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For 25 years, George Shimko has been teaching basketball – and for most of that time his family looked on. Now, they are following in his footsteps. Through his George Shimko Basketball School in Oak Lawn, he coached his children, but never pushed them to go into athletics, especially as coaches, it just happened naturally. "I have always coached my children like players," George said. "I have never coached them like my child and I think that is why they became successful. I...
This season, Romeoville has been without its head coach and its offense. The Spartans (0-3) have been outscored 138-10 on the season, most recently 42-0 at Plainfield North last week. All this has happened without head coach Oliver Gibson, who has not coached a game this season. He is on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave with a "Oliver is on medical leave with the district, (his foot) has been in a cast," said Romeoville Athletics Director Mike Strode. "That leave carr...
Retirement plans vary from person to person. For Bill Leibforth, there is no taking a break during retirement. A resident of Chicago his entire life, he fell in love with baseball at the age of eight and the game has always been a big priority in his life. He authored the book "Baseball's Forgotten Black Heroes" and discussed it recently at the Lisle Library, "I never really thought I was ever going to be an author even though that I love baseball," Leibforth said. "I've...
Lewis University’s women’s soccer team placed eighth in the annual Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll. The Flyers were 9-7-2 last season and had an 8-5 ledger in league play. Lewis received 128 points and are sandwiched between Maryville (162) and Lindenwood (125). Truman State grabbed five of the 16 first place votes and 206 points overall to be the coaches choice to win the league after falling to Bellarmine in the GLVC semifinals a year ago. McKendree nabbed six...
The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced on Aug. 20 that the No. 7 Lewis University women's volleyball team was picked to win the GLVC Title in the annual GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. The GLVC regular season with feature a 15-match, single round-robin schedule this fall with eight pairs of travel partners. The regular season champion, along with the next seven best teams based on Conference winning percentage, will earn...
Heading into his junior season at Ohio State University, Bolingbrook graduate Tuf Borland is excited for the changes on the horizon. Ryan Day takes over for Urban Meyer as head coach of the Buckeyes and that means a new look on both sides of the football. "Sometimes change is a good thing. You are going to see a lot of guys that are excited to be out there and excited to be playing again and I think our performance will show," Borland said. "There is a lot of expectation here...
After completing her internship at Argo High School at the end of last school year, Kristen Shimko was looking for a job. She went into Morton College in Cicero looking for a position as an academic advisor and ended up landing that position as well as head women's basketball coach. In her first head coaching position, Shimko takes over a Panthers' program that went 16-15 last season. "I am really, really blessed by the opportunity," she said. "I interviewed for the Academic...
When the best of the best line up on Saturday's to compete for a shot at an NCAA Division-I FBS National Championship, there are good odds there will be some representitive from the Voyager Media coverage area as players litter the national landcape of college football. From the Big 10 to the coasts, from Illinois to Army, the local area has players who will compete at the highest level of their game. BIG 10 NORTHWESTERN Cam Mitchell Defensive back from Bolingbrook verbally...
Coming into this season, former Niles West superstar Jewell Loyd had a full list of accolades already in her career. She tallied more than 3,000 points for the Wolves, as a senior at Notre Dame, she was the ACC Player of the Year as well as ESPN women's college basketball player of the Year, she left the Irish after only three seasons, yet still walked away with 1,909 points in her college career, Notre Dame's fifth-highest total ever. After departing the Fighting Irish, Loyd...
To look at Allie Quigley's career over the last two years, it is hard to believe the former Joliet Catholic Academy and DePaul University standout almost walked away from the WNBA. But she did. After being drafted by Seattle with the 22nd pick in the 2008 draft, Quigley bounced around, playing in only 34 games total and was out of the league in 2012. She got the call to play for the Chicago Sky, which was a call that had it come with a different area code may not have gone the same way. "Chicago is my fifth team and when I...
Oakton Community College's volleyball team for the 2019 season is seeking to prove the strategy "the best offense is a good defense" holds true. The Owls are primed to stifle the attack of opposing teams in the form of newcomer middle blocker Nerina Alic (Niles West High School). With her 6-foot-2 frame, Alic, an all-conference player for the Niles West Wolves, is Oakton's tallest player and a danger to block every shot in her zip code. "She's unstoppable in practice," says...
With a 22-12 overall record in the 2018 season, Maine South is poised for another good year. Head coach Kathleen Durkin said she knows the seven seniors last year had a big impact on the success of the Hawks, but her 2019 squad also has some great players. "I know we had seven seniors last year that really played well for us," Durkin said. "However, this year, we have some girls back and we have a really tall team which plays into our favor." The height advantage the Hawks...
On a cool, Friday September night, the Minooka and host Plainfield South met for the 18th edition of the annual "Battle for the Ridge" Rivalry. Separated by just 10 miles of Ridge Road, the Indians and Cougars met before a full house In Joliet'. The Cougars entered the rivalry game having won the last two games and five of the last six against Minooka. The Cougars held an 11-6 lead in the neighborhood rivalry, which began in 2002. Plainfield South victories in 2017 and 2018,...
After a 16-21 overall record in 2018, Plainfield East has some work to do to get better. Following a departure of head coach Alex Rodriguez; the Bengals new head coach Kurt Dolson has not had the start he anticipated. Losses in its first six contests, while not winning a single match has called for improvement everywhere on the team. With the Bengals not playing their first home match until September, Dolson said that not playing to others teams levels is essential for the 201...
With a 12-13 overall finish in the 2018 season, head coach of Downers Grove South, Kristina Conrad, expects more. "I have extremely high expectations for this group of girls," Conrad said. "I expect that we should make it to regionals, and on to sectionals, winning at least 70 percent of our games." Consistency is something that has been a theme that Conrad preaches to her team that lacked last year, but the Mustangs will not have an easy road ahead. With a schedule that has t...
Replacing a superstar in sports is never easy. Especially when it is Natalie Mitchem. Mitchem, who is now playing D-I college volleyball at Ball State University, led Bolingbrook last year to a school best 24 wins, was named the team's Most Valuable Player as a senior and finished her career with a school record 801 career kills. "Well it's never easy replacing someone like Natalie who was obviously great," said Bolingbrook coach Moly DeSerf. "It's going to be an all in team...
With a half-dozen players back from last season's team, it is surprising the Minooka girls volleyball team was overlooked when the preseason rankings came out. That is because despite a 25-win season, a 25-16, 25-23 loss to Benet Academy in the Oswego East Regional final had those same sceptics calling the 2018 season unsuccessful. "Last year we were 25-12 and have six players returning and people said we didn't have a good season, but we did, we just had to play Benet," said...
At Maine South, championships are the expectation. Since taking over the program in 2001, head coach David Inserra has won four championships the most recent coming in 2016. "I owe it all to the coaches," Inserra said. "Whenever we have adversity, we try and grow from that and we will just keep coaching the boys and not letting them take a easy route out." This year, the Hawks started 0-2 for just the fourth time under Inserra. In the three previous occasions, the Hawks went...
In 2013 and 2014, under head coach Mike Romeli, the Bengals of Plainfield East High School made consecutive trips to the IHSA Class 7A playoffs. Since that 2014 Class 7A Playoff loss to St. Rita, the Bengals have won just 10 games. When the time came for a change, Plainfield East Athletic Director Paul Raspolich, looked to Plano High School for the man to resurrect the Bengal football program — Brad Kunz. Kunz a 2005 graduate of “The U” the University of Miami played all three offensive line positions for the ‘Canes from 20...
First-year Plainfield North football coach Anthony Imbordino is on a three-week run of facing his former teams. And if they all goes as the first one did, the Tigers will be happy. North defeated Romeoville 42-0. Imbordino was an assistant for the Spartans under former head coach Jeff Kuna. Over the next two weeks, the Tigers will travel to Plainfield Central, where Imbordino was a star defensive lineman and Oswego, where he coached just before coming to North. "I try and...
After fours years as head boys soccer coach at Plainfield North, Steve Berry is out. According to North Athletics Director Ron Lear, Berry "resigned for personal reasons" last week. Former Plainfield South boys and girls soccer coach David Brown, who is the Division Chair for English and Social Studies at North, got a call on game day and was asked to take over the program on an interim basis. "Obviously, this is a different situation than I have ever experienced as a coach,...
Respect. Aretha Franklin sang about it, Rodney Dangerfield didn't get any and Niles Notre Dame has deserved it. And after a 28-7 victory over Providence Catholic on Matt Senffner Field inside Bishop Kaffer Stadium in New Lenox, the Dons have earned the right to no longer be overlooked. "We have been itching for that respect for a long time and hopefully after this one we get it because this was a huge win for us," said Notre Dame running back Julian Schurr. "This was great."...
After an uncharacteristic 0-2 start to the 2019 season, Joliet Catholic Academy football has recently hit a hot streak. In their last two games, the Hilltoppers, now 2-2, have outscored their opponents 83-47. Most recently, JCA defeated Fenwick 49-14 in the first game of the newly formed Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic White "The first drive of the game Fenwick marched down the field on us but with that interception that was huge to establish early," coach Jake...
Bolingbrook and Plainfield East soccer are on two different tracks. For the Bengals, a sub .500 record so far in the early season has coach Cosimo Patano searching for answers. "We're still trying to establish our identity at this point in the season," Patano said. "Our style and what brand of soccer we want to play is still something this team is trying to figure out." Senior leaders including Brayden Saunders and Kolin Goss headline the young Bengals roster, but Patano said...
Through its first 11 games of the season, the Benet Academy volleyball team is a perfect 11-0 and it is not because of an easy schedule. The Redwings have already defeated Class 3A and Class 4A state qualifiers in Joliet Catholic Academy and Downers Grove North, respectively. A week ago at North, Benet won 25-21, 25-16 without setter Rachael Muisenga, but Sam Buckley stepped up and contributed 32 assists. "It is always good to have a little adversity and throw a wrinkle in...