Ball boy is a desirable job in Park Ridge. Ball girl, too.
They are paid positions, though not in the traditional sense.
“Parents in the community bid to have their son or daughter be our ball boy or girl for a game,” Maine South football coach David Inserra said. “It is always for fundraisers. I’ve heard it go anywhere from $300 to $1,000. They really look up to the players.”
Justin Fahey is among the Hawks this year’s crop idolizes, particularly after his performance Oct. 2.
With Maine South’s 14-year Central Suburban South winning and conference championship streaks being challenged by then-undefeated New Trier, Fahey rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown, threw a 68-yard halfback pass for a touchdown and made 15 tackles at safety, including a bone-cruncher on fourth down that not only caused a change of possession but prevented a go-ahead touchdown late in the first half.
Maine South scored a couple of late touchdowns and won its 67th consecutive conference game 24-7. A new idol was born, the kind some ball boys dream of one day becoming.
In Fahey’s case, the feeling is mutual.
“Looking back, if I could have been a ball boy, I would have loved that,” Fahey said. “I can only imagine what that must be like. I remember being little and thinking how everyone in high school seems so big. I was that little kid on the field after the game, running patterns and imagining I was playing for Maine South.”
Family ties
Community support for a high school football program is not unusual, but the connection between the past, present and future at Maine South is.
Fahey has three brothers who played for Inserra from 2004-11. In a sense, they are still a part of the program, as is anyone who played for Inserra, who became head coach in 2001 and hasn’t lost a conference game.
As long as the streak lives, so too do the careers of those who contributed to it.
“It’s a great connector,” Inserra said. “We are able to talk about the past a lot. We really try to express to the kids that they’re playing for the guys who have been through the program.”
It’s an easy sell for Fahey and many of his senior classmates, who were in middle school when the likes of Charlie Goro, Matt Perez, Tyler Benz and Tyler Fahey — Justin’s oldest brother — were helping the Hawks win state championships. the program won three in a row from 2008-10.
The Hawks players who did not grow up around the program become students of Maine South history. Inserra insists upon it.
“He talks about the all-numbers list,” Fahey said. “He says you better know who your number is. He writes down the name of the player who made the biggest impact with your number. Mine, No. 20, is (2006 graduate) Jake Bachmeier. Coach plays back old plays of guys all the time. Watching Bachmeier play, I can learn from him. He made plays left and right, carrying kids into the end zone.”
Mr. Enthusiastic
To Inserra and his 20-man staff — half volunteers, mostly alumni — Fahey has reached legendary status.
He’s not quite Goro or Perez, back-to-back Tribune Player of the Year honorees and two of the best in the Chicago area over the last decade.
But he’s unique in his own right, not as much for the way he consistently excels on both sides of the ball during games as the way he practices every day.
“We just look at each other and laugh sometimes at the energy he brings,” Inserra said. “At times kids seem a little intimidated to tackle him or get hit by him because he is going so hard. His emotional level is unbelievable. I think he really appreciates being on the field.”
Fahey derived his drive consciously and subconsciously.
It was, he believes, literally beaten into him.
“My brothers used to beat the crap out of me,” Fahey said. “That is for sure. Especially Tyler. He was an all-state linebacker. I credit him for a lot. He really used to beat on me.”
Inserra does not have captains, instead identifying line leaders. Fahey was one of the few juniors Inserra ever appointed as a leader last season.
There are days, Fahey confessed, that he doesn’t feel like going full throttle on every rep, isn’t in the mood to jump, hoot and holler any time something goes well at practice.
He does it anyway.
“Enthusiasm spreads like wildfire,” Fahey said. “You get one person going and pretty soon it becomes contagious. Practice is tough. It is a grind. Sometimes you don’t feel like jumping around, but if you force enthusiasm it starts to come naturally.”
