Lyons Township High School football is so much more than winning and losing. Each player takes away something special that helps him grow and mature in ways that have nothing to do with the gridiron. The football players, coaches and families for the past 16 years have had the opportunity to know and love Jimmy Reynolds, the official ball boy and No. 1 fan of LT football. Everyone in the LT community mourned the loss of Jimmy in 2006.

Jimmy was unique in so many ways: He displayed an unwavering spirit and love for the LT football squad. In Jack Derning’s 17-year tenure as coach, Jimmy was always on the sidelines.
As Derning said, “Jimmy was a special person and special to LT football. We all had a terrible sense of loss when he passed away. He continually demonstrated so much energy, always showed his love of the game and his love of the kids.”

In an effort to keep Jimmy’s memory alive, the LT Football Pride Club wanted to honor three things that were important to Jimmy: 1) LT football players; 2) Lions Club; and 3) training table.

“Jimmy would always arrive one hour early and help carry in all of the trays for the boys and make sure everyone sat where they were supposed to sit,” Derning said.

Last September, the Pride Club, along with Derning, decided to hold a spaghetti dinner in the training table mode that Jimmy loved so much as a fundraiser for scholarships for boys that had been on the football team and also demonstrated the community service ideal that Jimmy had. In the spring, six fortunate football players each received $1,000 Jimmy Reynolds Scholarships, honoring their commitment to their team and to the community.

This year, the LTHS Football Pride Club hosts the second annual Jimmy Reynolds Scholarship Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. From 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, the training table spaghetti dinner will be held at the south campus cafeteria at Lyons Township High School, 4900 S. Willow Springs Road. Tickets are available at the door for $10 a person or $50 for a family of five. Children 5 and younger are free.

Mary Yena, mother of Mike (class of 2000), Matt (class of 2002) and Mark (class of 2003), spent many years on the sidelines and in the bleachers of the football stadium — she also was an integral part of the training table tradition and considered Jimmy a good friend.

As Yena said, “The exuberance that Jimmy demonstrated for LT lives on in his memory.”

To Yena, he was a very special person. Jimmy’s picture hangs in the LT North bookstore where she works. Through this past summer, she has had some of the boys doing community service in the bookstore and working side-by-side with her. She always points out Jimmy’s picture to the boys and says, “Win one for Jimmy” — a long-standing credo repeated throughout the season by the coaches and parents.

Yena was present last spring when the Kathy Ricar, Jimmy’s sister, presented the scholarships to the six boys. Ricar was overwhelmed with the support and outpouring of love for Jimmy.

“Everybody loved Jimmy,” Yena said.

If you cannot attend the dinner but would like to make a contribution to the fund, please make your check payable to the LTHS Football Pride Club and send it to Lyons Township High School, 100 S Brainard Ave., La Grange, IL 60525 in care of Jack Derning. For more information on the dinner, please contact either Michelle Bates at (708) 839-0806 or Janet Garreau at (708) 482-8271.

An ode to summer

Now that school is back in session and Labor Day is behind us, we often hear, “Where did the summer go?” Here is a description that seems to fit the bill:

Summer is just like the weekend — June is Friday. Ah, the long free time is ahead of us, we can relax and plan what we want to do — sheer pleasure. July is Saturday — better get up and do something before the weekend is gone — again. And finally, August is Sunday — omigosh! What happened to the weekend? There is so much I wanted to do, and now it’s time to go back.