Wheaton Academy's Seager a fast and furious scorer
Wheaton Academy's Ty Seager has always been fast.
He proved it officially in the spring, earning Top 10 finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash during the Class 2A track and field finals.
He's also a tremendous goal scorer.
He put on a show last year, scoring 29 goals and contributing 9 assists. He did this after he made a fine debut as a freshman with 7 goals and 9 assists.
For an encore this season, he's already scored a school-record 36 goals while adding 12 assists and leading the Warriors into the state finals for the third consecutive season.
And it's kind of remarkable to think that he's still got another year of high school soccer remaining next year.
The all-state selection also is the Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Boys Soccer Team Captain.
“He put up some ridiculous numbers as a sophomore and used his speed last year, but this season he's taken it to another level,” Wheaton Academy coach Jeff Brooke said. “He's still hungry to be even better. He's a total class act that continues to work really hard, so it's a lot of fun for him to see the benefits.”
Seager isn't foolish. He knows he has off-the-chart speed so he's made it a priority to utilize it.
“I've worked on my first two steps with sprinting this year and it has really helped with my game, the quickness going towards the goal,” he said. “Running track helped. The thing is, I know there's always work to be done. I'm always trying to get better.”
Fenton coach David Alvarez saw firsthand how forceful a player the strong, 6-footer can be. Seager led the Warriors to a 4-0 regular-season win over the Bison and then an 8-3 win in the Class 2A St. Francis regional championship.
“Right now he's a man against boys out there because of his size and speed and strength,” he said. “He's a very difficult kid to deal with, and the only school I saw that handled him was Morton.”
Wheaton Academy goalkeeper Drew Sezonov watches Seager work his magic generally from afar, but he's seen plenty from him over the last several years to recognize how talented his teammate has become.
Sezonov and Seager have been playing together since they were 12 years old.
“I've been able to see him grow up into one of the best players around,” Sezonov said. “He's fast, he's strong. Whenever he's on the field he makes the team better because he always puts himself in a good position.”
Not surprisingly, Seager comes from an athletic family.
His older brothers, Ryan and Colton starred before him at Wheaton Academy, when a turf field was but a dream. His mother ran track at Purdue.
“I think I was born competitive because that's my personality and it runs in my family,” he said. “Everything has always been kind of a competition to me and I've always played sports my whole life.”
He's seemingly scored all season and he didn't waste any time getting started.
Seager scored just 21 seconds into play in the Warriors' season-opening victory against Geneva on Aug. 30 and he hasn't slowed down since.
“As soon as that whistle blows, he's competing,” Brooke said. “He's really driven us to a higher level and he just loves to play and compete.”
If anyone deserves to brag about their achievements on the playing field, it's Seager, with the instantaneous success in his first season as a sprinter and with more than 70 varsity goals at Wheaton Academy. But that's not him. He's definitely not one to pat himself on the back. He's humble.
“He's got a lot of pride and he loves to wear that jersey and represent Wheaton Academy,” Brooke said. “He's a great kid with a great family. He's just a class act all around.”
Added Sezonov: “He doesn't talk about all the things he's done or take credit for how well we've done. He's all about giving the team and others credit.”
There's a love for the game that Seager has that can't be taught. It's something that develops. He attained that love a while ago yet it continues to get stronger each time he takes the field.
“For me soccer isn't all about the stats you put on the board and the games that you win, but it's something we say here called 'playing for the beauty of the process,'” he said. “I get to play for a great school like Wheaton Academy, for coaches who bring out the best in me and rally with my teammates to play for that beauty of the process.”
And those beautiful goals, now at 36 and counting…