by Owen Miklos ‘16
Rewind to last year for a moment. And for those of you who weren’t here, consider this: Our fall sports teams were killing it — cross country squad was making their presence felt at the state level, the golf team was playing well, and the football team had made the playoffs. But the focus was, deservedly, on the soccer team. There will always be those seasons where everything just clicks, and this season was one of those. Their back line talent was the stuff of legend, and, week-in and week-out, they were able to shut down opposing teams and find ways to get the ball in the back of the net. And as they kept winning, getting deeper and deeper into the postseason, the possibility of a state championship began to take form, and the anticipation, understandably, began to mount.
That they pulled it off was incredible. Considering the circumstances in which they did it, it was nothing short of surreal.
You see, a month earlier at Saint Ignatius, the atmosphere was far less jubilant. Fall sports hardly registered on the radars of the faculty and the student body at large; Mr. Jim Skerl ‘74 — the beloved theology teacher, and one of the biggest sports fans at the school — had just lost his battle with cancer. Known for his optimism and die-hard commitment to the soccer team specifically, Skerl’s passing registered with each and every player on the roster.
Said Coach McLaughlin, “His love for them is something that is going to be with them for the rest of their lives, helping them to do great things like he did.”
When asked about their mindset on the field, Hunter Gordon ‘16 responded, “We put our cleats on and forgot about everything but playing for Mr. Skerl. Everything was for him at that point.”
A year later, Gordon and three other fall sport athletes — Andrew Zawie ‘16, of the golf team; Patrick McGuire ‘16, from the cross country team; and Kaden Russell ‘17 of the football team — were front-and-center at the Sullivan Gym, being called on to carry on Mr. Skerl’s legacy for their respective sports. When Skerl played basketball at Saint Ignatius in the ‘70s, he wore the number 34. And since his passing, and with the distribution of the #34 longsleeves over the time since, it was only fitting that the sports programs honor Skerl as such.
When asked how this changed his pre-existing leadership mentality, the Skerl award recipient for the cross country team, Patrick McGuire ‘16, stressed the importance of “leading by example, and just trying to be and act like he would: staying positive and being a good sport on and off the field.”
Clad in a newly-stitched golf pullover with the number 34 embroidered on the sleeve, Zawie emphasized Skerl’s everlasting optimism as key to his success on the golf course. “Golf is such a mental game,” he said. “Remembering how Skerl kept his attitude up through good times and bad has made all the difference for me. Also, I’ve gained exactly 34 extra yards with my driver, so that helps, too.”
