Northbrook Park District names 2024 Coach of the Year

Playing basketball in high school taught Carl Peller fundamental life lessons. As a volunteer coach for the Northbrook Park District, he’s been devoted to helping young girls enjoy the same experience.

At the park district, Peller is a head coach for girls’ soccer and basketball, and an assistant coach for girls’ softball. His teams currently comprise 8- to 10-year-olds, including his 9-year-old twin daughters.

“Sports taught me about working hard for something, If you want it bad enough,” Peller said. “No age is too young to learn that lesson.”

Peller’s skill and dedication, along with his desire to see his players grow on and off the field, earned him the park district’s 2024 Coach of the Year award.

Athletics Coordinator Alex Prazuch said the park district is grateful to have a volunteer of Carl’s caliber, with players’ families attesting to his tremendous talent for coaching and commitment to leadership.

During the award nomination process, “parents praised the off-the-field lessons that Carl was able to instill in his players — lessons like going all-out for the person next to you, celebrating the small wins and staying positive through adversity,” Prazuch said. “This is truly the greatest praise anyone can have for one of our coaches. Teams come and go, as does interest in sports for a lot of kids, but those values can last a lifetime.”

Peller, a Northbrook resident, grew up in Northfield and played baseball, tennis and basketball as a child. He attended New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, where he played basketball point guard and had a successful varsity career.

He majored in history at the University of Colorado and then went into options trading, following in his father’s footsteps. He now owns Pinnacle Trading LLC.

Peller started about five years ago as an assistant coach for the basketball program alongside Ryan Skale — a past recipient of the Coach of the Year award — and began coaching soccer shortly after. He’s been coaching softball since last year.

“My main philosophy is that sports is my medium to teach the girls life lessons,” Peller said. “I want my kids to learn about competition and work ethic, and I want them to learn compassion and friendship, and working as a team,” he said.

“I want them to compete, and I want them to understand that they are not always going to win,” he added. “To be able to take both wins and losses in stride, that’s a big part of life.”

Shortly after he started coaching for the park district, Peller created a girls’ first grade basketball league with more than 50 participants, including his daughters.

“You could tell, even in kindergarten, that the boys have a level of aggression that the girls didn’t really have, and I didn’t want any girls to be discouraged,” he said. “I wanted them to love the sport, and I felt that the easiest way to do that was to create an all-girls league. So much of sports is being with your friends and having fun with your friends.”

As a coach, it’s imperative to hold kids’ attention while making sure they have fun, Peller said. He focuses on teaching fundamentals through mini-team competitions so players can bond and forge friendships, he said.

“It’s impossible to get to learn anything at that age unless you’re having a good time. The number one goal is for all of them to want them to come back or look forward to it.”

It’s also essential to keep parents engaged, said Peller, who each week drafts elaborate emails to families highlighting their children’s achievements while keeping them informed of logistics and schedules.

Earning the Coach of the Year award means a great deal to him, Peller said.

“I put a lot of energy and heart into all the kids that I coach, and it’s nice to be recognized for that,” he said. “It’s really my passion. I love doing it, and it’s important to me for a lot of reasons. One of them is that I develop relationships with other children and parents, and that has given (my family) a lot of friends that we probably wouldn’t have without sports.”

Established in 1927, the mission of the Northbrook Park District is to enhance the community by providing outstanding services, parks and facilities through environmental, social and financial stewardship.