Conant’s Bauch finds winning multi-sport balance

Allie Bauch has no idea how she would have spent her time the last four years had she not been playing sports year-round.

“It’s a tough balancing act but if I didn’t do it, I would be so bored,” said Conant’s three-year starting shortstop.

“It keeps me involved and helps me with time management. It helps you stay away from bad things. I’m so glad I played three sports all three years. Even though so many people told me I should focus on one sport, I would do it all again if I could.”

What she did was play a leading role on each team the last few years.

“What an incredible role model she is for girls of all ages from grade school, junior high and even high school,” said Cougars girls basketball coach Dan Travers. “Allie was one of our best players this year. When one of your best players is your hardest practice player, you know you have something special. She always left it all on the court — a super competitor who did not like to lose.”

Hall of fame girls volleyball coach Peggy Scholten saw the same traits.

“Although small in stature, Allie’s tremendous athleticism, fierce competitiveness and coachability made her a great asset to the team,” Scholten said. “She was a captain in her senior year and showed great maturity and leadership.”

Now softball coach Cathyann Smith gets Bauch for her final prep season.

“She’s just our concrete base,” said Smith, a softball pitcher and former three-sport athlete at Schaumburg. “She stepped it up from the get-go when we brought her up late in the season when she was a freshman. She is a kid who can’t sit idle.

“It was perfect timing. She has been a leader ever since she joined us and always surprised us with everything she does.”

Last season, Bauch hit .408, with 2 home runs and 30 runs while helping the Cougars to a 27-3 season.

“If I had one word to identify Allie it would be ‘competitor,’” said Travers of his guard who scored a career-high 19 points against Hoffman Estates this winter. “Allie does not like to lose. She’ll do whatever it takes for her team to win. I think that’s why she’s plays three sports. She just loves the athletic competition.”

Bauch began the competition in kindergarten when her father Tom got her involved in softball. Tom played basketball, basketball football at Freeport Aquin High School.

His wife Pam graduated from Elk Grove, the school which Bauch and the Cougars defeated last May for the team’s second Mid-Suburban League championship. Conant’s first title came in 1974, 20 years before Bauch was born.

Allie began playing basketball in second grade at the park district and for feeder teams by the time she was in the fifth grade. Her volleyball career started at Schaumburg’s Robert Frost Junior High in seventh grade.

“Allie thrives on the competition,” Travers said. “She loves the athletic challenge regardless of the sport.

“Another special thing about Allie is that she’s even a better person than an athlete, and that’s saying a lot about her,” he added. “I appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity to coach her the last three years. She will definitely be missed by everybody, players, coaches and fans. I’m looking forward to watching her and the rest of the softball team compete this spring.”

After that, Bauch is uncertain where she will study in college. She has been accepted to Illinois and is considering speech pathology as a major but she would love to coach, too.

Bauch also excels in the classroom. The National Honor Society student (3.8 GPA) has earned an Illinois Scholastic Achievement Award and is a member of student council, all while earning 10 varsity letters.

“My coaches at Conant have definitely taught me a lot,” said Bauch, whose brother Ryan and sister Laura were also multisport athletes at Conant. “They have always supported me.

“I definitely try to be a positive role model. I just want to encourage people and make sure they’re always giving their best. Just because I’m a senior, I don’t want to look like I know it all.”

All at Conant know Bauch has been one the finest athletes to compete at a District 211 school.

“As a former three-sport athlete, it’s unfortunate to see so many players specializing,” Smith said. “But it’s great to see Allie’s athleticism and balancing it so well with academics. That’s what makes her such a great student-athlete.”

Bauch still remembers the phone call she received four years ago from Smith.

When the Cougars’ starting varsity shortstop was injured late in the season, Smith phoned her junior varsity shortstop Bauch at home that same night to tell her she was now a varsity shortstop.

“It was the best phone call of my life,” Bauch said.

Bauch would become one of the best in Conant history.

“It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman,” Bauch said. “But honestly my journey at Conant has been awesome. If I could pick just one sport to end it, it would be softball. My teammates are just amazing to work with.”