Maine East ready to take the next step

By: Luke Drase

In just his second season in charge of the Maine East girls volleyball program, Kevin Bohn is looking to improve upon his inaugural 2016 campaign where his Blue Demons went 16-14.

Maine East and Coach Bohn had a high turnout at their summer camp, and the offseason training could pay major dividends for the Demons.

Bohn said: “We had a really great turnout. We had all the varsity candidates that I expected. At camp and at summer league, we just started working on the chemistry and getting them to mesh well on the court. We have a couple question marks in positions, so that was a good opportunity to find whose going to take those specific roles.”

Despite taking the head job just last year, Maine East is practically a second home for Coach Bohn who was an all-conference volleyball player for Blue Demons in 2006.

Bohn was also a part of the Maine East boys volleyball coaching staff and acted as the assistant varsity coach for the girls when they won a conference and regional title in 2014.

However, no amount of experience can truly prepare you for the rigors of running the show.

“There’s a lot that goes into being a head coach and I’ve heard that from many people, but I experienced it first hand, of all the things that go on and all the moving parts of the program,” said Bohn.

“But I’m just excited to get started. I mean, all the preparation we’ve done over summer and tryouts, I’m just ready to get into the full swing of the season.”

Focus has since shifted from summer workouts to the regular season, and Maine East will be looking to improve upon their second place finish in the CSL North last year.

Bohn said: “We just set our goals last weekend and there’s no doubt in my mind that these girls are all in and dedicated to the program. We stress accountability from both myself and from each other, and I think that’s going to take us a long way this season.”

The talent is there for the Blue Demons, who only lost two seniors from a team that knocked off state qualifier Niles West early last season, but they still need to navigate an ever improving CSL North to put them in a good position for the IHSA state tournament.

“I’m anticipating a really strong conference this year. I know last year, Highland Park was young and Maine West was young. [Conference champions] GBN had a bunch of seniors, but they always have a lot of girls coming up through the program. So, I’m anticipating a really tight CSL North conference,” said Bohn.

The CSL North girls volleyball conference season begins September 11th.