Red Devil winter sports previews kick off with boys hockey, boys and girls wrestling
The Red Devils boys and girls wrestling teams and boys hockey team all have new head coaches this year - along with plans to improve as the season progresses. (file photo)
The winter sports season is under way at Hinsdale Central High School. The boys and girls wrestling teams faced their first opponents at meets Tuesday. The boys hockey club - whose season spans multiple seasons - has been playing since September.
This is the first in a series of three winter sports previews. The next installments will run Dec. 5 and 12.
Boys hockey
First game: Sept. 15 vs. Cobras (V won 6-2)
Head coach: Jim Brooks
Seasons as head coach: 1st season as head coach, eight years coaching elsewhere
No. team members: 19 skaters, 2 goalies
Strengths: We've got a lot of talent and the kids definitely work hard, that's for sure.
Challenges: I think the biggest thing is just being new this year and everybody learning new systems. Just getting everybody on the same page with a system they've haven't run before has been our biggest challenge. We're working on consistency. When we do it right, it looks really good. The challenge is to do it right all the time.
Who to watch: Our captain, Jack Crabb, is one of the best players in the state. He's incredibly fast and just a gifted hockey player. Dennis Nikolaev is a junior. If he's not leading the league in scoring, he's right at the top. Finn Hamman is one of our defensemen. He's also incredibly strong and explosively fast. Our goalie, Dylan Dwyer, has been playing really well. Those are our top guys right now. We've got a solid support cast right behind them.
Outlook: We're kind of at the midway point right now. We've been up and down. We're really hoping that coming out of Thanksgiving break we'll be off to the races. The goal is to win the Illinois West Hockey League.
Furthermore: It's a great place to coach. It's a great place to be. We've got a fantastic locker room and a fantastic board of directors. We're on the right path. Look for it to continue growing and to get better and better every year.
Boys wrestling
First meet: Nov. 26 vs. Naperville North
Last year: 8-14
Head coach: Conrad Polz
Seasons as head coach: 1st as boys varsity head coach, third year coaching at Central, head coach at Bolingbrook High School one year, also coached in Tennessee
No. team members: 60 in program, varsity limited to 14 weight classes
Strengths: The boys who are here are working really hard. I'm really liking their work ethic, their attention to detail. They're asking questions and trying to get better. That's been great. We had our Red-White scrimmage on Friday. I was happy with the way the boys competed. It sets the tone, hopefully, for a positive start to the season.
Challenges: Right now we're pretty young, and so really my focus this year is to build a positive and committed culture, to really pay attention to little things and get the kids to buy in. It would be nice to have a few more boys. We might have a couple of weights we're not
able to fill.
Who to watch: Senior Zach Kruse, he'll be at 190 pounds. I'm looking forward to a positive season from him. We also have a junior, Jonathan Martinez, who will be at either 132 or 138. We have another junior, Logan Barrios, who probably will be at 144 pounds. He's a returning varsity guy. We're looking for him to have a positive season as well. We have a freshman, Luke Zajicek, who will be at 215. It's hard to come in that big as a freshman, but we're optimistic he's going to have a strong season, too.
Outlook: We might take a few lumps here and there as a team. We're really focusing on getting that positive culture and focusing on some of those individuals and gearing them up for a positive season.
Girls wrestling
First meet: Nov. 26 vs. Naperville North
Head coach: Jason Hayes
Seasons as head coach: 1st as head coach for girls, 15 years as boys varsity head coach
No. team members: 6
Strengths: They want to learn the sport, the technical aspects of it. There's a lot of technique that goes into wrestling. They seem eager to learn certain techniques.
Challenges: We only have six on the roster, so going in against dual meets will be tough. It's a long season when it comes to competitions with dual meets and tournaments. This year we have a little tougher schedule, so they get exposed to a little tougher competition. We practice a lot in the morning. That's a challenge - getting up early. Whether it comes to diet, sleep, mental health, rest, you have to factor in all those elements to be successful in wrestling. I'm trying to teach all those elements when they have a tough academic load. It's a new sport. It's going to take time to build a program. It's not going to happen overnight. The girls are going to have to recruit other girls in the hallway, PE classes, to get more girls to get involved for the future.
Who to watch: Returning wrestlers are Chloe Black, MJ Neskovic, Clara Rogers, Yara Aalazar and Naomi Schaller. Jade Hau is new.
Outlook: I think it will be an up and down season. There are a lot of programs that are in the same boat as us. At the conference meeting, there were school that have 30 (wrestlers) and schools that have six and everything in between. Hopefully we improve each week and get ready for regionals in February.
Furthermore: I've coached college wrestling. I've coach boys wrestling for 20 years. At Hinsdale Central, I've had 34 state qualifiers, 23 state placers, 10 guys in IHSA finals, three state champions, two regional titles and one conference title. I'm trying to teach the girls a lot of stuff I did in the boys program. This is not at that level yet. Hopefully in the future it can get to that level.
