By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
Laurie Markatos predicted there would be a “flood of tears” her first day on the job.
Markatos, The Regional News and The Reporter’s Softball Player of the Year in 1996 and 1997 when she played for Stagg, is an assistant coach of the Greek National Softball Team, also known as the Hellas National Team. She lives in the United Kingdom, and after many years of success on various levels as a player and a coach, her future in the sport was unclear until she was recently asked to join head coach Jay Nelson and assistant Misty Beaver on the Greek staff.
“If I’m honest, I thought my softball career was over because softball’s not as popular in England,” Markatos said. “I was asked to coach a younger program and grow it. But I wanted to be with an elite team. Then Greece came around and I was like, ‘Oh wow – this is exactly what I want.’
“It’s very exciting.’’
Markatos predicted she would be emotional when she would first put on the team’s jersey.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “I’m very, very into my Greek heritage and when this opportunity came up, it allowed me to continue my career in softball and do it at an international level.
“And to do it for the country of Greece is very emotional for me. It’s an incredible opportunity.”
There is no softball in the Summer Olympics this year, but it is set to return in 2028 in Los Angeles and she is hoping in the coming years to help get the team to that point.
The Greek national team was scheduled to make its debut in the Canada Cup this week and later in the year will participate in Poland and the Netherlands.
Markatis said the Greek team has talented Greek players as well as Greek-American players from NCAA Division I programs.
Before moving out of the United States, Markatos had coaching stints at Eisenhower, Chicago Agricultural and Joliet Township.
So close for Jacobs
Sandburg graduate Dylan Jacobs will have to wait until 2028 for another shot at competing in the Summer Olympics.
The talented long-distance runner placed fifth in the 5,000-meter event at the Olympic trials June 30 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The Orland Park native, who starred in college at Notre Dame and Tennessee, finished with a time of 13:17.26.
The top three finishers qualified for the Olympics. Grant Fischer (13:08.85), Abdihamid Nur (13:09.01) and Parker Wolfe (13:10.75) grabbed those spots. Graham Blanks took fourth with a 13:12.61.
The final was different than the June 28 preliminary race in that the times were bunched up. In that race, Woody Kinkaid won in 12:23.91, Nur finished in 13:24.14, Fisher in 13:24.78 and Jacobs in 13:24.91.
“These guys are the best in the U.S. and I really have to have my ‘A’ game for the final,” Jacobs told Flotrack after the preliminary race. “My main goal was to run smooth, stay out of trouble and make it to the final.”