Seniors Unite GBN Boys' Volleyball

Entering the 2011 season, the four seniors on the Glenbrook North boys’ volleyball team had some questions regarding the incoming junior class.

The senior group—which includes Connor Bolan, Danny Slutsky, Glen Song and Scott Schwartz—were the only members of the team with varsity experience.

Understandably, they wondered whether they could rely on the class while it got acclimated to the varsity level.

But answers came quickly when the Spartans beat preseason No. 1-ranked Wheaton Warrenville South early in the season. And a win over highly ranked New Trier on April 15 leaves them with little doubt and one big goal.

Making it downstate for a shot at the state title.

“The juniors are really talented and they’re just as good as the seniors are,” Song, a right outside hitter, said.

The transition of a large team overhaul this year may otherwise have been difficult if it weren’t for coach Chris Cooper’s dedication to perpetuating team chemistry.

Throughout the offseason he gets his entire program together—lifting weights and playing in camps in the summer.

At the end of Wednesday’s practice the sophomore team scrimmaged against the varsity.

“We try not to make it so that each level is separate from each other but they’re all part of the same family and I think that makes it easier, those transitions,” Cooper said.

That might be Cooper’s plan every season but it’s hard to believe that it has helped him more in any other season.

Nearing the state tournament, Cooper doesn’t have a set starting lineup.

That isn’t an indication of indecisiveness on Cooper’s part, however, but speaks to the depth of the Spartans’ roster.

“Still we don’t have a permanent lineup. We’re very deep. That’s one of our strengths,” Slutsky, a setter, said.

“It creates a lot of competition in practice and just makes us better and better every day.”

And something the seniors welcome.

While other teams may have senior classes who feel entitled—like they’ve waited and earned their time to star on varsity—the Spartans’ group realizes the value of intense practices.

Glenbrook North isn’t the shortest of teams but they won’t dwarf any teams either—especially those they’ll face if they advance far into the state tournament.

While many of the state’s top teams may start two or three guys who are six-foot-seven, the Spartans’ starting lineup averages about six-foot-two.

So though they may not get the blocks that most of the taller teams do, they’re fundamentally sound on defense. That requires that they maintain game intensity during drills, which is bred by inter-squad competition for starting spots each match.

“When you’re not a really big team where you’re going to get a lot of blocks, you’ve got to play good defense,” Cooper said. “You’ve got to have good passing and good defense or you’re going to struggle against some of these bigger teams.”

But perfecting fundamentals was always a team-wide goal that united the two classes. That helped and maybe even forced them to come together immediately.

“During practice over spring break and preseason we meshed really well and played really well together,” junior setter Kyle Bedford said.

“We worked it out pretty quickly. Their experience came as a helper to our inexperience on varsity, but they helped us adjust really quickly.”

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