Was Jackson Van Eekeren born to play volleyball?
It sure seems so.
A story probably retold hundreds of times by the Van Eekeren family is still a good one to a new audience.
Seventeen years ago, Amy Van Eekeren was the coach at Naperville Central, nine months pregnant with her first child during the volleyball playoffs. She resisted a doctor’s recommendation to remain on bed rest for two weeks. The IHSA assigned a trainer specifically to follow her around in the gym.
Van Eekeren’s team won the state championship, the school’s first in any boys sport.
Five days later Jackson was born.
“He’s seen the video,” Amy said. “I was as big as could be.”
“I’ve heard plenty of stories,” Jackson said. “It’s really cool to see how dedicated she was.”
Inevitable, then, that Jackson — and his younger brother and two kid sisters — would follow mom into the family business.
Jackson, grown up now and a high school junior, is one of two returning setters on a Benet team coached by his mother with its own big expectations coming off a 24-12 season.
His latest two-inch growth spurt has him listed at 6-foot-4.
Matter of fact, he is not the only Benet player to add on a little height since last spring.
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Benet outside hitter Mark Schuessler has also added two inches, making him one of three 6-7 hitters on a Redwings team not short on size. Despite graduating 6-11 Ricky Gevis, who missed most of last season with injury, this is one of Van Eekeren’s biggest teams.
“Even without Ricky last year it was one of the biggest teams I’ve been on,” Schuessler said. “But this team is a lot bigger.”
“I’m definitely noticing the (added size) on my block,” Van Eekeren said. “I’m jumping higher, arms are longer, reach is higher.”
It was Gevis’ injury that forced coach Van Eekeren to experiment with a variety of lineups last year, ultimately switching Benet’s offense from a 5-1 attack to a 6-2. Jackson Van Eekeren was inserted to join at the time fellow sophomore Ben Mazza.
If it was easy for Benet to play the what-if game, Schuessler is using the regional loss to Glenbard West as fuel moving forward. That same Glenbard team has been pegged by some as a preseason No. 1.
“It’s a driving motivation to come back and beat (Glenbard West),” Schuessler said. “We are using that to push us. Honestly we have a lot more potential. A lot of players have grown.”
In the interim coach Van Eekeren would like to see her team make a run at conference. Benet finished third last year with a couple matches she said that “slipped away.”
While addressing the usual early season kinks — namely, defense and passing — Van Eekeren said it will be key to find a balance between Benet’s height and athleticism.
“There is a lot of talent on this team,” Van Eekeren said. “The challenge for me as a coach is to find the best lineup, where they can continue to push themselves. I think I have a great group of kids.”
Welge is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Team outlooks
Benet (24-12): Mark Schuessler is one of three 6-7 hitters on big Benet, which graduated just two starters from the group that lost to Glenbard West in a regional final. Others back are middle Scott Kleiser, setters Ben Mazza and Jackson Van Eekeren, libero Logan Ladowski, outside Nick Arquette and 6-7 outside Alex Yates. Keep an eye on 6-6 junior middle Chris Yates.
Metea Valley (23-12): Mustangs graduated an elite setter in Andrew Miller, but return balance. Senior outside Tom Wieland, in his third varsity season, and 6-5 middle Alec McKinney return a combined 320 kills. Krishna Vannemreddy and Jason Snyder are other outsides the Mustangs will count on. Libero Noah Marzuki had 290 digs as a sophomore.
Naperville Central (34-5): Redhawks, DVC runners-up and sectional finalists last year, reload behind senior Jack Burton. The 6-4 outside led the Redhawks with 450 kills last year. Along with Burton, Central returns senior setter Kevin Prazek, outsides Kasper Mazurek, Tyler Stefani and David Wesolowski and 6-foot-9 sophomore middle Matt Skowronski.
Naperville North (16-21): Huskies dropped several close matches a year ago and return five starters with a sense of urgency. North’s most physical group in years returns setter Jack Rothmund, outsides Jack Lenert and Michael Jennings, libero Phil Olszewski, middles Frank Dore and Kent Lang and 6-7 right-side Spencer Munroe. Keep an eye on 6-5 junior middle Casey Hiller.
Neuqua Valley (10-22): Austin Neace, a 6-4 outside committed to Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, is the lone returning starter. But the Wildcats boast more club experience than a year ago. Others to watch include 6-6 middles Brian McKissick and Karl Deichmann and 6-3 outside Connor Hounsell.
Waubonsie Valley (29-7): Al Lagger, in his 20th and final season as Warriors coach, lost top outside Michael Simmons but rebuilds around all-conference libero Andrew Salmon. Also back are setter Jake Furman, outside Brandon Pederson and right-side Nick Spragg. Newcomers include 6-4 middle Kevin Bailey, 6-5 middle Matthew Salmon, sophomore Justin Salmon, freshman Elliott Myong, outside James Despain, right-side Matt Canti and outside Levi Jordan.