Metea Valley's Kleinhans makes tough call
Like many young coaches, Metea Valley football coach Ben Kleinhans has another generation of athletes to develop - his own.
Dedicated to tending to the needs of three boys between the ages of 4-10, on Nov. 14 Kleinhans met with Metea principal Darrell Echols and athletic director Jason Ward to submit his resignation. The search process for a new football coach will begin next week, Ward said.
"It got to a point where something had to give," Kleinhans said Wednesday. "That's kind of how we arrived here."
Metea's second football coach after Ted Monken, Kleinhans arrived at Metea in the spring of 2012 after serving as an assistant at Neuqua Valley from 2003-11. He graduated from Waubonsie Valley in 1999, a quarterback under B.J. Luke.
"It was a great time and a great seven years. There's been a lot of cool stuff here and great things, made a lot of great relationships. It's hard to walk away from," said Kleinhans, who will continue as a physical education and driver's education instructor at Metea Valley.
In his seven seasons the Mustangs went 20-44 with one playoff season in 2014 behind such players as Erin Morgan, Brett Boddy and Bryson Oliver, the tailback who was Metea's first Illinois High School Football Coaches Association First-Team All-State pick.
"Great guy," Ward said of Kleinhans. "A great role model to not only the football players but to all of our student-athletes. He's still here in the building as a teacher so he will be around for sure in the years to come, helping out in other capacities of athletics."
Building rapport with players such as former quarterback Connor Lovely and helping develop others like Boddy, Blaise Bell and Nick Dodson into strong college players, Kleinhans said his favorite aspect of the position was creating relationships. He said his staff of assistant coaches "became my best friends."
As well as continuing to work the hallways recruiting players for his successor, Kleinhans will delve further into youth baseball with his boys and take things as they come.
"I'll kind of let the dust settle here and see what my wife (Heidi) has in store for me," he said.
"I'll coach again at some point, I don't know where or when," he said. "I don't think I'm done coaching, I just think it's time to step back, take a break a little bit. I'll just find different ways to impact our students because, ultimately, that's what it's all about."
Many thanks!
We're late to the draw on this, but we should mention the Nov. 6 passing at age 90 of Harold Gaede, who with his wife, Joan, owned a fine clothier's store in Wheaton for more than half a century.
Mr. Gaede's brother, Howard, helped run the place, too, and for years the Gaedes ran weekly ads in the old Wheaton Daily Journal acknowledging high school athletes, namely football players. Starting in 1974, those football awards culminated annually with the presentation of the Red Grange Award honoring one player from either Wheaton Central/Wheaton Warrenville South, Wheaton North or Wheaton Warrenville.
Beginning with Wheaton North's Keith Burlingame, a player earned the Red Grange Award based not only on football ability but also on academics and character. Last season, with Howard Gaede and College of DuPage football coach Matt Foster leading the transition, the award expanded to all of DuPage County with the inauguration of the Daily Herald DuPage County Red Grange Football Captain. Willowbrook's Jack Jessen earned the honor in 2017, and this year's winner will be announced in Friday's newspaper.
It all started with the late Mr. Gaede, whose generosity meant a lot to generations of athletes.
Score
On Tuesday the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association released its 2018 Boys Soccer All-State Team.
On the list were Lake Park senior Franco Presta, Naperville Central senior Cameron Strang, Wheaton Academy senior Seamus Kilgallon and a trio of Naperville North Huskies, senior Colin Iverson, junior Ty Konrad and senior Tommy Welch.
Incidentally, 16 days after making 12 saves to secure Naperville North's third straight Class 3A championship, 1-0 over Libertyville, Welch scored 35 points with 13 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 3 steals in a double-overtime basketball win over Hinsdale Central. Next the Loyola basketball recruit will change a crying baby's diaper while juggling three chain saws.
Dive in
From the desk of Evanston swim coach Kevin Auger comes his 2018-19 boys preseason swimming rankings.
Auger's top six teams are, in order: St. Charles North, Stevenson, Hinsdale Central, St. Charles East, Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central. Waubonsie Valley reaches No. 11 on a top-25 that includes No. 16 Lake Park and No. 23 Downers Grove North.
Defending state diving champion Kevin Sullivan of Downers North, a senior, is among Auger's dive favorites along with Naperville Central senior Wyatt Weaver.
Neuqua sophomore Connor Boyle and Hinsdale Central senior Donovan Lahmann join the top freestyle swimmers.
Auger likes Lake Park junior Ben Kimmel in the backstroke, butterfly and individual medley; he lists Waubonsie junior Aayush Deshpande among his top IM swimmers. Deshpande also is listed among the best in butterfly.
After the Neuqua Valley girls won their state title, we'll see how this unfolds.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com
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