Life in the fast lane

In the past two years, St. Charles North girls basketball coach Katie Sauber has experienced several life-changing events.

For starters, she married John Duraski, the former varsity wrestling coach at St. Charles North, where the two met.

After that, she found out after 4 years coaching the younger levels that she was the new varsity coach. Not too long after the season started, the physical education teacher and 1995 Kaneland grad found out she was pregnant.

On July 28, 2007, Jack Herschel Duraski was born. Since both husband and wife coached a winter sport, one of them had to give it up. It was a tough choice, but John stopped coaching varsity wrestling after 4 seasons.

Sauber and the North Stars have picked up right where they left off last year, as St. Charles North posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons, led by junior Kelsey Smith, who Division-I schools have been after all year.

The Daily Herald sat down with the 30-year-old Sauber (and Jack) and found out what life is like as a coach, wife and mom.

Q:What's motherhood like?

A: "It's crazy but I love it. I love it so much. It's so fun and challenging at the same time. I love it more than I ever could have imagined."

Q:What's it like trying to balance everything in your life -- family, friends, baby, work and coaching?

A: "It was difficult more at first than it is now. There's a part of me that feels guilty. I do spend a lot of time away from (Jack), but my husband is so supportive and fantastic when it comes time to anything I need. But it is tough balancing him, my husband, family, friends, work and basketball and work, but one thing I am grateful for is that I have tremendously great family and friends."

Q:How tough was the decision for John to give up coaching wrestling?

A: "It was tough. We spent a lot of time -- when dating and even when we were married -- away from each other during the season, especially on the weekends…we knew once I was pregnant (she was pregnant with Jack last season) that one of us would have to make a decision because there would be no way we could have a baby and a family without one of us. So with him having his own business and things being crazy for him -- plus he knew how much I wanted it -- he wanted to let me (continue coaching)."

Q:What is it about St. Charles North for you? All the coaches seem close and get along well.

A: "I've made so many great friends, the parents are fantastic and the girls…when you really get down to it, it's all about them. They are wonderful and fun and challenging at the same time. I trust them, they watch Jack…they know there are times when I have to put Jack first, and everyone respects that, and so does the coaching staff. (Assistant girls varsity coach) Jared (McCall) is great. We complement each other very well and we were friends even before we coached together. That makes it fun."

Q:Obviously, you inherited a great group of players last year, including Smith. She is probably the best girls basketball player to come out of St. Charles North so far. How great his this team been to coach in your first two years as a varsity coach?

A: "You can't ask for much more than to come into a program that has players like Kelsey. Then there was Anna Conrad. Then Kiley Hackbarth came in. Then Nika Sircher. Then Caitlin Winkelman, who is all-around a great athlete. I would think most coaches would consider themselves blessed. As a first-year coach last year, I couldn't have asked for anything better. Really. They were young, I was a young head coach, and we were growing into our roles together. This year, they've matured, I've gained some experience myself also. It's been a rewarding experience."

Q:Has your coaching philosophy changed since you've first started?

A: "I think that I'm evolving. You come in and have great ideas…but there is no perfect coach. Every coach makes mistakes, and I've always tried my hardest to learn from my mistakes I've made…my ego is not too big where I can't ask people for help. Has it changed? It's evolved. I'm molding as I go along."

Q:Obviously, your first two years as a varsity coach at St. Charles North have been positive and great, partly because your team posted back-to-back winning seasons. I'm guessing you are planning on coaching there for a long time.

A: "I want to be, and if I can, that would be great. I've been lucky so far, and I don't see anything changing. We've got great younger groups of girls coming up. We've been able to see some of the middle-schoolers and little kids, and that's exciting. It's just something I really want to be a part of."