Spotlight: Casey Flynn!

As we approach GAME DAY, we are spotlighting another one of our amazing upperclassmen!

Junior defensive lineman Casey Flynn is beginning his third season as a Forester, and is looking forward to this weekend's home opener against Concordia!

Nicknames: "Case", "C Fly"

Hometown: Morristown, New Jersey

Planning to Major in: History and Education

Birthday: December 27, 1989

Parents: Mike and Debbie Flynn

Favorite Movie: The Hangover

Favorite Book: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

Favorite Quote: "Character shows when no one is watching"

Person You'd Most Like to Meet: My Great-Grandfather

Favorite NFL Team: Detroit Lions

Favorite MLB Team: New York Yankees

When asked what he likes most about playing football for Lake Forest College, Casey said, "Building relationships with my teammates. When I came in as a freshman, I thought that I was going to be bullied, but I was opened with open arms, and I plan to keep that tradition alive by welcoming all new players with open arms." Casey said that the person who makes him smile the most at practice has to be Coach Canty. He said, "Coach Canty is just hilarious, and he doesn't apologize for the things that he says."

Good luck this Saturday, Casey! We all look forward to watching you help the defense dominate over the Cougars!

Foresters Meet Isaiah Harris of the Chicago Bears!

The Foresters had their last Winner's Manual Speaker of the preseason on the first day of classes. (Thursday) The Foresters were joined by Isaiah Harris, the Director of Player Development for the Chicago Bears.

Isaiah a former All-American at St. Cloud State, and a member of the both the Vikings, and Bears organizations, has a very special role in his player development. He focuses on helping current Bears players 1. Continue their education, 2. Financial education/Money Management, 3. Career Internships for their post playing days, and 4. Player Assistance Services (helping minimize distractions off the field).

Isaiah focused our players on the "scars" of their college football experience. The memories and the journeys that they will leave college and Lake Forest with. He also discussed how the path that they are taking is a difficult one, and that they are somewhat alone on this path, other than their teammates and coaches who are sharing in this journey.

The players response to Isaiah's visit was extremely positive and energetic.

The Hunt for White Paws Begins!

Today marked the first day of classes here at Lake Forest College! While most students have just returned to the academic environment, our football Foresters have been preparing for this academic year for the past several weeks. During camp, Coach Cat arranged for the entire team to meet with Dean DeJuran Richardson to discuss time management and the importance of being academically focused during their time at the College. Additionally, the freshmen were able to meet with the director of the Writing Center, Professor Dawn Abt-Perkins.

When asked what he learned from meeting with Dean Richardson and Professor Abt-Perkins, freshman Mike Peters said, “I learned how to approach professors without being scared and I learned what I need to do to be academically successful here at Lake Forest. After all, that’s what we are here for.” Freshman Will Adams commented, “I learned that the Writing Center is the most underutilized resource here and it’s a good place to go for help if you get stuck on a paper.”

Coach Cat has always emphasized the importance of being both a successful student and athlete. When asked why he feels that it is important to hold separate meetings about academics with the football team, he said,

“At a school like Lake Forest College, the expectations of the College aren’t always in line with those of the students. When freshmen come in, they have this preconceived notion of what college is supposed to be like and it’s not always true. The professors here at the College are awesome teachers and players don’t always feel as though they should need to ask for help. I want to put the players in a ‘safe environment’ in which they see professors as approachable resources as opposed to just authority figures. Additionally, it’s critical that our players start strong because one bad semester can never be recovered. I want our players to be successful. In my mind, the achievement of a degree is not success…it is simply a goal. To achieve true academic success, they must maximize their abilities, learn as much as they can through shared experiences and become much more than just competent in a subject. Though I’m glad when all of our guys receive their degrees on graduation day, nothing makes me happier than when they receive awards for excellence, such as Phi Beta Kappa invitations and the Oppenheimer Award [won this past year by kicker Noah Dion ‘10].”

The upperclassmen were also eager to weigh in. Senior quarterback Geoff Sobey had the following advice to offer to the freshmen: “Write down your complete schedule Monday through Sunday from six o’clock in the morning to midnight, followed by getting to class ten minutes early to take front row seating. Then, find the cute looking girl in the class and study with her.” [We later learned that all came directly from Dean Richardson’s speech—it obviously stuck in his memory!] Sophomore quarterback Justin Novak added, “Go to your professors with anything. They are more than willing to help.”

It sounds as though the Foresters are off to a great start! Here's hoping for covered helmets...

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

[White paws are given to players for academic excellence, among other things. They are proudly displayed on the backs of the players' helmets. Look for them at upcoming games!]

Foresters Spend Time with Another Olympian!

Foresters continue "Winner's Manual" Speaker Series!

On Monday morning the Forester Football team was joined by some members of the Lake Forest College Swim team for their "Winner's Manual" speaker. The Foresters were joined by a special guest, 2000 Olympic Bronze Medalist Chris Thompson. Chris, who won the Bronze in the 1500M, is also a former United States Record holder in the event, came and spoke to the athletes about a number of different things.

The former Michigan Wolverine spoke to the Foresters about the things that they may need to "sacrifice" in order to become elite athletes. He spoke to them about the requirements, balance, and benefits of being collegiate athletes. In addition Chris spoke about overcoming adversity. In a manner that was relatable to many of the athletes in the room, Chris spoke about his own situation in overcoming surgery on both of his elbows at the same time!

Chris spent some time talking to the Foresters speaking about goal setting, which is a topic that has been of great importance during the 2010 pre-season. Chris provided some different examples of how goals sometimes have to change when you have no control over certain situations.

Chris, left a profound impact on the players, and at the end of the morning session, the players had the opportunity to share in Chris' reward as they had the opportunity to examine his medal from Sydney.
More on Chris Thompson

Upperclassman Spotlight!

As the freshman Foresters have been busy with orientation programs, we thought that it was time to spotlight one of our upperclassmen!

Today, the focus is on junior offensive lineman Salvador (Sal) Perales!

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Birthday: 5/1/1990

Parents: Maria and Gerardo Perales

Planning to Major in: History

Favorite Movie: Tommy Boy

Favorite Book: The Godfather

Favorite Music Artist: Biggie

Favorite Food: Tacos

Favorite Quote: "Impossible is Nothing"

Person You'd Most Like to Meet: Michael Jordan

Favorite MLB Team: Chicago White Sox

Favorite NFL Team: Chicago Bears

When asked what he liked most about playing football at Lake Forest College, Sal said, "The people we get to meet coming in as freshmen are amazing. The best part of being able to play football here is gaining the friends that we all do throughout the seasons, and being able to play football after high school." When I asked Sal who made him smile the most at practice, he said, "That's easy...Gruzwalski [senior kicker Tim Gruzwalski]."

Good luck this season, Sal!

The Foresters Stay Busy!

The Foresters have been keeping up with their rigorous camp schedule this weekend, as they helped new students move into their residence halls on Friday and had their first team scrimmage on Saturday.

Our football players made a positive impact on the Lake Forest College community on Friday, as they helped more than three hundred new students move into their residence halls. This act of service greatly improved the move-in experience for many new students, as they no longer had to haul their heavy items up several flights of stairs—the football team got to do that! Our players were sent to all three campuses to assist students, and their presence made a huge difference.

After helping with move-in on Friday, the Foresters were back on the field on Saturday for the first team scrimmage of the season! Regarding the scrimmage, Coach Cat said, “It was exciting to see. We were able to get a lot of reps in, and we ran about ninety plays. We got to see a lot out of our younger players. The offense moved the ball better than in previous years’ scrimmages, and that was great to see.” Junior offensive lineman Sal Perales said, “It went a lot better than it did last year. We still have room for improvement, but we moved the ball a lot faster.”

Team captain Steve Yena ’11 commented, “I think the scrimmage went really well. The offense is farther along, and continuing to improve. Overall, the defense looked very good. There are definitely a lot of positives to take out of it.” Coach Canty agreed, saying, “Overall, I think the offense did well. We still have room for improvement, but we did things that we couldn’t do in previous years.”

There were several players who stood out in Saturday’s scrimmage. Coach Cat said, “A couple of players who stood out offensively are running back Ty Van Valkenburg ’11, offensive lineman Sal Perales ’12, and offensive lineman Luis Martinez ’14. Defensively, linebacker Joe Stella ’13 stood out. Additionally, linebacker John Dillon ’14 made a great interception, and defensive lineman Michael Garetto-Balmer ’14 had a very good day on the defensive line.”

As the Foresters keep up their great work on the field, we are looking forward to GAME DAY a week from this Saturday! Come out to support your Foresters at their first game of the season as they take on Concordia.

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

Our Seniors Sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"