At times a year ago, there were some who questioned whether Wheaton Academy's Jason VanderVeen was worthy of the praise he was receiving in the press.
"I'm sure there were some people who wondered, because I play for a small private school,'' said VanderVeen, whose 17 goals and 15 assists helped the Warriors advance to the Class A state quarterfinals in 2004.
"If I didn't go here, I would have gone to Wheaton North. But I knew if I was good enough, I could make a name for myself no matter what high school I went to.''
The senior, who was the only underclassman on the 2004 Sun-Times All-Area boys soccer team, now has another question to answer -- is he a future Division I player?
"He could be, and I'm pretty sure he would be the first player to play Division I in the history of our program,'' said Wheaton Academy coach Chip Huber, whose program has won eight consecutive Private School League titles.
"That's the one thing everyone is wondering right now. Will he try to make the jump to Division I or just settle with starting at a good Division III school?''
Before VanderVeen makes that decision, he has some unfinished business to take care of in the coming weeks.
The Warriors are the hands-down favorite from the area to capture the Class A state title this month, which would be a first for the boys program. The girls program won the 2004 title.
"When we found out we were going to be Class A again this year, I think we became a little arrogant and overconfident,'' said VanderVeen, who is looking at attending DePaul or Northwestern.
"We just have to focus in on what we have to do. It's not going to be a cakewalk, and that's something we found out last year.''
VanderVeen, who was named to the all-state team, admits that he still feels the sting from last year's 2-1 double-overtime loss to Sycamore at North Central College.
"It feels like it happened yesterday,'' VanderVeen said. "Ever since that moment, I've been waiting to get another shot.
"I don't know how to describe the feeling I had when we walked off the field. We were right there, and we let that opportunity slip away.''
Despite opposing defenses trying to slow him down this fall, VanderVeen (19 goals, 19 assists) has made the most of his opportunities.
"Jason is the first player in a long, long time to start all four years,'' Huber said. "He has always been skilled, but Jason has improved his speed and learned to distribute the ball better. He's really become a complete all-around player.''
