Josh Weigel is Naperville Central’s man in motion.
Whether he’s on the ball or chasing after it, the senior midfielder never stops hustling.
It’s a quality that endears Weigel, a fourth-year varsity player and third-year starter, to his coaches and teammates.
“His work ethic on the field is special,” junior defender Patrick Bohan said. “He’s everywhere, constantly moving, and he’s very communicative on the field. So he’s a good leader.”
Weigel is no stranger to hard work or leadership. He’s in his second season as a co-captain, serving alongside Bohan and junior defender Patrick Berryman, and is coming off an all-state season in which he racked up eight goals and 11 assists to help the Redhawks reach a Class 3A sectional final.
“They’re good leaders, and they work hard,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said of his captains. “They’re like engines. They make the team run, and that’s kind of what Josh does.”
Running comes naturally to Weigel, whose parents, John and Jamie, ran cross country at North Central College. John Weigel ran on North Central’s NCAA Division III national championship teams in 1992 and 1993 and was the individual national champion in 1995.
“They’re my biggest supporters,” Josh Weigel said. “They want me to go out there and have fun and also try my best, work as hard as I possibly can.”
Weigel does that, setting a great example for his teammates.
“If we’re having a rough game or we’re down by a goal or struggling a little bit, we’ll look over at Josh, and he’s sprinting all over the field and hustling nonstop,” Bohan said. “It motivates you to do more and keep going.”
Weigel has been playing soccer since he was 5. His running ability and competitive drive have only grown stronger over the years.
“I don’t like to lose,” Weigel said. “That’s where my competitiveness and hard work comes from, and I think everyone on the team is the same way. I love the sport, so that’s part of it too.”
Adams loves Weigel’s technical ability and willingness to do whatever is needed anywhere on the field.
“Obviously, he scores and assists, but he’s coming back and covering defensive issues, he’s holding balls and distributing to different areas,” Adams said. “The other thing is he has an unbelievable work rate, and when your best player is also your hardest worker, you’re in good shape.
“You can have a great player, but if they’re not the one that’s the hardest worker, your other players feed off that. This year we’ve already noticed that the practices have more of a certain intensity to them and the energy level is higher.”
That’s by design. Weigel, who plans to play Division III soccer, feels an urgency to win now, as the Redhawks return eight starters from a 15-win team that lost to Naperville North 3-2 in the sectional final.
“I think you just need to get on guys when you have to,” Weigel said. “If you see them slacking off, you’ve got to make sure everyone is still working hard, just reminding them what the goal is for the season.”
The Redhawks upset Morton 3-1 in the season opener on Monday behind three goals from freshman Chase Adams.
Naperville Central’s biggest goal is a sectional title, which would be its first since 2015.
“It would mean the world to us,” Weigel said. “The key is to really stay focused throughout the whole season.
“Every practice, we’ve got to come out and work really hard, all of us together. We know it’s going to take all our guys to be successful in the playoffs.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
