There’s a different mood around Curie football practice again, and it’s a good one.
A year ago, the Condors were coming off a winless season. Only 15 players showed up for summer workouts under new coach Jarve Lewis-Bey and new offensive coordinator Keenan Phillips-Riley.
First, Lewis-Bey provided some tough love, making sure the players who did come out would have the mental strength to stick around and help rebuild the program. Then he and Phillips-Riley went to work coaching up their new players.
It took some time for the lessons to take hold as Curie started 1-4. But thanks to strong word of mouth, more players joined the program as the season went on. The Condors won their last four regular-season games and ended a five-year IHSA postseason drought.
They finished 5-5 after losing to Glenbard East in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Now it’s year two, and veterans like seniors Gabriel Taylor and Darius Townsel can’t wait to take the next step.
“We’re a better team,” Taylor said during a summer workout. “I feel like everybody knows each other, everybody’s acquainted with each other, everybody pushes each other, everybody takes each other to the next level.”
Taylor, who also plays for Curie’s returning Public League basketball runner-up team, was one of the latecomers to football last year. He joined the team in Week 5.
Having a full offseason can only help.
“We’re starting off hot,” said Taylor, who will be the Condors’ quarterback this fall. “We’re not starting cold then getting hot.”
Townsel returns at running back and also will be moving from linebacker to defensive back on defense.
“My footwork has gotten better and my speed, because I did track,” Townsel said.
The Condors also return another dynamic multisport athlete in senior Saquan Commings, along with better numbers across the board.
It has Lewis-Bey and his players thinking bigger.
“Put it like this,” Lewis-Bey said. “It’s easy to lose. And so I think (some) guys would rather take the easy route and then have an excuse. But the kids who come in here, I think they want it.”
“(We’re) building up off five wins and also a state playoff game,” Townsel said. “Even though we didn’t win, it probably gave us the courage to go farther now.”
Taylor also sees the bar being raised in football. It’s not quite as high as it is in basketball, but the trend is unmistakable.
“I see the Curie football program taking an extreme change the next few years, especially this year,” Taylor said. “The skill (improvement) from the previous years is extremely large, especially from our winless season. “
Curie will be back in the Public League White North, where they finished in a three-way tie for second with North Lawndale and Mather, two games behind champ Sullivan. With a bunch of new coaches in the conference this season, Lewis-Bey isn’t entirely sure what to expect.
“But if my kids do what they’re supposed to do, I think we’ll be good,” he said. “A seven-win (regular) season is not far from reality for us.”