Wasco 12U dominates field

Published: July 21, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – You could find a high school senior who has no idea about where he or she would like to go to college any day of the week.

But many of the 12- and 13-year-old girls on the Wasco Diamonds 12U96 softball team have already set their hearts to schools they’re years away from applying to.

It’s just one of the many ways the girls have shown off their dedication to the sport, with grand results. The team has produced an impressive record for the summer; 79-21 overall, and a dazzling 47-0 in their own 12U division.

The team has progressed to the point where coach Bill Morrow of Lily Lake said the team expects and craves success every time they take their positions.

“I think it’s unusual to see a whole team so driven,” he said. “I don’t have a superstar. It’s very much a team effort... And they always want to get better.”

Morrow has been coaching the girls for four years and said he’s just as impressed with their record this year as anyone else – perhaps more, because he’s seen them grow.

“It’s not just this year,” he said. “We won the 11U nationals last year ... But the continuation from last year to this is just amazing.”

For the girls, softball is who they are and what they do.

“It’s like my life,” pitcher Angela Morrow, the coach’s daughter, said. “My friends think I’m crazy sometimes.”

Even in the winter, team members meet regularly for indoor practices. Morrow had them write their goals down in journals during the offseason.

That’s how Angela and teammate Emily Brodner, of St. Charles, can already say where they’d like to go to school.

“I’m stuck on [Arizona State] and [Angela’s] stuck on Tennessee,” Brodner said.

The winter is also a time for Morrow to emphasize off-field things like keeping their grades up and staying healthy. Brodner remembers how softball was at first just something they all did for fun in the summer.

“In 9U, we were just playing for fun,” she said. “But in 10U, we just got serious about winning more.”
It’s a mission that has brought the girls closer off the softball field as well. Brodner and Morrow describe the team as a group of best friends.

“I’m going to start crying when I have to leave the team,” Brodner said.

“It’s going to be awkward when we have to play each other in high school,” Angela said. She’ll be at Burlington Central, while Brodner will attend St. Charles North.

But for now, the girls will keep practicing for the 12U National tournament in Normal, which starts Aug. 26. The girls just came back from the USSSA 14U state tournament in Rockford with a second place finish after losing to a top-ranked 14U team in the country.

Playing the older teams gives the Diamonds a bigger challenge and bigger learning opportunity.

“We pick up so many new plays [when we play 14U teams],” Brodner said, “And we just practice them over and over.”

“It shows how we’ve evolved into a program that can compete at that level,” coach Morrow said. “I have lot of friends that say, ‘Oh, you’re so hard on them.’ But it’s because I love them and they know how much I care.”

St. Charles Ladies Tournament tees off

Published: July 16, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – After the cancellation of last year’s St. Charles Ladies Tournament, Pottawatomie golf course pro Jim Wheeler had good reason to be happy on the tournament’s first day.

“It’s a perfect day,” he said, “and so far, [the golfers] are having some fun, which is what it’s all about.”

Thirteen golfers hit the greens for a qualifying round of sorts for the 18-hole, two-day tournament. Diana Sandberg led the pack with a one-over-par 38, thanks in large part to a confidence-boosting eagle on the first hole.

“It was a total fluke,” Sandberg said, explaining that as she hit her ball toward the green, she lost sight of where it landed. Turns out, it landed in the hole.

“I was so surprised. [It was] definitely a good day.”

Following her was five-time Ladies Tournament winner, Kathy Braun, shooting 44. Both Braun and Sandberg will play today again in the same foursome for a shot at the championship. Golfers will tee off at 9 a.m.

But Wheeler says they won’t be the only Ladies Tournament winners by the end of today. In an effort to make the tournament more accessible, Wheeler said he was placing each golfer into a division based on their Thursday score.

So by the end of play today, there will be an overall tournament winner, plus two additional winners for an A and B division of higher scoring golfers. Wheeler says this change in format and the word of mouth from this years contestants could help grow the event in the next few years.

“[Others] will see these ladies jumping in and having fun,” he said, “and they’ll get interested.”

But even without a ladies tournament last year, Wheeler kept things in perspective.

“I don’t know of any tournament that hasn’t had a year off for one reason or another,” he said. “I work too hard to get these ladies involved.”

Whirl a fun outing for runners

Published: July 10, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

BATAVIA - Not many people get to say they ran their first 5K at the age of five.

So, when Caroline Hager of Batavia crossed the finish line of the Windmill City Whirl 5K with her father, Matt, by her side keeping pace, she got plenty of cheers.

“It was pretty much her idea,” Matt said, “She sees her mom and I run everyday, so she just wanted to join in.”

Many minutes earlier, another man from Batavia, Doug Jones, would cross the finish line first to take his third Windmill Whirl race in 17:51.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I’ve been running this race since 1980... It’s always nice to win the hometown race.”

The two moments seemed to encompass what the 5K organizers had set out to accomplish; a course that was as equally satisfying for the serious and casual runner.

For the second year in a row, the Batavia Park District decided to hold the race in the evening with the Windmill City Festival going on alongside. Although Jones said he preferred a morning start time, Allison Sohr said it helps attract a whole different breed of runner to the race.

“We found that if we have it on Friday, everyone can come and enjoy the festival after they’ve finished,” said Sohr, the director of marketing and public relations for the Batavia Park District.

Of the 230-plus runners, Sohr says about half of them are serious, with the rest being more casual participants. Putting the race alongside the festival helps, but also, she adds, the course itself along the Fox River is an attraction in and of itself.

“The Fox River bike path is a runner’s paradise,” she said, “and it’s not as intimidating as some of the circuit courses.”

Runner Chris Johnston helped lay out the course along the bike path on the east side of the Fox River.
“Course knowledge is advantageous for any runner,” he said. “I went out earlier today on my bike, just to check it out before the race.”

Also enjoying the course was Anna Hartlaub of Elgin, running with a group of 20 or so others wearing “Meaney’s Training,” shirts. The group, organized by Nancy Meaney of South Elgin, train and sign up for races together, encouraging each other along the way.

“Everyone’s at their own level,” she said. “We always say, ‘the first one back has to go back and get the rest.’”

First, second and third place trophies were awarded based on gender and age group, which meant that almost a third of the participants took home a prize, along with a park district gift bag.

But as Hartlaub took her second-place trophy for her age group, she said the prize is not what makes her come back to the Windmill Whirl.

“It’s a good way to get some exercise,” she said. “We have a lot of fun doing it.”

Local foursome moving on

Published: July 7, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

WHEATON – Whenever St. Charles East's Kyle Cook has a good day on the greens, he often repeats something his coaches always say; "It's a good day for golf."

He wasn't alone; it was a good day him and three other local golfers as they shot through Cantigny Golf Club, hoping to qualify for the IJGA Chick Evans Junior Amateur Championship.

Batavia's Tim Schofield led the pack with a 12th-place, 3-over-par finish of 75. The senior said it was a good return-to-form performance for him as he learns to balance playing baseball and golf.

"It's pretty hard to get your mindset to change from baseball to golf," he said. "But now I'm finding my groove, getting my swing back."

Cook's final score was only two shots higher than Schofield's, but because of a competitive field, he placed 26th with 77.

Not that he was complaining.

"My irons were just going dead straight today," he said, "and my putter definitely saved me on the front end."

Cook's only bad hole came after his ball landed in bunker on the 14th hole. He penciled in a quadruple-bogey on the hole. Still, the finish was big for him, not only because it had been two weeks since he played, but some of his summer hang-ups were starting to work themselves out.

"The putter started working for me," he said, "I've been struggling with that all summer."

Also qualifying for the tournament was the pair of Geneva graduates – Jeff Paustian and Cole Oosthuizen. Paustian teed off early and his tiredness cost him a few double-bogeys on the front nine. But his game got better as the morning progressed.

"I was a little shaky," he said. "I was nervous after shooting 43 in the front but then I got 1-under par in the back."

Paustian finished 30th with a 78. Oosthuizen shot one stroke higher to place 35th, and like Paustian, he said his performance as good, not great. Oosthuizen said getting a double-bogey on his last hole didn't help.

"We've been struggling a bit lately," he said. "I've just been trying to get my confidence back."

His qualification helped, especially since missing the cut for this summer's Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship. He said he just needs to work on helping his game come back.

"I'm going to hit the range hard this week," he said.

Foster hosts Health Care roundtable

Published: July 2, 2009
Northern Public Radio

US Congressman Bill Foster held a round table discussion about health care. He said it's an issue that constituents often ask him about.

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