ICCP doing its part to help Turn Two

Community service, IC Catholic Prep baseball coach Frank DeAngelis said, never stops.

That's why the Knights will participate in the Turn Two for Youth baseball equipment drive again this spring.

DeAngelis, a 1997 graduate of the Elmhurst school, said the team's initial effort in 2017 resulted in donations of 40-50 bats, 20-30 gloves, catcher's gear, whiffle balls, spikes - you name it - packed in more than 30 boxes and distributed to less fortunate ballplayers.

"I think it's a really great program," DeAngelis said. "I think we'll start in the next week or two and we'll see how much we can gather again."

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Turn Two for Youth, the official charity of the American Baseball Coaches Association, accepts donated gear new and used, cleans and refurbishes it, and sends it to "credible organizations" worldwide.

"They disperse it as need be," DeAngelis said. "We ask that it could stay locally."

He's not too picky, though, and at the 2018 ABCA Convention in Indianapolis this January representatives from the charity thanked DeAngelis for the Knights' huge haul last year, one of the program's most successful efforts.

"I was shocked when I heard that," he said.

This year's drive will run Monday through May 28, with drop-offs after 3:15 p.m. at the Knights' home facility, the Plunkett Athletic Complex off West Avenue in Elmhurst. Drop-offs outside of normal hours or even away from Plunkett can be arranged by reaching DeAngelis at fdeangelis@iccatholicprep.org.

He hopes fellow Metro Suburban Conference programs will pitch in with donations when they visit for games. He's confident his own players will again pack a bunch of boxes.

"They really get that service component thing, and we hope that stays with them for life," DeAngelis said.

"It's little things like this that we hope can kick-start them, and it doesn't have to be big. It can be a little thing like this, an equipment drive."

The king of Dukes

Rob Wagner of York High School was named Illinois Athletic Directors Association Division 3 Class 3A/4A athletic director of the year for 2018. The IADA includes seven divisions statewide.

Wagner will receive his award at a May 5 banquet as part of the annual IADA State Conference in Peoria. Criteria include a minimum of five years of service and membership to the IADA, accomplishments and service to the school and community, experience hosting Illinois High School Association events and two letters of recommendation.

"It means a lot. It's a great honor to be recognized by your peers," said Wagner, nominated by Hinsdale Central athletic director Dan Jones.

It's actually Wagner's second term as Dukes athletic director, his first from 2006-10 after serving three years as a dean. Wagner worked separate two-year assistant principal stints in student services and finance and student activities before returning as athletic director in the 2014-15 school year.

For a time Wagner considered a career as a principal, which is why he took those assistant positions. He changed his mind.

"My home," he said, "is athletics."

Young Master Lim

Regardless of age, for a golfer it doesn't get much better than meeting defending Masters champion Sergio Garcia, getting Nancy Lopez's advice on quieting the yips and putting on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Andrew Lim, a seventh-grader at Kennedy Junior High in Lisle, experienced that and more on and off the course as part of the fifth annual Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals, last weekend at the home of the Masters.

"It was really exciting and amazing to be able to go there, to Augusta. I met a lot of golf legends and made a lot of new friends, and everyone there was really supportive of everyone," said Lim, whose journey to the competition was detailed in a March 29 story by the Daily Herald's Marie Wilson.

A 13-year-old with an 8.2 handicap playing at Naperville Country Club, Lim brought a nice gallery - his parents, David and Jinny Lim; grandparents Ho and Connie Lee; sister Emma, a sophomore golfer at Naperville Central; and fourth-grade brother Matthew, also a golfer.

In 2017 Andrew survived three qualifying rounds to reach the finals last Sunday. Eighty boys and girls age 7-15 competed within four age groups, with Lim tied for sixth among boys 12-13.

His best discipline was the first, Lim belting a drive 229.1 yards to finish fourth in that round. He had the disadvantage of chipping first, without benefit of seeing how the golf ball bounced and rolled around on the green. He finished in the middle of the pack in the putting competition.

"The greens were really fast. Really fast," Lim said.

Fast crowd, too. Saturday the kids practiced near Gary Player and Annika Sörenstam, and at that night's dinner he mingled with people like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the rare female member at Augusta and somewhat of a Drive, Chip and Putt ambassador.

"I asked Nancy Lopez about what to do if I'm nervous, and she gave me a lot of good advice," Lim said. "She told me to take deep breaths and just calm myself down like that."

He said he was "a little disappointed" with how he performed in the finals, but a 229-yard drive down the fairway will always bring you back. That and a little help from his new friends.

"A lot of them said I did a good job," Lim said.

The Sodfather

Due to a home-field disadvantage, in 2017 Montini played one home softball game, its senior day contest.

The infield was fine but the outfield was literally a rotten mess. Because of poor drainage the grass was plagued by brown patch disease, Broncos coach Mike Bukovsky said, which killed the grass in spots and produced divots that made bounces and footing "treacherous."

"We tried to fill some things in and do some things differently and we just couldn't (fix it)," said Bukovsky, whose club hosted games mainly at the Lombard Park District's Madison Meadow and Ruby Field in Melrose Park.

Enter Roger Bossard, "The Sodfather," head groundskeeper at the Chicago White Sox's Guaranteed Rate Field with a sterling reputation nationwide as a turf whisperer.

Thanks to Montini's contact network Bossard toured the field, analyzed the grass, diagnosed the problem, identified a solution and recommended another expert Bukovsky and the facilities staff could consult for maintenance advice. A few months later Bossard returned to check the progress.

"The Sodfather, he pointed us in the right direction, so we're excited about it. It's definitely much improved. We're looking forward to having a normal home season again this year," Bukovsky said.

Due to the process of "sand slitting" - narrow trenches cut in the outfield, foul line to foul line, inlaid with up to 12 inches of sand to enhance water absorption - the field is now playable, with no standing water.

"The good thing about him is he's seen everything a million times so he always has something to compare it to, he's got that experience level," Bukovsky said of Bossard.

"He was very gracious and basically did it to help us out. He did it on his own time and was a very nice person. He cares about the subject, is very passionate about it, and he enjoyed helping us improve our field."

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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