When the Glenbrook North varsity football team started winning more games during the 2000 season, after going so long without success, students would rush the field to celebrate their victory. Sean Brandt, head varsity boys track and field and assistant varsity football coach, remembers the excitement his team brought to the community during this time.
“They would flood the field and just seeing kids out there, grabbing us and [telling us], ‘Yeah, you did it,’” said Brandt. “That was just really awesome.”
Brandt played football, basketball and ran track and field as a member of the graduating Class of ‘00.
There were little things Brandt’s coaches did that taught him putting in extra time is worth it when you’re trying to make your athletes’ experiences as great as possible, Brandt said.
“[My coaches] would keep [my relay team] after practice and work extra on just the finest, tiniest little details that they thought might help us get downstate,” Brandt said.
Dr. Justin Georgacakis, head varsity boys lacrosse coach, was also a member of GBN’s Class of ‘00 and played football, basketball, wrestling and lacrosse.
There was a lot throughout my experience as an athlete that I gathered for coaching, Georgacakis said.
“One of the things that really sticks out to me was [when] I wrestled for a coach named Mark Rebora, and the way he carried himself and the amount of joy that he brought into sports was something that was very influential.”
One of the things Rebora did that left the largest impact on Georgacakis was when Rebora served the wrestling team breakfast at his house during a Glenbard West tournament, Georgacakis said.
“It was a really neat experience,” said Georgacakis. “It was like being welcomed in and [being a] part of thatfamily. It was something special.”
Tiffany Kim, head varsity girls volleyball and badminton coach, played both of those sports all four years she attended GBN as part of the Class of ‘04.
Playing sports was a big part of my high school experience, which is why I wanted to continue that by going into P.E. as my profession, Kim said.
“As a former athlete, I know how demanding sports and teams can be,” said Kim. “As an educator, I also know the life that these students are facing with all their academic work … Athletes need to be pushed, but also as a coach and educator [I] know what the balance should be.”
According to Georgacakis, “I think the experiences that I had [as a player] that were both positive successes on the field, and then some of those failures where we fell a little bit short, … also have helped me develop and have that understanding when I’m talking to other players about what they might be going through.”