Sobczak’s strategy works for Streaks

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Woodstock cross country coach Marty Sobczak had to make an important decision this season.

The Blue Streaks’ top two girls runners – Elise and Kayla Beattie – would be among the best in the state. The rest of his pack, with Woodstock North starting its varsity programs this fall, would be young and inexperienced.

The Beattie sisters needed to be pushed, but their teammates might have slowed them down in workouts. The younger runners needed more coaching to become competitive at the varsity level.

Sobczak reached a compromise, letting the Beatties run with the boys team most of the summer and fall, while the other girls ran as a group.

There was a risk of dividing a team, but the rewards became evident as the season progressed. Kayla and Elise took first and third in the Class 2A race at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet, and the Streaks finished seventh as a team with a lineup that improved throughout the fall.

Sobczak was selected as the Northwest Herald Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year by the sports staff with input from area coaches. The Blue Streaks finished seventh in the Fox Valley Conference Meet but won the Freeport Regional and Belvidere Sectional to advance to state.

“No one expected Woodstock to have the same kind of team success this year, even if they were in 2A,” Cary-Grove girls coach Mark Anderson said. “But regional and sectional champions, plus seventh at state? This is a no-brainer. The guy [Sobczak] coached his butt off.”

Sobczak turned the Beatties over to assistant Bill Macaulay, who worked mainly with the boys team. That allowed him time to concentrate on working with freshmen Kerstin Wolf, Hannah Jacobs and Erin Sarin, along with junior Hailey Jacobs and senior Nicole Rhino.

“Somewhere around the [Ryan] Byrne Festival [in September] they were hearing from folks we were basically a two-girl team,” Sobczak said. “They didn’t like that. They knew what the Beatties meant to them and relished that, but to do something as a team they needed to work toward that level.”

There were some problems early because Elise Beattie was team captain but wasn’t always working out with the team.

“There was some tension sometimes,” Elise said. “But for the most part it worked out. From where they started out in the summer to where they were at the end, they all kept improving. [Sobczak] did a great job leading the girls toward achieving goals. It was a different season.”

Sobczak thought his team might finish around 10th at state and was proud of how all the Streaks finished.

“I could see the Beatties, but I thought our middle group was too far apart,” Sobczak said. “The last mile they really turned it on, and I felt more confident. I was very pleased with what they did. They had high expectations, as they should have.”