Naperville Central junior goalkeeper Connor Waite watched his older brother and learned.
Austin Waite was the starting goalkeeper for the Class 3A state champion Redhawks last season and is playing at Bradley.
Now Connor Waite is following in his footsteps.
“I’ve always looked up to my brother,” Connor Waite said. “He’s always been two years older than me and more than two years better. I want to work as hard as he did to get to what he achieved. He’s always getting better.”
So is Connor Waite, who has shown promise in his first three games. He made three saves while playing the second half of the Redhawks’ 2-0 victory against Bartlett in Naperville on Tuesday on the opening night of the Best of the West Tournament, sharing a shutout with senior Dylan Scott.
“He’s been playing well,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said of Connor Waite. “I think both goalies played really well tonight.”
More Top Picks Best Anti Fatigue Glasses For Office Workers
Connor Waite made his varsity debut in the season opener against Morton on Aug. 21. He played all 80 minutes and acquitted himself well, making seven saves in a 1-0 loss.
Connor Waite and Scott, who split time with Austin Waite last season, have shared duties in the ensuing two games. Each gave up a goal in a 2-2 tie with Oswego before they notched the first shutout of the season against Bartlett.
“I think it’s an advantage that the last couple years we’ve had two quality goalkeepers,” Adams said. “Connor kind of keeps that tradition going, and they can feed off each other. One gets a shutout, and all of a sudden, the other one feels like they need to get a shutout.”
The victory gave Connor Waite more confidence.
“That’s like an understatement at this point,” he said. “Against Morton, I was shaky and was like, ‘What if I mess up?’
“Now I’m ready to go. Give me a shot, I’m going to save it, and I trust my defense to lock down.”
The Redhawks (1-1-1) trust Connor Waite to lock down. Senior defender Michael Cavalleri, who scored both goals against Bartlett (0-2-1), gave him high marks.
“I’ve been really impressed with how he’s developed,” Cavalleri said. “I saw him at a college showcase camp, and he was impressing me with some of his shot-stopping.
“He’s really matured. Definitely has a lot to learn, too, but he’ll get there during the course of the season.”
Adams noted goalkeeping isn’t easy.
“Goalkeeper is a hard spot,” he said. “That’s why you see at the professional level goalkeepers usually don’t break out until they’re older.
“It’s one of the last positions to break in because it’s so much decision-making. The goalkeeping game is much more mental than people give it credit for, especially when it comes to getting your defense organized.”
Adams noted that Connor Waite has benefited from having an older sibling who has shined at the position. Connor Waite said his brother’s influence has been vital.
“I’ve learned so much from him, like controlling my dives or distribution-wise just having this awareness,” Connor Waite said. “It’s also about not getting too beat up over a goal. Do I let it get me down, or will I let it get me better? I’ve always struggled with that.
“That’s what I learned from my brother — just stay in the moment, not with what you’ve already done. It’s about how you learn, how you get better, and I’m going to take that through the rest of my career.”
Connor Waite already is showing similarities to Austin.
“He’s very vocal, just like Austin,” Cavalleri said. “It’s really nice to have a keeper that talks to you all the time because when you play with a keeper that doesn’t tell you anything, it’s easy to concede goals that you shouldn’t be conceding.
“His shot-stopping is really good. He’s a really confident goalkeeper.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.