Year-round athletes the norm for SCN

One of St. Charles North boys basketball coach Tom Poulin's biggest regrets in life was something he didn't do in high school.

Poulin, a 1991 graduate of St. Charles High School, decided not to play baseball and football in high school. Instead, he pursued just basketball.

Poulin started playing football and baseball around third grade. He picked up basketball in seventh grade and stuck with it.

Poulin said if could change the past, he'd play all three sports in high school.

"I wish I could go back and do it all over again," said Poulin, who is in his second year coaching the North Stars.

Obviously, Poulin can't return to his past, but what he can do is repeat his story to his current players who are talented, athletic and have the abilities to play more than one sport.

"I always use my story as an example," Poulin said.

The players on the basketball team must have listened, as 12 of the 15 boys play two or more sports.

Poulin doesn't want those kids to live with the regret he has.

"It's something that is dying -- the multi-sport athlete," Poulin said. "It will pay off in the long run, and they will be better people for it."

Of the 15 players on the roster, Nick Neari, Mike Lefelstein, Eric Battle, Nic Higgins, Jake Juriga, Jonathan DeMoss, Tim Janeway and Chris Nelson also play football. Zach Hirsch, Danny Jimenez and Jake Thornton are also on the baseball team. Rusty Lavaja is the lone volleyball player and Battle is the only three-sport athlete, as he is also on the track team.

Why bother?

Isn't being a multi-sport athlete difficult? Doesn't it take up too much time? Can't they just make up their minds and pick just one?

No way. Playing just one sport would make players like Neari bored. When the junior, who has a 4.3 GPA and is in all AP classes, is not the starting quarterback on the football team, he's the North Stars' starting point guard.

However…

"When I'm playing football, I want to be on the basketball court, and when I'm on the basketball court, I want to be playing football," said Neari, who used to play baseball his freshman year.

Love for both sports keeps them coming back for more. That, and learning how to balance sports, homework and a social life is all part of the process. Most of them are used to it anyway.

"I've done it all my life, so it hasn't been too hard (to balance everything)," said Battle, a junior guard/receiver/running back who uses track to stay in shape for the other two sports. "It keeps me active."

Poulin said playing more than one sport stretches way beyond athleticism.

"As a coach, you get kids who have a real good work ethic and who are used to putting in the time," Poulin said. "These guys are all natural leaders on a daily basis. That's why they excel at more than one sport. A lot of these guys are all-conference and some of the best players in the area. They are all hard-workers."

Do they have a preference?

For some of the multi-sport athletes, it is clear which sport is their favorite and which is their best.

Jimenez and Thornton's future is clearly baseball, as both have promising careers in the sport they will play in college next year. Thornton is heading to Illinois State University and Jimenez is going to John A. Logan, a junior college in Carterville.

The decision for Thornton, an all-area center fielder, and Jimenez, a left-handed pitcher, to play basketball their final year of high school was easy. The only reason why they didn't play last year was because they both wanted to dedicate their junior year to their main sport.

"I missed playing basketball, but it did me a lot of good practicing all year round for baseball," said Thornton, who was one of two juniors in the state to earn all-state honors in baseball last year. "I wanted something new to do. I didn't want to be known as a one-sport athlete."

Poulin, who coached Thornton and Jimenez when they were sophomores on his sophomore team, was glad to see them at tryouts. They were the perfect example of what he should have done in high school.

"They wanted to have that experience their senior year," Poulin said. "They know where they are going (to college), they know what they are doing. Now they can finish their senior year out with their friends. It's a great situation for them."

Thornton and Jimenez aren't the only ones who know which sport is the better one for them. Juriga, for example, knows football is his main priority, and so does Poulin.

"That is where his future lies," Poulin said.

"Football is my sport, but basketball is fun," added Juriga, a 6-foot-3 forward/center whose dad played in the NFL. Jake is one of the state's most heavily recruited juniors as a linebacker.

Nelson and Lefelstein, who both called basketball "fun," prefer football as well.

"It's just one of my passions," Nelson said.

"I've played basketball my whole life, but I'm really starting to like football a lot more," Lefelstein added.

Lavaja, who rarely sees time in basketball games, plans on playing volleyball in college.

"(Volleyball) is my primary sport, but I just love playing basketball," the 6-foot-7 senior said.

DeMoss made a huge impact on the football team this year as a receiver, but has been on varsity basketball since his freshman year.

"Basketball and football are two different sports," said DeMoss, a junior who leads the North Stars in scoring at 10.1 points per game. "(I like) basketball because of the atmosphere and what goes around you. It's a lot more fun."

The other players either have time to decide or are undecided with their future with sports. Some of them, like Neari, are already being recruited for both sports.

Higgins and Janeway both said they prefer whatever sport is in season.

What about injuries?

Injuries happen. They can happen any place at any time doing anything. Poulin isn't worried about losing one of his basketball players to an injury they get playing another sport.

"You can't think that way," Poulin said. "(Injuries) are the least of my worries."

During football season, DeMoss struggled with a shoulder injury that may have limited him during the basketball season. North Stars football coach Mark Gould thought it would be best if DeMoss didn't play, but Poulin, after speaking with DeMoss' family and DeMoss, thought it would be OK.

Poulin, who is also a special teams coach, also coached DeMoss as a kick returner.

"I had to kind of convince Mark Gould to let (DeMoss) go back in there, and of course, Mark was looking out for (DeMoss') best interests," Poulin said. "As a special teams coach, you want your best athlete back there."

Perhaps if Poulin and Gould did not work together with football, this dilemma would have been harder to work out. Sharing athletes has never been an issue with the other coaches.

The other coaches agree with Poulin in encouraging the boys to participate in other sports.

"It's rare to be able to play more than one varsity sport," St. Charles North baseball coach Todd Genke said. "It's a privilege for those kids to be able to do that. I think it's great for their competitive nature. I think when they are involved with another team and another sport, they can really learn some things from that."

"I think we are lucky with Coach Gould and Coach Genke and that we are all good friends," Poulin added.

Friendship + team chemistry = winning

The coaches aren't the only ones who get along well. Most of the boys have spent so much time playing on the same teams and have known each other for a long time. As a result, some of them have become best friends.

"Jake (Thornton) and Danny (Jimenez) are my two best friends, and I'm so glad they came out for the team this year," said Higgins, a senior guard/running back. "I've been playing with (Nick) Neari, (Jonathan) DeMoss and Tim (Janeway) for such a long time, it's like a brotherhood type of thing, and that's great."

"I love all the guys on the team," Thornton added. "It's a good group. I'm friends with all of them."

When you like your teammates, you play better.

The North Stars, however, didn't get off to the best start this season. They went 2-7, but have impressively turned their season around.

It didn't help they started the season at St. Charles East's Thanksgiving tournament, where they lost to East Aurora, Wheaton North and Proviso East, then beat Proviso West for their first win of the season.

"Our athleticism allowed us to put on a good show, and the kids played hard, but the skills were shaky," Poulin said. "There was rust around the edges, but we kept telling the kids they were going to be fine."

The North Stars are currently 13-9 overall (6-2 in the Upstate Eight Conference) and have won 11 of their last 13 games.

They got along earlier in the season -- they just weren't used to playing with one another and for some of them, weren't used to playing basketball. Now they are.

"When we were all sophomores, we all played together, so we had an idea we were going to be good this year," Janeway said. "It took some time for us to start playing together, but I'd say it's working out well now."

Will it ever be like this again?

Five of the 12 multi-sport athletes are graduating this year, which means 7 are returning. But will they? What if any of them decide to focus on just one sport?

No need to worry about that now. Poulin's just appreciating it.

"We may never have something like this again," he said.

That's just something Poulin will have to deal with. But if they do choose one sport, Poulin, perhaps, might just remind them of one of his biggest regrets.

"You are in high school once," he said. "You get to have these experiences once.

"It's really how high school sports should be."