Season preview: Loyola
By Patrick Z. McGavin
At the moment, every high school soccer coach in Illinois rides a deep-grained sense of hope and optimism. Coaches are permitted 25 contact days during the summer with players and the best programs take advantage to train and take part in organized camps and special summer tournaments.
That segues into the two-week training leading to the start of a new season. The time is now. The training, the scrimmages and the workouts have a larger purpose of preparation, developing cohesion and camaraderie. When Baer Fisher took over the Loyola program a year ago, he set out to transform the culture.
The year before he arrived, the Ramblers won just three games. Losing is a mindset he wanted to vanquish. He wanted to establish a mentality, a sense of a larger or deeper awareness, for his young players. Loyola begins the new season Tuesday by hosting Chicago Public League program Lake View. Fisher is eager to trace the next stage of his program’s development.
He came from winning and signature programs: playing for the legendary Craig Fairbairn at New Trier; competing at Middlebury College; working as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago; and helping to direct the boys’ side of the top club program FC United. Craig Snower, the Loyola girls’ coach, was on the staff at New Trier and is the founder of FC United. It all connects.
Now Fisher is eager and excited by what lay in front of the Ramblers.
“We’ve had a good preseason,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with the overall mindset of the team and their willingness to work and embrace our ideas. The workrate is there, the intensity is there, and they are starting to come together as a team.”
The roster is varied and combines youth, talent and experience. The Ramblers have six seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and a freshman. The lynchpin of the attack are senior captains -- forward Sean Hickey and midfielder Julian Hilpüsch.
“I don’t have a set formation,” Fisher said. “I tweak my formations around the team I have. Every varsity team year in and year out is a little bit different. I am just looking for the best soccer players, guys who are coachable, willing to work and from there, you can adapt different roles, different positions.”
A cause for excitement is the continued development of the four sophomores. Each one started as a freshman. Midfielder David Gripman was the team’s leading scorer. Midfielders Christian Jimenez and Collin Leider provide excellent size.
The fourth sophomore, Daniel Montaquila, a converted midfielder, has shifted to the backline.
Most players take a big leap after their first year of varsity play, having grown accustomed to the speed and physicality at that level.
“All four of them have looked very good in our training,” Fisher said.
Fisher has an underlying reason for optimism and growth. The players bought in last year and the team demonstrated remarkable improvement. The Ramblers won nearly four times as many games as the 2014 season, finishing with 11 wins against nine losses and two ties.
“Last year the first goal we had was to change the culture and make the program more structured,” Fisher said. “I think this year we are looking to take the next step.
"I don’t want to measure the year in terms of wins. We want to keep going and keep that turnaround in progress. I think we’re going to be good in our attack. I think we’re going to score a lot of goals this year.”
Loyola finished 5-2-0 in Chicago Catholic League North Division play, and its season was punctuated by a big win over South Division rival and champion Mount Carmel.
Fisher also knew that if the team was going to make strides, he had to upgrade the schedule. He has added a game with his alma mater, New Trier, one of the top teams on the North Shore. The true measure of the team’s growth is winning against elite programs.
The good part is Loyola experienced a taste of winning and success. His key personnel played club, underscoring the need to play year-round and continually work on and refine skill level and technical development.
Fisher also admits the stakes have changed.
“Compared to last year we caught a lot of teams by surprise,” he said. “A lot of our wins, especially against teams that on paper were more competitive than us, came from the fact that the other team was not expecting us.
"That’s not going to happen this year. We’re not going to catch a lot of teams by surprise. I think that’s a challenge the guys are going to embrace and recognize, that every time they step on the field they have to be ready to compete.”
Loyola shut out Chicago Public League program Mather in a Class 3A regional semifinal before its season ended against Evanston. In a matter of days, Loyola discovered how far it came but also how far it must still move to truly become a relevant program on a consistant basis.
“I want them to come together as a group,” Fisher said. “I’m starting to see that, how they react to adversity. That is ultimately how I judge the team. Every team faces adversity. Do they keep fighting for each other, or do they become divisive? Last year we started at a lower point than this year. Now we have a little bit more to work with, and we are able to start at a higher level and cover more ground.
“If I was to put a finger on a tangible goal it would be winning a regional. We won one playoff game last year, and that was a huge accomplishment. If we get that regional championship, that would just be icing on the cake.”
By Patrick Z. McGavin
At the moment, every high school soccer coach in Illinois rides a deep-grained sense of hope and optimism. Coaches are permitted 25 contact days during the summer with players and the best programs take advantage to train and take part in organized camps and special summer tournaments.
That segues into the two-week training leading to the start of a new season. The time is now. The training, the scrimmages and the workouts have a larger purpose of preparation, developing cohesion and camaraderie. When Baer Fisher took over the Loyola program a year ago, he set out to transform the culture.
The year before he arrived, the Ramblers won just three games. Losing is a mindset he wanted to vanquish. He wanted to establish a mentality, a sense of a larger or deeper awareness, for his young players. Loyola begins the new season Tuesday by hosting Chicago Public League program Lake View. Fisher is eager to trace the next stage of his program’s development.
He came from winning and signature programs: playing for the legendary Craig Fairbairn at New Trier; competing at Middlebury College; working as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago; and helping to direct the boys’ side of the top club program FC United. Craig Snower, the Loyola girls’ coach, was on the staff at New Trier and is the founder of FC United. It all connects.
Now Fisher is eager and excited by what lay in front of the Ramblers.
“We’ve had a good preseason,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with the overall mindset of the team and their willingness to work and embrace our ideas. The workrate is there, the intensity is there, and they are starting to come together as a team.”
The roster is varied and combines youth, talent and experience. The Ramblers have six seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and a freshman. The lynchpin of the attack are senior captains -- forward Sean Hickey and midfielder Julian Hilpüsch.
“I don’t have a set formation,” Fisher said. “I tweak my formations around the team I have. Every varsity team year in and year out is a little bit different. I am just looking for the best soccer players, guys who are coachable, willing to work and from there, you can adapt different roles, different positions.”
A cause for excitement is the continued development of the four sophomores. Each one started as a freshman. Midfielder David Gripman was the team’s leading scorer. Midfielders Christian Jimenez and Collin Leider provide excellent size.
The fourth sophomore, Daniel Montaquila, a converted midfielder, has shifted to the backline.
Most players take a big leap after their first year of varsity play, having grown accustomed to the speed and physicality at that level.
“All four of them have looked very good in our training,” Fisher said.
Fisher has an underlying reason for optimism and growth. The players bought in last year and the team demonstrated remarkable improvement. The Ramblers won nearly four times as many games as the 2014 season, finishing with 11 wins against nine losses and two ties.
“Last year the first goal we had was to change the culture and make the program more structured,” Fisher said. “I think this year we are looking to take the next step.
"I don’t want to measure the year in terms of wins. We want to keep going and keep that turnaround in progress. I think we’re going to be good in our attack. I think we’re going to score a lot of goals this year.”
Loyola finished 5-2-0 in Chicago Catholic League North Division play, and its season was punctuated by a big win over South Division rival and champion Mount Carmel.
Fisher also knew that if the team was going to make strides, he had to upgrade the schedule. He has added a game with his alma mater, New Trier, one of the top teams on the North Shore. The true measure of the team’s growth is winning against elite programs.
The good part is Loyola experienced a taste of winning and success. His key personnel played club, underscoring the need to play year-round and continually work on and refine skill level and technical development.
Fisher also admits the stakes have changed.
“Compared to last year we caught a lot of teams by surprise,” he said. “A lot of our wins, especially against teams that on paper were more competitive than us, came from the fact that the other team was not expecting us.
"That’s not going to happen this year. We’re not going to catch a lot of teams by surprise. I think that’s a challenge the guys are going to embrace and recognize, that every time they step on the field they have to be ready to compete.”
Loyola shut out Chicago Public League program Mather in a Class 3A regional semifinal before its season ended against Evanston. In a matter of days, Loyola discovered how far it came but also how far it must still move to truly become a relevant program on a consistant basis.
“I want them to come together as a group,” Fisher said. “I’m starting to see that, how they react to adversity. That is ultimately how I judge the team. Every team faces adversity. Do they keep fighting for each other, or do they become divisive? Last year we started at a lower point than this year. Now we have a little bit more to work with, and we are able to start at a higher level and cover more ground.
“If I was to put a finger on a tangible goal it would be winning a regional. We won one playoff game last year, and that was a huge accomplishment. If we get that regional championship, that would just be icing on the cake.”