Conference: Central Suburban League South
Coach: Jesse Pierce (1st year)
“I am very excited to be a part of the Niles West program and community,” said Pierce, who was an assistant with Wheaton St. Francis, coaching on its 2008 state title team. “So far, the best thing about the job is getting to know the kids. We have already been able to build lasting connections and relationships with the players which will be critical as we create our culture.”
Record last season: 4-5 overall (1-4 CSL)
Goals for 2017: Our primary goal is to try to get better every day. We need to focus on execution and making sure that everything we do is done efficiently.
The team will reach its goals if: We will stress situational preparation in practice. We try to simulate game like situations as much as possible.
Conference outlook: Obviously, the conference is very tough. We feel like the CSL South might be the most difficult weekly challenge in the state of Illinois. We hope to rise to that weekly challenge and put ourselves in a position to make a run at the playoffs.
On offense: We will try to keep things balanced and maintain our efficiency. We want to make sure that all three phases are working together.
We are excited to have some people that are ready to compete this season.
On defense: We are going to try to be a program that stresses playing team defense and believes in tackling well. We want to be opportunistic and control the turnover margin throughout the season.
On special teams: Our mantra is “special teams are played by special people.” We want to win the third phase each week by making sure that we have people committing to selling out in the kicking game.
Impact players lost: John Pabst (QB), Matt Galanopoulos (WR,TB,CB), Matt Metz (WR,FS), Greg Leftakes (WR), Dan Gomez (OL/DL), Chris Adams (OL/DL)
Impact returning players: Jaylen Bryant (Senior, OL/DL), Hayden Kipp (Junior, OL/DE), Davion Lewis (Senior, CB/TB), Joe Park (Senior, LB), John Trinh (Junior, LB), Brendan Micor (senior, WR)
Impact newcomers: Corbin Repique (Junior, TB/WR), William Shemroske (Senior, QB)
Compiled by Mark Gregory with comments from the coach