guys during this stage of soccer from Dave, and sort of mellow out a little bit. And a lot of the tactical part of soccer I learned, just watching him in practice every day ... not taking anything for granted, all of those things.”
As Williams loosened up, Brown learned a greater attention to detail.
“He (Williams) was always making sure that the little things are right,” Brown said. “It goes to your warm up, stretching. I distinctly remember Williams getting on a few of our better players who hated to stretch or warm up right, and he would call them out every time, ‘You’re not going to be ready.’
“Just those little things, of making sure you’re doing the right things to prepare mentally and physically. If you’re not going to do them, it’s not going to work out right. Those little things add up over time.”
Returning to his old campus was also a big deal for Brown.
“I have a lot of history here,” he said. “The varsity seniors (at South) were freshmen right before I moved to North that summer. So I know some of them from summer leagues and camps that year.
“The (South) seniors that were out there like (Max) Treptow, Josue (Jimenez) and (Ryan) Kabaker, those are all guys I was working with (as South head coach) for one summer.
“It certainly made this a little different,” Brown added, “coaching at your former school for the first time.”
Then came the North vs. South game and a fittingly dramatic outcome.
“We said to each other after the game, 'It could only come down to this, right?,'” Brown said. “You knew this (a match decided by PKs) was going to happen.”
The lead-up to the game for Williams and Brown was unexpectedly low key.
“Not much talking,” Williams said. “We’ll do the talking now (after the game) and later tonight.”
Said Brown: “It’s one of those things where we’re both busy in the season. I had a ton of other things to focus on the last few weeks.”
It has certainly been a whirlwind fall for Brown, who was coaxed into returning to the sideline after the departure of former Tigers coach Steve Berry.
“It’s been really smooth,” Tigers junior Shea Bechtel said of the coaching transition. “Because both of our coaches know how to coach the game and know how to play the game.”
Brown turned to another Plainfield South friend (head girls coach Alfonso Lopez) to be an assistant.
“Brown came in and is an amazing coach,” Tigers senior Alex Noser said. “He’s helped us improve, and his assistant (Lopez) is amazing. I really like them.”
After playing .500 soccer for the first six games, Plainfield North has won seven of its last eight games. The only loss in the stretch was a shootout defeat to eventual Plainfield Classic champion Waubonsie Valley in a tourney semifinal.
“It’s a little bit different because I wasn’t with them in the offseason,” Brown said. “I walked in to the middle of a team. They all knew each other, they had a system. As a coach, it’s a little different when you walk into that situation. Luckily they’ve been great.
“They’ve been tremendous young men who I began coaching a few weeks ago, and I think we’re now starting to put our own imprint on it and they know what to expect from me and what I expect of them. We’re learning together and going in a positive direction for sure.”
Williams recalled how Brown’s laid-back personality and positive attitude made an immediate impact.
“Going back to something I learned from Dave as well,” Williams said, “these rivalries against the Plainfield schools can be a healthy rivalry.
“Up until Dave took over, we had some people who thought the other schools were more or less to be hated. Dave was more like ‘This can be a good healthy rivalry with Plainfield East, North and Central.’
“You don’t have to hate the guys and get to the point where you’re seeing red by the time the game starts,” Williams added. “We can have a great rivalry and play a tough game with mutual respect and keep it healthy.”
Brown sees how other soccer circumstances have softened the old-school view on rivalries.
“We’re at the point now where all these guys play club together in the summer and spring,” Brown said. “It’s changed a little bit since I took over at South in 2010.
“The club scene has changed to where I think our goalie (Noser) and (South senior) Max Treptow are on the same club team. I heard them joking after the game, ‘You knew where I was going (on the PK).’
“It’s a respectful, healthy crosstown rivalry, Brown added, “where you want to win but also play the right way and shake hands, look each other in the eye and know that you competed the right way when the game is over.”