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Happy Monday, everyone! If it’s possible to adopt a “cautiously optimistic” attitude towards a 0-2 team, this Scouts team has earned that after Friday.

A glance at the conference standings after the August portion of the schedule requires double and triple takes, followed by a head-scratching ‘huh?’ Every team resets this Friday as the North Suburban slate begins.

Let’s get to the short stuff:

1. Lake Forest could have won Friday’s game. Convert a few more fourth downs, protect the football better, don’t give up two big plays at the end of the half, and the Scouts could have made the short drive down I-176 in a celebratory mood and with a 1-1 record on the season.

2. Let’s start with the first offensive possession. A nice mix of designed quarterback runs and jet sweeps, and Lake Forest had the ball at midfield. But a fumbled pitch play gave the ball to Carmel at their own 49-yard line. Not a favorable scenario for the defense, having to hold a short field. A questionable defensive pass interference penalty put the ball in the red zone for the Corsairs and they converted, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Kyron Hart (he’s really good, by the way) from quarterback Reed Dangel. The first opportunity missed by the Scouts due to a turnover.

3. Second opportunity: Lake Forest takes over with good field position on its own 42. Aided by a Carmel personal foul penalty, the Scouts are sitting pretty with a 1st and 10 on the Corsairs’ 43. Three plays later, they are facing a 4th and 2 from the Carmel 35. After a timeout, senior wide receiver Jack Burger lines up in the slot. They want to get the ball to Burger, who runs a down-and-up route and breaks free on the up. But senior quarterback Rafi Karam (who played much better Friday night) missed Burger with an overthrow. A completion likely would have resulted in a touchdown and a tie game. If a team is going to steal a road game against a higher-ranked foe, those are plays that must be made.

4. Lake Forest did convert on its first takeaway of the game next: an Emmett Heaton fumble recovery found the Scouts with great field position on the Carmel 47-yard line. A six-play drive concludes with a 34-yard Michael Knight field goal. The atmosphere on the Scouts’ sideline: OK, we got points, the defense is playing well, let’s keep it going… and they did just that.

5. On its ensuing possession, Carmel moved the ball through the air and was 1st and 10 on the Lake Forest 25-yard line. But a sack fumble led to a recovery by junior linebacker Ezio Berrettini. On this night, we’re starting to see the traits of good Scouts’ defenses: give up yards but take the ball away. The offense takes over and once again aided by a personal foul penalty by Carmel, the Scouts’ offense is at midfield. But a costly illegal procedure penalty puts them behind the chains, and in three plays they face another fourth-and-short from the Carmel 41. They went for it and didn’t convert. Carmel takes over with a tenuous 7-3 lead, but with good field position and seven plays later, they get into the end zone on a one-yard run and bumped their advantage to 14-3 with 3:53 to go in the second quarter. Those two fourth-down non-conversions loomed large in the outcome of the game.

6. A fiery Coach Spagnoli (he was letting the zebras have it Friday night) took the blame for the decision to go for it on the second fourth down in the second quarter. “There are some things about this game where I’m sick to my stomach,” he said. “I should have done a better job with the punt at midfield rather than going for it on 4th and 2. We should have made plays, and we didn’t. Opportunities are exactly that—you have to take advantage of them.”

7. That last part of his comment, the “should have made plays and we didn’t” and taking advantage of opportunities is more appropriate than the fourth-down call. Football is a sport much less risk-averse than it was just a few years ago. No one would fault being aggressive in that situation: the Scouts had just gotten a turnover, were moving the ball, momentum building. The penalty, which added an extra five yards to the line of gain, and the execution of the play call—a quarterback run play—were the problem. That’s been a consistent characteristic of the Scouts' offense through two games: brain-fart penalties and not keeping drives alive on fourth-down attempts. Reverse them, and this offense showed signs of an identity against Carmel.

   

8. Lake Forest did an excellent job scheming up perimeter runs against a confused Carmel defense. It had numbers on outside zone and option pitch plays. Junior Owen Koehnemann ran with purpose and elusiveness. Senior Ollie Steiner was able to gain yards inside after first contact. And Karam showed some athleticism in space that we didn’t see vs. Deerfield. “Our perimeter run was pretty good at times, and that opened up the run inside,” Spagnoli said. All are attributes to build on moving forward.

9. The backbreaker: Carmel’s 4th-and-12 heave into the end zone caught by Hart with seconds remaining in the first half. The Scouts had the right coverage on Hart—corner Zuriel Rosales matched up with safety help—but there are times when superior athletes make superior plays. That was one of those times and made it a three-score game (20-3) heading into halftime.

10. But leave it to the defense to snatch the ball away from Carmel. On the first possession of the second half, senior secondary player Dean Gottman stripped the football from running back Jorden Moore and for the third time, the offense gained a possession due to a takeaway. But a 3rd-and-1 play (here we go again) resulted in negative yardage. Lake Forest punted and Carmel’s next drive led to a field goal and 23-3 advantage. The Scouts faced a long field on their next offensive possession but put together their lone touchdown drive of the season. An 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by Karam's 4-yard run made the score 23-9 (missed extra point) with 1:09 left in the third quarter. With a defensive stop, enough time to get back in the game. The defense held Carmel twice (once on a missed field goal) but the offense goes punt/turnover and the Coarsairs convert a Scouts fumble into the final scoring play of the game.

11. Key stat: off takeaways/turnovers on down Carmel scored 21 points while the Scouts got three points. In a 21-point margin game (30-9), there’s most of the gap.

12. From Spagnoli about the quarterback and team’s overall performance: “I thought (Karam) showed real toughness, not just him but other guys as well. You have to be proud of the effort, you have to be proud of their grit. We just have to play better and do a better job coaching and working and success will come. What’s gone on the past two weeks is over and done with. We have a long road ahead of us.” Yes, an entire conference schedule to play where all members start 0-0.

13. And that’s a good thing for six of the eight North Suburban teams (Mundelein and Zion are both 2-0). Waukegan's winless start is expected. But an 0-10 combined record from the Big Five? Unprecedented. It’s never happened since Lake Zurich joined the conference in 2005 as members of the old “Lake” division.

14. In closing… encouraging news on injuries. I saw some of the guys after Saturday’s freshman game (congrats to the frosh boys… they put a 44-0 whipping on OPRF). Chuck Hornberger was walking around (he hurt his knee against Carmel and missed much of the game). George Holland sounded optimistic about playing through a hurt foot. Safety Alexander Picek left the Carmel game with an unnamed injury and his return is uncertain. Picek is one of the better athletes in the junior class and was playing well early vs. Carmel. Obviously, the Scouts need him, Hornberger and Holland as healthy as possible for the NSC portion of the schedule.

15. Nope, this stat is not made up: Zion, Lake Forest’s Week 3 opponent, has won both its games by a combined score of 108-32. The Zee-Bees are runnin’ it up, hanging 61 on North Chicago and 47 on Rich Township. Their boys’ basketball team would be happy with those point totals come November.

Thanks for reading… much more on Friday’s game vs. Zion throughout the week.

All photos courtesy of Joel Lerner Photography.

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Danny Van Camp has a lot to say.

About life as a true student-athlete in the Ivy League, about managing an engineering major and playing men’s lacrosse at a Division 1 university. About early specialization.

Scouts’ fans remember Danny as the strong-armed quarterback for the Class 6A quarterfinal team of 2024.

Earlier this week, I caught up with Danny before he headed back off to college, and we chatted about all sorts of topics. We bring you that conversation on The Athletic Scout podcast.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

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Topics discussed:

• Plans for the 2026-27 school year and athletic season at Yale

• A typical day for a student-athlete at an Ivy League college

• Why playing multiple sports was so vital to his development

• The role that his Christian faith plays in his life

I really enjoyed this chat with Danny and his perspective now as a college athlete. There’s a groundedness and maturity that can only come with more life experience. Excited to see what the future holds for this young man.

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Here are a few clips from the interview…

The importance of ‘fit’ when choosing a college:

The value of being a multi-sport athlete:

Why faith plays such a vital role in his life:

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For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

Rapid reaction podcast from the Scouts’ Week 2 30-9 loss to Carmel Friday night.

Lake Forest drops to 0-2 on the season and travels to Zion next week.

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

Before we get to the content, a special offer for first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

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Tonight, the Scouts travel west down Interstate 176 for a Week 2 road game against Carmel. Both teams enter the contest 0-1 on the season.

Earlier this week, TAS publisher Jon Kerr spoke with Coach Spagnoli.

What’s top of mind for coach entering this matchup with the Corsairs?

He shares his words before Friday night’s kickoff.

Q: How would you describe the Carmel offense?

Ideally, they want to run the ball off-tackle on the perimeter and make the passing game a controlled passing game with an opportunity to take their shots, which I’m sure they will do Friday. Their quarterback (Reed Dangel) is a good-sized kid, and he runs well. Their wideouts are good enough to get the ball, and the throws don’t have to be completely accurate. Our problem is not going to be them unless we let them be our problem by not putting pressure on them when they throw.

Q: Off the Hersey game film, they have big guys at every position.

There are no guys that I would say are small, little guys. We can’t just outmuscle these guys. We have to try and use our speed and move and run to the football and cause the football to redirect in ways that help us rather than straight-lining and go up the field. We have to force the ball to go horizontal at times, and when it gets to the perimeter, we have to set the edge and force it back in. That will be a challenge, but it is every week; it's just a matter of what we will be able to do against them this week.

Q: What about their defense?

It's not some exotic scheme… they play good, sound football up front. Their three-down guys are good-sized guys and athletic enough to make plays between the tackles and their perimeter guys are athletic enough to force the ball back to those guys back and their inside linebackers are good players. They will fill it up, and their secondary has good players. Their edge pressure is their key to disrupting things offensively, whether it's with the outside linebacker or the ends.

Q: How can the offense be more productive Friday night?

We have to be more consistent to move the ball. We had too many plays where guys are stepping the wrong way or getting off the ball or late or misaligned, so when there’s more than one guy on a play, football, it’s a game where it takes 11 to do the best they can and if they are on the same page, it’s not a problem but when it’s one or two guys who step left instead of stepping right, then you have a problem… You are supposed to be outside, then you line up inside the hash, and you create problems, so it has to be a lot more consistent that way, and it will be.

Q: While there’s certainly game-planning that has to be done, how much of this week is about your team playing with more poise than we saw in Week 1?

A week ago, the penalties were absurd. The lack of execution on both sides of the ball at times was terrible, so you can chalk it up to learning and getting a better idea of what’s going on, as I don’t think we are nearly as bad as we played, and I’m sure of that. I don’t know what the reason was for us to play so poorly other than I didn’t prepare them well enough. You can come up with any other reason you want but there isn’t another one. Our kids are capable and certainly that game was one we were not outclassed. We have to do a better job of execution, and that’s what it comes down to. In every phase of special teams we didn’t execute properly. Whatever, we dropped the PAT snap, we had two penalties on punt return and on punt, and something crazy happened on kickoff return where we had a holding penalty. Those are things that are easily correctable, and we have to correct it. It’s not as if we spend no time on it and I’m not blaming the kids, I’m blaming me.

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All photos courtesy of Joel Lerner Photography

For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com.

Before we get to the content, a special offer for first-time subscribers:

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That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

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Lake Forest hits the road as it faces Carmel in a regional Week 2 matchup.

Both teams enter this game having dropped their season opener.

In this podcast, TAS publisher Jon Kerr breaks down the keys to this game and whether there’s a path to victory for the Scouts.

For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com or @scoutsfootball1 on Twitter.

Before we get to the content, a special offer for first-time subscribers:

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The Scouts hit the road this week for a non-conference matchup with Carmel Friday night in Mundelein. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.

What players could change the game for Lake Forest and Carmel?

Three players on each team to watch on Friday night.

(All Scouts players’ photos courtesy of Joel Lerner Photography)

SCOUTS WATCH LIST

Rowdy Greenlees, #58, Senior Offensive Lineman

The Scouts have three returning offensive linemen who were starters at one point in 2025—Nathan Tunney, Jack Arenas, and Greenlees. Greenlees, a team captain, is also commander-in-chief of the offensive line. A big body (6-foot-1, 235 pounds) with an outgoing personality, Greenlees becomes the loudest person in any room he walks into. What makes Greenlees so valuable to this year’s group is his production and honesty. After the Week 1 loss to Deerfield, Greenlees said this about the offensive line play: “Overall a little bit lackluster… There were some times we got to our assignments, but there were more lowlights.” Leadership comes in many forms, and one of those forms is blunt candor.

Ollie Steiner, #5, Senior Running Back

In Week 1, the Scouts went with a trio of running backs: sophomore Razon Alston, junior Owen Koehnemann, and senior Ollie Steiner. At 5-8, 175, Steiner is one of the strongest players, pound-for-pound, on this year’s team. A powerful inside runner, Steiner can “bounce” off tacklers and gain extra yards after first contact. In his second year on varsity, Steiner understands pass protection calls. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff dispenses the carries as the season goes along. They’d be wise to lean on Steiner more in short yardage as he runs with the low pad level necessary to eke out tough inside yards.

Ezio Berrettini, #37, Junior Linebacker

No positional group has more turnover this year than linebacker. The constant is Berrettini, who plays one of the inside backer positions. A year ago at this time, Berrettini was a junior varsity starter as a sophomore. Injuries forced a call-up, and Berrettini finished the year as one of the Scouts’ more reliable defenders. Communication is key from the inside, and Coach Spagnoli likes Berrettini’s ability to process, read, and react.

CORSAIRS WATCH LIST

Reed Dangel, #9, Senior Quarterback

The transfer portal era in football is not exclusive to the college ranks. Lake Forest’s Week 2 opponent, Carmel, found its off-season turned upside down when quarterback Trae “NIL” Taylor left town for a high school in Omaha. No problem! Carmel filled the roster spot with former Warren signal caller Reed Dangel. A big body at 6-2, 190, Dangel (in the above pic, he’s the one in the middle wearing the white jersey) possesses a strong arm and can run. One of the more spectacular plays of Week 1 was a scramble and throw from Dangel against Hersey that led to a Corsairs touchdown. Friday will be the second time Dangel has seen action against Lake Forest. In a 2024 Week 3 rout of Warren by the Scouts, Dangel came in relief of the Blue Devils’ starting quarterback. This time, Dangel is older, more seasoned, and the Corsairs’ QB1.

Jameer Miles, #13, Junior Linebacker

One of the more fun aspects of watching Carmel play every year is the “Power 4 Pick ‘Em” game. Seventh-year Carmel head coach Jason McKie almost always has one—or multiple—highly ranked guys being chased by the blue bloods. This year it’s Miles, a 6-3, 192-pound linebacker with, according to 24/7 Sports, 15 P4 offers, including Ohio State, Indiana, and Notre Dame. The No. 50 player overall in his class (2028), Miles is the 3rd-ranked player in Illinois and “truly hasn't blown up yet when it comes to how many offers he will truly end up with. He is a big-time prospect,” said a recruiting analyst with 24/7. The Scouts can’t lose Miles on the field, a TFL machine if left unblocked.

Wyatt VanBoening, #74, Junior Offensive Lineman

The second player in the “Power 4 Pick ‘Em” game is VanBoening, a 6-7, 290-pound junior offensive tackle. Just last week, VanBoening snagged a Florida State offer, adding to his total P4 offer haul of 18 (three more than teammate Miles). Van Boening is the 7th-ranked player in the state of Illinois, according to 24/7 Sports, two spots behind Miles. A sign of the times: Van Boening lists himself as a “professional athlete” on his TwitterX profile. He started at left tackle for the Corsairs in Week 1 but came out of the game in the first half and did not return. His status for Friday is unclear, but if VanBoening is in the game, he’ll be impossible to miss.

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For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

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Happy Monday, everyone! A glance at the Week 1 results across Chicagoland puts the Scouts in the “Misery Loves Company” category.

Two of Lake Forest’s conference rivals were shut out at home Friday. We’ll know by Labor Day if the results are opening-night outliers or season-long forecasts.

Let’s get to the short stuff:

1. Senior captain Charlie Hornberger said it best in the Varsity Field locker room after the Scouts’ 6-0 defeat to Deerfield. “I don’t know… something wasn’t right.” Deerfield didn’t outweigh Lake Forest. The Warriors didn’t have more speed or athleticism. None of that is true. What they were, though, was more poised at a few critical points in the game, less jittery, let’s say, and that was enough to prevail.

2. The sequence that concluded the first offensive possession encapsulated the evening’s calamity-laden game. Deerfield ran nine plays after the opening kick but was stopped on 4th and 1 at the Lake Forest 14 (a home-field call by the referees, as it appeared the Warriors got past the sticks). Just before the end of the first quarter, a defensive pass interference call on a Jack Burger fade route gave the Scouts a 1st and 10 from the Deerfield 15. Three straight run plays to sophomore running back Razon Alston had the Scouts sitting pretty at 1st and goal from the 2-yard line. Then things went sideways.

3. Two run plays to junior Ollie Steiner yielded -1 yard. The Scouts had to throw, which is much more difficult in the tight, compact red zone. Quarterback Rafi Karam wanted to get the ball to senior wide receiver Jack Dacy on a quick hitch on the short side of the field but didn’t pull the trigger. He was sacked for a seven-yard loss. On the ensuing field goal attempt, Karam, the holder, dropped the snap, and that ended the drive. In the 90 seasons of Lake Forest football history, these numbers likely have never been paired together: 22 plays, 10:55 possession time, 0 points. “When you lose games like this, there are good reasons,” a frustrated Coach Spagnoli said afterwards. Not getting points on that drive was certainly one of those reasons.

4. The defense, as is often the case against atypical schemes, settled down by the second quarter. After its opening possession, Deerfield got the ball three more times in the first half. Those drives accumulated 14 total yards. “What they do is unique, so the first drive you get used to it and figure it out,” Spagnoli said. Deerfield did not allow the inside linebackers—in Friday’s game, mostly junior William Elliott—to shoot through uncovered gaps as they did in the 2025 game. The Warriors deployed the center or guard to the second level. But the defensive line of Hornberger, seniors Michael Heman and George Holland, and the other inside backer, junior Ezio Berrettini, as well as junior end Luke Hoffman, did a nice job getting upfield, flowing to the football and limiting “midline” rushing lanes. When Deerfield got yards, it was more often on the “pitch” option or perimeter run plays. But even those were sparse: the Scouts held Deerfield to under 100 yards on the ground (with tackles for loss factored in) and 88 yards through the air. When a defense holds its opposing unit around the 200-yard mark in total offense, it’s a job well done.

5. In a game devoid of explosive plays, Deefield finally made a few during its opening drive of the second half. On a third and long from its own 31, Deerfield sophomore quarterback Cooper Crane broke off a keeper run for a first down. On a 4th and 6 from the Scouts’ 39-yard line, Deerfield converted a pitch play for a first down. On the next play, the Warriors threw it vertically and converted a deep pass to the Lake Forest 8-yard line. Two plays later, Crane threw the lone touchdown of the game, a 9-yard strike to junior Michael Belden. It was a heckuva throw from Crane, who took a shot from Hoffman but managed to get the ball to Belden in a tight window crossing over from the other side of the formation.

6. I talked about it in the “Rapid Reaction” podcast late Friday, but the Warriors have a quarterback in Crane. That scoring drive was all Crane: tough perimeter running, hanging in the pocket, delivering throws in narrow windows. Any spectator Friday night can see why the Warriors coaching staff was confident going with the underclassman. Crane did not play like a first-year varsity guy but instead like someone who expected to be the triggerman Friday night.

7. I talk often about “hidden yards” that don’t show up on stat sheets but prove costly when the Scouts lose. Three plays worth mentioning: at the end of the first half, Lake Forest returned a Deerfield punt to midfield. A phantom penalty (I still don’t know what the call was, even after watching the film multiple times) moved the ball back to the Lake Forest 30-yard line. If at midfield, the Scouts may have elected to be more aggressive with their play calling. They decided to try to run out the clock to get to halftime but still had to punt (Deerfield did nothing with its two plays to close out the half).

8. Lake Forest got the ball to start the second half. The return again placed the Scouts near midfield. But a block in the back penalty pushed them back to their 23-yard line. Two Steiner runs earned a first down, but on Steiner’s third-down carry that yielded another series, Lake Forest jumped offside. One play later, the Scouts had to punt. We don’t know how far the opening drive would have gone without the penalty, but factor in the special teams errors and the opening drive sequence and the accumulation of miscues is simply inexcusable, even for a Week 1 game. “Coach (Spagnoli) said it’s ‘death by a thousand paper cuts,’” senior center and captain Rowdy Greenlees said. “A lot of small things compiling into one big issue.”

9. We can’t complete this write-up without addressing the end-of-game sequence with the offense. The defense again got a fourth-down stop, this time with under three minutes remaining, the score still 6-0 Deerfield. Lake Forest took over on its own 24-yard line. Back-to-back seam throws to Reding Pruitt (who had a nice night punting the ball), and a 10-yard Alston run found the Scouts on the Deerfield 42-yard line. The botched field goal early in the game meant Lake Forest had to score a touchdown to tie. Two pass plays gained one yard. On third down, the Scouts elected to run the ball with Alston, who got eight yards. Knowing the Scouts were in four-down mode, the run play presumably was to set up a fourth-down pass. After a timeout to talk about the 4th-and-3 play, the Scouts came out in a base 2x1 formation, with Alston offset left. Karam handed the ball to Alston, who immediately got hit in the backfield by an unblocked Warriors defender coming off the left edge. Tackle for loss, game over.

10. I asked a few of the guys afterwards about the timeout huddle before the fourth-down call, and they said the coaches asked Alston if he could get the first down and “everyone was on the same page. (Alston) is a power back and he was hot,” said Burger. Karam did a nice job retrieving a low snap, but the play was poorly designed from the jump. “It’s such a team game,” Coach Spagnoli said. “We had mistakes on defense, we had mistakes on offense, we had mistakes in the kicking game,” and in that situation, the final drive, there were play-calling mistakes. If you’re the Scouts, you cannot run the ball twice in that situation. Stop protecting the quarterback, put the ball in his hands, and ask him to get a first down and try to win the game.

11. Lake Forest must reassess the quarterback position this week (and others). Junior Colin McMahon played one brief series at the end of the half (and got rocked by a Deerfield defender) and deserves more consideration heading into the Carmel game.

12. Week 1 scores are always a bit bonkers. But this year, the North Suburban takes the “Conference Least Prepared” award. Two other host NSC teams were just as offensively challenged as the Scouts, as Lake Zurich and Warren were goose-egged by Fremd and Loyola, respectively. Stevenson got blown out at home by Prospect, and Libertyville lost 28-14 at Geneva. In total, the NSC Big 5 got outscored 116-24 in Week 1. The NSC went 2-6 Friday night, with Zion and Mundelein the lone victors (you try slowing down that Zee-Bee Mustang train!) One narrative spin: from these ghastly scores, there’s opportunity to be seized. Which team will improve the most from one week to the next? The Scouts’ Week 2 opponent, Carmel, is likely to play with desperation after the Corsairs got whipped by Hersey 38-22. Coach Spagnoli often answers benign “what do you want to see the most from your team?” questions with a binary “play hard, play together” reply. It’s a most desired outcome after what we witnessed Friday.

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

50% off 1 year

We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

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For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com.

Rapid reaction podcast from the Scouts’ season-opening 6-0 loss to Deerfield Friday night.

Lake Forest drops to 0-1 on the season and travels to Carmel next week.

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

Jack Burger is ready to lead.

The senior wide receiver is one of three captains on this year’s Lake Forest team.

Earlier this week, I caught up with Jack, a frequent guest on the TAS podcast over the years. We chatted about how he views leadership and what he learned from an influential book read while rehabbing an injury. We also talked about the 2026 season, which kicks off tonight, and his fall recruiting plans.

We bring you that conversation on The Athletic Scout podcast.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1.

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. Those are former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

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We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

Topics discussed:

• Expectations and goals for the 2026 football season

• How he defines leadership and his vision for motivating his teammates

• What colleges are recruiting him and what he wants out of a school

• Why he hasn’t committed yet and his timeline for accepting an offer

I really enjoyed this chat with George and found him to be candid and frank about the upcoming season and his college future. He’s been on quite a ride, one that is far from over. I think it’ll be worth your time.

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Here are a few clips from the interview…

What the 40% rule means:

What rivalry means the most:

On what matters most in recruiting:

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You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout!

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The high school football season kicks off this Friday, Aug. 21. Lake Forest hosts Deerfield in a regional Week 1 matchup at Varsity Field. TAS publisher Jon Kerr spent Monday with the team in classroom meetings and fieldwork as they ramp up for their season-opening game against the Warriors.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

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We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

9:29 a.m. The classroom portion of practice ends at around 9:15 a.m. Next, it’s time to hit the field.

9:48 a.m. The Scouts split up into positional groups and run “indy” drills.

10:11 a.m. Indys produce enticing matchups like this one… starting wide receiver Jack Burger against returning secondary starter Dean Gottman. 1v1… let’s go!

10:15 a.m. It’s a game week, and running scout teams is a vital part of preparation. Junior varsity head coach Joe Busse goes over the Deerfield offense with a few of his players.

Varsity offensive coordinator Dylan Johnson holds up a scout team play card in view of blue-shirted varsity players.

In the “Four Days to Friday” podcast, TAS publisher Jon Kerr gives observations from the Monday practice and predictions for Friday night.

Read more

The high school football season kicks off this Friday, Aug. 21. Lake Forest hosts Deerfield in a regional Week 1 matchup at Varsity Field. TAS publisher Jon Kerr spent Monday with the team in classroom meetings and fieldwork as they ramp up for the Warriors.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discount on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Sept. 1

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 1.

50% off 1 year

We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

7:53 a.m. Senior running back Ollie Steiner prepares the water buckets before a team meeting at 8 a.m.

7:57 a.m. A wall clock in the West Campus weight room serves as a live countdown ticker before Friday’s 7:30 pm kick off against Deerfield.

“When you get older, (the clock) takes on a different meaning,” longtime strength coach and clock operator Larry Lilja said.

8:00 a.m. The first team meeting of game week starts promptly at 8 a.m. “Who did something nice for their mom this weekend?” Coach Spagnoli asks the room (to muffled replies).

He quickly transitions to the business at hand.

“Everything we do this week, we need complete and total concentration and cooperation… no time for doing it wrong because ‘I don’t know,’” Spagnoli said.

Spagnoli continues with the itinerary for the day and tone setting for the next four days.

“There’s no time for watching and hoping and wondering,” he said. “Everything has to be done properly. You’ve been trained on this since mid-July; now it’s a matter of doing it properly”

After the meeting, the team is split up: offensive players move to a classroom deep within the bowels of the West Campus, while defensive players go to the weight room for a lift

8:10 a.m. Offensive coach Tom Soprych draws up the Deerfield base defense on the whiteboard and best practices on how to attack their scheme.

Read more

This story is part of Scout Summit, The Athletic Scout’s vertical covering leadership and the mental side of sports.

John Holland is the father of George Holland, a Lake Forest High School senior edge rusher. George has offers from four Division 1 schools but remains undecided.

My wife (Kate) and I didn’t want our son to play football.

This was eight years ago, when concussion discussions were everywhere, when kids were getting pulled out of the sport left and right, and football participation was actually declining. We were worried. We had real concerns. And so we steered clear—until we couldn’t anymore.

Our son came to us in sixth grade and said he really, really wanted to play.

And that changed everything.

What followed was one of the most surprising, exhausting, expensive, humbling, and ultimately inspiring journeys of our lives as parents. Our son is now a senior defensive lineman at Lake Forest High School, being recruited by Division I programs—and I want to share a few things we learned along the way, because nobody handed us a roadmap when we needed one most.

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Step 1: Let Your Child Drive the Ship — Not You

This is the foundation that everything else rests on. And it took us a while to fully understand it.

When you impose a sport on your child, it will eventually backfire. I learned this the hard way through my own background as a competitive sailor. Our kids sailed because I did. And as they hit their teenage years, that dynamic shifted — because it was never really theirs.

• The child has to want it more than you do. When my son said he wanted to play football, that came from him. We hadn’t pushed it. We hadn’t hinted. It was entirely his idea. And that ownership—that sense that this is my journey, not my parents’—is what fuels everything that comes after. The early mornings, the extra training, the grind of a long season.

• Keep asking the question: is this still fun for you? Before big games, when stress is high and expectations are heavy, the conversation in our house isn’t about strategy or matchups. It’s about fun. We tell him: lock the stress in a box. Focus on why you started. Deliver the passion that brought you here. When he plays free, you can see it. When he doesn’t, you can see that too.

• Fun isn’t a soft concept — it’s a performance variable. You can get up at 5 a.m. in February to go to a college practice in the rain at 34 degrees if the thing you’re doing brings you joy. You can handle all of it—if it’s fun. The moment it stops being fun, the effort starts to erode. And no parent can manufacture that from the outside.

• Common mistake: Parents who push their own athletic dreams onto their children, then wonder why motivation dries up exactly when the stakes get highest.

• The better approach: Create the environment. Support the desire. Ask the question often. And then—this is the hard part—get out of the way.

Step 2: Start Learning the Process Earlier Than You Think You Need To

We had no idea what we were doing when recruiting interest first showed up. None. And that put us behind.

The recruiting process rewards families who are informed and organized. It does not wait for families who are figuring it out as they go.

• The signal moment for us was when our son got pulled up to varsity as a freshman and made some game-changing plays. That’s when we looked at each other and said, “We need to start learning about this, because we have no idea what comes next.”

• Your child needs to own their own recruiting presence. Setting up a social media account for recruiting purposes isn’t a parent project — it’s your child’s project. Coaches are watching those accounts. The content has to be professional, mature, and authentically theirs. A parent-managed account reads as exactly that, and it undercuts the whole thing.

• Film is everything in the early stages. Before coaches can attend your practices or games, they’re evaluating based on what they can watch from a screen. Learning how to properly cut and present film is a skill worth developing — and developing early.

• Be very selective about paid showcases and camps. We attended some of the pay-to-play showcases where you go, you participate, you’re “seen.” The return on investment was almost zero. Everything meaningful that happened for us came from performing well, presenting well on social media, and getting to legitimate school-run camps where real evaluators were present.

• Common mistake: Spending money on third-party showcase events that promise exposure but deliver very little. The money and time would almost always be better spent on development and free or invite-only programs.

• The better approach: Be patient, be intentional, and invest in things that put your child directly in front of coaches who can actually make decisions.

Step 3: Navigate the Camp Circuit Strategically

Once recruiting interest starts coming in, the next challenge is figuring out which camps and visits are actually worth your time — because not all of them are.

The recruiting camp landscape is a mix of genuine opportunity and expensive noise. Learning to tell the difference is one of the most valuable things we figured out.

• School-run camps are almost always more valuable than third-party showcases. When you go to a university’s own camp, the coaches running the event are the coaches who make decisions. They see your child working in their system, running their drills, competing against other prospects they’re already evaluating. That’s real information that changes recruiting conversations.

• Invite-only camps carry a different weight than open camps. When a school reaches out and specifically asks your child to attend, that’s a signal. It means they already see something. Prioritize those over open registration events where you’re one of five hundred.

• The observation-versus-participation trap is real. We did five weeks of back-to-back spring practices at D1 programs—early mornings, hotel rooms, cold weather, standing on the sideline watching. By the end of it, both my son and I were burned out. When he finally got back to his own team and got on the field himself, I watched the light come back on immediately. You can lose perspective on why you’re doing this when you spend too long just watching. Stay connected to the participation.

• Common mistake: Treating every camp invitation as equally important and exhausting the family in the process. The answer isn’t to attend everything—it’s to attend the right things.

Step 4: Understand That Academic Recruiting Is a Different Game

If your child is targeting academically selective programs, the recruiting process works differently than you might expect—and knowing those rules early gives you a real advantage.

At high-academic institutions, your transcript is evaluated with the same intensity as your film. Sometimes more.

• Grades aren’t just a box to check — they determine which doors open. Some programs have hard minimum test score cutoffs. Others are more holistic. But at the most selective schools, coaches have already run your child’s academic profile past the admissions office before they’ll extend an offer. If the academics aren’t there, the football conversation stops.

• Every AP course, every honor society membership, every semester grade matters. When a college coach pulled my son aside at a game we attended as guests, I expected them to talk about scheme fit. Instead, they spent fifteen minutes going over his transcript line by line. That moment recalibrated everything for us.

• Test-optional doesn’t mean test-unimportant. Some schools say they don’t require standardized tests but still have implicit thresholds. Others hold firm minimum scores regardless of everything else. Know the actual standards at each school you’re targeting—don’t assume.

• D3 schools deserve serious consideration. Some of the best academic institutions in the country are Division III programs. There are no athletic scholarships at D3, but academic merit scholarships can be very significant. If football is the vehicle and academics are the destination, D3 might offer the best of both. Don’t dismiss it because of the division label.

• Common mistake: Families who focus entirely on athletic recruiting and treat academics as secondary—then discover late in the process that the schools they want won’t take their child because the transcript isn’t there.

• The better approach: Treat academics as the non-negotiable foundation and athletics as the vehicle. The combination is powerful. Athletics alone is fragile.

Step 5: Never Tell Your Child They Can’t Do Something

This is the one I feel most strongly about. And I want to say it as directly as I can.

As parents, we should never close off avenues for our children. Never.

• My son is not where he is because of my wife’s genetics or mine. He’s where he is because of his hard work. Period. We didn’t produce a Division I football prospect—he chose to become one, and then he did the work to make it real.

• Development is non-linear and often late. We’ve met kids who looked like they had no future in the sport at 14 who became top recruits by 17. The kid who’s 5’4” as a freshman can grow. The kid who’s behind the depth chart can develop. The kid who doesn’t look the part right now can become the part—if they want it badly enough and do the work.

• Your job is to provide support, not limitation. Show up. Drive them to practice. Help them figure out the camp schedule. Be present at the visits. Make sure they have what they need to compete. And then let them write their own story.

• Trust the programs and coaches around your child more than your own evaluation. A great youth program teaches kids that they can do things they didn’t know they were capable of. When that belief comes from a coach or a teammate, it lands differently than when it comes from a parent. Put your child in environments where that belief gets built—and then stay out of the way while it happens.

The Big Idea: Chase People and Passions

Someone shared a quote with me recently that I keep coming back to:

If you chase people and passions, you’ll never fail.

That’s what this whole journey has been for us. Our son chased the passion. We chased the people—the coaches, the programs, the communities—who could help him grow. And somehow, across six years of youth football, high school games, hotel rooms, 5 a.m. spring practices, and a few uncomfortable recruiting conversations we didn’t see coming, we ended up somewhere we never imagined when he first asked us if he could play.

Here’s what I’d tell any family starting this journey today:

1. ✅ Let your child drive. Support their ambition—don’t substitute yours for it.

2. ✅ Start learning the process earlier than you think you need to. You’ll wish you had.

3. ✅ Be strategic about camps. Prioritize invite-only and school-run events over paid showcases.

4. ✅ Treat academics as the non-negotiable foundation. The transcript opens doors the film can’t.

5. ✅ Consider Division III seriously. Some of the best opportunities live there.

6. ✅ Trust your instincts when something feels wrong in the recruiting process. Legitimate programs don’t pressure families.

7. ✅ Never tell your child they can’t. The journey of four years is theirs to write — not yours.

It’s their story. Your job is to show up and let them tell it.

—as told to Jon Kerr

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For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com.

Happy Monday, everyone! Ponder this reality… We are one week away from our first game week of the 2026 season.

Bananas.

Saturday, I swung by Varsity Field as the Scouts held a morning practice (that spilled into the early afternoon).

Inside the West Campus weight room, I interviewed the three captain’s selections: Charlie Hornberger, Rowdy Greenlees, and Jack Burger.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discounted price on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Aug. 20.

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Aug. 20.

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We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

Meet your 2026 captains:

The Scouts have one of the more unique captains’ processes of any program.

Candidates must be seniors-to-be (there were 11 applicants this go around) and are first interviewed by a committee of District 115 administrators. This happens before the team’s four-day camp at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. On the final night at Parkside, the players vote on who they want as captain. Before the team reconvenes for pre-season practices, the coaches meet to discuss the candidates before the final selections are revealed the first day back (this year, that was Aug. 5)

Very early in Coach Spagnoli’s tenure, he started the system still in place to select team captains. I chatted with him about it after Saturday’s practice, and here’s an abbreviated transcript of our conversation:

ON THE CAPTAIN CHOICES

“They are all wonderful kids and obviously passionate about what we do and how we do it… They’ve been players in the program and have done everything we’ve asked… I don’t really have to pick the captains.,

“We have other seniors that have similar positions and are great kids, but not everybody can do it… We can’t have a committee of captains, and at some point we draw a line. The players draw that line, honestly more so than I.”

ON THEIR RESPONSIBILITY

“They are the conduit of the team, and they should touch every part of the program and every part of the program should touch them if need be. We explain this to our kids that if there’s someone who has an issue, if there’s something that they aren’t comfortable talking to a coach about, then they should see the captains first and from there we’ll work to solve the problem. To me, they are the head of the team in terms of there’s a head and there’s a body; they are the guys who should make policy. Our culture, I would say, is established, but there are times we do different things with different groups and generally those are ideas born from them, or teammates communicate that to them.”

ON THE NUMBER

“We usually have 3-to-5 (players) and that’s usually a decent number. It’s never that because we decided it has to be that number beforehand, it usually organically becomes that number. There are times where it’s been so one-sided to a guy where we’ve had to move to other guys or it’s been so spread out that we’ve had to trim it. I have very little to do with the decision-making other than to listen to those involved and see the parameters and protocols for it.”

ON THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

“Several administrators (conduct the interviews). I don’t want to be there to influence or taint the answers of the kids or the panel. 7 people did it this year, and they all gave us their rankings and what they thought. One of the reasons we do it the way we do is it gives our kids a chance to show who they are, but more importantly, it gives those people a chance to know our kids face-to-face instead of ‘Oh, that’s Joe Smith on the football team, but I don’t really know Joe Smith’ because all of those people are not classroom teachers. They are administrators; they don’t see them every day in class and certainly don’t see them on the field every day. So they may or may not have an impression of them and I would hope after the interviews the impression is strong of all of them and typically the feedback I get is very strong of our kids.”

I recorded a short podcast to add some context:

Much more to come. Have a great week.

One more reminder:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discounted price on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Aug. 20.

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Aug. 20.

50% off 1 year

We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

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George Holland has big plans.

But before he gets on with his college football career, he has a senior season to play.

Fortunately for the Lake Forest Scouts, George plays that final season in a blue-and-gold uniform.

Earlier this week, I caught up with George, and we chatted about all sorts of topics. We bring you that conversation on The Athletic Scout podcast.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discounted price on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Aug. 21.

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Aug. 20.

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We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

Topics discussed:

• Expectations and goals for the 2026 football season

• How he defines leadership and his vision for motivating his teammates

• What colleges are recruiting him and what he wants out of a school

• Why he hasn’t committed yet and his timeline for accepting an offer

I really enjoyed this chat with George and found him to be candid and frank about the upcoming season and his college future. He’s been on quite a ride, one that is far from over. I think it’ll be worth your time.

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Here are a few clips from the interview…

How he views leadership as an athlete:

Why he prefers to make one college choice:

His fall recruiting plans:

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Aug. 20.

We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout!

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For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

It’s that time.

Preseason practices for Illinois high school teams begin today, with 16 days before the 2026 season kicks off on Aug. 21.

The Lake Forest Scouts will practice every day (except Sundays) from now until their Week 1 matchup against Deerfield.

Here are six questions—some we can answer now, others we hope to later—with the season just around the corner.

Before we get to the content, a special offer to first-time subscribers:

A special offer for Scouts Football family members: a 50% discounted price on the annual plan for all first-time subscribers through Aug. 21.

That’s $25 for a full season of Scouts Football coverage.

That discount covers all first-time paid subscribers and members of the Scouts Football family. That’s former players, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—the entire community.

For first-time subscribers, click the button below to claim your special offer.

You can claim that offer through Sept. 21.

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We’ll have full coverage of the Scouts all season long, right here on The Athletic Scout.

Now, let’s get to the burning questions!

Why is the season starting so early?

It dates back to late last year, when Illinois High School Association members voted to expand the high school football playoffs from 256 to 384 teams beginning this season. Eight postseason classes remain, but with an additional “opening round” to accommodate more teams. Rather than five weeks of playoffs, there are six rounds, with the top eight seeds in each class receiving a first-round bye. Member institutions insisted on keeping the championship games played Thanksgiving weekend, so the only way to do that was to move the season up one weekend.

Will the expanded playoffs impact the Scouts?

If this change had happened before the 2025 season, that senior class and team would have made the playoffs. Any expansion means more opportunity to extend the season. In the 15 full high school seasons since 2010, the Scouts have missed the postseason tournament twice (2022 and 2025). Lake Forest is a program used to playing into November under the old system, so expansion doesn’t adjust those expectations. What it does is allow more margin for injuries, slumps, and slower development. If the Scouts struggle out of the gate, yet hit their stride later in the season, the five-win milestone no longer matters. Find a way to be one of the 384 and see what happens.

What is the perception of this year’s Lake Forest team from outsiders?

Uncertain, but that’s almost always the case. Twenty years ago, even 10, prep media was fairly robust around Chicagoland. You had the Daily Herald, Pioneer Press, Shaw Media and several online outlets that covered the major conferences. Even then, the Scouts were typically overlooked. “They’ll make the playoffs, they always do” or “Spagnoli will have them playing hard” were worn-out platitudes from media pundits. Whenever Lake Forest had a high-level D1 recruit or all-state player—Rylie Mills, Leo Scheidler—the press gravitated to Varsity Field. But otherwise, it’s a shoulder shrug and relative disinterest, and with almost all of the 2000s and 2010s media infrastructure wiped out, even less so. Like with any neglected group, winning draws eyeballs. If this year’s team starts and stays hot, we’ll see a few more open notepads on the sidelines.

Which early-season game could shape the rest of the year?

This gets to the earlier question about outside interest. What August game on the schedule is the most intriguing? That’s Week 2 vs. Carmel. The Corsairs under seven-year head coach Jason McKie (the former NFL player and current Bears sideline reporter) represent a modern player-centric version of high school football: “Come to Carmel and we’ll get you ready for the next level.” That’s their elevator pitch to teenagers, mommas, poppas, aunties and uncles. It’s a star-driven program, complete with sideline entourages. Lake Forest is also player-centric, but the contrast is in how it’s presented: sum-of-the-parts customs vs. Carmel’s individualized culture. Clearly the approaches work for both schools, and the Corsairs hold a 4-1 advantage in this series since it began in 2021. In 2024, the Scouts suffocated the Corsairs on the road and won easily, a catalyst for a nine-win season. The same could be true with a victory later this month.

How good is the North Suburban Conference in 2026?

Hard to say this early, but likely not as good as the last 2-3 years. Quite a bit of talent has left the conference the past few years. The 2024 season was one of the better years in a decade for the North Suburban, as Libertyville, Stevenson, Warren and Lake Forest all featured D1-level athletes up and down the roster. Those players—Aaron Stewart, Zach Becker, Quinn Schambow, Finn Goodman—have graduated. As usual, there are college-level players amongst the NSC “Big Five,” just not as many. The Scouts haven’t won or shared an NSC championship since 2011. Could this be the year they break the 15-year drought? Possibly, but they’ll likely have to go 3-1 against Warren, Libertyville, Stevenson and Zurich.

What must happen for the Scouts to return to the postseason?

Looking at it from a pragmatist's perspective: go 1-1 in August. Split the first two vs. Deerfield and Carmel, and there’s a clear path to the postseason, even with a low floor of four wins. Let’s look at it from a visionary’s perspective: play better. What’s the standard? We won’t know until early September. This season’s group has yet to form its identity or personality. But there’s enough talent to exceed four wins. Play to the standard, and the wins will come.

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From July 23-26, the Scouts held their annual camp at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Players in the sophomore, junior, and senior classes are invited to participate. The camp is a series of two-a-day practices with team activities at night, capped with a Sunday scrimmage and cookout. Saturday, July 25, publisher Jon Kerr spent five hours at the camp with the team and provides a first-person account from his time there.

10:35 a.m. I walk down the hill towards the field and encounter a group of players not participating in regular practice. Instead, they work out with strength coach Larry Lilja in what is rhetorically referred to as “Camp Wonderland.”

“It’s a wonder how quickly they get better,” Coach Spagnoli said.

11:15 a.m. The Scouts wrap up the morning session of practice with a “team tie up” segment of plays. This is 11-a-side, including lineman. Coaches are evaluating personnel and including these abbreviated segments (16 plays) allows for more complete appraisals. As keeping with the always-competing ethos of the program, the coaches assign a winner to one side of the ball after each play and encourage non-participants to be vocal and loud.

11:32 a.m. After a brief schedule update from Coach Spagnoli, the midday break begins. Players change shoes, grab their scooters, and head to the dining hall for lunch.

11:38 p.m. On the walk to lunch, I tag along with senior wide receiver Jack Burger (that’s him in the above photo to the right, carrying a backpack).

Jack had terrific July practices and is well prepared for a fantastic 2026 season.

We start talking about his health (good, after a rough 2025 Parkside camp and season) and how he got through his injury-plagued junior year.

Q: I know you read the David Goggins book “Can’t Hurt Me.”

A: I read it. I told my mom (Libby) I’ve never been a big reader, but that was one of the few books I’ve actually enjoyed reading.

Q: What are the messages you took from the book?

A: The path to where you want to get may not always be a straight line. All the obstacles (Goggins) went through kind of reminded me of my injury and improving. I might not be where I want to be in a year, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be there in four years. Just keep going.

Q: How hard was dealing with that injury? (Jack broke his leg in Week 1 and missed seven games)

A: The injury hurt, but it was more the emotions. I kind of realized that my recruiting would mostly be shut down for most of the big programs I was talking to at the time. I was pretty much in a dark headspace for a few weeks. I think that happens after every major injury, you go into a bad mindset. I just moved on and focused on working hard in PT (physical therapy) and trying to help out the team as much as I could and get back as fast as I could.

Q: On the recruiting front, where does that stand?

A: It’s not as if those programs completely shut down. It’s more of a ‘let’s keep in touch, keep an eye on you’ kind of thing. My mindset is I have to have the best season possible and hope a program takes a chance on me (Jack said Denison, Washington-St. Louis, and Valparaiso are amongst the most active colleges).

Q: I know the team votes on captains tonight. You applied for one of the captaincy spots. What does being a captain look like to you?

A: I wasn’t always the most vocal person, but I’ve tried to become more vocal. My biggest thing is leadership by example. As seniors, we have to set an example to the younger guys and get the younger guys to follow the seniors. Coach Spagnoli always says, ‘Do things the right way and the little things the right way.’ Those are my biggest things.

Jack added a few other comments about his message to the wide receiver room this season: “know all positions” and an emphasis on scheme vs. plays.

All great stuff. Excited to see his development as a player and leader this fall.

1:45 p.m. Time for classroom study.

The guys move indoors to Ranger Hall for offensive and defensive segment meetings.

Coach Spagnoli offers up a three-question quiz that includes how many rushers in a defensive pressure call. The consequence for a wrong answer? Updowns at the next field practice.

One Spags-ism from the meeting when discussing where players’ eyes should be and how what they see determines where they move on the field: “Keys are like your mom. She’ll never lie to you.”

The offensive emphasis this day is the goal line. Offensive coordinator Dylan Johnson tells players, “We want to score touchdowns” rather than kick field goals.

2:50 p.m. Before the team heads out to the practice field, Spagnoli gathers the seniors for a quick meeting and pep talk. Saturday afternoon represents the final practice session of the Parkside camp.

Said Spagnoli:

You guys, you guys have to make sure this practice is not (messed) up. You guys have to make sure the enthusiasm level, the effort level from everybody is at a high level for this practice. You’ve done a great job… do you want to screw it up by having one (bad) practice? You know me, I don’t lie to you, and I don’t B.S. You guys are going to be the reason that we are not going to let that happen, or you’ll be the reason it does happen, one or the other.

Message received.

3:26 p.m. One piece of technology that did not exist in 2005, the first Parkside year, was field drones.

Team manager Noah Friedlund plays around with the controls before he sends the gadget in flight.

The purpose of the drone is to give the coaches and players another aerial view of practice film. One of many truths about football: there can never be too much tape!

Lake Forest has camped in Kenosha since 2005. This year, 77 total players participated from the upcoming sophomore, junior, and senior classes. Including coaches and support staff, the total number of people at Parkside approached 100.

It’s a massive operation for a high school program. The constant through it all is Spagnoli.

“Our team’s personality gets defined during that week. It really does. Whether it’s doing it the right way or sometimes the wrong way,” Spagnoli said. “The whole itinerary is laid out for a reason so kids understand this is how we are going to do it. This is when we are going to do it. This is what we are going to do when we get there, and not only are you responsible for yourself but your roommate and the two of you have to work together and be responsible for each other. There are a lot of things we put on their plates with regards to following direction and being responsible and doing things the way they need to get done.

“In addition to that there’s the football part. And the football part is not secondary but it’s not why we go there.”

There is something to be said for an isolated, distraction-free environment, more than ever in the intrusion-filled years of our times. That’s what the Scouts have for four days, and it truly is, IMO, one of the best culture-building trips not just within the LFHS athletic department but the entire North Suburban Conference, in any sport.

Parkside does not guarantee the Scouts will have a winning season. It does ground current players in a structured frame of mind and gives them a unique collaborative experience that transcends the sport of football.

“We can do the football part here. It gives us a chance to get away with them and spend a lot of time with them and for them to spend a lot of time with each other, which is crucial,” Spagnoli said.

Thanks for reading. I recorded this podcast to add some context to the post and Parkside trip:

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

This week marks an early milestone in the 2026 season.

The Scouts complete the “summer camp” portion of their practices at Varsity Field. Next is the Parkside camp, going on this weekend up in Kenosha.

As players and coaches practice up north, we count down the days until Week 1 kickoff (as of this writing, it’s 29 days). Wednesday, the Illinois High School Association released the official football schedule for the 2026 season.

Lake Forest plays nine regular-season games—two non-conference, seven North Suburban Conference—and opens the schedule at home vs. Deerfield.

Let’s break down all nine games.

Week 1 — Aug. 21 vs Deerfield

A rematch from last season’s Week 1 drubbing of the Warriors by the Scouts at Adams Field. The 2025 season was a reset for Deerfield—new head coach, new scheme (triple option), and it showed in a disappointing 1-8 campaign. With one more full offseason, the Warriors should be improved in 2026, but hard to predict how much better they will be. Quarterback Jack Agran and wide receiver Ethan Weiner return. This might be the first opening night game in Lake Forest program history to be played before classes begin. Deerfield begins classes August 12, a full two weeks before Lake Forest. Before last season’s one-win record, the Warriors qualified for the postseason seven out of 10 seasons. Please, schedule-maker Gods, give us more of these regional non-conference games involving programs with similar profiles (enrollment size, winning history, etc.). It’s great for players, fans, and school communities.

Week 2 — Aug. 28 at Carmel

This is Year 6 of what has now become an annual Week 2 matchup with the Corsairs. We can stop short of calling Carmel a “rival” of the Scouts, as Carmel has won four of the five meetings and the games haven’t been that closely contested. Last year’s 51-7 defeat was one of the worst losses in the Coach Spagnoli era. A more competitive game this year is a fair prediction. The Corsairs have a new signal-caller; Power 4 recruit Trae Taylor has taken his talents and NIL cash to a high school in Lincoln, Nebraska. Taylor pledged his college services to the Cornhuskers, a tenuous pledge at best with Ohio State reportedly interested in poaching Taylor. One transfer out, another comes in for Carmel: former Warren quarterback Reed Dangel takes over for Taylor. Scouts fans may remember Dangel as a sophomore who replaced the Blue Devils' starter in Lake Forest’s 38-7 win over Warren in 2024. Carmel retains plenty of talent on both sides of the football, especially at linebacker. Junior linebacker Jameer Miles (6-foot-4, 195) is a Top 60 national recruit, with eight Big 10 offers including Indiana and Ohio State.

Week 3 — Sept. 4 at Zion

The Scouts open the North Suburban Conference portion of the schedule at Zion. These matchups between the Scouts and Zee-Bees are often close, including 2025’s thriller won by Lake Forest. The Zee-Bees began that season 3-0, only to lose five in a row and tumble out of playoff contention. They return two outstanding skill players: senior Jamere French (RB) and Rashad Love (WR). French is an Ohio University commit, while Love has received college offers. The quarterback situation is uncertain at Zion; it dipped into the transfer portal a year ago and found a one-year rental, Monchie Gunter. Regardless of the outcome at Carmel, the Scouts cannot overlook the Zee-Bees.

Week 4 — Sept. 10 vs Libertyville

A Thursday night home game against your biggest rival? I’m in! The last time the Scouts and Wildcats played a Thursday night game was 2023. That game was a wild ride, with Lake Forest prevailing in overtime. Libertyville managed a 5-5 record in 2025, a rebuilding year after an NSC title run in ‘24 (a run that memorably included two losses to the Scouts). All-USA tight end Brock Williams is back for the Wildcats, taking his talents to the University of Texas starting in 2027 (and cashing big checks for his services). The Lake Forest game concludes a brutal first four weeks for the Wildcats: at Geneva, at Naperville North, home vs. Warren, at Lake Forest. This series yo-yo’s back and forth, with the Wildcats whipping up on the Scouts in Week 8 a season ago.

Week 5 — Sept. 18 vs Warren

The Friday game schedule resumes with a home date against the Blue Devils. A datapoint that can’t be ignored when analyzing schedules is when teams play each other. By Week 5, Lake Forest will have played two likely playoff teams in Carmel and Libertyville. Warren’s first four games are as follows: home vs. Loyola, at Maine South, at Libertyville, at Mundelein. There are three comfortably certain postseason teams in that grouping, two of which—Loyola and Maine South—expect to finish their seasons Thanksgiving weekend. The Blue Devils will be running the same run-oriented attack they have in 13 seasons under head coach Bryan McNulty. The bodies are reshuffled this fall, most notably at running back as record-setting running back Aaron Stewart has finally graduated and taken his talents to the University of Illinois.

Week 6 — Sept. 25 at Waukegan

After four physically challenging games, the Scouts get a soft bye week in facing the Bulldogs. Most teams in the conference would agree on when to face Waukegan: midseason, when bodies are beat up, and rest is needed. If the Scouts manage to be above .500 at this stage of the season, a Waukegan win would put them at the 4-win (or best-case scenario, 5-win) mark and that much closer to a sure playoff berth. Waukegan hired a new head coach this off-season, Darrell Thomas.

Week 7 — Oct. 2 vs Lake Zurich

After seven seasons as head coach, Ron Planz left the Bears program in the spring to take an assistant job at Barrington. His replacement, Dragan Teonic, has been a head coach at Hersey, Larkin and South Elgin. By October, we’ll know how much of an impact the coaching change had on the Lake Zurich program. A safe bet is not that much—the Bears always run the football well and play good defense. When Lake Forest struggles against Zurich, it’s usually in stopping the run game.

Week 8 — Oct. 9 at Stevenson

Stevenson won 16 games the past two seasons only to have each end in a blowout playoff loss to Lincoln-Way East. The core group of those teams—including three-year starting quarterback Aidan Crawley, defensive lineman Anthony Adams and tight end Zach Becker—has graduated. Expect to see quite a few new faces suiting up for the Patriots this season. By the time this game rolls around in early October, Stevenson will have played the toughest portion of its schedule, except for the Lake Forest game. The Patriots close out the regular season against Waukegan but open with two non-conference bangers—Prospect and Wheaton North.

Week 9 — Oct. 16 at Mundelein

Poor Mundelein. Multiple times in recent years, they’ve entered a Week 9 matchup needing one win to qualify for the postseason. But unfortunately for the Mustangs, the Scouts were noncompliant, winning the season’s last game and eliminating Mundelein from playoff contention. There’s a good chance the same scenario could happen again, assuming the Mustangs win their first three games, all against beatable opponents (Grant, Grayslake Central, Waukegan). Most NSC fans are rooting for Mundelein to qualify for the postseason this fall, and with the playoffs expanding to add more teams, 4-5 may be enough to sneak in this season.

PREDICTION: On paper, this team is reminiscent of a few 2010’s-decade Lake Forest teams that featured key senior returners and talented—yet unproven—incoming juniors. When seniors play at peak levels and juniors develop quickly, there are seasons like 2012 (semis), 2013 (second round), and 2016 (quarters). The 2012 semifinal team was motivated by exterior forces (a teacher’s strike that cancelled a game). The ‘12, ‘13, and ‘16 squads featured senior quarterbacks who developed at the lower levels and played outstanding in their one starting season. Bottom line, a lot has to go right for the 2026 Scouts to match the success of those teams. But the roster makeup is there. If healthy, motivated, and enough first-year varsity guys play well, this is easily a playoff team and one that can play deep into October.

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

The Scouts hosted a 7v7 passing clinic and lineman challenge Saturday at Varsity Field.

Here’s a quick reaction pod.

I snagged senior quarterback Rafi Karam and senior George Holland on the field after the event:

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

Hi there, Scoopers! How y’all been?

Thanks for reading “Scout Scoop,” our newsletter from The Athletic Scout, where we bring you the straight scoop on youth sports and community athletic happenings in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.

A reminder for new readers and subscribers: if you want to customize your experience on The Athletic Scout, go to the “Start Here” page.

In this issue of “Scout Scoop”:

• Youth Sports Spotlight

• Kai Kroeger talk

• Let’s Get Social

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Let’s get to it:

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YOUTH SCOUT SPOTLIGHT

A few Jr. Scouts football players participated in the TCYFL all-star game this weekend…

That’s Jameson Dooley, a Deerpath 8th grader, flanked by his parents, Mindy and Brendan, on the field at Carmel Catholic High School on Saturday.

Jameson was one of three Jr. Scouts football players to be selected for the TCYFL All-Star game. The others: Ryan McCarney (8th) and Hunter Dixon (8th).

The boys suited up for the East team that played against the West team. Jameson and Ryan played for the varsity team, while Hunter participated in the lightweight game. The East squad for both Varsity and LW won the game, with all three boys seeing significant playing time.

Speaking of Hunter… he was named captain of the East team!

Many thanks to another Jr. Scouts football player and 8th grader, Tanner Sawant, who made this awesome highlight video featuring Hunter from Saturday’s game.

Amazing stuff… Tanner may have a future as a content creator!

We’re happy for the boys for their achievement and they should be more than ready for the start of official preseason practices Monday (July 20).

THE BIG THING

Texas Sports Academy is bringing the AI academic model to girls volleyball — and it’s going big on leadership

A new sport-specific school opening in Frisco, Texas, this fall pairs two hours of AI-powered academics with championship-level volleyball training—and it’s backed by some of the biggest names in the sport.

Why it matters: Texas Sports Academy recently announced the launch of its first-ever Girls Volleyball School, combining AI-powered academics with championship-level volleyball development, opening this fall at Elite Performance Training in Frisco, Texas. It’s the second sport-specific school the academy has launched in the Dallas area this year, following its recently announced girls’ flag football academy.

The location: North Dallas has emerged as one of the nation’s premier destinations for girls’ volleyball development, and the academy is launching just steps from The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ world headquarters, and is surrounded by one of the country’s highest concentrations of elite athletic training facilities.

The leadership lineup:

• Jason Nicholson, Executive Director of Texas Advantage Volleyball (TAV)—one of the most prestigious volleyball clubs in the nation—will serve as founding advisor.

• Strategic Advisor Jerritt Elliott is a three-time national champion and nine-time conference Coach of the Year who will help shape the academy’s volleyball curriculum and establish the standards for player development.

What they’re saying: Nicholson described it as more than a school: “Building elite volleyball players takes more than reps. It takes the right standards, the right environment, and the time to develop the whole athlete.”

How it works: Students complete academics in two highly focused hours each morning, freeing afternoons for more than three hours of pro-level sports training and life-skills development. The academic model is personalized and mastery-based, using 1:1 learning plans and spaced repetition to ensure students master every concept before moving on.

The scale: Year 1 enrollment will be limited to about 20 families in grades 6-12—the same founding-class structure used for the flag football academy—positioning early families as co-creators of the program’s culture and standards.

The bigger picture: Malekai Mischke of the Texas Sports Academy founding team summed up the philosophy: “Great academics and great athletics don’t have to compete with each other—they actually reinforce each other.”

The bottom line: Texas Sports Academy is executing a sport-by-sport expansion strategy across North Texas, using elite club partnerships and high-profile coaching advisors to signal credibility in each new vertical it enters. TSA was the first with girls’ flag football; now volleyball is just the latest—and likely not the last. Will we see more of these “microschools” pop up across the country?

KAI KROEGER TALK

We were fortunate to have a recent conversation with former Jr. Scout, LFHS Scout, and now NFL punter Kai Kroeger…

In case you missed it—we understand, it’s the summer after all—we have the full interview and a few select clips saved up for you:

FULL INTERVIEW:

CLIPS:

Many thanks to our Scoop co-editor, Emily Ryan, for organizing the event!

SUMMER EVENTS

While we’re at the tail end of camp season, Emily’s got a few notable events for you to check out:

Talking Football with Bears President Kevin Warren

When: July 16

Where: Gordon Community Center

Cost: $30 (adult), $15 (student)

Join Gordon Center for an unforgettable night with Chicago Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren. In a live conversation with acclaimed interviewer and author David Sweet, Warren will share an inside look at Bears football, NFL leadership, and the future of the Chicago Bears organization.

Discover how the Bears are evolving on and off the field. Hear Warren discuss the changing landscape of the NFL, the business of professional football, and the role sports play in shaping culture, community, and leadership in Chicago and beyond.

Whether you are a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, a football enthusiast, or interested in sports leadership and NFL culture, Talking Football with Kevin Warren promises an engaging evening filled with compelling stories, expert conversation, and exclusive insider perspective.

More Info

WIN Youth Sports Performance — weekly class

When: Tues/Thurs, 5 pm

Where: WIN Sports Performance, Highland Park

Ages: 11-13

Cost: $40 per session

The Youth Performance Program is tailored for athletes ages 11-13 and is set up to build the foundation for a healthy athletic career. The program will work on improving speed, agility and plyometrics with a big focus on proper technique and injury prevention. We want our youth athletes to build good movement patterns and increase strength while also having fun doing it.

More Info

Monday (July 20) is the first day of summer practices for Jr. Scouts football.

We’ll see many of you at Deerpath Community Park!

LET’S GET SOCIAL

Some recommends from Emily:

Fantastic (must-watch) interview with Novak Djokovic about his mindset shift that ends any self-doubt. Great advice for any sport!

For youth football players: first day in pads? No worries… If you fall, just get up.

“Nerves are totally normal but try and get your first hit out of the way early.”

Facts.

On the subject of facts… former Chicago Bear and broadcaster Greg Olson shares his #1 survival kit item for youth sports dads. Think kicks.

Are you a Jr. Scouts parent or have an athletic son or daughter you and want us to feature?

Drop us a note here or send an email to info@theathleticscout.com.

We read them all!

That’s it for this week… We’ll see y’all next time!

For more youth sports and community athletic news, go to theathleticscout.substack.com.

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This story is part of Scout Summit, The Athletic Scout’s vertical covering leadership and the mental side of sports.

Kai Kroeger is a former Lake Forest High School all-state punter and an all-SEC punter at South Carolina. Signed by the New Orleans Saints in 2025, he was traded to Houston earlier this year and will punt for the Texans this fall.

There were two moments that I’ll never forget.

The first was when I got signed to my first NFL team. I called my family, I was ecstatic, I’m telling everybody—I’m in the NFL. Dream come true, right?

But here’s the thing. It was still the spring. Another guy was competing for the same spot. And deep down, I knew that signing didn’t guarantee anything.

The second moment hit different.

I’m standing in a team meeting. The head coach looks at me and says, “You’re our punter. You earned it.” One week before the regular season opener.

That’s when I lost it. I called my parents. I called my coach. I let myself feel every single thing. Because that was the moment I knew—not just that I was in the NFL, but that I was going to play in the NFL.

Everything I’m about to share with you is what got me from that first moment to that second one.

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Step 1: Don’t Just Do What Your School Provides — Go Find More

I want to start here because I think this is the thing most young athletes get wrong. They work hard at practice. They do everything the coaches ask. And then they go home and stop.

That’s not going to get you to the next level. I promise you.

• The athletes who make it do things the average athlete won’t do. They find extra reps. They seek out outside training. They show up on Sundays during the season when nobody told them to. They find a facility, a trainer, a partner—anybody—and they put in extra work that doesn’t count toward any team practice.

• School strength and conditioning programs are a starting point, not a ceiling. They’re designed for the whole team. But if you have a specific goal—playing in college, playing professionally—you need specific training that goes far beyond what a general program provides. Seek it out. Find the specialists who work with specialists.

• The sacrifices are real—make them anyway. Getting to extra training costs money, time, and energy. I had to make sacrifices to get to my outside sessions. There were times it wasn’t easy. But I can tell you straight up: if I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t have the career I have. The sacrifice was worth every bit of it.

• Common mistake: Assuming that working hard at school practice is enough. It’s not—at least not if your goal is to compete at the highest levels. Everyone at the top worked hard at practice. The ones who made it did more on top of that.

• The better approach: Find the best outside training available for your specific position and skill set. Commit to it. Show up consistently. And do it starting earlier than you think you need to.

Step 2: Play Every Sport You Can — Seriously, All of Them

Here’s something people didn’t expect me to say: one of the sports that helped my football career the most wasn’t football.

It was rugby.

• Rugby taught me things football practice never could. When you’re learning to tackle without pads—when you have to wrap up someone who outweighs you by 100 pounds—you figure out real fast how to use your body correctly. The technique you learn transfers directly into football, and it transfers in ways that are incredibly hard to teach in a traditional practice setting.

• Every sport teaches you something different. Basketball develops court vision, spatial awareness, and the ability to read moving defenders. Rugby builds toughness, body control, and proper contact technique. Wrestling teaches you how to compete one-on-one, how to handle failure, and how to keep going when everything hurts. No single sport gives you all of that.

• Multi-sport athletes develop athleticism that specialists miss. When I was going through the draft process, NFL teams weren’t just evaluating my punting. They were evaluating me as an athlete—my movement, my instincts, my versatility. All of that got built across multiple sports, not just football.

• Common mistake: Specializing in one sport too early because it feels like the fastest path to a scholarship or a professional career. For most athletes, it’s actually the slower path—because it limits your overall athletic development during the years when your body and brain are most adaptable.

• The better approach: Stay multi-sport as long as you possibly can. Specifically seek out sports that develop skills your primary sport doesn’t emphasize. The athletic toolkit you build will compound in ways you can’t predict.

Step 3: Learn Every Position You Can — Versatility Is Your Insurance Policy

One of the biggest things I brought to the NFL wasn’t just punting. It was everything around punting—the fake kicks, the holding, the throwing, the different types of kicks depending on field position and game situation.

None of that happened by accident. I built it on purpose.

• Versatility doesn’t just make you better—it makes you harder to cut. A punter who can only punt is replaceable. A punter who can punt, hold, throw, execute fakes, and change the entire strategic picture of a special teams unit? That’s someone a coaching staff thinks twice about letting go.

• Playing different positions in your youth teaches your brain to process the game differently. When I played quarterback, I learned to read coverage. When I played receiver, I learned to run routes and track the ball. When those skills showed up later in fake kick situations—reading where the defense was overcommitting, hitting a receiver in stride—it wasn’t luck. It was the accumulation of years of playing different positions.

• Coaches at every level notice athletes who can do more than one thing. During the combine, during private workouts, the first thing teams brought up wasn’t my hang time or my distance numbers. It was my ability to do things nobody else in the draft class could do. That’s what got me talked about in draft rooms.

• Common mistake: Athletes who identify their primary position early and then stop learning anything else. They get very good at one narrow skill—and then fragile when that skill alone isn’t enough.

• The better approach: Even if you know your primary position, keep learning adjacent skills. Know the whole game, not just your piece of it. The athlete who understands the full picture is always more valuable than the one who only understands their own role.

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Step 4: Celebrate the Big Moments — Then Get Back to Work Immediately

This is something I had to consciously practice, and I think a lot of athletes struggle with it.

When I won the starting job, and the head coach called me out in that team meeting, I let myself feel it. I called my parents. I celebrated. I cried a little, honestly.

And then I got back to work.

• You have to let yourself feel the big moments—they’re the whole point. If you don’t pause and actually absorb what you’ve accomplished, the wins become hollow. The milestone you worked years for deserves a real reaction, a real celebration, a real moment of gratitude with the people who helped you get there.

• But the window is short. The difference between athletes who sustain success and athletes who plateau after achieving something is how quickly they transition from celebrating to competing again. The job doesn’t stop when you make the roster. It starts.

• Full-circle moments are worth recognizing. Some of my most memorable athletic memories weren’t even the biggest games—they were the moments when my whole journey connected. A touchdown pass in a bowl game against a former high school teammate. A comeback win in my senior year that nobody saw coming. Recognize those moments for what they are: proof that everything you did was worth it.

• Common mistake: Athletes who either skip the celebration entirely (burning out silently) or stay in celebration mode too long (losing their competitive edge right when it matters most). Both extremes cost you.

• The better approach: Give yourself a defined window to celebrate—genuinely, fully. Then close it. Your next competition doesn’t care about your last one.

Step 5: Give Back — And Start Earlier Than You Think You Should

Here’s something I wish someone had told me when I was younger: the most valuable resource for a young athlete isn’t a coach or a trainer.

It’s someone who just went through exactly what you’re trying to do.

• Peer mentorship is underrated at every level. When someone who is two or three years ahead of you tells you what the recruiting process actually feels like, what college really demands, what it takes to make a professional roster—that’s information no coach or parent can give you. They haven’t lived it from the inside.

• If you’ve made it to a high level, you have something to offer. You know things that would have changed your path if you’d known them earlier. Share those things. Answer the Instagram DMs. Give out your number to the kid who’s asking how you did it. Be the person for someone else that you wish you’d had.

• Giving back keeps you connected to why you started. It’s easy to get caught up in the business of being a professional athlete. Talking to a 12-year-old who just wants to know how to get better at punting—or catching or pass rushing or anything else—reminds you that you’re still just a kid who loved the game and got to keep playing it.

• Common mistake: Waiting until you’re “established” to start giving back. You don’t need to be a 10-year veteran to have something valuable to share. If you’re one step ahead of someone, you’re already qualified to help.

The Big Idea: Do the Things Average Athletes Won’t Do

If I had to reduce everything to one sentence, it would be this:

The gap between good and great isn’t talent. It’s the extra work nobody sees, the sports nobody expected you to play, and the skills nobody told you to develop.

I played rugby in middle school because a family friend was into it and it sounded fun. I stayed after practice to get extra reps when nobody asked me to. I played receiver and quarterback when I could have just punted. I said yes to things that seemed unrelated—and every single one of them showed up later in ways that mattered.

That’s the whole formula. It’s just not easy to execute.

Here’s your action plan:

1. ✅ Seek outside training beyond what your school provides. Find specialists. Commit to the extra work.

2. ✅ Play multiple sports—especially ones that develop skills your primary sport doesn’t.

3. ✅ Learn every position and skill adjacent to your primary role. Build the complete toolkit.

4. ✅ Let yourself feel the big moments fully — then close the celebration window and get back to competing.

5. ✅ Give back as soon as you’re in a position to. You don’t have to be famous to be helpful.

6. ✅ Do the things the average athlete won’t do. That’s always been the difference.

The dream is possible. But it requires doing things differently—starting right now, with whatever you have in front of you today.

—as told to Jon Kerr

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For story ideas, article comments/feedback, drop a note to info@theathleticscout.com.