ROUND LAKE – Athletics sometimes has the ability to pull leadership out of kids who didn't know know they had it in them.
For Javier Villa and Chanae Brown, students at Round Lake High School, sports helped them focus and find their way through their hectic teenage years.
Villa, a four-year wrestler and football player, said he got into fights the first two years of high school. But after a while he stopped hanging out with people who got in trouble and focused his energies on sports, particularly by working out at LA Fitness and lifting weights at school, he said.
"You just have to work out and be dedicated and do what you gotta do to be good," he said.
Even while combating injuries – from a broken nose his freshman year to a broken toe his senior year – Villa's work ethic and dedication did not go unnoticed by his coaches or his peers.
"Javi is one of the those guys, all the other kids look up to him," head football coach John Coursey said. "Not only was he an extremely hard worker, but he was a tough kid ... he commanded respect from the kids because of his work ethic, his leadership abilities, and how strong he was."
Villa continues to have strong ties with the underclassmen who will take over the gridiron the next few years. And he has high hopes for them.
"I think the sophomores, when they're seniors, they're going to be real good," he said.
How does he know? Because he took some of them under his wing, including sophomore linebacker/runningback Danny Vega.
"I just try to help people out who need help," Villa said. "When I was a freshman, I'd ask for help, and some of the seniors would be like, no, you're just a freshman. When I see a good player, especially Danny Vega, I've known him a long time, and when he asks me how to do things, I tell him, because he wants to be good, too. I may not be all that, but I've got some experience."
Villa recently tried out and made the roster for the Lake County Desperadoes, a new expansion team to the Gridiron Football League. Unfortunately, the 18-year-old couldn't afford the $200 fee to play. But he said he'll earn the money and try out again next year, all while he's studying construction management at the College of Lake County.
RLHS Principal Kurt Sinclair said Villa is a kind of success story.
"I've gotten to know him over the years, and Javi is just someone you gravitate toward," Sinclair said. "I know he started out here with some unique difficulties, but he figured it out. The kid's got a lot of heart – a lot of heart."
Chanae Brown is just a junior at RLHS, but she hopes to graduate early next year so she can go to Illinois State University to join its nursing program.
As long as it doesn't interfere with basketball season.
The 18-year-old was just a sophomore when she helped the Panthers basketball team win the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division and finish the 2008-09 season with an impressive 23-5 record.
Brown was a starter that year, and the 5-foot-6-inch guard continued to lead her Round Lake squad this season, even though they finished just 7-21.
Still, Brown said she was proud of her team.
"Even though we didn't win all our games like we were supposed to, we encouraged each other," she said.
No doubt a lot of that encouragement came from the quiet athlete who also plays volleyball for the Panthers and spends much of her free time playing travel basketball for the AAU Lake County Challengers.
"Chanae's certainly come a long way since she was a freshman," said former head basketball coach Gary Edge, who retired after the 2009-10 season. "[This] year she stepped up and took a greater leadership role. Whoever comes in will be presently surprised at what she will do for the team."
Brown also is a good student who simply does the right things and doesn't get in trouble, Edge said. That alone makes her a leader at RLHS.
"A lot of times, just by being more of a quiet leader, leading by example, a lot of kids will tune into that," Edge said. "I'm sure some kids say, 'Hey, that Chanae, she's always working hard – that's how I want to be.' I think we need more kids like that."
"She just has a presence about her," Sinclair said. "She's nothing but quality. You would aspire for every student to be like her in public school."
Getting to know ... Javier Villa
Age: 18
Favorite subjects in school: Math and woodshop
Hobbies: Playing basketball
College plans: To attend the College of Lake County and study construction management
Getting to know ... Chanae Brown
Age: 18
Favorite subject in school: English
Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and going to the movies
College plans: To attend Illinois State University and study nursing
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