Boys soccer: Success a product of hard work for Naperville North's Sullivan
Chris Sullivan chose to surround himself with two great examples of how to be a very good soccer player.
The all-state selection, the captain of the 2015 Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area boys soccer team, often would send out a group text to his teammates and invite them to join him for shooting practice at Nike Park. When he wasn't shooting he was lifting weights at Life Time Fitness.
The junior forward did this throughout the year and particularly enjoyed the time he shared with older brother, Joe, a member of the 2012 All-Area team, as well as Naperville Central grad Pat Flynn, the captain of the 2012 All-Area team.
Those two, now teammates at Bowling Green State University, were two of the better players to recently play in the area; Joe Sullivan is second in Naperville North history in all-time assists, while Flynn possesses the Redhawks' record for most goals in a season and all-time.
"I had a good sophomore season and I knew what we had coming back, but I knew I had to get better," Sullivan said. "Everyday I was working on not only getting stronger but preparing myself mentally and building my confidence. I had to become comfortable as the guy asked to score goals. That was huge for me."
He was without doubt huge for the Huskies. You will not find a conference in the state that's better than the DuPage Valley Conference, and the Huskies not only won it with a 7-1-0 record, but they dominated it, outscoring their eight opponents 28-5.
The Huskies (17-5-0) were upset by rival Naperville Central in the Class 3A Metea Valley sectional title game, but they still won their eighth regional title in nine years and knocked off Bolingbrook in a sectional semifinal.
Earlier in the year they won the Best of the West Tournament, something they hadn't done since 2011. They defeated Bartlett 1-0, a team that will play in the state semifinals this weekend, behind - you guessed it - a goal from Sullivan.
Team player
"I give a lot of the credit to my teammates. When it came down to the wire they had confidence in me to get me the ball and for me to put it away," he said. "They believed in me. That faith fuels you and that feeling of scoring the winning goal is like being on top of the world. Obviously, everyone wants to be the kid who counts down the shot '3-2-1' and tries to make it. The ball just happened to bounce my way this year and I took advantage."
Sullivan had 10 goals and 10 assists last year. His numbers increased this season when he finished with 19 goals, including 7 game-winners, along with 12 assists.
"He came into the program with all the tools as a freshman, but the way he continued to develop and learned to take over games is where he's really come on, especially this season," Huskies coach Jim Konrad said. "Like his brother (Joe), he refuses to lose. This year we saw that from Chris as a difference maker. He became that big-time, go-to guy and brought that killer edge to our team. I've looked at our schedule and I seriously believe we're a .500 team if not for Chris."
Teams knew what Sullivan was capable of doing, but he still continued to beat them.
"There were so many games where Chris single-handedly beat two or three guys and created a goal himself," Konrad said. "He'd split two or three defenders and slip one in time and time again."
Naperville Central coach Troy Adams has seen his share of great players, and he adds Sullivan to that list. The Redhawks split a pair of 1-0 games with the Huskies this fall.
"Chris is great. He's dangerous and his soccer IQ is as high as any player I've seen," Adams said. "He knows what to do with the ball when he gets it. He knows when to be dangerous and when to get his teammates involved. We talked about making sure we are committed to not diving in, because he'll make you pay."
All those hours spent shooting certainly paid off.
"There's no doubt that associating with his brother Joe and Flynn has helped make him a better player. They're all great kids," Konrad said. "The thing about Chris is he's the kind of kid that his teammates want to play for. He inspires them and that's probably the best thing you can say about him. He's incredibly gifted physically, but it's the hard work, the willingness to scrap, to take ownership if he fails, to come through and be willing to take risks and to always be ready to battle."
Ready to lead
The Huskies needed a leader on the field, and Sullivan rose into that role and embraced it.
"I'm not a vocal leader, but I lead by example," he said. "I like to be the first one to practice and the last one to leave. When I was initially named a captain this year, which was voted on by my teammates, it really boosted my confidence and I just went from there."
Now, he'll take a bit of a respite from soccer. He's set to transition to the hardwood to play basketball this winter, but that will be brief. He'll return to the pitch for his senior season next fall.
"He's the whole deal," Konrad said. "He's a smart kid, who gets great grades and someone everyone at school knows and likes. And the best thing is he'll be back for another season."