Brian Sherwin has been around long enough to understand nothing is guaranteed.
An unfortunate bounce here, an unlucky break there, and even a talented team can be derailed.
So Sherwin especially appreciates what Boone Grove accomplished in his 19th season. Foremost among those achievements was the Wolves breaking through for the program’s first regional championship.
“It was an awesome season,” said Sherwin, the Post-Tribune 2017 Boys Soccer Coach of the Year. “I had a feeling this group could get me past the regional. It’s one of those things, you’re confident the team is good enough, but weird things happen.”
Boone Grove’s success developed as part of a two-year process. The Wolves (17-4-1) uncharacteristically went 9-10 last season, taking their lumps with a young team. But save for a then-senior who suffered a broken ankle early in the season, they returned intact, having learned from their experience.
“We thought we would be good, but you never know — a year older doesn’t necessarily make you a year better,” Sherwin said. “But these guys put in a lot of work in the offseason and preseason, they put in two years of hard work, and they were ready for the season. They grew together as a team. It’s been a pleasure to coach these guys the last two years.”
The Wolves beat Argos 2-1 in a regional semifinal — the program’s first win at that level — and followed up by persevering for a 2-1 win in the final over Bethany Christian. Starting four seniors, six juniors and a sophomore, their season ended with a 3-0 semistate loss to Fort Wayne Canterbury, which went on to win the Class 1A state title.
The journey for Boone Grove, which ended the regular season ranked No. 9 in the Class 1A coaches poll, included regaining a sectional title after losing in a final last season, going 5-0 to win the Porter County Conference and going 7-1 to share the Northwest Indiana Soccer Conference championship with Bishop Noll and Griffith.
The Wolves, who last season went 2-5 in the NWISC and 4-1 in the PCC, topped Bishop Noll in penalty kicks and lost to Griffith. Boone Grove’s only other regular-season losses came to Class 3A powers Chesterton 1-0 and Crown Point 2-0.
Those two results helped solidify the Wolves’ belief in their ability. They traditionally have competed well against opponents of any size, a source of pride.
In Sherwin’s first season in 1999, under the single-class format, Boone Grove won its first sectional title. The Wolves didn’t win another until 2011, the first season with two classes, starting a stretch of four in five seasons.
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With this season’s implementation of the three-class format, Boone Grove liked its chances for a long postseason run.
“We had our sights set pretty high right from the get-go,” Sherwin said. “When we saw we were in 1A, we thought there was an opportunity. There’s a lot of tough teams in 1A in the area and throughout the state, so it wasn’t necessarily better to be in 1A than 2A. But that’s the mindset we took.”
Just before the start of the postseason, senior goalkeeper Max Kidd spoke passionately about the Wolves’ desire to clear the regional hurdle for Sherwin.
“He’s been at it way too long to not have that title,” Kidd said.
“Sherwin is amazing, these coaches are amazing. They gave us anything and everything we needed, on and off the field.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff