The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • B6

B6 SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2016 THE PANTAGRAPH 1 Softball From B1 Combining for 14 no-hitters seven of which were perfect games have been daughter, Madison (20-0), Kyndal Shively (17-0), Payton Brown (15-0), Kylan Arndt (7-0) and Kylee Isaac (5-0). is going into a game tired, which is very said Bartels, whose team has an earned run average of 1.60 and a batting average of .538. rst, everyone thought we were a bunt-only club and then some of our bigger hitters started stepping up, pounding the ball to the Coach Adams said. daughter, Kelsey, tops the team in average hits (117) and runs (117). Others chipping in mightily are Payton Brown (81 RBIs, Madison Adams (80 RBIs, .576) and Heidi Humble (79 RBIs, attack on the bases and what a lot of the 10-U teams used to added Coach Bartels.

Rounding out the hitters are Kallista Hammer Isaac Shively Kenna Trower Emily McCandless (.439) and Arndt They hail from Tri-Valley, Prairieland, Clinton, Cornerstone and Fisher schools. Their coaches hope to have nearly the same roster next season at the 12-and-under level. The team began with three tournaments last fall before taking November and December They practiced three times a month January through March before resuming games in April. encourage them to do other Bartels said. just makes them better competitors and A better mix of coaching personalities would be hard to nd even though Adams and Bartels are opposites.

get a little ery sometimes and she calms me down and keeps the team Adams said. a good Bartels grew up in a sports family. Her father, Ron Goodwin, was athletic director at Normal Community and Clinton. comes to almost all our said Bartels, who credits her parents for allowing the coaches to do their job. parents do a good job with the team-bonding stu she said.

parents are super After the state tourney concludes on Sunday, the Chaos will end the season at a national tournament in Pekin later this month. Bartels hopes her players see the journey about searching for perfection. the memories you make and learning to be a she said. been an amazing experience so Follow Randy Sharer on Twitter: KEVIN CLEINMARK COURTESY HEARTLAND CHAOS Kelsey Bartels helped the Heartland Chaos 10-under travel softball team to a 64-0 record entering Saturday by leading their potent ense in average hits (117) and runs (117). BRADLEY LEEB ASSOCIATED PRESS Illinois defensive end Dawuane Smoot puts a hit on Western Illinois quarterback Trenton Norvell during a nonconference game last season at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

hen Lovie Smith is hired as your football coach, you wince when he looks you in the eye and says got to get stronger. It stings if he pulls you aside and tells says got to become quicker. It hurts when he pencils you in as third team. But when Lovie Smith, a two-time NFL head coach, says you have what it takes to be a rst-round draft choice, you snap to attention, swell with pride and your dence soars. You also become the target of local and national media, who track you down when they hear similar glowing assessments from NFL scouts and coaches.

Dawuane Smoot can feel his life changing now that new head coach has told him he has what it takes to be called on the rst night of the 2017 NFL Draft. A senior defensive end, Smoot was recently informed that on the watch list for the Bednarik Award, which honors the best defensive player in college football. He was recently shown a list of the Top 100 players in college football put together by Pro Football Focus. name turned up at No. 20.

And in their 2017 NFL mock draft, they have Smoot going No. 18 overall to the New York Giants. was Smoot said. pretty Smoot will join Wes Lunt and Vaughn as the players who will represent Illinois at the Big Ten Conference media day event in Chicago later this month very concerned about nding a suit and tie worthy of this honor). For good measure, Smoot has been assured by former Illini teammate Jihad Ward, who three months ago became a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders, that he needs to do just two things to get rich playing the game he loves.

stays very close to us defensive Smoot said. calls us every week and he reminds me to stay humble and keep Smoot had just one other Big Ten scholarship er coming out of Groveport, Ohio (population 5,300) as a football and track athlete. Indiana and some Mid-American Conference schools were intrigued by a 6-3, 220-pounder who also ran hurdles. But Smoot chose Illinois and last season he emerged as a difference-making defender on the rise. His eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss were the most since Illini All-American Whitney Mercilus had 22.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage in 2011.

all started to click for me last year in the Smoot said. knowing be stepping up as a starter got me Smoot was a bright spot on a 5-7 Illini team that in less than 12 months has had three head coaches. Tim Beckman was replaced by Bill Cubit, who was replaced by Smith. And while Smoot was excited to be playing for a former NFL head coach, it was the reaction of father, Darrell, that opened his eyes. dad went Smoot said.

was jumping up and down. He said this was a great for Darrell Smoot, who never fails to make the drive to an Illini home game, was right. Soon after he was hired, Smith looked at enough game tape to know what he had in Smoot. told me I could be a rst-rounder and when he said that I just though, I can do It con- rmed some things to Smoot follows advice and tries to stay humble. But that stop him for setting some high personal goals.

aware that the Illini school record for sacks is shared by a pair of former NFL rst-rounders. Simeon Rice and Whitney Mer- cilus each recorded 16 sacks in a single season. chasing records, Smoot said matter-of-factly. think 16 is very especially on a defense run by Smith and coordinator Hardy Nickerson, who have a special a ection for pass rushers. To prepare, Smoot has spent this summer lightening his load.

His weight has gone from 270 to 255 pounds. here, all about lowering body fat. The coaches want us to be leaner and quicker. what the pros Those same preseason publications the ones now trumpeting Smoot as someone special think much of chances in the Big Ten West Division. Most pick the Illini fth or sixth out of seven teams.

And while Smoot would like more attention for his team, he mind that Illinois has a chance to sneak up on people. He feels the defense is vastly underrated. see the storm Smoot said. see going to happen. But we If the Illini defense thrives, many will call it a surprise.

But be surprised if Smoot makes noise. Lovie Smith has already told Dawuane Smoot what he expects. already told him to play like a rst-rounder. Mark Tupper covers Illini sports for Lee News Service. Contact him at mark.tupper@lee.net Smoot aims to realize potential under Lovie TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS MIAMI Dwyane Wade still totally ready to leave Miami.

He felt he had no choice. The soon-to-be Chicago Bulls guard ered his side Saturday of the process that led to the end of his 13 years with the Miami Heat and deciding to play for his hometown team. Wade insisted he has utmost respect and for Heat President Pat Riley who drafted him in 2003, coached him to his rst title in 2006 and now played a role that led to him leaving a franchise clearly in transition. And despite his anger about the breakup, he made clear that he will never bash the Heat or Riley. love Pat Wade said.

been someone been a gure- head in my life since I got drafted here at 21. But at the same time, he has a job to do. He has a di erent hat to wear. That hat sometimes is not to be my best friend. That hat is to be the president of an organization and to be a businessman.

And it sucks. You know somebody so well, you guys love each other, but the business side comes out. not saying that hugged and cried and shed tears at this moment. But I love Pat. And I will always love Pat.

And, you know, I know he feels the same way about Since Wade announced Wednesday that sign with the Bulls, felt countless emotions. He went past the arena the Heat call home Friday, blown away by the tribute the team was paying to him on external video screens. He believe how many people were lined up to buy merchandise with his name and number on the back. He choked up when he saw the full-page ad the Heat took out for him in South Florida newspapers. like this, it Wade said.

business side of the sport, sometimes it just sucks. what dealing Miami ered just over $40 million for two years with hopes he stayed. Chicago landed him with a contract worth about $47 million for two years. Wade was in a hotel room in New York when he made the decision to leave Miami, and before long he started seeing the video montages of his Heat career coming across screens. It seemed funereal.

started playing tribute videos and assumed what going to be like when no longer on this Wade said. what it felt like. It felt like it really was the end of life. I guess in a sense the end of life in Miami as of Wade won three titles with the Heat, leads the franchise in plenty of stat categories, was a 12-time All- Star in a Miami uniform. And there will be undoubtedly be speculation about a return one day, which is not out of the question.

The ad thanking Wade included these words: leave a key under the mat for the ending of this book, but we got through a lot of chapters of this Wade said. this is a best-seller, for As of now, the plan is for the Bulls to introduce him July 29. So that will be Hello, Chicago. If Wade gets his way, there will never truly be a Farewell, Miami. is never goodbye to South Wade said.

words, a Heat for life. always be a New Bull Wade: always be a SPORTS Wade MARK TUPPER is never goodbye to South Florida. The words, a Heat for life. always be a Dwyane Wade, Former Miami Heat player, future Chicago Bulls player.