Coach's Corner: Welcome to the 2050 Glenbrook Olympics!

Welcome folks to the 2050 Olympic Games!

What a thrill for our hometowns of Northbrook and Glenview to be named hosts of this year's Summer Olympic Games, beating out more traditional venues like Athens, Greece; Sydney Australia; London; Tokyo; Beijing, China, and the Netherlands.

Not to mention our own country's contenders like Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans and New York City. Even Chicago lost out.

We certainly want to extend a warm welcome to all the incredible athletes from around the world, and hope they all enjoy their stay at our Olympic Village, which will be located on the spacious grounds of Covenant Retirement Assisted Living Facility in Northbrook.

The quality grounds and housing there should be ideal for athletes to roam around, socialize and enjoy their two-week stay. A special thank you to all the seniors who live there now who have been (mostly voluntarily) removed from their homes and rehoused at different locations.

Side note to seniors, please excuse, in advance, the mess left by the athletes when you do return to your normal housing residence.

Athlete security will be provided by the Northbrook Police Department, with occasional backup assistance from the FBI and Homeland Security.

We also want to thank OLPH Church in Glenview for giving up its school, church and recreational facilities to become the media headquarters, where press from around the world will be housed. And thanks to Stahls Office Supplies on Waukegan Road for being the "official supplier of internet and communication needs" for all Olympic media sources.

The opening ceremonies should be truly amazing. The Parade of Athletes marching down Willow Road will be a spectacle for all to see, with Northbrook residents lining up on the north side of the road and Glenview residents packing the south. The "Don't forget Northbrook Days 2050 celebration" and "Hug The Bear" signs will be perfect accompaniment to the nations' flags that will be flying proudly.

The fact that a couple of local residents stalled the proceedings by suing the village for having the stop lights at Pfingsten and Landwehr roads shut off for the parade was disappointing, but I am sure the athletes won't mind waiting at intersections to allow for northbound and southbound traffic to continue to flow smoothly.

The Opening Ceremonies, to be held at Meadowhill Park in Northbrook, should be no less spectacular. Although the 50 and over men's baseball league refused to cancel their regularly scheduled game that night, and the baseball diamond will unfortunately be in use, hopefully TV viewers won't be distracted and can still enjoy all the festivities, which will feature performances from The Glenbrook South and Glenbrook North Drama departments, The Glenview Theatre Guild and Special Gifts Theatre of Northbrook, among others.

The highlight of the opening ceremonies, of course, is the lighting of the Olympic torch, and will be done at the top of the famous sled hill at Meadowhill Park. What a majestic moment that should prove to be, as one lucky athlete will be chosen to climb to the top of the hill and, with the whole world watching, light the Olympic Torch.

Who will be selected? It is a secret, as is tradition, but rumors include Northbrook speedskaters Diane Holum (gold in 1972), Ann Henning (gold in 1972) or maybe Glenview's speedskater Brian Hansen (silver in 2010). Others mentioned include rower Allie Rusher (2021, editor's note: publication time did not allow for us to have her final result in) or amazing Glenview swimmer Olivia Smoliga, who defied age and two frustrating previous Olympic trips to finally win gold in the 100 backstroke in the 2040 Olympics at the comeback age of 45.

As far as the actual competition, there will be no lack of action in our communities the next couple weeks.

The swimming venue will provide thrills, as always, and can be viewed at the Meadowhill Aquatic Center in Northbrook, where lanes 1 through 3 and 5 through 8 will be for Olympic competition, while the prestigious middle lane, No. 4, will unfortunately not be available, as it is already reserved for seniors "lap swimming. "

Diving will be held at Glenview's Flick Park Pool, and be sure to keep an eye out for the exciting, new "giant waterslide" competition - a first time event.

Track and field will be held at John Davis Stadium in Glenview. Seats and tickets are limited and will begin at $200; however, all Glenbrook South students will be admitted free, assuming they have their school issued student ID computer chip implanted in their right forearm.

Baseball will be held at Walters Field in Northbrook (very short home run fences, so neighbors on Shermer Road be forewarned), while softball competition will take place in the quiet residential neighborhood of Swenson Park in Glenview. All games must end by 10 p.m., per village lighting rules.

Milwaukee Avenue's proud Community Park West will host all the soccer games, and we are hoping the high traffic volume on the Tri-State Tollway, complete with trucks honking, as well as large industrial trains passing by won't cause too much of a distraction, especially for the United States women, who will try for their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Amazingly, they have won gold every one of those years without ever actually scoring a goal! The U.S. somehow keeps winning in the dreaded shootout overtime.

One of the highlights of the Summer Games, of course, is the must-watch gymnastics competition, which will be held at The American Academy of Gymnastics in Northbrook, where thousands are expected to attend. Keep an eye out for 51-year-old senior sensation Simone Biles as she goes for her record 132nd gold medal.

Archery will be held inside the friendly confines of Glenview's Community Bark West Dog Park (no word yet on if dogs will be allowed to be in attendance); rifle competition will be held at Sleepy Hollow Park in Glenview (neighbors encouraged not to jog through the park during the time of competition); weightlifting at The Park Center in Glenview; and all equestrian activities will be held at Techny Prairie Activity Center.

Cycling? Easiest choice of all. It will be conducted at the world-renowned Ed Rudolph Velodrome in Northbrook.

Finally, all beach volleyball games will be played on the sand courts at Flick Park in Glenview, while basketball will be held on the outdoor courts at Johns Park (neighborhood rule, lights shut off at 9 p.m.).

All in all, it should be a truly memorable two weeks, and again such a thrill for our two communities to be hosting these games.

When the Games finally conclude, we are told that there will be a "post Games "gathering for all athletes and their families at the Dairy Bar in Glenview.

I think those of us who are regular customers would agree there is no better place to wind down after the July heat and an intense two weeks of competition.

Now. Let the Games begin!

• Jon Cohn of Glenview is a coach, retired PE teacher, sports official and prep sports fan. To contact him with comments or story ideas, email jcsportsandtees@aol.com.