Showing off their talents

Finnane, St. Edward teammates gaining attention at combines

Developing a successful high school football program isn't just about those 48 minutes on Friday evening. The results on those fall nights are simply the Point B to the offseason's Point A.

Only a couple of years ago St. Edward High School's football program seemed grounded at Point A and a long way from getting to the desired results of Point B. However, the Green Wave players and staff have made up ground at a rapid pace.

Within three years, St. Edward went from winless to fighting for a playoff berth in its final few games.

"I didn't know what I was getting myself into," admits coach Mike Rolando, who took over in 2005. "We wouldn't be having this conversation five years ago."

Earlier this month, St. Edward experienced another success as five of its players were invited to the National Underclassmen Combine Ultimate 100 event in Indianapolis.

Senior linebacker Shane Finnane was back at his third NUC Ultimate 100 event and was joined by senior tight end Zack VonAhnen, junior quarterback Ben Lehman, sophomore lineman Evan Finnane and sophomore running back Luke Duffy.

"All five worked hard year round," Rolando said. "They've made the time. They are standouts and this proves that."

As college scouts continue to search for new ways of evaluating talent, combines have taken on a larger role in gaining scholarships. St. Edward has made sure not to be passed up by the recent trend.

"We started to encourage them to lift and we started going to local combines," Rolando said.

"They've gotten stronger. You can see how strong they were compared to before."

Participants for the Ultimate 100 event in Indianapolis were selected from nine states throughout the Midwest. The Finnanes, VonAhnen and Duffy were all selected after showing off their skills at a combine in Libertyville in April. Lehman was picked after competing at a combine in Des Moines, Iowa, in June.

The players are tested in and compete in a variety of drills at the combines, including a 40-yard dash, vertical leap, bench press and other competitions pitting player against player. Each combine ends with individual awards handed out for honors that include Combine King, Camp MVP, Strongest Player and Fastest Player.

Shane and Evan Finnane both picked up the Strongest Player awards in their respective classes at the Libertyville combine, owing much of that to their weight training devotion ingrained in them by their father, Jim.

"My dad was the strength coach for St. Edward," Shane Finnane said. "He started me off and I just started doing it myself. I realized kind of quick (how much it helped). When I was a freshman, I was only benching 115 (pounds) and less than a year later I was benching 225."

Added Rolando: "Shane lifts five days a week. He lifts on Thanksgiving, Christmas. He's the strongest kid in our program."

Back for his third Ultimate 100 combine, the experience hasn't quite become old hat yet for Shane, who expressed a lot of excitement when talking about a rival from last year's combine that is now playing at Rutgers.

"It's just kind of fun to compete with others and from so many schools," Shane Finnane said. "When (my brother or I) take home an award, it's really a sense of pride for St. Edward."

Summer practices and the fact that Shane is now being joined by more and more teammates at the combines have him excited about the start of the high school season, now just over a month away.

"We are already looking better than last year," Shane Finnane said.

Rolando is clearly pleased with the turnaround but knows that improvements can still be made.

"It is a sense of pride to see the things add up," Rolando said. "The (players) see some success and that has motivated the kids. There are more kids lifting and more are interested in the program. We're trying to build it up the right way. (Trying) to change the attitude, change the reputation.

"This year we had five kids going to play in college. The program is heading in the right direction ,but we are not where we need to be yet."

With the season approaching, success at Point B is now a realistic goal.