Success in the classroom and on the playing fields go hand in hand at Hinsdale Central High School.
Since winning the Illinois basketball crown in 1909, Hinsdale Central has amassed the second-most championship trophies in the state, with a total of 62. The school has won another 73 state trophies for second-, third- and fourth-place finishes, and its total of 135 state trophies also is the second-highest.
The school of 2,100 at the corner of 55th and Grant Streets in Hinsdale also long has stood out in conference play, with about 250 first-place teams throughout the years. Since 1986, Hinsdale Central, which offers 24 interscholastic sports, evenly divided between boys and girls teams, has been a member of the West Suburban Conference.
But it is not just their prowess on the gridiron, the court, the swimming pool or the ball diamond that distinguishes the school’s student-athletes. Despite the many hours of time committed to practices and games, the athletes as a group more than meet Hinsdale Central’s demanding academic standards.
The school gives out scholar-athlete awards to junior and senior students active in sports who post a grade-point average of 4.25 or above on a 5-point scale. Last year, 135 received the honor, said Athletic Director Ken Schreiner.
Another sign of how well Hinsdale Central blends athletics with academics is that of the 68 juniors and seniors inducted last school year into the National Honor Society, 33 were winners of sports letters.
“Needless to say, we do place quite a bit of emphasis on academics,” Schreiner said.
But that extra pressure on student-athletes does not pose a great deal of problems, he said, because most Hinsdale Central students enter with lofty expectations, both athletic and academic.
“There’s nothing magic about the water here,” he said. “It’s just that we’ve got a good situation, and we’ve got some high-achieving young adults and lots of high-achieving families.”
Though success in sports does not necessarily translate into a better school, Schreiner sees a correlation between success on the playing fields and a better atmosphere and attitude in the classrooms and hallways. Sports unify the student body, he said.
“Athletics isn’t the driving force in any school,” he said. “But it can be an integral part for the participants and the spectators.”
But without a strong commitment to academics, athletes know they will be stuck on the sidelines. Players must, and do, find a way to fulfill their obligations in the classroom as well as on the field, despite schedules so hectic that they would leave even the most ardent workaholic adult wishing for a day off.
After about 10 hours at school for studies and practice, most athletes spend a couple hours or more at home cracking the books.
It’s a matter of sacrificing and making compromises, said John Perkowski, 17, of Hinsdale, a senior who last year was an All-Area safety for the conference champion football team and the 400-meter conference winner in track.
Perkowski, who has a 3.8 grade-point average, said he has to budget his time and set priorities. That may mean sometimes missing out on being with friends, but he has no regrets.
“I know that my social life is the third-most important thing,” he said. “I know I definitely have to get academics first, then sports.”
Philip Reiff, 18, a senior starting middle linebacker in football and a state medalist in tennis, finds little problem coping with academic rigors, as attested by his 4.9 grade-point average.
Despite getting to school by 8 a.m. and not getting out of practice until about 6 p.m., after supper he plows through his homework and study and gets to bed by 10 p.m., Reiff said.
“It’s never really been a problem for me. I’m not killing myself,” he said.
But most athletes interviewed painted a bit more harried picture of their efforts to integrate sports and academics. Few have been more successful than Kate Williams, a 17-year-old seniorwho last year won the conference tennis singles crown and finished third at the state finals as Hinsdale Central won the team title. As a sophomore she was part of the state champion doubles team. In addition, she is a three-year starter on the soccer team who led the squad in scoring during her freshman and junior years.
To go along with those accomplishments, Williams enters her final year with a 5.3 grade-point average, better than straight A’s, the result of taking honors courses.
Williams estimates she spends one to 1 1/2 hours each night on homework. Usually, she said, she gets to school about 6 a.m. and takes another hour to finish what is left from the night before.
Of course, her well-planned schedule can be thrown out of kilter by the unexpected.
“The one day we have a long practice, I have three tests the next day,” she said, laughing.
Though coaches and teachers are sympathetic, Williams said on occasion she has to stay up very late to complete her school assignments. Sometimes, she admits, something goes undone. Usually studying is the casualty.
But no preferential treatment is afforded student-athletes, Principal James Ferguson said. They know what is expected of them, because each year administrators and coaches hold a meeting with the athletes and their parents to lay out the guidelines.
At that meeting, the students are told they must organize their time, be disciplined and be willing to make the necessary commitment. That may mean they won’t be able to do other things, such as go on vacation during spring break. Each student and parent is required to sign a paper saying they understand what they’re getting into, Ferguson said.
The staff also outlines the state’s academic requirements, including having passing grades in four courses to be eligible, Ferguson said. “That’s not very relevant here,” he said, because the entire student population carries a “B” average. “Kids don’t fail here.”
But why are there so few problems? “They’re motivated to succeed, and we’re motivated to educate them, and that’s a tough combination to beat,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said it also is because participants see the value in sports and academics, so they make plans to achieve in both.
Coaches can install more complex offensive and defensive schemes because students can grasp what the coaches are teaching, he said.
As a group, student-athletes are quite proficient at time management, Ferguson and Schreiner said. Remarkably, students seem to do a better job academically during their playing seasons, they said.
Athletes also said that is the case.
“It’s when I don’t have anything to do that I find myself slacking off, because I say, `I’ve got time, I don’t have to do it now,”‘ Perkowski said.
Williams agreed. “It’s weird how that works. I don’t have as much time to waste, so I’m more structured.”
But there is a price athletes pay. “It seems like you’re always tired,” Williams said. “You’re working hard and it just kind of drains you.”
Staying in bed a few extra hours becomes a special treat. Kathleen Craig, 17, of Oak Brook, a former all-conference soccer player and track star now attending Miami University of Ohio, recalls when a Saturday game last year was cancelled and the team was given the day off.
“To be able to sleep in on a Saturday, that was the best feeling,” she said with a sigh.
SPORTS FACTS
Following are state finishes for Hinsdale Central sports teams for the last six years.
1994-95
Boys gymnastics, 1st place
Boys swimming, 2nd place
Boys tennis, 2nd place
Girls tennis, 2nd place
1995-96
Boys tennis, 4th place
Boys gymnastics, 3rd place
Girls gymnastics, 2nd place
Boys swimming, 2nd place
1996-97
Boys gymnastics, 3rd place
Boys tennis, 2nd place
1997-98
Boys tennis, 4th place
Girls tennis, 3rd place
1998-99
Boys gymnastics, 2nd place
Boys tennis, 3rd place
Girls tennis, 2nd place
1999-2000
Girls tennis, 1st place
Boys tennis, 4th place
Girls swimming, 4th place
Boys gymnastics, 3rd place
