Lake County captains find leading takes work

If you grew up watching the "Brady Bunch" like I did, you'd think that all the captain of the football team ever did was wear a letterman's sweater with a big 'C' on it and date popular girls like Marcia Brady.

Well, rest assured, there's much more to it than that. And we're not talking just coin flips here.

Around Lake County, where high school football is serious business, some coaches are spending more and more time making sure they've got serious leaders to herd the flock.

On some teams, there are interviews to do, and speeches - and more interviews. And that's just what it takes to become a captain in the first place.

Then come weekly meetings with the head coach, thankless jobs like cleaning out the locker room after games, and, of course, pep talks. Captains have to find a way to respectfully and effectively motivate teammates under some of the brightest, and occasionally harshest lights in high school sports.

This isn't just some title in name only. It's a job, and a very important one at that.

"We feel it's the highest honor you can achieve in our program," said Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski, who has attended coaching clinics that specialize in the art of picking and developing highly effective team captains.

"Your captains are the foundation of your team," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. "They can set the tone for your entire season."

Coaches like Kuceyeski and Stortz believe so strongly in the influence of good captains - and, conversely, bad ones - that they've adopted a selection process that could give White House and Supreme Court vetting a run for its money.

At Lake Zurich, for instance, players who want to become captains have to attend weekly leadership classes during the off-season that are taught by Stortz. They have to construct a resume that includes everything from grades to weight room attendance to other credible accomplishments.

Then, they have to bring their A-game to sit-down interviews with coaches and even former Lake Zurich players. What kind of leader are they? How would they handle a difficult situation with a teammate? Any question is fair game.

Finally, each applicant must give a speech in front of the entire team about leadership and what he brings to the table.

And here we thought running for President of the United States is rough.

"I knew what to expect, said Lake Zurich senior linebacker Robby Wilson, one of four team captains that also include Andy Blechschmidt, Peter Rantis and Devian Ruiz. "But I was still nervous."

Libertyville running back and linebacker Kevin Penny can relate. He also had to do interviews and give a speech in front of his teammates. And get this: as he was speaking, they were all grading his answers on a scale.

"I was real nervous because I'm generally not a great public speaker," said Penny, who is a captain along with five other players, Dan Chutich, Eric Andrews, Connor Shanks, Josh Girdaukas and Jon Hoffing. "The whole team is in this room and all the other guys who want to be captain are outside the room and you walk in and you kind of have this long walk to the front of the room because it's such a big room. It was quiet and everyone turned and looked at me. It was nerve-wracking."

But well worth it.

Penny says he wanted to be a captain because it was the perfect way for him to give back to a game that has meant so much to him throughout most of his life.

"I put myself out there with all the interviews and speeches and everything because I am so passionate about football and I wanted to let everyone know how I felt," Penny said. "I kind of felt with how much love I have for the game that if I was able to become a captain that could rub off on people and make this a really good season for our team."

Wilson had similar motives.

His brother Matt was a reserve defensive back on Lake Zurich's state championship team in 2007. He saw up close just how tough those players were physically and mentally and he is determined to help his team be the same.

"It's not like I grew up wishing to be captain of the football team," Wilson said. "Actually, I never thought I could be that kind of guy. But it grew to become really important to me the last couple of years. I noticed last year when I was a junior that whenever we struggled with something, it wasn't because we couldn't physically do it, we had trouble with the mental side of it.

"I think it takes a good leader to work through those problems and I thought that I could make a difference on the team. That's when (becoming a captain) became really important to me. I saw what the state championship team was like, how tough those guys were, and I wanted to help us be the same kind of team."

That answer certainly impressed the "voters" at Lake Zurich, a.k.a the players.

Captains at other schools have others to impress.

Some coaches, like Stevenson's Bill Mitz, handpick their captains themselves because they don't want a team vote to turn into a popularity contest.

At Lakes, coach Luke Mertens has implemented an interviewing process of captains that is so complete that it involves the principal, the assistant principal and even the superintendent.

"I wanted captainship to mean something," Mertens said. "Thus, applicants would have to work for it."

Much like a real job, in the real world.

Yep, this captain stuff really is about so much more than Marcia Brady.

"This is as much about a life lesson, too," Kuceyeski said. "Everything we do with our captains is something they can apply to the real world and we think that's pretty important."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com