Lakes graciously gives back

It’s that time of year when people like to spread good cheer and also help the less fortunate.

The Lakes girls basketball team is no exception.

The Eagles are planning to sing Christmas carols with the residents of Victory Lakes, a senior living community in Lindenhurst. Recently, they also spent three hours helping the staff and residents there decorate for the holidays.

On another occasion this month, the Eagles spent an evening together shopping for gifts for children whose families can’t afford to put much, if anything, under the tree.

“The kids all donate what they can, a few dollars, $5, $10, and we head out shopping as a group to select and purchase gifts for families who are (suggested) by Open Arms Mission,” Lakes coach Pete Schneider said. “It is such a neat experience for me to watch these kids put so much thought into each gift for their child. They are so touched by it. They really want to get cool stuff and they want to stretch their money as far as they can, trying to get two gifts instead of one.

“This is a great event as the kids learn to help and share. I think it’s important for the kids to learn values and life lessons through sports.”

But here’s the thing: the Eagles aren’t just learning these lessons around the holidays. Schneider has put such an emphasis on charity work and community service that his players are giving back all year long.

“We’re a full-service program,” Schneider said with a chuckle. “I think we’re kind of unique. I think all of the charitable things we do as a team kind of sets us apart.”

For instance, the team gives up one night of practice each week during the season (Monday nights this season) to host a camp for grade school kids in the community. The players run the drills and offer instruction.

Currently, there are more than 40 local girls attending the camp each Monday.

Also, each player is enrolled in the “Big Sister, Little Sister” program at school. Older kids help younger kids with homework, social issues and problems at home.

“You see seniors helping freshmen with their math homework,” Schneider said. “It’s really nice. By putting our kids in this environment, by doing things together and in the community, they get to know each other better, they see the bigger picture beyond basketball and I think it really brings them closer together off the court and on the court.

“When you go through tough times during a season, having something larger than the game to hang your hat on is really important. It helps you get through those tough times and it also give you a great sense of pride in yourself and your community.”

Blasts from the past: They used to run the floor at Vernon Hills.

Now, they roam the sidelines there.

Rachel Blanton, Laura Nardini and Lauren Rucks were star players at Vernon Hills during their high school days. Now, the three young professionals are on the front end of their careers in education and they’re coaching on the side, for their alma mater.

All three are assistants or underlevel coaches for their varsity coach at Vernon Hills, Paul Brettner.

“It’s really nice to have them all coaching here,” Brettner said. “Having gone through the varsity level with me, they know what I’m expecting and that helps with expectations with the girls. The can tell the girls, when you do this, it works, when you do that, it doesn’t.

“They also bring a nice connection to our history.”

Blanton is in her fourth year as the varsity assistant coach at Vernon Hills. A 2004 graduate and a four-year varsity player, she was on the first team in school history.

“Rachel was a great player because she could play guard, forward or center. She could do it all,” Brettner said of Blanton, who went on to play college basketball at Aurora. “She was part of our 2002-03 team that won 20 games and her versatility was important because we didn’t have a kid who was over 5-foot-8 that year.”

Nardini, a 2006 graduate, and Rucks, a 2007 graduate, are in their second and first years with the program, respectively.

Nardini, a shooting guard who was also a soccer star and played soccer in college at Winona, still owns the Vernon Hills record for most three-pointers in a game with six. She is the freshman B coach while her father is the freshman A coach.

Rucks was like Blanton and could play any position the Cougars needed filled.

“She played mostly forward,” Brettner said of Rucks. “But she played point guard her senior year because we really needed her to (due to an injury to the starting point guard).

“All three of them (Blanton, Nardini, Rucks) would do anything for the team.”