Diversey leads Streamwood to new heights

Steve Diversey brings an open-minded approach to his role as Streamwood’s baseball coach, always willing to try new things in an effort to give his team the best chance to win.

“I’m a great student of anything I do,” Diversey said. “I love to read and to go to coaching clinics because it’s all about seeing something or hearing something and adapting it to your kids. I’ve just done that over all my years and taken bits and pieces with. Kids will buy into almost anything if it works.”

After guiding the Sabres to their finest season in the program’s 32-year history this spring, perhaps the time has come for other coaches to come to Diversey for the secrets to success.

In a culmination of the process that began when he took over the head coaching job at Streamwood four years ago, Diversey struck the perfect balance by breeding a strong work ethic, a high level of confidence and ample trust among his players. As a result the Sabres enjoyed a season of firsts.

Streamwood’s 30-6 record marked the second straight year the team set a program record for wins. The Sabres also claimed their first-ever league championship when they earned a share of the Upstate Eight Conference River Division title.

Diversey’s squad continued making history in the Class 4A playoffs by capturing the Hoffman Estates Regional and DeKalb Sectional championships, marking the program’s first-ever postseason titles and ending more than a decade of futility for Streamwood in IHSA tournament play in high profile sports.

For those accomplishments, Diversey is the 2011 Courier-News Coach of the Year.

“There’s no bones about it, this was a special group and I was just fortunate enough to coach them and go along for the ride with them,” Diversey said. “They had chemistry that dates back to their Little League years. They were very easy to coach and they wanted to come in and work hard.”

Making a steady climb

When Streamwood’s season finally ended with a 6-1 loss to eventual Class 4A state champion Lyons in the Rockford Supersectional, it marked the end of the road for a group of seniors who bought into the plan Diversey laid out several years before.

“Two years ago we had a meeting and said, ‘Guys, do you want to win?’” Diversey said. “Of course, we got a bunch of yeses, so I told them it comes down to basically putting their money where their mouth is.

“We gave them a program, we held them accountable and we would meet with them to see how they were doing and to find out if this was a commitment they truly wanted to make.”

And so the Sabres embarked on a beefed-up offseason routine that included an increased focus on weight lifting and plyometrics. Soon the players began policing themselves and making sure everyone was pulling their weight.

Diversey wasn’t afraid to offer incentives along the way, like when he told his players that the team would get white spikes if they maintained 85 percent attendance in workouts. The players ended up with 97 percent attendance and the white spikes became a Streamwood staple.

Following a 19-14 finish in 2009, the Sabres raised the bar by going 23-14 in 2010. That campaign ended in agony, though, as Streamwood squandered a 10-run lead in a regional championship loss to rival South Elgin.

It turns out the gut-wrenching defeat may have been just what the Sabres needed.

“I don’t think we finish where we’re at this year if we don’t lose that regional game last year,” Diversey said. “That lit a fire under everybody.”

Added Streamwood junior Richie Gorski: “The offseason work was probably our most brutal portion of the year after going out the way we did last year losing to South Elgin in the regional championship. The coaches got us working harder than ever in the weight room, and talking about how we ended the season on a bad note gave us the drive to become better baseball players.”

Living up to lofty goals

Streamwood’s renewed focus first began to show last summer when it finished second in the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer tournament.

That accomplishment raised expectations for the 2011 season, and the Sabres didn’t disappoint by starting the spring with 16 straight wins. A 19-6 record in UEC games yielded a first-place tie with St. Charles East, but Streamwood saved its best for last as it clawed its way to three straight one-run wins against South Elgin, Rockford Boylan and Cary-Grove in the state playoffs.

All the while the Sabres got the job done under the watchful eye of Diversey, who endeared himself as a player’s coach.

“Coach Diversey is very competitive and when it gets late in games you can kind of see his nerves,” Streamwood senior ace Josh Harris said. “He’s very laid back during practice and he kind of lets us do our own thing because he trusts us and he knows we’re going to work hard for our goals.”

Hungry for more

Diversey’s coaching career began at his alma mater Chicago Kelly, after which he went on to coach Huntley’s baseball team for two years. He eventually landed at Streamwood as an assistant athletic director prior to assuming leadership of the baseball program.

A shake-up within School District U46 led to Diversey moving to teach at Elgin High prior to last school year. The switch brought into question whether he’d stay with the Sabres, but after discussions with Streamwood’s administration last fall he remained on board.

Diversey said he plans to be back leading the Sabres next season, which will have a different complexion after the departure of a big group of talented seniors. Nonetheless, junior standouts Gorski, Dalton Lundeen, Alex Morrow and Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle are all expected back as Diversey and trusted assistant Jeff Szukala try to continue the program’s upward trajectory.

“I told guys to enjoy it, but now you’ve got to get hungry again,” Diversey said. “When you win, teams hunt for you. Is this going to be a one-year wonder or something special again next year?

“I know it’s shooting for high goals, but I expect us to be playing in a supersectional game again next year. Good programs get there time after time, and when you can do that you know you’re a premiere program.”

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