Football players have class

Football season is starting up, and the Lake County Journal is starting its preseason coverage of "the boys of fall," to quote a popular new Kenny Chesney song.

I made my way to Wauconda High School this morning to talk with head football coach Dave Mills and some of his players about the upcoming season.

Mills is a friendly man in general, and I always enjoy talking to him about his team. I know that he'll give me the facts straight, and he always has something good to say about his players.

But what impressed me most about this particular meeting was the attitude and general behavior of the leaders of the Bulldogs.

When I arrived, Mills ushered me into a room with his four captains for this season: junior wide receiver/defensive back Jake Ziolkowski; senior quarterback Brian Kent; senior tight end/defensive end Colton Rodgers; and senior middle linebacker/offensive lineman Max Agrella.

I immediately was wowed with the courtesy the players showed me, as they extended their hands in turn and said how nice it was to meet me.

When we sat down, they were polite and answered my questions with full attention, despite just coming off a lengthy practice in the record-setting heat wave we've been experiencing.

Their intensity showed me that they're taking this season seriously, but their positive attitudes and the respect they showed me made possibly an even bigger impact on me during our interview.

Mills also mentioned that not one of those four players has a GPA below a 3.4.

Athletic, polite AND smart. 

I thought it was pretty cool to find high school athletes who represented their program, their school and their community as well as Ziolkowski, Kent, Rodgers and Agrella did. As my dad would say, each one of them is a "class act."

My positive experience with the Bulldogs certainly got my Friday off to a great start. I wish them the best this season.