It seems Chesterton’s Sebastian Kogl is destined to become a pilot.
His father is a pilot for UPS. His mother is a pilot for United Airlines. His older sister Kaitlyn attends Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she also plays soccer.
“I want to become a commercial pilot,” Sebastian Kogl said. “If I had the option, I would go the cargo route. I would want to go international — to visit the world, basically.”
At the moment, Kogl is busy navigating Duneland Athletic Conference power Chesterton (8-7, 5-1) through what he called a “roller-coaster” season. The senior central defender is a captain along with senior midfielder John Kovalan and senior defender Mason Bernal.
“Seba’s just one of those natural leaders,” Chesterton coach Lucas Sabedra said. “He’s very organized. He’s very serious. But he’s also lighthearted, and he’s a good, kind soul. He’s friends with everybody, but he knows how to be serious when the moment’s right.
“He knows the expectations and standards that we have. It’s easy to connect with someone like that. Seba’s the one who rings them all together.”
Kogl learned from some of the most illustrious players in Chesterton’s rich history. He played on the junior varsity team as a freshman in 2020, practicing with the varsity and earning a call-up for the postseason as the Trojans won the Class 3A state title.
“Under leaders like Charlie Eaton and Zack Bowser and Nick Biel, I saw what it really meant to be on this team,” Kogl said. “Even though I was a freshman, they welcomed me into this family.”
Kogl was one of the first players off the bench and an occasional starter as an outside defender during his sophomore year and took over full time at that position last season.
He opened this season as a center midfielder before shifting, about a third of the way into it, to a central defender in a back three.
With largely a new team after eight starters graduated, Sabedra said he “completely changed what he envisioned at the beginning of the season” in terms of personnel and formation.
“It’s just been trial and error putting guys in different positions to see what works best for our team,” he said.
“With Seba, he’s so versatile as far as his quickness and his patience. As a one v. one defender, he’s so dynamic. He knows when to get in tackles, and he knows when to stand by the man instead of committing and lunging. He’s just very disciplined in that regard, and he’s very quick, so he’s a very good one v. one defender. If they have a strong offensive player, we’ll shift him to that side, and he’s good about locking those guys up.”
Kogl has taken any changes in stride.
“Every year, I’ve seen exponential growth,” he said. “I’ve definitely improved with my touch the past few years and the quick decision-making. Being in the back, you have to be quick-minded and know where everything is.
“The biggest thing I’ve improved on is leadership in the back. I feel like I see all of the field, so I’m always telling players where they need to be, where they should be marking. My leadership has improved a lot.”
Kovalan appreciates Kogl’s contributions, especially in that area.
“He’s the biggest leader on the field,” Kovalan said. “He keeps everything organized. He talks all the time. … There’s games where he’s literally gasping for air at the end. He just works that hard.”
Kogl was born in the area, but his family moved to Alaska before he was 2 years old for his father’s job with UPS. They lived in Eagle River, on the outskirts of Anchorage.
“I grew up in the mountains, so I love the nature side of things,” Kogl said.
Kogl, who is also an Eagle Scout, lived in Alaska for seven years. His family then moved back to this area for his mother’s job with United.
Kogl, who said his family visits Alaska every summer, developed a passion for hockey while growing up there. He played in a youth league in South Bend, and this season will be his second playing in high school for South Bend Riley.
“That complements soccer a lot,” Kogl said. “I’m a smaller guy, and hockey increases my physicality and short stamina.”
Sabedra agreed hockey has benefited Kogl in soccer.
“It builds his mindset,” Sabedra said. “He’s fearless like that, the aggressiveness. You can’t play hockey and back down.”
Chesterton hasn’t backed down despite what Kogl described as the “ups and downs” of the season. The Trojans still had an opportunity to clinch a share of the conference championship with a win against Portage on Wednesday. It would be the sixth title in as many seasons under Sabedra.
Chesterton will start postseason play against Penn in the Class 3A South Bend Riley Sectional next week. Penn eliminated the Trojans in the first round last season.
“We’re hungry,” Kogl said. “We’ve been soul-searching and trying to find who we are as a team. We’ve definitely improved a lot. We definitely switched it up a lot this season, so our record doesn’t really show who we are.”
