Three-sport star real kid magnet

When it's time to do a head count before the bus trip home from a road game, and Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe doesn't immediately see his 8-year-old son Coby, he knows exactly where to look.

"He'll be in the back hanging out with Kevin," Moe said. "Coby loves Kevin."

Most young kids do.

They gravitate to him at Grayslake Central basketball camps, at the park district, where he helps with youth sports classes and leagues - and at home.

Senior forward Kevin O'Rourke is a kid magnet.

"I love playing with little kids, as weird as that sounds," O'Rourke said. "They're so much fun."

O'Rourke is speaking from experience. He's been around little kids since he started becoming a big kid.

O'Rourke is part of a blended family. It was just his mom, Kathy, and him for much of his early childhood until Kathy met Ken Heerdegen. O'Rourke was about 8 years old at the time, and within about a year Kathy and Ken got married.

A couple of years after that, Kathy and Ken had a daughter Kristy. Two years after that came Kurt.

Suddenly, O'Rourke was a big brother. A really big brother. O'Rourke, now 17, is 10 years older than 7-year-old Kristy and 12 years older than 5-year-old Kurt.

"Kevin is just the greatest big brother," Kathy beamed. "He's not one of these teenagers who is like, 'Oh, I'm too cool for that.' I mean, Kurt just had his birthday and we asked Kevin if he wanted to come to the party. We were having a bunch of little kids at this gymnastics place and Kevin was like, 'Of course, where else would I be?' He walks in and almost immediately he's got all these little kids running at him and jumping on him and he was loving it. Kevin was having the best time.

"He's always been like that, though. It's like, Kevin has never been afraid to be a kid himself."

No wonder O'Rourke has played three sports for his entire high school career. It's like he's trying to relish every last square inch of his own childhood while he still can.

O'Rourke, who believes he's one of only two three-sport athletes at Grayslake Central, was the Rams' starting quarterback the last two years. This spring, he'll resume his role as the ace pitcher of the baseball team. And right now, he's the glue, lunch-pail player and emotional leader for a basketball team that is 16-7 and one of the hottest squads in Lake County.

Heading into Saturday's Fox Valley Conference clash at Huntley, the Rams have won eight of their last nine games.

"Kevin is the guy who does the grunt work for our team, he's the guy who does the dirty work," Moe said. "You need those kind of guys. They're the ones who determine how far your team goes."

O'Rourke has started every game this season and is averaging about 9 points per game. But his real value comes on the defensive end, where he is always assigned to guard the best player on the other team.

His leadership skills are also vital to the Rams' success.

"I'm kind of shy, but when it comes to basketball, I go crazy. I really try to be a good leader," O'Rourke said. "After the (starting) lineups, I'm the guy who crawls into the huddle and does our pep talk. I'm the guy who tries to get everyone pumped up. I don't know why, there's just something about basketball to me. It's just so much fun. It's my favorite sport to play."

But make no mistake, O'Rourke likes the other sports, too. He likes them so much, in fact, that for the last four years, he's been negotiating a summer schedule that feels much more like an obstacle course than a vacation.

Up at 6 a.m., O'Rourke would head to work at the park district. Once his shift was done, he'd go to an afternoon baseball practice and game. At night, he'd play in one, sometimes two basketball games. And somewhere in between, he would lift and work out on his own for football.

"There are times when I want to pull my hair out because it can be so exhausting," O'Rourke said. "But, all in all, it's been a good ride. I think playing all three sports keeps my competitive edge going. And I have a lot of fun, too. I'm not exactly looking forward to it ending."

But at one point, just for a minute or two, O'Rourke did consider scaling back.

"I know a lot of people specialize, and I thought about it," O'Rourke said. "But my mom just talked to me about how if I could contribute and still offer something, why not stick with the sports I like, and I like all three. To me, there's nothing like a Friday night football game. There's nothing like a conference championship in basketball, like we won last year. And I've always seen baseball as my best sport, so I wanted to stick with that because I know my future with college is there."

Actually, it might be with football, too.

O'Rourke says that several Division III colleges, including North Central in Naperville and St. Mary's in Texas, are recruiting him for both football and basketball.

This fall, O'Rourke scored 12 touchdowns and threw for nearly 1,000 yards. Last spring on the mound, he went 6-3 with a 2.50 earned run average.

"I would love to play both football and baseball in college," O'Rourke said. "I'm up for it. I'd be used to (the craziness)."

O'Rourke won't be accustomed to the quiet of college. Kid-free quiet, that is.

It will be different not being awakened by his siblings' high-pitched laughter ... or being jumped on by little ones for hours on end.

"Kristy and Kurt have so much fun with Kevin. They're going to miss him so much," Kathy O'Rourke said. "It's been hectic with all of his sports, and having two little ones who have to get dragged all over the place to watch all the games and everything.

"But I don't think the kids, or any of us would change it. It's been great for our family. (Ken) and I are kind of hoping our other two are just like Kevin."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com