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Ward getting after it at Metea Valley

New Metea Valley athletic director Jason Ward sounds like the school itself. Youthful, passionate, ready to roll.

"It's their time now, it's the 10th year and it's time for Metea to take that next step," said Ward, 40.

Like the Deion Sanders-inspired cornerback he was in the mid-1990s at Crete-Monee and as a four-year starter at Benedictine University, Ward swooped in this summer to claim possession of the Mustangs athletic director spot after his predecessor, Dan DeBruycker, took an assistant principal position at the school.

Ward had been comfortably situated at South Elgin, its athletic director since 2012. As a 15-year Aurora resident, however, when news broke of the Metea opening, he pounced.

"I thought this was a great opportunity, a great opportunity to get back to my hometown," he said.

Another appeal was helping develop a blossoming program as he did at South Elgin, which was in its sixth year when Ward arrived out of East Aurora, where he was dean of students and an assistant principal.

"I liked the fact that South Elgin was young, which drew me to Metea because they're so young still," Ward said.

"Now that I'm fully into Metea, there's great people at this school. Everyone's been very helpful. One thing I've noticed about Metea is they're very dedicated to building student-athletes with strong leadership," he said.

Like many schools, Metea Valley is highly invested in Special Olympics athletics, which meshes nicely with Ward's background. He earned his bachelor's degree in special education from Benedictine in 2001 and taught in West Aurora's special education department from 2003-2008. Seven years later Ward got his master's in educational leadership from the University of St. Francis.

Married for seven years with two children, Ward said he cheers for the "hometown Bears" but is a true fan of the Oakland Raiders and Florida State Seminoles. He rattles off Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and Walter Payton, as well as Sanders, as his old favorites.

Not a bad group. They mirror his goal at Metea Valley.

"I've always been a big believer in having a strong work ethic, from coaches to players. As coaches, we've got to model that hardworking mentality, that get-after-it mentality. We want a shot."

The Originals

Glenbard West will introduce its first Distinguished Alumni Award recipients during its homecoming pep rally on Friday and acknowledge them again at 1:15 p.m. Saturday before the football game at Duchon Field against Downers Grove North.

Among those to be honored are race car driver Bobby Rahal, journalist Lester Munson, musician Laurie Anderson and the man who gained posthumous acclaim by legendary Hilltoppers football coach Bill Duchon as "The Original Hitter," Bruce Capel.

As we've noted here in the past, by all accounts Capel, Class of 1961, was a man among men - Eagle Scout, Rose Bowl champion and Academic All-American at the University of Illinois, and a Marine. As a 23-year-old second lieutenant in 1966, he was killed in Vietnam.

One of Capel's nieces, Laura Capel Claassen, noted that attending Saturday's ceremony will be one Steve Adelson, out of North Chicago. Fifty-two years ago, 2nd Lt. Bruce Capel was alerted that a 6-year-old Adelson loved football but wasn't so fond of school work. Capel wrote the boy a letter stressing the importance of study, a tale reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Capel family will present Adelson with a copy of that article on Saturday. Bring your hanky.

Congrats

Also on Sept. 21, the Hinsdale Central High School Foundation Hall of Fame will celebrate its 22nd class of inductees at the Hinsdale Golf Club.

Along with Air Force Maj. Gen. Roger Scheer, inductees include football and baseball star Herb Feris, all-state swimmer Roger Kodat and Breck Grigas, an all-arounder for three Red Devils boys gymnastics state champions and the first Red Devil gymnast on the U.S. Olympic Team.

Sidelined

Football is a tough sport. Ask College of DuPage coach Matt Foster.

The Chaparrals head man also coaches special teams. He was watching COD's punt return unit operate Sept. 8 against Arkansas Baptist at a neutral site, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, when his season changed.

On punt plays the punting team's speedy outside "gunner" sprints downfield, often among the first wave of would-be tacklers - unless he meets a strong "anti-gunner" whose job it is to steer him away from the returner.

The Chaparral did an excellent job, too successful for Foster's good as he trained his eyes downfield.

"Out of the corner of my eye I saw a blur," Foster said.

Then he saw stars as both players blindsided into him, a collision that broke the tibia of Foster's left leg.

Going on the DL is nothing new to him. Over the years Foster has had three knee surgeries, two broken vertebrae, two hip replacements and once tore a biceps muscle off the bone.

It may have rattled his players, though. Leading 7-6 at halftime, COD lost the game 28-14.

"I think it was kind of a shock to our kids to see their coach get taken away in a paramedic van," said Foster, whose leg was too swollen and painful last week to undergo an MRI. He's scheduled for one Friday and will get the full report Monday by Dr. Lenard LaBelle.

"He's the best," Foster said.

The coach has received much support. Foster's leg immobilized in Carbondale, defensive line coach Peter Hopson drove him home. Foster said Hopson completed multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in a 20-year military career.

"The credo is no one's left behind on the battlefield," Foster said, "and he wasn't going to leave me behind."

People from Chaparrals players to College of DuPage administrators have checked on Foster "multiple times," he said.

"I get philosophical with all this stuff, but I think adversity is your greatest teacher and that's what sports is all about," Foster said.

"I think the greatest thing I saw is the kids and the coaches and the school, they pulled together, and that's the way it should be. That's the great message, is you see everybody pull together in times of trouble."

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

Follow Dave on Twitter @doberhelman1

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