Belvidere Bucs gain strength in adversity through prayer By Tricia Goecks Editor BELVIDERE – With two games remaining in the regular season and the team in a must win situation to keep their hopes for post season play alive, Belvidere High School coach Chuck Leonard was suddenly removed from his coaching duties for the next two games and ostensibly for the remainder of the season should the Bucs advance to post season play. The Belvidere Police Department arrested three juveniles today for an incident that occurred in August. “They were charged with aggravated battery for an incident that occurred in August,” Dave Ernest, Deputy Chief of Operations from the Belvidere Police Department, said. He stated that the students were cooperative and were released to the custody of their parents and their cases will be transferred to the juvenile probation department for review. Because the students are juveniles, their identities were not released and no further information is available. Ernest was not able to confirm nor deny whether the students were on the football team. Earlier on Friday, Oct. 17 students remained in their classrooms during a portion of the day. “There was a temporary request to keep the hallways clear in an effort to accommodate a medical health concern,” Shannon Hansen, Communications Coordinator at Belvidere School District said in a statement released to the media. The school district was unable to comment on Coach Leonard’s status or the students’ arrest. “The district does not comment on personnel issues and the questioning of students is a police matter,” a statement from School District 100 said. There are calls within the community for further investigation for the benefit of everyone involved from all aspects of the events leading up to the incident(s). At 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon, a group consisting of members of the Varsity football team, parents, students and others gathered outside of the Performing Arts Center to pray for Coach Leonard and the students involved. Pastor Bob Kopp from First Presbyterian Church in Belvidere led the group in prayers for the athletes, coaches and their families. “We love Coach Leonard and what he taught us what it means to be a man and how to play a sport with character, to transfer that character to excellence on the field, and not to transfer one for the other,” Kopp said. Kopp acknowledged the feeling of anger and frustration among the students, their families, staff and the community. “There is a feeling among many of us that we feel that no one is listening and it is not fair,” Kopp said. “There is a lot of confusion and a lot of that can cause us to be very angry.” Many of the athletes put their arms around each others’ shoulders to comfort them during Pastor Kopp’s prayer as the athletes and other assembled fought back the tears. Kopp encouraged the athletes to do their best in Friday’s game. “We have to play to the best of our abilities and to honor our head coach who loves us more as men than as players,” Kopp said. “He is renown throughout the conference and throughout the region as a great man of incredible character who has transferred this character to these young men.” “We know that so many things are out of our hands. The only thing we can do tonight is exemplify the best that Coach Leonard has modeled for us and taught us.” Kopp concluded the prayer by dedicating Friday night’s game against Rockford East. “As we openly dedicate the game to You, we dedicate it to our mentor,” Kopp said. “We pray that You will give him comfort and encouragement and that he will know the love for the players in him as they know his love for them.” Several of the athletes were visibly shaken as they offered their own prayers. The students were hugged by their teammates and coaches. As the prayer group ended, several of the coaches who attended part of the prayer session revealed that they wore t-shirts that said “Hang tuff Chuck.” The athletes on the varsity team, the coaches, and everyone involved are hurting and could use the emotional support from the community.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:01:03 +0000
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