There’s an equipment room not far from where Highland Park’s boys gymnastics team practices. Recently, the contents of this room became of interest to Giants senior Andy Kaufmann.
“I had these baggy shorts and I said to coach [Doug Foerch], ‘Do you have any competition shorts I can work out in?’ ” Kaufmann said.
Foerch directed Kaufmann to the equipment room.
“I found these really short blue shorts and a nice singlet,” Kauffmann said. “It was in some dusty box.”
He started wearing the vintage outfit right away. He soon began to lobby his Giants teammates to adopt his new look. They were skeptical. But at the Robert Bohl Invitational on Friday night at Mundelein, Highland Park’s solidarity was revealed when all gymnasts wore the time-honored blue and white uniforms.
“I was like, ‘We have to have everyone wear them. We’re going to wear these,’ ” Kaufmann said. “I think we look good. We’ve gotten a lot of compliments.”
Kaufmann is the undisputed leader of the 2015 Giants, so what he says — and wears — carries weight. What he does also matters. A 2014 state qualifier in the vault and parallel bars, Kauffman is Highland Park’s best gymnast.
“From his work ethic to his personality, he’s a guy who just wants to be better every day,” Giants coach Doug Foerch said. “This is a real rebuilding year, but it’s so much better having one senior on the team. At least there is someone the guys can look up to.”
At the Robert Bohl Invitational, which featured top area teams Deerfield, Stevenson and Glenbrook South, Kaufmann placed in the top 10 in the parallel bars (ninth, 8.025). He earned top-15 scores in the all-around (11th, 46.33), horizontal bar (14th, 6.3) and floor (15th, 8.5). No other Giant finished better than 35th in any event (junior Trevor Sladin in the pommel horse).
Highland Park’s 13th-place showing was almost single-handedly due to Kaufmann. He said he embraces his trusted status.
“You look on that varsity sheet and you see ‘Andy.’ I’m the only guy on there. Along with the responsibility to do well for my team, I’m representing 2,000 or so kids at Highland Park High School. That’s not something I take lightly,” Kaufmann said. “Being tired is not an option. There is no choice but to be 100 percent.”
That assertive attitude filters into fashion decisions. Galvanized by their captain, the Giants wore the shorts-and-singlet uniform first discovered by Kaufmann on Friday night.
A moniker was soon hatched.
“Blue lightning. All the guys are saying how we have lightning bolts all over us. I guess that is true,” Kaufmann said. “They are pretty itchy right now. We look good in the shorts. There’s no harm in showing them off.”
There is no harm in anything Kaufmann does for Highland Park in 2015.
Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer