Kaider aims to see Mundelein mature quickly
There seems to be a theme at work at Mundelein.
In his freshman season as head coach of the Mustangs, George Kaider will turn the keys of the offense over to another freshman.
Quarterback Gavin Graves is a fresh-faced ninth grader who is hoping to help Kaider breathe a breath of fresh air into a program that has been struggling to gain traction in the rugged North Suburban Lake Division for years.
Kaider takes over for Bob Stone, who notched just four wins over the previous four seasons.
“I’m not going with Gavin because I’m on some sort of three- or four-year plan,” Kaider said. “I would be doing a huge disservice to our team and our school and our community if that’s what I was going for.
“I’m going with Gavin because I think he gives us the best chance to win right now. And that’s what we want to do. We want to start winning now and I have supreme confidence in Gavin that he can help us do that. He’s got great throwing ability and he’s actually a great leader even as a freshman. He’s already earned the kids’ respect. He’s everything you’d look for in a quarterback.”
Putting Graves at quarterback was also a way for Kaider to get the biggest bang for the buck out of one of his top athletes: junior Luke Adams. He’ll start at wide receiver and will be a focal point for an offense that returns no starters.
“We actually had Luke at quarterback for much of the summer,” Kaider said. “But as time went on, we began to realize that Luke is such a great athlete that we needed to have him all over the field, not just on offense, but on defense and special teams. My thinking was, ‘How do I get (Adams) on the field all the time.’ Moving him out from quarterback allows us to do that. Knowing that we could put Gavin at quarterback is such a blessing because it made us feel good about that decision. Now, Luke is going to be out there all the time.”
Kaider says Adams doesn’t have to be a one-man show, though. The Mustangs are also looking for big things out of fellow wide receivers Dillon O’Donoghue and Chance Lindsey as well as running backs Josh Aranda and Emanuel Jones.
“We’re going to be primarily a throwing team. We’re going to run the spread,” Kaider said. “But Josh and Emanuel will make us a difficult offense to stop because they are such good runners and we’ll be able to mix things up and have some of that balance that you always want.”
Defensively, the Mustangs return three starters. Aranda will move from safety to linebacker this year while Nick Devito is back on the line and Dominic Paliani will again serve as middle linebacker.
“When I build a defense, I take our best 11 players on the team and they start on defense,” Kaider said. “We want to be very athletic on defense. I think we have a lot of very talented, explosive kids there. I think we could be very tough on defense.”
MUNDELEIN
HEAD COACH: George Kaider (first season)
LAST SEASON: 0-9, 0-6 in North Suburban Lake Division
HOMECOMING: Friday, Sept. 14 vs. Zion-Benton, 7:30 p.m.