The offer was too good for Kyle Boekeloo to pass up.
After a year coaching the new girls soccer program at St. Laurence, the boys job was suddenly there for the taking.
As the freshman coach for the boys, Boekeloo had the necessary perspective on the promising talent coming through the system.
“I just knew that I did not want to be away from the boys program,” he said.
The 2019 Daily Southtown Boys Soccer Coach of the Year had an audacious start last year by going 18-5-1 and qualifying for a Class 2A sectional.
That proved to be the prelude to the greatest season in program history as Boekeloo directed St. Laurence (19-6-1) this year to its first appearance at state, which concluded with a fourth-place finish.
St. Laurence won 14 of its last 17 games. In the first five games of the state playoffs, the Vikings posted three shutouts and outscored the competition by a 25-3 margin.
“Things just started to click,” Boekeloo said. “The boys started to buy in and you could see the confidence grow. The seniors really took over and led this team and the younger kids just followed them.”
Senior forward Saul Camacho was impressed.
“He is truly one of the best coaches I have ever been,” he said. “To hold up a state trophy for the school meant a lot for us, and it has been truly a blessing to play for him.”
After a standout high school career at Downers Grove North, Boekeloo started as a defender for three years at Dominican University in River Forest.
He worked as an assistant at St. Joseph when the school made two separate appearances in the state championship game.
He also coached at Dominican for a year before being named the girls coach at St. Laurence in the spring of 2017.
He wanted to bring certain standards in shaping the culture.
“When I took the program over, I put my own twist on things, like discipline and how we practice,” Boekeloo said. “It was just different variations of what we did. It was nothing in particular I changed.
“With practice, for instance, it could be just an hour as long as it was quality. Our big thing, if we are out here for an hour, it better be quality. I always told the boys, we are not going to leave until it is quality.”
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Camacho, goalkeeper Luke Arthurs, defender Julian Cardiel and goalkeeper Fernando Cervantez are the only senior starters.
Sophomore forward Andres Lemus, who finished with a team-best 22 goals, leads a talented group of underclassmen.
The future is, indeed, bright.
“Leaving the field after losing the third-place game, we knew it was a great experience for the younger boys,” Boekeloo said. “We had two freshmen on the roster, and we are junior and sophomore heavy.
“We were bummed about not finishing with a win, but the experience is going to be really valuable.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.