Articles filed under Schmit, Kevin

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If we knew what we know, would we know something else? May 16, 2013 12:00 AM
Knowing what we know now, imagine if we could start the school year over again. Imagine knowing every school’s intentions for finding a happy conference home. No need for private conversations or bombshell decisions. Complete transparency from jump street. What would the area’s conference landscape look like?
Grades, talent make Glenbard North's Jackson worth waitMay 2, 2013 12:00 AM
When college football recruiters travel to Carol Stream to meet with Glenbard North football coach Ryan Wilkens, they seek two things: game film and a transcript of grades. In both cases, they inevitably fall in love with Justin Jackson.
That’s not Big Brother watching, it’s a college coach Apr 18, 2013 12:00 AM
There’s a saying that the Internet is forever. It’s a shame more high school athletes haven’t heard it.
Looking for a field, teams find a gem in Lee Pfund Stadium Apr 4, 2013 12:00 AM
Some things just seem impossible. Playing baseball early last week in the western suburbs certainly falls in that category. But while most teams struggled to make playable fields that either were frozen or swamped by thawing frost, a handful of resourceful area teams took advantage of one of the best kept baseball secrets in DuPage County.
Baseball teams game for a good trip Mar 21, 2013 12:00 AM
Illinois baseball players are a hearty bunch. They have to be during the tumultuous March weather when there isn't much of a choice.
After four varsity seasons, Benet's McInerney comes to the endMar 8, 2013 12:00 AM
In four years of varsity basketball you pretty much see everything. For Benet's Pat McInerney, though, this was unique. Friday's loss to West Aurora turned out to be his last game with the Redwings.
Basketball teams weathering a scheduling problem Mar 7, 2013 12:00 AM
In 20 years of covering high school basketball, I can’t remember another time when snow played such a major factor in the playoffs. For two straight weeks we’ve had snowouts that canceled an entire slate of Tuesday games. That meant regional and sectional semifinal games were bumped a day to Wednesday and Thursday. What that also meant, unfortunately, was Thursday semifinal winners had to turn around and play a title game with less than 24 hours of rest and little prep time. The impact in the regional was glaring. In 14 Class 3A and 4A matchups between Wednesday and Thursday semifinal winners, the more-rested Wednesday team won 11 of 14 games. Keep in mind, though, that the higher seeds played Wednesday.
A decision the IOC should wrestle with Feb 21, 2013 12:00 AM
As area wrestlers planned a joyous trip to the IHSA individual state tournament last weekend in Champaign, a faceless bureaucracy four thousand miles away crushed their dreams.
Take football out of the conference equation Feb 7, 2013 12:00 AM
There’s a cynical theory that every high school seeking to change athletic conferences does so because of a lack of success with its football team. The theory bounced around when Glenbard South left the DuPage Valley Conference in the mid-1990s, and continues today with West Chicago’s recent decision to switch from the DVC to the Upstate Eight Conference and the same potential switch by Glenbard East and West Aurora. Football is the undisputed king in DuPage County, and it doesn’t take bionic ears to hear folks complaining about football dictating key decisions facing entire athletic programs. The criticism is denied by administrators who insist change is based on the overall needs of the school. Just because it’s cynical, though, doesn’t make the theory false.
West Suburban’s stability stands in way of wholesale change Jan 24, 2013 12:00 AM
If one paragraph summed up the frustrating combination of fluidity and stagnation among area high school conferences, it arrived within a recent community announcement issued by Glenbard District 87. Regarding the potential move of Glenbard East from the DuPage Valley Conference to the Upstate Eight Conference, the release reads in part... "The DVC and Upstate Eight are Glenbard East's only viable options right now. The West Suburban Conference is not interested in expansion, and there are not enough interested schools to make creation of a new conference a viable alternative. The Metro Suburban is too small for a school the size of Glenbard East." Not much more needs to be said, but we'll give it a shot.
If Glenbard E., W. Aurora leave, DVC will see changeJan 10, 2013 12:00 AM
Maybe it’s time to think big about conference makeup Dec 13, 2012 12:00 AM
It's nothing unique, but definitely not normal. Maybe not a hot mess, but nowhere near clean. It's the indefinably fluid state of the DuPage Valley Conference and Upstate Eight Conference. And for all the action we've seen the last few months, you ain't seen nothing yet. Over the next two months in this space we'll examine different aspects of the conference changes in DuPage County and portions of Kane and Cook counties. Despite evolving into a topic worthy of book writing, the focus will remain on the critical issues moving forward.
The IHSA brackets had it right Nov 29, 2012 12:00 AM
One last blast of football before hanging up the cleats for the season.
Consider Glenbard District 87 well-represented Nov 24, 2012 12:00 AM
You win some, you lose some. Regardless, Glenbard High School District 87 couldn’t have been prouder on Saturday. Regardless, Glenbard High School District 87 couldn’t have been prouder on Saturday. Glenbard West and Glenbard North represented the district well in the Class 7A and Class 8A championship football games at Memorial Stadium. The support from North, South, East and West shined bright as Glenbard West claimed the 7A title and the Panthers settled for a runner-up finish with a loss in the 8A final.
At Benet, basketball season will have to wait Nov 15, 2012 12:00 AM
There's something just not normal about Benet football this season, and it goes beyond having a 6-foot-9 offensive lineman. There's no avoiding Sean O'Mara on the football field, and for those familiar with his basketball talents in the post it's a little strange watching this particular left tackle. Not one NFL lineman stands taller than O'Mara, but there he is helping lead the Redwings in a playoff run for the ages.
For many coaches, the bracketology can wait till Saturday Oct 18, 2012 12:00 AM
Before moving on to the football playoffs, let's take a moment to clear out the regular-season closet.
Up is down in topsy-turvy season Oct 4, 2012 12:00 AM
High school football in DuPage County isn’t quite flipped on its head, but we’re getting close. The haves gradually are becoming the have nots. For decades the area relied on a handful of programs to perpetually represent DuPage County deep into the playoffs. Appearances became expected, titles no surprise. This season things have changed a bit. The perennial powers are fighting just to reach the postseason.
West Chicago’s move leaves many questions Sep 20, 2012 12:00 AM
So now what? Now that the Metro Suburban Conference has accepted West Chicago High School's application to join its league? Now that the DuPage Valley Conference is soon to be a school short of its traditional eight-school arrangement? Now that the dominoes are about to start falling? It's a series of questions that began swirling following a Sept. 10 special meeting of the Community High School District 94 Board of Education. At that meeting the board members voted 4-3 in favor of West Chicago applying to the Metro Suburban Conference and, upon acceptance, beginning the withdrawal process from the DVC. The decision was not surprising considering the widely-known desire for West Chicago to leave the DVC. The surprise was that action finally came after many, many years of talk.
Immersed in football Sep 6, 2012 12:00 AM
So much football randomness rambling through my mind, it's time to let some of it out.
Naperville North, Comcast going all out to do ‘All In’ Aug 23, 2012 12:00 AM
Comcast's Erik Anschicks and Mark Krueger had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Neither did Naperville North football coach Sean Drendel and Huskies athletic director Jim Konrad. But with everyone jumping in feet first, "All In" is taking on a completely different meaning this fall. "It's all I think about," Krueger said with a laugh. "I wake up thinking about it."