Mundelein's Parola a familiar sight in changing coaching landscape

Whenever the baseball coaches from the North Suburban Conference would get together for meetings, Mundelein coach Todd Parola would get a little anxious. At least in the early days.

There were coaching veterans in the room with years and years - decades actually - of experience on Parola. Guys such as Bob Mackey from Stevenson, Jim Panther from Libertyville, Gary Bereiter from Zion-Benton and Tom Myers from Lake Forest, all of whom have retired years ago now.

"When I first started, you had a lot of long-time coaches in the conference," said Parola, who led Mundelein to a 31-10 record and a second-place finish in Class 4A last season. "It seems like just yesterday I was the young guy in the room. Whenever I opened my mouth, I bet those guys were thinking, 'Why are you saying anything?' "

Added Parola with a laugh, "Now, I'm the old guy."

As the 2017 high school baseball season gets underway this week, Parola is entering his 23rd year as head varsity coach at Mundelein. He is the dean of baseball coaches in Lake County, and his longevity is striking at a time when coaching turnover in high school sports is high. The Parolas, Mackeys, Panthers, Bereiters and Myers are now the rare exceptions rather than the rule.

This season alone, there are three first-year baseball coaches in the Daily Herald's Lake County coverage area: Rick Erickson at Lake Zurich, Matt Thompson and Libertyville and Bob Holst at Lakes. This comes just one year after four new baseball coaches took over in Lake County. Pat Block at Stevenson, Chris Malec at Antioch, Brett Hill at Grayslake North and Bill Taylor at Carmel are all in their second year.

There are four coaches in the Lake County coverage area with at least 10 years of coaching experience: Jay Czarnecki of Vernon Hills (16 years), Troy Whalen of Grayslake Central (15 years), Bill Sliker of Wauconda (15 years), Clint Smothers of Warren (10 years), but in coaching circles in general, they are rare, too.

"It's getting tougher," Parola said of coaching at the high school level. "It has become a year-round type of thing. And there are a lot of challenges. A lot of kids are choosing to become one-sport athletes, so you're losing kids to other sports. And the kids who do play your sport are so busy with their travel teams now. They'll play six games over the weekend with their travel teams, come to us on Monday and they are so tired of baseball that the last thing they want to do is work on the fundamental drills we're doing. And I can't say that I blame them. But it makes it a challenge for us to get stuff done.

"You also have to deal with violations, kids who are ineligible, all kinds of rocky roads. There's a lot that makes coaching tough."

And yet, Parola doesn't see an end in sight to his career.

He would certainly have a natural breaking point at the end of this season. He has two sons, Derek and Brett. And both have played baseball for him at Mundelein. Brett is a senior catcher and infielder for the Mustangs this year. He will be graduating this year.

It would be easy for Parola to ride into the sunset with Brett. But Parola doubts he's ready for that yet. He loves coaching too much.

"What keeps me in coaching is what got me into it in the first place: the kids. They keep me young and it's fun to be around them and develop those relationships. And it's fun to help them develop and improve."

Another thing that has kept Parola in it has been the loyalty of his staff. Six of his coaches, including Ray Borucki, Jeff Sweno, Randy Lerner, Serry Pollock and Tommy Shaver, have been on his staff for at least 10 years. And Neil McCloughlin has been with Parola for the entire 23-year ride.

"I've been really fortunate that I've had that consistency with my staff," Parola said. "They've made it fun. They are a big reason I've stuck around."

It's gotten tempting the last couple years for Parola to pass the torch. Oldest son Derek is a sophomore now at Illinois State and is getting a lot of playing time at second base. The Cardinals have already played 13 games this season and Parola says he hasn't been to a game yet.

"It's hard to deal with that and I'm trying to figure out a way to get to one of his games soon," Parola said. "But I'm busy here (with the Mustangs). That makes it tough. The demands (of coaching in general) make it tough and I'm no spring chicken anymore for sure.

"But I consider myself a baseball coach and when I think about (retiring), it's hard to see that. Whenever I do give it up (at Mundelein), it will probably only be very temporary. I could see myself coaching for many more years to come, in some way, even as an assistant, somewhere.

"I don't see this totally ending for me any time in the near future. I still really love baseball and coaching and I still want to help young kids develop a passion for it."

Three new coaches in Lake County are just beginning on their journey of sharing their passion for baseball with high school players.

Here's a quick get-to-know-you on Lake Zurich's Rick Erickson, Libertyville's Matt Thompson and Lakes' Bob Holst:

Rick Erickson, Lake Zurich

Playing background: Played outfield, first base and pitcher at Lake Zurich from 2005 to 2009 during which the Bears won two conference titles and a regional championship. Erickson was an all-conference and all-area selection and went on to play college ball at Augustana, where he finished second all-time in career saves. He was an all-conference and all-region player there.

Coaching background: Pitching coach at Lake Zurich for the previous three seasons. Has coached travel baseball for the Slammers and Lake County Lightning.

Quoting Erickson: "The best part about coaching is being able to share the experience with our student athletes. I want them to love the game and the overall experience of high school baseball. I really enjoy seeing our players going on to play college baseball because I know that will be an experience that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. I could definitely see myself as a lifer. My love for the game of baseball is very strong and I couldn't imagine not coaching."

Matt Thompson, Libertyville

Playing background: Played first base at Libertyville and graduated in 1998. Thompson went on to play first base, outfield and catcher at Northwestern.

Coaching background: Underlevel coach at Libertyville for 15 years, including sophomore coach for the last 10 years. Thompson also coached the American Legion team in Libertyville in 2002 and 2003 that won state championships and advanced to the Midwest Regional.

Quoting Thompson: "The biggest reason I got into teaching and coaching was for the meaningful relationships that I could build with student-athletes. I also like being able to teach young ballplayers about the game and help them reach their potential. I hope to be a lifer, like Todd (Parola). He is a well-respected coach and is one of the most influential people in those kids' lives (at Mundelein). Like him, my coach at Libertyville, Jim Panther, was such a great coach and role model for so many people."

Bob Holst, Lakes

Playing background: A four-year varsity pitcher (1990-1993) at Wilmot (Wis.) High School, where he earned first-team all-conference as a junior and senior. Holst went on to pitch for the University of Iowa (1994-1997). He led the Hawkeyes in ERA as a junior and was a co-captain as a senior. Played one summer (1997) of professional ball for the Kalamazoo Kodiaks in the Frontier League.

Coaching background: Head coach at Wilmot (Wis.) High School from 1999 to 2004 and won five conference championships with a 90-31 career record. Varsity assistant coach at Lakes from 2014 to 2016. Currently a pitching and hitting instructor at Triple Play Academy in Antioch.

Quoting Holst: "I enjoy approaching a game of failure (baseball) with confidence and determination. It's very rewarding to set high expectations for the student athletes and help them achieve success individually, but more importantly as a group. I'm concerned that we will evaluate ourselves by wins and losses. It is my job to make sure everyone understands and believes it is more about the approach and effort than the final outcome each day. In addition, we must remain humble when we do have success."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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