Along with Steve Luke, we enjoyed the journey
Steve Luke is one of those people I wish I’d spent more time with.
He always seemed to have good track and field teams at Waubonsie Valley, good athletes. His Warriors placed fourth in Class AA in 2005, sixth in 2004.
That’s secondary to the wit, humor, positivity and smarts he and his brother, B.J., the Warriors football coach of the era, brought north from their hometown, Danville.
The Lukes seemed to specialize in folksy comments they rolled out almost laconically. Yet they knew exactly what they were talking about and cared deeply about their sports and the athletes they coached.
After an aggressive bout of melanoma, B.J. Luke said, Steve Luke died Sept. 14 at 69.
“He was the ultimate Danville kid. The way I describe him is one of ‘The Sandlot’ kids from that movie,” B.J. Luke said from Sugar Hill, Georgia, where he’s coaching fullbacks and tight ends for North Gwinnett High School football. His son, R.J., is on the staff, and daughter Ashley lives and coaches girls high school basketball nearby.
“He carried that on into his coaching and I think that’s why he was so successful,” said B.J. Luke, two years older. “Kids just liked to be around him and he was very good to them. He could be firm and still bring humor and fun to the team.”
The brothers coached together 30 years, both at Waubonsie Valley, then back at Danville, where they sparked an athletic resurgence. B.J. Luke recalled his brother taking the track team to fun locales such as Louisville, Orlando, the Texas Relays, places the athletes may not otherwise visit.
Steve Luke led Danville to a seventh-place tie in Class 2A in 2010, pretty good for a program that had six athletes before he got there.
“He thought I went crazy,” B.J. Luke said about returning home. “He said, if you’re going, I ought to go.”
A light touch for athletes and families in need, in the wake of a pair of fatal accidents due to drunk driving, in 1998 at Waubonsie Valley Steve Luke started the Red Ribbon Classic track meet. Current Warriors boys track coach Kevin Rafferty has maintained the Red Ribbon since Luke’s tenure ended.
“He just had a knack about bringing people together,” B.J. Luke said.
A solid pole vaulter at Augustana and Illinois State’s vault coach at the time of his death, at Waubonsie and Danville Steve Luke coached 37 state medalists. He also had stints at Purdue and the University of Illinois.
Luke entered the Illinois Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame last January. Thanking his Waubonsie Valley track predecessor Craig Clendening, fellow coaches, his family and brother, and his wife, Linda, Luke then noted retired Augustana coach Paul Olsen’s “mantra of enjoying the journey.”
“I really kind of want to make sure,” Luke said, voice cracking a bit, “that Coach Olsen realizes that I have.”
Supper Club special
Earlier this month, the 10th Brandy Old Fashioned Golf Outing at Cary Country Club raised nearly $8,600 for the Alzheimer’s Association.
The event, run by retired Lake in the Hills parks director Randy Splitt and his wife, Kristin, with help from family including former Palatine head football coach Rick Splitt, is in memory of their parents and particularly their mother, Agnes Splitt, who died in 2016 after battling Alzheimer’s.
We’re not up on Wisconsin supper clubs, but Randy Splitt said his family visited them often, and the Brandy Old Fashioned was a popular beverage. Hence the name, once the family decided on a fundraising approach.
“When we started this it was more about families and friends,” said Randy Splitt, who in addition to working in parks and recreation in Gurnee, Libertyville and Lake in the Hills, coached baseball at Bartlett, Carmel and St. Viator high schools. Rick Splitt is now defensive coordinator for Cary-Grove football.
“What we’re finding out is more and more people that have participated are now dealing with something in their own lives,” Randy Splitt said.
Rick Splitt said the event is geared more to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s than raising money. It drew 122 golfers and 130 people overall, some donating funds or purchasing raffle tickets.
A treasured prize is Agnes Splitt’s golf bag, stuffed with anything from nice shirts and hats to cases of beer, depending on the stuffer.
“The event allows us to pay it forward to help all that we can. That was a simple message that my mom coached us to do as we grew up,” Rick Splitt said. “It's a very fun and meaningful day for all of us.”
doberhelman@dailyherald.com