Post by WeNeed3 on Jan 21, 2009 10:27:52 GMT -5
Monken brings winning style to Metea Valley
January 21, 2009
Intense, high-energy, highly-organized practices.
An expectation of hard work and winning.
The ability to motivate even the laziest of human beings to get to work.
That's what Metea Valley fans can expect in two years when the Mustangs begin varsity football play with new coach Ted Monken.
Monken's appointment as the head football coach at the fledgling school was approved by the school board last week, clearing the way for Monken to move to Metea after five highly successful seasons at the helm at St. Charles East. Monken will also be an assistant athletics director at Metea.
The only thing that will change about Monken's coaching style will sit atop his head, where he will have to turn in his signature orange St. Charles East visor for a fresh, new, black Metea Valley visor.
Monken had never been a head coach before taking over the Saints, who were struggling since splitting from St. Charles North five years ago. He wasted little time getting the program back to the status it enjoyed in the 1990s, when the Saints appeared in the state playoffs nine straight years.
After that run, which ended at the same time legendary coach Buck Drach stepped away, the Saints made the playoffs only once in the next five years, including Monken's opening season of 4-5.
But in 2005, Monken guided the Saints to a 9-3 record and a berth in the state quarterfinals. The Saints have not missed the playoffs since.
"He brings an awful lot to the table," Metea Valley athletics director Tom Schweer said. "He's a proven winner. Ted has got a tremendous pedigree."
Indeed, Monken comes from a coaching family. His father, Bob, is a member of the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame, thanks in large part to his legendary coaching run at Lake Park. He has also been on Ted Monken's staff at St. Charles East all five years.
If that's not enough, Ted's brother, Todd, is the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And his brother, Tony, also has experience starting a program from scratch. He guided Vernon Hills' ascent to varsity football in 1999 and has coached that program ever since.
But that does not even scratch the surface. He has other relatives scattered across the country at various levels of football coaching the game.
"That's the Monken clan," Schweer said.
Monken arrives at Metea familiar with the Upstate Eight Conference, and quite familiar with Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley, the pool from which Metea's talent will be drawn.
Monken went only 1-4 against Neuqua in his five years, two of those losses giving Neuqua an outright conference title and rendering St. Charles East to second place. He did go 3-0 against Waubonsie, however, including wins the past two seasons.
"It will be a good-sized school, with a good group of talent," Monken said. "In a lot of ways, it's a better situation because you don't have to overcome the past. You don't have to re-teach the kids. They are a blank slate and you can set your standards right away."
Come August, Monken will waste no time in setting that standard. And come 2011, the first year Metea will have four full classes, the Mustangs will likely be off and running.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/sports/1389267,6_2_NA21_JOHNSON_S1.article
January 21, 2009
Intense, high-energy, highly-organized practices.
An expectation of hard work and winning.
The ability to motivate even the laziest of human beings to get to work.
That's what Metea Valley fans can expect in two years when the Mustangs begin varsity football play with new coach Ted Monken.
Monken's appointment as the head football coach at the fledgling school was approved by the school board last week, clearing the way for Monken to move to Metea after five highly successful seasons at the helm at St. Charles East. Monken will also be an assistant athletics director at Metea.
The only thing that will change about Monken's coaching style will sit atop his head, where he will have to turn in his signature orange St. Charles East visor for a fresh, new, black Metea Valley visor.
Monken had never been a head coach before taking over the Saints, who were struggling since splitting from St. Charles North five years ago. He wasted little time getting the program back to the status it enjoyed in the 1990s, when the Saints appeared in the state playoffs nine straight years.
After that run, which ended at the same time legendary coach Buck Drach stepped away, the Saints made the playoffs only once in the next five years, including Monken's opening season of 4-5.
But in 2005, Monken guided the Saints to a 9-3 record and a berth in the state quarterfinals. The Saints have not missed the playoffs since.
"He brings an awful lot to the table," Metea Valley athletics director Tom Schweer said. "He's a proven winner. Ted has got a tremendous pedigree."
Indeed, Monken comes from a coaching family. His father, Bob, is a member of the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame, thanks in large part to his legendary coaching run at Lake Park. He has also been on Ted Monken's staff at St. Charles East all five years.
If that's not enough, Ted's brother, Todd, is the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And his brother, Tony, also has experience starting a program from scratch. He guided Vernon Hills' ascent to varsity football in 1999 and has coached that program ever since.
But that does not even scratch the surface. He has other relatives scattered across the country at various levels of football coaching the game.
"That's the Monken clan," Schweer said.
Monken arrives at Metea familiar with the Upstate Eight Conference, and quite familiar with Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley, the pool from which Metea's talent will be drawn.
Monken went only 1-4 against Neuqua in his five years, two of those losses giving Neuqua an outright conference title and rendering St. Charles East to second place. He did go 3-0 against Waubonsie, however, including wins the past two seasons.
"It will be a good-sized school, with a good group of talent," Monken said. "In a lot of ways, it's a better situation because you don't have to overcome the past. You don't have to re-teach the kids. They are a blank slate and you can set your standards right away."
Come August, Monken will waste no time in setting that standard. And come 2011, the first year Metea will have four full classes, the Mustangs will likely be off and running.
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/sports/1389267,6_2_NA21_JOHNSON_S1.article