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Reibel ready to hit the ground running at Hoffman Estates

There's already reason to believe an unselfish attitude will claim top priority when a new era begins this winter for Hoffman Estates girls basketball.

Just listen to new coach Brad Reibel talk about those who will work around him.

"I have an excellent staff (varsity assistant Mary Pettit, junior varsity Nick Anzelmo, freshman A Tony Wolanski and freshman B Patrick Evans), to lean on," Reibel said. "I am certain that the success of this program will be because of them as much as it will be because of me."

Sounds like a coach who likes to give credit to others.

But Reibel certainly deserves plenty himself for earning the lead position for Hoffman's girls program.

He was a two-sport athlete (soccer and basketball) at Prospect and then spent a year playing basketball at Harper before transferring to NCAA Division II Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.

After graduating with a degree in business administration, Reibel returned to his alma mater where he coached Prospect feeder basketball and Ignite Hoops AAU for a few years.

This past year, he helped his cousin (former Hoffman Estates all-stater guard Jonny Reibel) at Jacobs High School in Algonquin.

"I learned a lot from my time this past year at Jacobs and had a ton of fun working closely with Jonny, who I am really close with," Brad Reibel said. "Being nine years younger, I actually grew up watching Jonny play at Hoffman and remember how packed the Hoffman gym used to be in 2003-2004 when they went downstate.

"Unfortunately, I missed my other cousin, Tony, who went downstate with Hoffman in 1997-1998."

Reibel has actually had four cousins (Jonny, Stephanie, Billy, and Tony) graduate from Hoffman Estates.

"So I am excited to be joining the community," he said. "As I said, I have always felt a strong connection with Hoffman because I grew up watching Jonny play. It's exciting to have the opportunity to build something at Hoffman. I think it is a really special place and a special opportunity.

"I think it's important to keep things in perspective and just focus on making it a great experience for the kids."

When he was a kid, Reibel remembers the lessons he learned and the connections he made with teammates more than how many games his teams won or lost.

"The goal is for the kids to leave the program as better people," he said. "To do this, we will try to create a culture of accountability and respect. When teams do that, success usually follows. It's always one step at a time."

Reibel took it one step at a time to get to Hoffman, where he is teaching business courses called consumer education, marketing and a new course Career Explorations and Global Skills.

Reibel majored in business administration and recently finished his masters in secondary education.

"The first time I really considered getting into coaching was during my time in college (at Eckerd)," he said. "During my senior year, I started to see my college and athletic career coming to an end and I knew I wanted to stay involved in the game."

So he sat down with his Eckerd coach, Tom Ryan.

"I had great respect for him," Reibel said. "He mentioned that I might be a good coach and at that point, it was always in the back of my mind. It took me a few years after I graduated (2016) to get into it, but I guess I always pictured myself being a teacher and coach."

Reibel's father and brother also made major impacts.

"They were my influences," Reibel said. "My dad played baseball at Illinois State and was my first coach in baseball. I would argue he is the best coach I ever had and I still think about all the lessons he taught me.

"Additionally, my brother played and currently coaches the boys sophomore basketball team at Prospect. He's taught me a lot about the hard work and commitment it takes to be a great coach."

Prospect coaches John Camardella and Brad Rathe also influenced Reibel.

"They run a first-class program and I will certainly lean on them quite a bit as I begin to try and build the Hoffman program," Reibel said. "They're two guys that are great coaches, but even better people. Finally, my college coach, Tom Ryan, is another influence. I learned quite a bit about what it takes to run a successful program from him."

Now Reibel gets his chance at Hoffman.

"As far as goals go, I rarely set them in a traditional sense," Reibel said. "I want to see the teams in the program work hard, compete and improve each day."

Women's swimming

University of Findlay (Ohio) junior Sarah Miles, a Hoffman Estates graduate, was part of a winning medley-relay team in a dual-meet victory over visiting Saginaw Valley State.

Miles swam the backstroke leg of the 400 medley relay as the Findlay women were the only foursome to finish in under four minutes, at 3:59.81. Miles' split over 100 yards of the backstroke was 1:01.76.

Miles later finished fourth in the 200 freestyle and fifth in the 500 free. She finished her day by leading off the 400 freestyle relay with a split of 58.33 seconds, helping the relay to third place.

Women's cross country

North Central senior Dianne Barajas (Schaumburg) won her fourth College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor.

Barajas clocked a time of 22:29.9 during the 6K at the Kollege Town Sports Invitational on Saturday. She placed 14th out of 419 runners as the Cardinals finished seventh out of 37 teams.

Football

Augustana senior running back Bobby Jarosz (Prospect) led the Vikings' rushing attack with 91 yards and 3 touchdowns on 15 carries in a 71-0 win over visiting North Park. The Vikings' point total was just one off the school record of 72, set in a shutout of Hedding College during the 1920 season.

Men's swimming

Augustana freshman Jack Blumenfeld (Hersey) was part of a victorious 200 freestyle relay team (1:31.44) when the Vikings defeated Millikin 138-65 and Knox 168-19 in a tri-meet in Rock Island.

Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com

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