By Dani Tietz
dani@sjodaily.com
Villa Grove’s Beau Beesley was ready to try something new at the end of his senior year: track and field.
“I wanted to do as many sports as possible to preserve my high school experience,” Beesley said.
Of course, that something new did not come to fruition as 2020 IHSA spring sports were postponed and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, Beesley sought to be a support system for younger athletes looking to improve on their skills.
“Everyday I will text one of the throwers and make sure he is doing good,” he said. “I want to be a role model that everyone looks up to and people can fall back on me, I also want to be the one that the younger kids ask me how to do things correctly.”
He said that’s what the Blue Devil program is built on.
“I have to say I’ve been in the Villa Grove Programs for awhile and I love the fact that these programs make you feel like family,” he said.
“One of my football coaches, Dan Hennessy, has helped me realize that not all the best athletes are natural born athletes, but some work hard and use their brain power to help with schemes. In the event that my dad wasn’t really in my life Coach Hennessy stepped in and was always there for me whenever I needed anything, which means a lot to me.”
Stepping onto the track field as a senior would have come with its ups and downs. Beesley said that he continued to work on and learn the mechanics in hopes of competing with his peers.
“Being an athlete has taught me that the most important thing in sports is brotherhood,” he said.
