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Challenges, rewards in new school
Aurora's Metea Valley athletic director gearing up for fall
By Ben Strauss
Special to the Tribune
January 23, 2009
When Metea Valley High School opens in the fall, its students will expect the nuts and bolts of any well-rounded educational experience. That includes everything from lockers to hall passes to a football team.
Tom Schweer, athletic director at the Aurora school, is in charge of facilitating the latter.
"Sometimes you're planning for things nobody can control," he said. "But we want to make sure we're ready to go when kids show up for the first day of practice."
The complexities of opening a school might scare away some people, but Schweer went through the process in 2000 as athletic director at St. Charles North. His résumé also includes 35 years as a coach and department chairman and most recently a four-year stint as athletic director at Hinsdale Central.
He has been through the headaches of negotiating schedules from scratch, overseeing facility management and even waiting for grass to grow. And he has learned not to overlook the little things.
"We were doing a walk-through the day before we hosted one of our first tournaments at St. Charles North," he recalled. "Someone said, 'Everyone face the flag,' and we all turned around a full 180 degrees."
Schweer believes an athletic director's most important task is assembling a staff of people who can be good coaches and great teachers. "It's where the rubber meets the road," he said.
That job description includes both a set of guiding principles and a proven track record, and Schweer hasn't scrimped on either. Already he has opened some eyes by hiring Ted Monken as football coach and Kris Kalivas to be the women's basketball coach.
Monken turned around a struggling St. Charles East program in short order. The Saints were 1-8 in 2003; Monken took over, and St. Charles East was 4-5 his first year before going 9-3, 7-3, 8-3 and 8-3 for a five-year record of 36-17.
Kalivas, in her sixth season at Waubonsie Valley, had a five-year record of 104-39.
For Monken, the Metea Valley job provides an opportunity to work closer to home and build his own football program.
"I want to establish guidelines and expectations from Day One," he said. "I won't have to overcome anything anybody else has done."
The new school will open with about 1,250 students, and that number eventually will reach between 2,800 and 3,000. Sophomore transfers will arrive from Waubonsie Valley, and freshmen from Aurora and Naperville will round out enrollment, which will be entirely underclassmen.
In the 2010-11 school year, Metea Valley will begin competing at the varsity level but will still be short of its expected capacity and without seniors.
"That will be a definite challenge," Monken said. "We'll have to judge ourselves by things other than the scoreboard."
The inevitable lumps have done nothing to temper Schweer's resolve. He sees a purpose to his work and is focused on giving students the opportunity to compete.
"Ultimately, this is about getting more kids on the field," he said. "We're in this because we think it's valuable for kids to be involved in athletic programs."
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Challenges, rewards in new school
Aurora's Metea Valley athletic director gearing up for fall
By Ben Strauss
Special to the Tribune
January 23, 2009
When Metea Valley High School opens in the fall, its students will expect the nuts and bolts of any well-rounded educational experience. That includes everything from lockers to hall passes to a football team.
Tom Schweer, athletic director at the Aurora school, is in charge of facilitating the latter.
"Sometimes you're planning for things nobody can control," he said. "But we want to make sure we're ready to go when kids show up for the first day of practice."
The complexities of opening a school might scare away some people, but Schweer went through the process in 2000 as athletic director at St. Charles North. His résumé also includes 35 years as a coach and department chairman and most recently a four-year stint as athletic director at Hinsdale Central.
He has been through the headaches of negotiating schedules from scratch, overseeing facility management and even waiting for grass to grow. And he has learned not to overlook the little things.
"We were doing a walk-through the day before we hosted one of our first tournaments at St. Charles North," he recalled. "Someone said, 'Everyone face the flag,' and we all turned around a full 180 degrees."
Schweer believes an athletic director's most important task is assembling a staff of people who can be good coaches and great teachers. "It's where the rubber meets the road," he said.
That job description includes both a set of guiding principles and a proven track record, and Schweer hasn't scrimped on either. Already he has opened some eyes by hiring Ted Monken as football coach and Kris Kalivas to be the women's basketball coach.
Monken turned around a struggling St. Charles East program in short order. The Saints were 1-8 in 2003; Monken took over, and St. Charles East was 4-5 his first year before going 9-3, 7-3, 8-3 and 8-3 for a five-year record of 36-17.
Kalivas, in her sixth season at Waubonsie Valley, had a five-year record of 104-39.
For Monken, the Metea Valley job provides an opportunity to work closer to home and build his own football program.
"I want to establish guidelines and expectations from Day One," he said. "I won't have to overcome anything anybody else has done."
The new school will open with about 1,250 students, and that number eventually will reach between 2,800 and 3,000. Sophomore transfers will arrive from Waubonsie Valley, and freshmen from Aurora and Naperville will round out enrollment, which will be entirely underclassmen.
In the 2010-11 school year, Metea Valley will begin competing at the varsity level but will still be short of its expected capacity and without seniors.
"That will be a definite challenge," Monken said. "We'll have to judge ourselves by things other than the scoreboard."
The inevitable lumps have done nothing to temper Schweer's resolve. He sees a purpose to his work and is focused on giving students the opportunity to compete.
"Ultimately, this is about getting more kids on the field," he said. "We're in this because we think it's valuable for kids to be involved in athletic programs."
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune