Video Journalism Final Project- Fall Quarter 2021
Lane Tech Baseball Remains Focused in Blowout Victory
By Jack Murray
Tiny particles of snow floated toward the surfaces of Kerry Wood Cubs Field at a leisurely pace, yet the same could not be said for the weighted baseballs that pounded the cement confines of the stadium.
The Lane Tech High School baseball team undergoes an extensive pre-game routine, which includes the typical loosening of the arms that occurs before any baseball game, but a significant portion of the team utilizes this time to work with these baseballs to improve arm strength and health. All of this contributed to a 15–0 victory over Lake View by mercy rule.
Head coach Sean Freeman said that these pre-game drills are vital to a strong performance on the field.
“I think it's super important to just have your daily habits and daily rituals that you go through to be better,” Freeman said. “It’s super important in baseball to be consistent on a daily basis because it's a hard game and there's a lot of failure, you got to have those things that you're used to doing to fall back on.”
Tunes like “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Lose Yourself” blared through the speakers while the team takes infield-outfield with all situations accounted for. Inactive players simulate batters while the catchers make pickoff throws, outfielders alternate between using the cut-off man and the infielders are confronted with nearly any theoretical situation they could be faced with in the game. The miscues that do inevitably happen in any pre-game warm-up lead to adjustments rather than frustration.
This preparation paid off early with efficient fielding and pitching in the first two innings that was matched by 13 runs in that span for the offense. The lopsided score led to some early substitutions, but each new player made an impact. Hits and walks led to steals and runs, and senior second baseman Nick Lagges, who had two walks, a hit, two runs batted in, and three runs scored said that the buy-in from the team is crucial to the dedication to preparation.
“It’s a team game and we do it for each other,” Lagges said. “Everybody is staying within themselves and knows the common goal: Just make sure we win the game. Today, there was obviously a lot of walks, but nobody was swinging out of their shoes trying to hit a bomb or do anything out of the ordinary. It was all consistent.”
Senior pitcher Chris Espinosa, who pitched all four innings for Lane Tech and only allowed one hit while notching five strikeouts, said that the communal effort motivates him to work on his individual skills.
“Warming up as a team, being all together and working out what like we need to improve on is huge,” Espinosa said.
Where Should you Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago?
By Jack Murray
With St. Patrick’s Day less than a week away, it’s officially time to put on green garb, grab a pint and celebrate Irish History. Chicago is perhaps one of the most iconic cities in the country for this, with two parades, a wide range of pubs and a tradition of dyeing the river green to celebrate the holiday. However, drinking and partying are not the only options available for one to immerse themselves with Celtic Culture.
Check out some of the places listed below for experiences that provide learning opportunities, powerful performances and of course, a fun atmosphere.
Irish American Heritage Center
Address: 4626 N. Knox Ave.
Website: https://irish-american.org
Phone Number: 773-282-7035
Located in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Mayfair, the IAHC is a hub of Irish Culture within the city and even the country. The building is a former grade school from the early 20th century that was converted into a museum in the 1980s and exhibits numerous stages, an art gallery, a library and many more features that celebrate Irish history. One notable example of this would include the Mayfair Theatre, which is a 658-seat theatre that allows guests to watch concerts, movies and performances. Visitors can peruse through timeless pieces of fine china, listen to traditional Irish music throughout the halls, and grab a pint or snack at the 5thProvidence, an Irish Pub located within the building.
Upcoming events around the holiday include the St. Patrick’s Fest 2022 on March 12, The Quiet Man movie screening on March 17 and The Screaming Orphans rock concert on March 18.
Old St. Patrick’s Church
Address: 700 W Adams St.
Sunday Mass Schedule: 7 AM, 8 AM, 10 AM, 5 PM and 8 PM
Website: https://www.oldstpats.org
Phone Number: 312.648.1021
Located in the West Loop, this church is heavily tied to Irish immigration in Chicago. It was the first English-speaking Catholic parish in the city, opening in 1846 and residing in its current location since 1856. Old St. Pat’s is not a gaudy, massive structure like many new churches tend to be. Instead, it features historically elegant features that can satisfy a traditional catholic and an architecture nerd. The interior of the church features Celtic art that would make someone from Ireland proud.
Jim McLaughlin, the tour director of Old St. Patrick’s, said that what sets the church apart, among other things, is the draw it has across Illinois and its surrounding states.
“[Old St. Pats] has a tremendous clientele,” McLaughlin said. “There's a very interesting statistic that there are over 200 zip codes that come to Old St. Pat's. No more than 5 percent come from any one zip code. That means it's not just a downtown church.”
In addition to its historical context within Irish history, it also is one of the buildings that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871. McLaughlin said it's likely the only building to survive the catastrophe that was designed by Augustas Bauer and Ashton Asher Carter, who trained under the architect behind St. Patricks' Cathedral in New York City."
Wilde Bar & Restaurant
Address: 3130 N Broadway
Hours: M-W 12–10 p.m., THU 12-10:30 p.m., FRI 12–11 p.m., SAT 11 a.m.–11 p.m., SUN 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Website: https://wildechicago.com
Phone Number: 773.244.0404
Located within the Lakeview neighborhood, Wilde is an Irish Pub that expands beyond the typical alehouse atmosphere. The establishment commemorates Oscar Wilde, the legendary literary icon from Dublin, and celebrates literature and pop culture in a unique way, such as donning the walls with quotes from Wilde, in addition to news clippings being hung throughout the interior of the restaurant that cover various decades of history, both within Ireland and America. Diners have the option of sitting near bookshelves that contain works of literature from Wilde and his contemporaries, and the experience serves as one that sets patrons back to the 19th century.
Emma Strong, a manager at the restaurant, said that the restaurant has a lot planned for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. The restaurant will be celebrating on Saturday March 12th, Sunday March 13th and Thursday March 17th. Festivities include special food based around the holiday and a bagpiper performing traditional music.
It's going to be like a big party. It's been canceled the last two years as well, so I feel like it's going to be just lots of people looking for exciting fun,” Strong said.
Wilde is also a family business that honors its family roots. Son Dylan Shea is a manager and bartender at the establishment, and likens the atmosphere that he and his family has created to establishments in his native Ireland..
“A lot of Irish culture is about community and about giving people a safe place to have a fun time,” Shea said. “I feel like it's always kind of having fun, keeping it light-hearted, and I feel like we do a good job of that here.”
On St. Patrick’s Day, Wilde will be a solid place to order a Guinness, enjoy a traditional Irish dish like Shepherd’s Pie and celebrate like it is 1892.
Trinity Academy of Irish Dance
Address: 2936 N Southport Ave (In Athenaeum Theatre)
Practice days: Tuesday and Wednesday
Website: https://www.trinityirishdance.com
Phone Number: 877-326-2328
The Trinity Academy of Irish Dance is a dance company in the Midwest that also has various other locations within Chicago suburbs and Wisconsin. Its Lakeview location is in the legendary Athenaeum Theatre that gives prospective dancers an elite experience as they head toward performances and competitions.
Meggie Heilman, the managing director of the Academy, said they are currently entering the busiest month of their year, as the company will be performing in 300 shows. Some performances within the City of Chicago will be at Wild Goose Bar & Grill in Ravenswood, The Harp and Fiddle in Park Ridge and Chief O’Neill’s Pub, Restaurant and Beer Garden in Irving Park. They also will perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 12 in the Loop.
“Our teams start practicing a specific performance pieces month in advance to St. Patrick's Day,” Heilman said. “It's our favorite time of year and we plan and prepare to wow our audiences.”
Heilman said that the academy does not just follow the typical traditions of an Irish dance company, and instead has a tradition that makes going to their performances a unique perspective.
“Trinity is centered around a powerful philosophy that is, I would say, a radical departure from typical programs,” Heilman said. “As one of the most widely recognized Irish dance programs in the world, there's been about 10,000 students that have come and gone through Trinity from our founder, Mark Howard. We take an innovative approach to Irish dance and love to connect with the community.”
Lane Tech Baseball Bonds on Florida Trip
By Jack Murray
When the Lane Tech High School baseball team finished the school day on April 8, a spring break filled with three games against quality opponents awaited them. What also awaited them was a three-hour flight, warm temperatures and a bonding experience that would prove to be a defining experience of the players high school experiences.
The team traveled to Fort Lauderdale over break week and played games against local high schools in the area. Lane Tech emerged victorious in all three games, which were played between April 11 and April 14. While traveling to Florida for spring break has occurred in the past, this was the first time the team had traveled since the COVID-19 pandemic. Coach Sean Freeman met with Athletic Director Nick Logalbo in the early days of the 2021-22 school year and inquired about reinstating the trip, Logalbo said this was a huge step in gaining clearance for the trip.
“It wasn't really a hard sell,” Logalbo said. “The only the only hiccup was that we're not out of the woods yet with COVID. Whatever hoops we needed to jump through, whatever red tape with CPS, we had to get cleared up. We had to get on that early.”
After getting the trip cleared with Chicago Public Schools, the planning stage was officially on. For the payment of the trip, Logalbo said that certain funds came from the Lane Tech Baseball Booster Club, while some other aspects were placed into the school’s existing fund for team trips, which includes travel to state championships and other competitions. Other funds needed came from team fundraising throughout the year, which was sponsored by the Booster Club.
When in the Sunshine State, the team took a few off-field trips. Freeman said this included trips to a Top Golf facility and South Beach in Miami. However, one of his favorite memories was the team bus ride after a 4–3 victory over Cardinal Gibbons.
“As soon as we got back on the bus, obviously, the kids had had a lot of juice,” Freeman said. “They sang karaoke on their own for like a 30-minute bus ride. This included a lot of older songs that we were surprised they knew. We thought they were cheating and using an app to know all the words, but that was really cool.”
Senior second baseman Nick Lagges said the trip was the highlight of his high school career.
“Florida for me is definitely going to be the most memorable thing for baseball at Lane,” Lagges said. “We played to our competition, we beat them, and it was just very impressive. I am very proud of everybody on the team”
Senior pitcher Chris Espinosa said his favorite moment on the field was the team’s comeback victory over Archbishop McCarthy, and off of it was the bonding time the team had.
“From the beginning to the end we had good memories on the field,” Espinosa said. “This included beating a powerhouse of a team by coming back from down 7–0 to win 10–7. Off the field, that included staying in the hotel, getting stuck in the elevators, staying up and playing cards and just having a great time.”
Senior outfielder Joseph Perona said he believes the high-level of competition in Florida really set the team up for success as they face the remainder of the schedule.
“I kind of think our first and last game kind of proved how this team can go deep in the playoffs,” Perona said. “We're just more of a fighting team than some other teams out there.”
Evanston Tigers Provide Opportunities for Women’s Hockey
By Jack Murray
It’s 9:00 p.m. at the Robert Crown Community Center in Evanston, IL on Thursday, April 21st and the Zamboni is cleaning the ice after a youth hockey practice. When the ice is finally resurfaced, Jen Ma and other members of the Maize team storm the ice to face the Green team.
This is during the third week of the Evanston Tigers Spring Mixer, which is a women’s spring hockey league associated with the Tigers, a local women’s adult hockey program. The Tigers were established in 1995 and participate in the Women’s Central Hockey League (WCHL). The league consists of women’s teams across the Mid-West. The Tigers sponsor three teams in the league that span between Division 4 to Division 6.
Ma, who is a member of the Tigers Division 4 team and is also the president-elect of the WCHL, did not start playing hockey until 2004 when she moved to Chicago. She had wanted to play in her youth, but a lack of opportunities to play hockey for women made it difficult to pursue the sport.
“There weren’t any girl’s teams really, so I would have had to have played with the boys’ team,” Ma said. “My parents, as strict Asian parents, didn’t like the idea of girls playing with boys and my dad was always worried I would get injured or hurt, so I wasn’t allowed.”
In the current landscape of the sport, opportunities for women to play are plentiful. Evanston Youth Hockey has a girls’ under-14 team and a varsity high school team, and the Chicago Young Americans are an elite girls’ hockey team that also plays out of the community center. On a broader scale, the United States Women’s Hockey team is a force in international play, with a silver in the most recent games and a gold medal in the 2018 games. However, Ma and many other female players played in an era where the sport did not receive much support, a fact that was brought up by U.S.A Today Columnist Christine Brennan in a zoom meeting with Northwestern Students on April 20.
“When sports editors were notified on women’s hockey becoming an Olympic Sport for the ’98 Nagano Games the news was met with laughter,” Brennan said. “The thought of women playing hockey was unheard of for many of them. Now, the rivalry between the U.S. and Canada is one of the best in sports.”
The growth of the game did not just extend to youth players, which is shown in many players on the Tigers roster. For example, Zoya Sirota, who also plays on the Division 4 team and the Maize team in the spring mixer. She played soccer growing up but began playing hockey in 2015 with her partner and the Tigers in during the spring mixer, which she said is a perfect opportunity for beginner players.
“[The mixer] is exactly what it sounds like, people from all different levels of skill playing hockey together.” Sirota said. “There’s such a great sense of camaraderie and it is a really fun experience. When I scored my first goal, someone went and got the puck for me. Ever since I started, I just have not been able to stop playing.”
While Ma and Sirota have enjoyed the experience, they both mentioned hardships that they dealt with, especially when playing outside of the program. Sirota notably plays co-ed hockey outside of the program and said that while most male players are terrific to be around, some will play recklessly, especially at the beginner levels.
“I would run into situations where we were all beginners, but some gentlemen think they were the next Patrick Kane and would skate around like crazy,” Sirota said. “They would not yet know how to stop but would still skate at the speed of light. I definitely got bruised up and not passed to at times.”
Ma said that one problem the Tigers can sometimes face is inconsiderate officials that do not take the players seriously or ridicule them for the level of play. Situations like this led the team to make more efforts to hire officials they trusted, and even influenced Sam Malinowski, a former player for the Tigers, to become a referee.
“As a player, I was always frustrated with the quality of officiating because I felt like the people officiating the game didn’t really care,” Malinowski said.“One of the officials that mentored me through the process was a gentleman who used to ref women’s hockey and told me that the best way to make a change is to become a part of it.”
Despite dealing with some hardships along the way, Ma, Sirota and Malinowski all echoed that the decision to pick up the sport of hockey was one that they are very happy to have made.
“For me, learning a very new skill at 30 and having been able to excel at it was rewarding,” Sirota said. “Coming to try something new in a great community, there is no way you can go wrong.”