Shooting for a cause

Published: January 22, 2009

Kane County Chronicle

GENEVA – You might think that a gym full of high school basketball players shooting free throws meant they were getting punished for something.

But as it turns out, every Geneva boys basketball player, from freshmen to varsity, was showing off their skills for a good cause.

In an event called "Free Throws For Heroes," each Vikings player took 50 shots from the line. For every one they made, a family member or friend would donate money to the Charity Stripe, an organization that helps Illinois military families in need.

Geneva boys basketball coach Phil Ralston said that while the charity has been around for a few years, this is the first time the school has participated in the event.

"I'm on the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association board, and they came and gave a presentation," he said, "and asked us for our support. It looked like it was for a really good cause."

Ralston said he told the boys to ask people for donations from a penny to 10 cents a free throw, but the response has been above expectations.

"We've got 50-cent donations," he said, "and one kid who got a dollar for every free-throw he made."

And with 53 boys in the program, that money could add up.

"They way we're looking at it is if we could raise three- or four-hundred dollars as a program, and if we participate with several dozen schools, we're going to raise a lot of money for this charity," Ralston said.

Jeremy D'Amico, who made 43 of his free throws, got most his donations from the same people the rest of his teammates did; "We mostly just asked our family and friends," he said.

But for many of them, their thoughts were less on the charitable work and more on trying to out-shoot their teammates.

D'Amico and teammate Michael Ratay (39 shots) were among a group of players gathered around Rob Tauscher as he shot his way to a near-perfect run. Even though he missed his 46th free throw, his 49 made him the "winner."

Ratay joked about Tauscher's free-throw skills, saying, "He's almost as perfect with a basketball as well as a No. 2 pencil," he said.

Tauscher recently got a perfect score on his ACT.

"Not a lot of people can beat Rob," Ralston added.

While Ralston still had to tally just how well Geneva did as a program, he was able to show that nine of his 15 varsity players shot 80 percent or better.

"Not only does it make us a better a team," he said, "but it ... helps out other families."

Not to be left out, the Geneva girls basketball team also will participate in the event at a later date.

Fun over glory

Published: January 20, 2009

Kane County Chronicle

GENEVA – No matter how advanced exercise technology becomes, there’s no replacing the workout one gets from playing a sport with a group of friends.

That’s how Geneva resident Dan Horvath sees it. He’s a captain for one of the Geneva Park District’s winter basketball teams.

The league meets every Monday evening at the new Stephen D. Persinger Recreation center for five-on-five, full-court games, with two 20-minute halves and a referee.

While Horvath, 42, has been playing basketball since he was young, it had been awhile since he played in such an organized fashion.

“This is the first time we’ve joined [a league],” he said. “I’ve never been one to put a team together.”

But when the new recreation center started the league in late November, he thought, “Why not,?” and put one together with some old friends with whom he plays pick-up games in Elburn.

So far, things have gone well for his team.

“We have our moments of glory,” he said, “[but] most of us are out there trying to have fun.”

Basketball is not the only organized sport being offered. There’s also co-ed and women’s volleyball leagues and a co-ed dodgeball league.

For those who might scoff at the idea of organizing a league for games many last played at recess in grade school, the rec center’s assistant manager and league organizer Ryan Himes says not so fast.

“It’s obviously a great cardio for people who don’t like the monotony of an indoor track or a treadmill,” he said.

Still, some are hitting the treadmills and indoor tracks. For the St. Charles Park District, which does not have any adult athletic leagues in the winter, there is an increase in their fitness class numbers every January. Athletics Supervisor Melissa Caine says that has more to do with the weather outside than with people trying to keep a New Year’s resolution.

“A lot of [the numbers] correlates with the summer months,” she said, adding that when it’s warm outside, people are more likely to spend less time in a gym.

But even as the cold weather continues, Caine said there’s already people looking forward to their own leagues with interest.

“We’ve already been getting calls about the adult softball league,” she said. “People are thinking about it.”

For those interested in joining a league in the future, there is some advice from Himes and Horvath. First, people can only sign up as a team.

“I get a lot of calls from single players looking to join a team,” Himes said. “But you have to form your own team.”

Also, Himes said that people should approach league play with an “open mind,” that there are better and worse players in the league, so there should be a “good mixture of rec and competitive” play.

Horvath’s team knows they’re not the best in the league, but having the right attitude makes up for that.

“There’s one team we played recently,” he said. “They might have won one game [all season], but they’re having fun.”

Pre-Presidential Obama

Yesterday, (January 18, 2008), WNIJ broadcast a one-hour special on the pre-presidential Barack Obama. It was not a critical look at his past, but rather a salute to an Illinois politician who's risen to the highest office in the country. One of my contributions to the special was an interview with a Northern Star journalist, James Tschirhart, who covered a city hall meeting Obama held after being elected into the U.S. Senate. It was a defining moment for the young journalist, and you can hear the full eight-minute interview by clicking the title of the blog. Or click here, whichever you like.

Blackhawks get over hump in 2nd half

Published: January 17, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

AURORA – Even though West Aurora never lost its lead from the moment it scored its first layup, something wasn't quite right about the Blackhawks' seven-point lead against Wheaton North at the half.

"We had a good week of practice," West coach Gordie Kerkman said after Friday's 68-52 DuPage Valley Conference win. "And I thought, 'By gosh, this isn't the way we practiced.'"

Not that the Blackhawks were getting sloppy. But things clearly were not what they could be as West seemed hesitant about attacking the inside, opting instead for several missed outside shots. All the while, the Falcons (5-9, 1-5 DVC) edged closer to their lead.

"It seemed like we get a five-point lead, and then we relax," Kerkman said. "We just let them close in on us."

So with some added intensity, the Blackhawks (10-5, 4-2 DVC) ripped their lead wide open in the third quarter, more than doubling their score thanks to added pressure and aggressiveness from Markus Cocroft and Tyronne Carey.

Senior Jamal Blackmond and freshman Juwan Starks led the charge offensively in a 15-point run that all but sealed the victory for the Blackhawks. Starks led the team in scoring with 20 points.

"This kid just keeps coming on," Kerkman said. "He's got a lot of natural talent."

But Blackmond held the torch for that third quarter, scoring eight of the Blackhawks' 27 points, including two three-pointers. He finished with 12 points after not scoring in the first half.

"We really couldn't get anything to go down [in the first half]," Blackmond said.

But after Kerkman's push for West to work harder, the team started to play smarter.

"As long as we took quality shots, we were making them," he said.

Blackmond was also the only West player in danger of fouling out, racking up four personal fouls.

"The only problem [with Blackmond] is sometimes he gets a little too out of control physically and mentally," Kerkman said.

The win propels the Blackhawks into tonight's crosstown rivalry game at East Aurora.

Starks said he's looking to the big game like he would any other.

"I'm just going to go out there and work hard," he said.

Senior night nostalgia

Published: January 16, 2009

Kane County Chronicle

Photo by Rob Winner

MAPLE PARK – Because it was senior night, it only seemed appropriate that the three seniors on Kaneland's wrestling lineup would come out the strongest.

After the Knights secured a 39-34 win against Geneva, it became a lot easier to be nostalgic about their final season.

Jay Levita's victory in the 145-pound match secured the Western Sun Conference dual for the Knights, but afterward he seemed a little disappointed he didn't win by fall, like his other senior teammates.

"I went out and did the best I could. ... I was looking for the pin," he said.

Nonetheless, the senior night win helped bring back memories of his freshman year in the program, albeit not very nostalgic ones.

"When I first came into it, I did not like the sport. I came in on the worst day of practice. ... It was horrible, all the coaches were yelling and I didn't want to do it anymore," he said with a laugh. "But I stuck with it and I guess I kind of like it now."

On the other hand, fellow senior A.J. Wagner has started to come into his own, which is making for a good first year on the wrestling team.

"It's pretty cool being a first-year wrestler, coming out and doing good," Wagner said after earning the night's quickest win in the 215-pound match, pinning Josh Miller in only 20 seconds.

Matt Weaver (135) also won by fall, pinning Derek Larsen in 3:37. Unlike Wagner, Weaver had to break a few holds before getting Larsen on his back.

"I was just thinking there's no way I'm going to get pinned here," Weaver said. "Geneva's one of our toughest rivals, so I wanted to go out there and give it all I got because it's one of my last times wrestling at home."

Along with the seniors' performance, part of Kaneland's victory came from three forfeits from Geneva.

"We had two of our best starters out tonight," Geneva coach Tom Chernich said, because of health reasons, "Overall, we need to get healthy for regionals – even conference."

Still, despite being down 18 points from the start, Geneva fought to keep the meet close, with Will Duerr (171) and Ryan Ward (189) coming out strong at the start. Ward ended up pinning his opponent, Nick Michels, in 1:25.

That fact wasn't lost on Kaneland coach Monty Jahns, who was impressed by his seniors' performances but still recognized the work that needed to be done.

"We're just lacking some experience and age in the room, but the kids are learning and working hard," Jahns said. "We're getting better."

That's something that the rest of the Knights can agree with, as they celebrated their senior night win.

"I'm definitely going to remember this night for the rest of my life," Weaver said.

Rockford Career College opens new location

Published: January 12, 2009

Northern Public Radio

The Rockford Career College, formerly known as the Rockford Business College, opened its new location Friday. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey said he hoped the school could be a catalyst for fixing Rockford's unemployment problem.

Click title for audio

Happy to be flexible

Published: January 3, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – St. Charles East senior Liz Fairweather likes to keep things flexible both in and out of gymnastics.

In her fourth year on the St. Charles co-op gymnastics program, she's found a way to enjoy all the challenges that come with competing in the all-around.

"I used to always say floor was my favorite," she said, "Now, I'm even starting to like the beam."

Fairweather also enjoys being able to do other things outside of practicing. After St. Charles went to the state meet last year, Fairweather continued working with the St. Charles club team, but was not too happy about the amount of time she had to spend in the gym.

"Club is more regimented," she said. "It's kind of a time-suck. During the summer, it was five days a week, four hours a day."

Still, she unequivocally calls gymnastics her favorite sport, and has been practicing it seriously since she was about 9 years old. The inspiration, she said, came from her friend and St. Charles East basketball player, Natasha Lalos.

"She would do aerials and flip-flops at recess and I thought she was so cool," Fairweather said.

While she's glad to have been practicing gymnastics as long as she has, watching the Beijing Olympics made her feel thankful that she never wanted to get too serious and make gymnastics the only thing in her life.

"I think that was the draw to join the high school team. I could do other things," she said.

Those other things have been different sports, such as tennis and track, as well as becoming involved in East's spring musical, "Barnum," last spring.

"I've been able to experience high school," she said.

But for all her branching out, Fairweather is back to make her last year on the team a memorable one – especially after last year's trip to the state meet at Palatine, a meet in which simply qualifying was enough to keep the team excited for weeks.

"We get there and we're not even nervous," she said, before adding with a laugh, "until you get to your event."

The memories of last year are a double-edged sword, Fairweather said.

"I was so relieved to make it last year because I didn't make it to this year and go 'Oh no, it's my last year!' ... but now there's this pressure to go back."

So a multi-interested gymnast and her team have been working hard together, setting their sights for another shot at state, while at the same time enjoying the work.

This year, Fairweather says, many of her St. Charles East teammates will meet before school and run laps together. Though gymnastics is by nature an individual sport, Fairweather said that compared to club, the co-op places more emphasis on the team overall. While she and her teammates practice their routines, there's a bigger picture close in mind.

"By focusing on your own work," Fairweather said, "you're contributing to the team."

Before the team can think about improving its performance at state, it has to get through the rest of the season, including a Tri-Cities meet against Batavia and Geneva at Batavia on Monday. And then there's sectionals.

Assistant coach Lindsay Schultz says last year's sectional win and state placement has been the motivating factor.

"I think once you've been there, you're really excited to get back." she said. "We know it's going to be tough ... but I think the girls really want to get back there."

Fairweather said she's trying not to see her senior year as an end-all-be-all moment, but she is not blind to the potential significance of this season.

"I'm probably going to do [gymnastics] in college with a club team or something, so it's not like it's completely over," she said. "But this is my last year with this team. And I really enjoy being on this team."