Derrick Booth played for and now coaches
one of the most successful high school bas-
ketball programs in Illinois at Peoria Manual.
He played under Dick Van Syoc and was on
Manual’s state runner-up team in 1991.
He was later coached by Wayne McLain, Van
Syoc’s successor who guided the Rams to the
last three of their four consecutive state champi-
onships in the mid-1990s.
Does he believe there is extra pressure for a
coach to win at Manual? “Oh, definitely. And
with good reason. Just with the tradition of
Manual when you and your team walk out onto
that basketball court you are expected to win.
But I will tell you this; it’s a pressure I welcome,
that my assistant coaches and our players wel-
come. It keeps us sharp and focused. It keeps
the players hungry. Some schools worry about
keeping their losses to a minimum. We try to
win every game. We play to win rather than to
not lose because that is what is expected of us.
“
The kids playing now at Manual weren’t
even born yet in the championship years, but
they know the tradition. They know they have
a target on their backs every game they play
simply because they are Manual Rams. But we
continue to try and schedule the top teams in
the state and even the country because it makes
us better. We want to play them,” he said.
Success breeds success, Booth said. He be-
lieves he has been able to continue the winning
tradition at Manual because he follows the
system he learned from those who coached him.
“
Even before I played really; I was a ballboy
when I was 14 and started learning the Manual
system then. I have taken something from all the
coaches I worked with. Success is intentional. It
doesn’t just happen.”
Thiry, the Morton football coach, said pres-
sure to win is real but a coach needs to just
focus on the team he has and make the players
the best they can be. “When a program has a
vision good things can happen if you follow
that vision. But the important thing to always
remember is that high school sports is about the
kids.”
BOYS
2011-2012: 204,325
2010-2011: 205,304
2009-2010: 205,545
2008-2009: 206,339
2007-2008: 203,743
2006-2007: 200,738
2005-2006: 193,757
2004-2005: 188,855
GIRLS
2011-2012: 141,099
2010-2011: 143,465
2009-2010: 138,715
2008-2009: 135,277
2007-2008: 134,721
2006-2007: 133,620
2005-2006: 131,138
2004-2005: 121,025
This table shows the total
participation for the last
10
years in all sports for
boys and girls high school
athletes, according to
the Illinois High School
Association.
BOYS
Football:
47,445
Track:
25,429
Basketball: 24,437
Baseball: 24,063
Soccer: 19,464
GIRLS
Volleyball: 22,492
Track:
19,283
Basketball: 17,762
Soccer: 16,631
Softball: 16,107
This table ref ects the top
f ve sports by participating
students in Illinois in
2011-2012,
according to
the Illinois High School
Association.
THE PRESENT
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