Winning never gets old for St. Francis coach Kopec

Rampant state success never gets old for St. Francis girls volleyball coach Peg Kopec. Neither does her anticipation before a big match.

“I get excited, I get nervous, I get happy,” the Spartans' coach said Tuesday, before her squad eliminated Neuqua Valley in three games to advance to Thursday's Class 4A East Aurora sectional final against Naperville North.

On-court happiness comes easy to Kopec, Illinois' all-time victories leader in any sport. St. Francis' 11 state championships could enable her to adorn all 10 fingers with championship rings and start on her toes if she wished.

The prospect of coming up short still gets to her after 40 seasons.

“Heck yes, sure I'm nervous,” Kopec said Tuesday. “I'm excited, I'm excited for the kids, for their experience. I'm hoping things go well for them. It's all about them.”

She said she has nothing pertaining to her success displayed in her home in West Chicago. There's ample opportunity, what with 26 consecutive regional titles, 30 years of 30 or more victories, the 2008 National High School Coaches Association coach of the year award, membership in state and national halls of fame and more than 1,200 career victories. That puts her in the top 10 nationally.

“I don't take myself too seriously with this stuff, I'm not kidding,” Kopec said. “When I first started I thought I was not too good because I was constantly asking people's opinion on things.

“I was always asking people what they think, and granted I make the final decision, but I was always asking. Then I realized that a reason we've been so successful at St. Francis is I have great assistants and lower-level coaches. And it sure doesn't hurt that the volleyball is very strong in this area.”

Glenbard West and York face each other at Thursday's Class 4A Riverside-Brookfield sectional final. At Lyons Twp., Benet plays Mother McAuley, the only Illinois volleyball program with more hardware than St. Francis. It's a shame only one among Benet, St. Francis and Mother McAuley can advance downstate, but that's the draw.

Westmont and 34-win Timothy Christian square off in the Class 2A Guerin sectional final. IC Catholic won 2A just two years ago.

Kopec said St. Francis players participate in 65 different program “traditions.” There are little things, like the girls personally adding their names to the roster bordering the home scoreboard, which helps cement their commitment.

There are big things like contributing to charity toy drives, Feed My Starving Children and Volley for the Cure, which Kopec said St. Francis and St. Edward started in Illinois.

Life lessons are the common thread, on the court and off. That never gets old.

“It's not amazing to get to the top,” Kopec said. “It's amazing to stay there.”

Loud and proud

Fenton's longtime boys cross country and track coach John Kurtz made Sports Illustrated magazine's “Faces in the Crowd” section on Nov. 2 — in a roundabout way.

An item heralding Oak Park's Irwin Loud noted that the Huskies junior set a course record at the 35th annual John Kurtz Early Bird Invitational at Fenton in September.

That is the second event named after Kurtz, a member of the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In the summer the Bensenville Park District also sponsors a John Kurtz 5K Run/Walk as part of its Red, White and Blue Road Race. His wife, Dawn, a veteran meet manager at Fenton, has a track meet named in her honor as well.

“No one knows who I am,” the humble John Kurtz said, “but the name is out there.”

Welcome to the club

On Saturday Benedictine University will induct six new members into its athletic hall of fame. One of them is former power-hitting catcher Aaron Giza, out of the class of 2004.

“I think it's real exciting, obviously. It's a once-in-a-lifetime goal,” said Giza, now a project manager and analyst for ComEd.

Memory recalls the muscular solidly built right-hander smashing a home run more than 400 feet to straightaway center field as a player with Lisle Senior High. Giza did that a lot in high school and college.

Lisle's Brian Piccolo Award winner in 2000, the baseball all-stater went on to earn two all-region and All-America honors at Benedictine. He's the Eagles' career leader in batting average and runs batted in, top five in hits, doubles, home runs, runs and bases on balls.

In 2003 Giza tied for the national lead with 71 RBI. A year later he led the country with a .917 slugging percentage.

Giza's entourage for the hall of fame ceremony will include his mother and father, Penny and Robert; girlfriend, Emily Roberts; and several buddies from his high school days.

“It was fun, successful, back when I had no responsibilities. But it was always a pleasure, always a good time. The people were nice, the coaches were nice,” Giza said of his prep days as a four-year starter in baseball, basketball and football.

“That's the same thing for college, pretty much,” he said. “The coaches were nice, people were willing to go out of their way to help you.”

Highly ranked Chaparrals

Last week's item on the unexpected success enjoyed by the College of DuPage women's volleyball team (which had its season ended Oct. 31 by two-time defending national champion Madison College of Wisconsin) caught the eye of alert reader Norm Aliga.

He noted that the Chaparrals' women's soccer team is ranked sixth in National Junior College Athletic Association Division III. At 15-5-2 with victories in 15 of their last 16 matches, the Chaparrals on Saturday won their district title. They defeated host Anoka-Ramsey in Minnesota on penalty kicks after a 3-3 tie through regulation.

College of DuPage is one of eight programs that advanced to the national finals held Ocean County College in Toms River, New Jersey, Nov. 12-15. Its last trip to nationals, and last national title, came in 2011.

This squad has succeeded behind a slew of area graduates, in no particular order: Kylie Paul (Glenbard West), Yvette Hernandez and Emma Nowitzki (West Chicago), Kim Nguyen (Wheaton North), Laura Houston (Naperville North), Ashley Falco and Lisa Kubica (Fenton), and Gina Rodriguez (Glenbard East).

Also, several women from Glenbard South and Downers Grove South — Danielle Allen, Alexis Espositista-Aliga, Jordan Zych, Alex Rico, Sandra Allen and Eliza Grey from the former; Antoinette Zaffino, Miyax Leon and Meghan Diddia from the latter.

The coach is William Fajkus or, as he was known at Wheaton Central back in the 1970s, Willie.

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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