Conant's Raetzman makes a world of difference

South Padre Island, Panama City, Miami Beach and Cancun are all great spring break destinations.

How does the country of Holland sound instead?

That's where Conant sophomore soccer player Courtney Raetzman just returned from after a 10-day "all-expense paid trip" with 17 others from the Region 2 ODP (Olympic Development Team) to train, play and see the sights.

Raetzman burst onto the scene in her rookie year for the Cougars and coach Jason Franco, and proved to be a key figure in a dream season, which culminated in the club bringing home a fourth-place team trophy at the Class 3A state tournament at North Central College in Naperville.

"We had (heard) some very good things about Courtney in advance of her coming in last spring, but she far exceded our expectations, and not only was a welcome addition as a player, but also to our program overall," said Franco.

"She immediately became a major impact player as a freshman."

Gifted with a healthy resume of talent on both sides of the ball, including a second-to-none work ethic, Raetzman would eventually lead her club in scoring, with 11 goals and 7 assists, to make her first year a most memorable one.

"I have always looked forward to playing varsity soccer, going back to when I was younger, and watching my sister and brother (Zach, a former Daily Herald All-Area player) here at Conant," offers Raetzman, which says so much about a player who had already been a pool player in the under-15 National Team program last season.

"I didn't know what to really expect as a freshman, playing with different players, a different style of play and position, and just the whole high school (thing) But I was fortunate to be on a great team, with a terrific bunch of teammates, who made me feel comfortable right from the start."

The affable Raetzman, who finds it nearly impossible to talk about herself, has heard from her coaches here, and on the national level that she needs to be more selfish on the ball when in close. She figures this spring might be a good time to exert some of that pressure in and around her opponents' 18.

"We lost two very good forwards from last year (Alyssa Stylski and Lauren Jason) so Lauren (Chiero) and I will need to make up for both of those players being gone," says Raetzman, who is found usually in the middle of the park on the club scene.

"Courtney is so humble.. she probably doesn't know good good she is," says Franco. "I wish I had her touch (when I played), she can read the game so well, and although she might not be the fastest player around, her first three steps are lightning quick."

Watching Raetzman last season, one could sense the passion she has for her favorite game, and how much joy it brings her to be on the pitch.

"You should see the way she trains," begins Franco, "we should video her at training, and show it to every player in our program, because she goes full-speed, until we stop for the day."

"One of my goals is to obviously play for the national team one day, and as a pro as well, but regardless of whether I am able to do so, I (for sure) want to play in college," says Raetzman, who was joined by Elk Grove sophomore Kelli Hubly on this trip.

The under-16 team in which both Raetzman and Hubly were part of, were given the opportunity to play in several friendlies while there, including matches with under-17 national teams from the Netherlands and Belgium.

The team also took time out to visit Amsterdam and the city of Zeist, which is home to the governing body of Dutch Soccer (KNVB).

Last year, Raetzman was invited or "called up"' to train and compete as part of her being named as a pool player on the national level at under-15.

"There isn't an under-16 national program, so we're kind of caught in between the 15's and 17's, so when we're up against the (17's) you quickly find out how much faster the speed of play is - and it's a real eye-opener for all of us," says Raetzman.

Franco, who says his young star is capable of playing anywhere in his first-11, and at full-tilt for 80 minutes, was urged by his coaching counterparts to put her up for all-state honors last May, despite her freshman status.

"It was nice to have the support of others, and as it turned out, she was one of the four who were named all-state (along with Mary Kubiak, Laura Mayer and Chrissy Tooren) and comes into this season as one of the best of the best," said Franco.

"Playing high school soccer is fun, and I already have some have great memories from (it) with our team finishing fourth, and an exciting win over Barrington to get to the state tournament," Raetzman said, "and I am really looking forward to this season, and what this team can do."