How much has changed in the last 10 years? A whole lot
Boy, that didn't take long, did it?
Seems like just yesterday that we were signing off of another school year and wishing everyone a happy and relaxing summer.
Well, the only thing I know for sure about summer is that it seems to go faster every year. But the sands of time are not within our control, so here we are, ready for the final school year of this decade.
Speaking of things going quickly, think about that for a minute.
A decade ago, Bartlett High School was just starting to establish itself in varsity sports, and South Elgin High hadn't even been thought of yet. Today, Bartlett has played for a state championship and South Elgin takes the area by "Storm" a little more each year - just as Bartlett was doing back then.
A decade ago, the Fox Valley Conference was one, not divided. Today, the FVC has two divisions, schools that didn't exist 10 years ago and schools that were in Class A conferences 10 years ago.
A decade ago, Hampshire High School was still that quaint little school out west that we at the Daily Herald were just beginning to give some coverage to. Today, Hampshire, Dundee and Elgin are basically one - separated by fewer and fewer cornfields and, unfortunately, more and more luxury homes getting foreclosed on.
A decade ago, there were still six classes in football and two for most every other sport. Naperville Central was the Class 6A football champ, beating Schaumburg in the championship game, the first played at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Today there are eight classes for football, four for some other sports and three for some others. We still haven't really decided if this "trophies for everyone" is a good thing or not.
A decade ago, there was no St. Charles North, Grayslake North, Woodstock North.
A decade ago, Bob Frisk hadn't thought about retirement. Today we are reading the beginning of the end of weekly columns from a legend.
How much has changed in the past 10 years? A whole lot, that's how much. Just take football. A decade ago Dave Smith, Mike Slattery, Bob Carlson, Tony Albert, Rich Sanders, Dick Stephens, Kelly Rice and John Padjen were head football coaches in our area. Today, I'll bet not half the people reading this remember them or which schools they coached at.
A decade ago, there were 17,875 students enrolled at the 12 football playing schools in this Daily Herald edition's coverage area. Today, including South Elgin, there are 25,836. Some of the biggest changes? How about Huntley from 440 in 1999-2000 to 1,773 today. Or Dundee-Crown from 1,651 to 2,542. There's Hampshire - 442 to 892 - and Burlington Central - 643 to 995 - to show the western growth, even though I remember a decade ago hearing how Burlington Central would be 1,500 by now.
Have our schools gotten better on the field of play over the last 10 years? I guess that all depends on what you define as better and how much emphasis you place on winning. Are schools in our area claiming more trophies than they did 10 years ago? Sure they are - there are more schools, more kids, and more opportunities to grab the hardware, so they should be.
Has the purity of high school sports changed in the last 10 years? Of course it has. The almighty dollar rules high school sports now more than ever - from the IHSA on down. Parents start getting their kids ready to earn scholarships while they are still in the womb and by golly, if that kid doesn't have that scholarship wrapped up by the time he or she is 11, then something's wrong.
But I'd like to think, as we enter another school year, one that will end in a year many predicted the world wouldn't exist by, that we still have, in our high school teams, a pure form of sport, a form that is fueled by the desire to be part of a team, by a desire to compete, by a desire to be taught, by a desire to learn.
It is incumbent on those of us who have been around this block a couple times to keep fighting the good fight. From the truly seasoned coaches who are teachers first and athletic team coaches second - the Bruce Kays, the Dan Cavanaughs, the Dean Schlueters, the Sue Elletts, the Patty Langanises, the Tracy Williamses, the George Rosners, the Al Zinkes, and all the others who know I speak of them as well, to the athletic directors, to the parents (especially the parents), and even to the sports writer who begins his 34th year of doing what he does in this area, it is our responsibility to continue to treat high school sports for what it is meant to be - a learning experience that teaches life lessons above all else.
If we all keep that as our goal - as our mission - we will enter the second decade of the new millennium as proud as we were back in 1999-2000.
And we'll have fun doing it.
Welcome back everyone!