By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Kathy Jones
**Our apologies to the Pioneers Cheer. We were unable to get photos for story at the practice staff attend as no squads were there.
Two years ago John Duckhorn entered his own great unknown as a new coach with the Junior Varsity program of the Orland Park Pioneers.
The assimilation process is always tricky, given a new place or culture, and the difficulty of fitting in. It proved a revelation.
The dominant themes of family, community, social bonding and inclusion caught his attention immediately.
“I didn’t know much about the PIoneers two years ago, but this has been one of the best experiences for my family,” Duckhorn said.
“This is a community team. We get these incredible volunteers and families just to come out and watch.”
Duckhorn was not prepared for the scale or the emotional intensity of the direct involvement.
“One night, there were probably 20 people from one family watching a Super Lightweight practice,” he said. “I thought that was really neat.”
Now Duckhorn is a fixture, and ready to take on greater authority as the first-year coach of the Pioneers’ Junior Varsity program.
On a beautiful summer night in late July, Duckhorn and his assistants were putting the 44 players on this year’s team through a full-pad workout.
The Junior Varsity will get an early jump on the River Valley Youth Football League season with its opening game on Sunday, August 18.
Duckhorn was the defensive coordinator of last year’s team. The previous head coach, Andy Rybak, has taken command of the Varsity team.
The optimism was palatable.
“We have great kids, and we have a lot of kids with experience,” Duckhorn said. “We have kids who played on the Wednesday night championship game, and we have a lot of nice kids who are fun to be around. They worked really hard in the offseason.”
The place and location also took on great symbolic importance. The four teams of the Pioneers program—Super Lightweights, Lightweights, JV and Varsity—were practicing simultaneously on the state of the art facility at Michael Schofield Field.
“This is a game changer for us,” said Al Krokos, who serves dual functions as the head coach of the Lightweights and the president of the program.
This is the first season the Pioneers have full use of the facility, which features two adjacent regulation-size fields, a scoreboard, stands, and an equipment shed.
The all-purpose turf marks the highest level.
On this night, the players of the four programs were stationed in opposite end zones across the two fields.
The Pioneers will play their home games at Sandburg High School, located just over a mile away on LaGrange Road.
“We can’t wait to play, and just get out there and have fun,” junior varsity player Justin McNamara said. “This turf is amazing, like playing on the Sandburg field every day. Being able to win, and being successful is one of the best motivating factors you can have.”
Regardless of the level, the Pioneers have been one of the standard bearers of the River Valley Youth Football League.
The four level are consistently among the most competitive of any organization in the league. The other three teams will play their season-opening games on Sunday, August 25.
“People join the Pioneers, and they stay with the Pioneers,” Krokos said. “We have a lot of repeat families, from the coaches to the volunteers, from the cheer side to the flag program to football.”
The Varsity, JV and Lightweights each have 44 players. The Super Lightweights have 42, making a total of 176 players.
There is a lot of consistency and continuity,” Krokos said. “With our Lightweight program, we have 42 players who have played before, and two new players.
That is a testament to what we’ve been doing.”
His son Luke Krokos is one of the standouts of this year’s iteration of the Lightweights.
The players accept the larger responsibilities.
“We want to show the younger guys the drills,and what we’re running and everything,” Luke Krokos said. “We have kickoffs here, which we didn’t have with Super Lightweights. Everybody is just really excited about the season because of how we did last year.”
Andrew Richardson is also the son of a coach. His father Pat is the head coach of the Super Lightweights.
Family ties run deep. The players know what to expect.
“One of the benefits is that you basically get to be a coach of the younger kids,” Andrew Richardson said. “You get to help them out, and get their skills developed,and get them used to the bigger fields.
“This team we have now is pretty much all the same guys we had on my second year of the Super Lightweights that won the Super Bowl.”
The coaches have been a dominant force, creating a culture and a sense of responsibility and discipline that permeates all parts of the organization.
”Our coaches do a really good job of training us, and helping us with our practices,” junior varsity player John Werner said.
“As you go up from one level to the next, you have to work harder. If the guys you’re going up against are bigger, faster and stronger, they’re going to destroy you or overcome you if you don’t work as hard.”
The football players are not the only game in town. The other constant is the cheer programs for each level.
The cheerleaders bring a passion, enthusiasm and electric routines and special halftime shows.
Jill Lenzen takes over as the athletic director of the cheer program. There are 116 cheerleaders spread out over the four programs. The Pioneers are creating a new flag cheer program, coached by Melissa Holdsworth.
Rhea Sternberg, who is the assistant athletic director, is coaching the Super Lightweights cheerleaders. Lenzen is coaching the Lightweights. Brittany Ulaszek is coaching the Junior Varsity, and Deb Carroll is coaching the Varsity.
“We are striving to create a great team atmosphere,” Lenzen said. “We will be combining our football and competition practices. We look forward to cheering on our amazing Pioneers football teams, and hope to continue the tradition of winning more state titles.”
The parts all connect, and flow together.
In taking over the Varsity, Rybak has the distinction of being the head coach of all four programs. He has watched his players come of age.
“We know what we have,” he said. “Of the 44 players, at least 30 of those kids I’ve coached in prior seasons. You see the growth and the maturity. I was just talking with one of the other coaches about how great it is just to be able to out and execute.”
The game is fun, intuitive and natural.
“One day we can introduce new ideas on offense and base defense, and we’re off and running,” Rybak said.
The players are the beneficiaries, knowing what is expected and also given a platform to show what they are capable of.
”Everything is great with the new facility and the guys I’ve been training with,” varsity player Thomas Elliott said. “We’re an exciting team. We’re loud, and we have a pep in our step. We give 110 percent every play.”
His older brother Jack Elliott was a Pioneers standout who is now one of the top-rated high school quarterbacks in the country.
Jack Elliott directed Mount Carmel to the Class 7A state championship last season, and is committed to play at Vanderbilt.
As a new varsity player looking to compete for the starting quarterback position, Ashton Brennan is ready to be the next talented signal caller in the program.
“I’ve been friends with the other players for many years now, and I love all the coaches,” Brennan said. “I’ve been developing connections with the new players, and we’re ready to go.”
The Pioneers invert the normal dynamic, and are a bottom to top organization.
“It starts with the little fellas,” Pat Richardson said. ”The kids rarely leave, and we are always able to keep them. With this year’s group, we have 24 returning players, and 20 new players. Each kid seems addicted to being a part of this program.”
Winning is important at that level, but not the priority.
”We try to put the development first,” Pat Richardson said. “Winning is 1B.
“As coaches, our goal when the season ends is that all 42 or 44 kids want to come back. If we do that, then this season has been a victory.”
