Latin School of Chicago

Girls soccer team Girls sports blossomed in the mid-'70s. The '60s and '70s brought many changes to Latin. There was a new building (with a pool and a better gymnasium) at North and Clark. A swim team and a soccer team were formed. As Advanced Placement classes were introduced and academic schedules became busier, fewer boys were participating in the athletics program. Sparked by the Equal Opportunity in Education Act (Title IX), though, girls' sports took off in the mid-'70s. Ethel Allman coached championship teams in field hockey, basketball and softball. Sue Heiss Bindslev coached two championship tennis teams, and girls volleyball revived with the coaching of Wayne Saunders. With Tom Nystrom as athletic director, the '80s were some of the best years for sports in Latin history, and Headmaster Jonathan Slater developed a middle school sports program. In the 1980s, the swim team flourished, and under the able coaching of Greg Baker and Debbie Peters, the team won nine titles. The school hired Jim Burnett, a former member of the U.S. Olympic team for track and field, as a counselor and to take over the basketball program. Burnett went on to bring back track and field to Latin and start the cross country team. Nystrom organized the water polo team in 1981 and coached the boys to a novice division state championship in 1987 and 1988. (The team went on to place third in the state in 2004 and second in 2006.) Tom Bower coached Latin to the first ISL boys soccer championship and also coached the tennis team to four ISL titles. The girls tennis teams won four consecutive championships, and the girls volleyball teams won seven ISL and five regional titles under Saunders. Renie Dunn-Finch coached field hockey teams to a title in 1989. In the 1990s, Headmaster Frank Hogan encouraged a growth in the athletics program. Tom Bower became full-time athletic director in 1995, and under his leadership, upper school girls soccer, girls swimming, boys volleyball, girls and boys ice hockey (Both hockey teams included players from a number of city schools.), and girls and boys golf were added to the program. The middle school sports program continued to expand, and the lower school added skill-building programs in volleyball, soccer and basketball to its successful interscholastic cross country program. Celeste Laub-Norman, one of the city's most respected swim teachers, came to Latin to take over the age-group swim club, turning it into a highly regarded program and attracting many fine swimmers. During this time, Latin became a dominant force in the ISL and won more than 85 league, regional, sectional and state championships: l Middle School Director Deb Sampey took over the girls volleyball team and won four ISL and seven regional titles. Dave VanderMeulen coached boys basketball to four ISL and three regional titles. l Tom Bower took over the girls soccer team and won six ISL and three regional titles. l The Latin girls varsity soccer team won the school's first athletic team state championship in 2006. l Girls basketball won nine consecutive ISL titles under three different coaches. l Girls ice hockey won the state tournament in 2001, and the combined boys ice hockey team took second place in 2005 and 2006. l Latin's swim team with coach Greg Baker 66 L AT I N M AGAZINE Background: Swim practice.

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