Vlk gets busier leading Buffalo Grove football program

For Jeff Vlk, Buffalo Grove's wrestling head coach, it's going to be a busy winter.

In addition to leading his growing program on the mats, he's got plenty of planning to do as the football program's new head coach.

Vlk has been in the Bison football program for the last 10 seasons, including seven of the last eight as defensive coordinator. He's been named to succeed Mike DiMatteo, who resigned after four seasons in charge of football.

Vlk has had a spot on the football staff at BG under three head coaches - DiMatteo, Jim Farrell and Rich Roberts.

"They all approached things very differently, and I think I learned a lot from each one," said Vlk, who excelled as a player at Montini and later at Valparaiso, where he was a four-year letterwinner and two-year team captain. "I'm planning to take a little bit from each of them and put it into practice."

DiMatteo exits with a record of 9-27 at Buffalo Grove. The Bison were 1-8 last fall after finishing 5-4 the previous year but narrowly missing out on the postseason due to a shortfall of playoff points.

DiMatteo had plenty of earlier success at Lake Zurich, where the Bears earned fourth straight playoff appearances in 2002 through 2005. That preceded a similar run at Hinsdale Central, where the Red Devils made the playoffs in 2006 through 2009 and had a state runner-up finish in Class 8A in 2008.

"I think one of the main things for me is to get the excitement back in the program," said Vlk. "A lot of the groundwork for that was laid by Mike. He's done a great job of rebuilding programs, and he did that here, too - things like showing us how the off-season needs to go."

As far as what to expect from Buffalo Grove football scheme-wise, that will have to wait a while. Vlk wants to finalize his coaching staff before committing to any base offensive or defensive alignment. In any case, to him those considerations are secondary to the main concern.

Vlk is encouraged by the number players who will be returning next season with varsity experience already under their belts. Some of next year's leaders figure to be lineman Brian Marienau, linebacker Eddie Walker and wideouts Zack Sheasby and Jimmy Trieb.

"I know it's kind of a cliche, but I'm a big believer that it's not so much about X's and O's, it's about Jimmys and Joes," Vlk said. "I'm a believer in fundamentals. If you can teach those well, the rest will be fine."