Quite a golf coaching career for Hersey's Caporusso

Dan Caporusso will never forget his final boys golf team of a 33-year career coaching the sport at Hersey High School.

"What I remember most about this team was how they worked with a collective sense of humor that made every day a blast," he said.

Caporusso has had a blast in his career, overseeing more than 250 match wins, seven Mid-Suburban League titles and three trips (1997, 2002 and 2003) to the state final as a team with a fifth-place finish in 2003.

"As a golf coach, I essentially had three goals," said Caporusso, who is retiring following the school year after also serving as a history teacher at Hersey. "The first was to teach golf lessons that my players could carry with them for a lifetime. I also wanted Hersey golfers to go onto the course to compete and believe they could hit excellent golf shots.

"Clearly, it's impossible to own the game of golf and control the golf ball at all times, but my goal was for Hersey golfers to control how they believed in themselves at that moment over the golf ball. It's always easier said than done and I always understood how difficult the game of golf was, but the goal was (and is) to have good self-talk and say to yourself, 'I can do this.'

"Finally, I wanted to use the game of golf and its tradition of integrity to advance young men into adulthood."

One of the many players who was the beneficiary is 2002 Hersey graduate Brad Marek, who played four years under Caporusso's guidance. They have gone on to become very good friends.

"What separates Cap from other coaches is his passion for the game," said Marek, who has been playing professional golf since 2008. "He is constantly trying to add to his wealth of knowledge about the golf swing and ways to make his team and players better. Whether it's reading a golf book, taking lessons from top instructors or watching videos - he is relentless in his pursuit to get better as a coach."

Caporusso's teams won a regional championship in 1998 and a sectional title in 2002.

Marek holds the school's nine-hole record with a 31 at Old Orchard in an MSL match. Chris James (2008) and Marek (2001) share the 18-hole school record with a 68. In all, Caporusso has had 34 all conference golfers, including all-stater Steve Ratay in 1996.

"It's kind of hard to believe he might be done coaching, since I feel he increases his knowledge and keeps improving as a coach year after year," said Marek, who won on the Dakotas Tour this summer and has advanced to second stage on the European Tour Qualifying Events. "He has a great ability to recognize that no two players or teams are created the same - and tailors his coaching style based on what works best for that player or group of players."

Caporusso's 2003 team held a share of the lead in the state tournament after day one and just missed bringing home the top prize to Hersey.

"I have always felt that during our dinner meeting after the first 18 holes, I over-coached a conservative strategy at "The Den" (the dangerous state tournament golf course in Bloomington) and we came up just short of holding one of those amazing IHSA state trophies that I always had my heart set on," said Caporusso, the varsity coach since 1997. "I never had my hands on a state trophy until my daughters (Michelle and Noreen) accomplished the dream with their numerous state appearances for the Prospect High School girls golf team."

Noreen is now golfing for Northern Iowa while Michelle, who played at Northern Illinois, is the head girls golf coach at Glenbrook South.

They both got into the sport at young ages, like their father.

When he was about 12 years old, Dan's parents moved from Chicago to Mt. Prospect.

"Like so many people in Mt. Prospect, past and present, I was lured to the unique and special place that is the Mt. Prospect Golf Course," Dan said. "This golf course is almost 100 years old and is a community golf course that is located in the heart of the city."

Caporusso and his friends would ride their bikes to the course with golf bags across their shoulders during a period in history when the game was filled with legends such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Lee Trevino.

"They were still in great form and new names like Tom Waston, Ben Crenshaw and Seve Ballesteros were emerging," Caporusso said. "It was an exciting time for golf and the Mt. Prospect Golf Course was literally jammed with golfers from dawn till dusk."

In his teenage years, the course featured some of the best junior golfers in the state (Prospect's boys golf team won the state in 1977), and Caporusso was fortunate to learn from their excellence.

Although he really didn't have a desire to coach and teach during those younger years, Caporusso's father was always interested in history and summer vacations often included trips to national parks or historical markers. "His introduction led me to find that history is fascinating," Caporusso said. "And I certainly had more success in the study of history than in physics, chemistry or calculus. My interest in history naturally drew me into education and since I had competed in golf in high school and was still active in CDGA and USGA events, teaching golf was something I desired."

Caporusso played high school golf at Forest View for coaches Dan Rymarz and Tim Schaap.

"Those two men were a great golf coaching team and certainly influenced the manner in which I have coached my golf teams for the past 33 years," Caporusso said. "As is the case with golf coaches past and present, they provided us with sound fundamental golfing principles.

"They made the game fun and were role models with strong character and integrity. They inspired me to compete at the collegiate level and in amateur tournaments after college."

Caporusso still sees Rymarz and Schaap today.

"And I know they are proud of the fact that I am still competing in amateur and open events (mostly senior events now)," he said.

Caporusso said that luck played a major part in what impacted his career as a golf coach and instructor.

"It was about 25 years ago when I was a young golf coach thinking I knew the game and thinking I could play the game as well," he said. "During that summer, I was playing in the CDGA match play event and I met an excellent player in the round of 16 and he thrashed me good."

Caporusso was very impressed by the player's fundamentals and how he hit the ball.

"So I asked him about his instructor," Caporusso said. "He introduced me to John Elliott who was (and still is) a Golf Digest 100 best instructor in the game. I soon took my first lesson and I learned how little I knew about golf."

He has since taken countless lessons from Elliott - and sometimes about subjects other than golf.

"His golf instruction and friendship shaped my career and the golfing lives of my entire family, most notably my daughters who both were all-state golfers and college athletes," Caporusso said. "I have taken countless number of Hersey golfers to John over the years and his sage advice regarding the fundamentals of the game and the manner in which to play the game were always an inspiration."

Caporusso is also most proud of the friendships he maintains with former golfers. He is still in contact with many and actually coached one of the sons of a former golfer, John Flowers, this year. Flowers was part of a team that finished with a 325 at the regional, which was 37 shots lower than the team score the Huskies shot earlier in the season.

"Improving at the game of golf is the dream of every golfer," Caporusso said. "Yet improvement is a goal that is not always achieved in what many people believe is sport's most difficult game. This 2015 golf team soaked in as much golf instruction as was humanly possible in a two-month high school season. They never stopped trying to learn new shots or lost the desire to pound away on the golf range until the glimpse of light."

While he has completed his teaching and coaching career, Caporusso knows he will continue to be a part of teaching golf with his former golfer and friend, PGA professional Doug Brazeau, at the Old Orchard Country Club.

"We have been a team for years, teaching golf camps or teaching the Sunshine Through Golf program, which provides golf to special needs golf students," Caporusso said. "To some degree I also believe that high school golf will still be part of my life for years to come."

Women's cross country

Notre Dame senior Karen Lesiewicz (Schaumburg) earned a 16th place all-conference in the 6K Atlantic Coast Conference championship with a time of 20.38.7. Notre Dame's women placed third overall in the meet.

• North Central junior Amanda Cortese (Hersey) hit the finish line fourth (2:41.0) as the Cardinals collected their second straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin team championship and its fifth in the past seven years.

Men's cross country

Illinois senior Jereme Atchison (Buffalo Grove) won Big Ten athlete of the week acclaim by winning the Illini Open at the University of Illinois Arboretum.

Atchison crossed the finish line on the 8K course in 25:23.1, 11 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. It was his first Big Ten athlete of the week honor, and the first for the Illini since Oct. 29, 2013.

• Augustana senior Ethan Koch (Prospect) was the Vikings' top finisher, running a fourth-place 25:44.9, at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships at Wayne E. Dannehl Course. The Vikings took second place as a team.

Football

Augustana senior quarterback Sam Frasco (Prospect) accounted for 362 yards of total offense and had a part in all 6 of Augustana's touchdowns in a 45-7 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin victory over North Park.

Vikings junior linebacker Jack Asquini (Buffalo Grove) led the defense with 16 total tackles (five solo and 11 assists) and 3 tackles for losses.

• Carthage junior quarterback Ethan Olles (Palatine) threw 3 touchdowns passes, including one to freshman wide receiver Eddie Miklasz (Hersey) and another to junior tight end Javier Rhoades (Leyden) in the Red Men's 36-17 victory over Millikin.

Olles finished the game 13-of-22 passing for 174 yards and no interceptions.

Carthage junior Nick Anzelmo (Schaumburg) rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.

• Please submit Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.