There are two activities that Addison Sitzman enjoys more than any other.
One is playing soccer for Naperville North. The other is talking.
When the junior defender can do both at the same time, that’s when she is happiest.
“We always joke around about it’s always a bad thing if Addie’s silent,” Naperville North junior forward Claire DeCook said. “So it’s always good when she’s loud, especially on the field, because that’s when you know she’s in her element and she’s comfortable.”
Sitzman wasn’t comfortable when she first joined the Huskies. But she soon bonded with DeCook, forward Brooke Welch and goalkeeper Olivia Ochsner. They were the four freshmen who made the varsity team in 2023.
“Addie shows up freshman year, and the first thing she says to me is, ‘I forgot my shin guards,’” Ochsner said.
DeCook, Ochsner and Welch attended middle school together. Sitzman went to a different school, so she was initially the new kid on the block.
“The first day of tryouts is when we first started meeting and talking,” Sitzman said. “We were the only four freshmen on varsity, so it kind of helped us, like, ‘This is our group. We need to stay together.’
“Everyone had each other’s back. We were there for each other all the time.”
All the while, they were talking. During the Naperville Invitational, the quartet were scouting Benet, which the Huskies would play the next day.
It was cold, so they asked Naperville North public address announcer John Cole whether they could sit in the press box. Cole let them inside. The girls began a conversation about the game and other topics and talked continuously for well over an hour, prompting one witness to dub them “the chattering class.”
“They made my teeth chatter,” Cole said.
Cole, a chemistry teacher, had Sitzman in his class that year. But she never said a peep.
“She did not want to talk at all because she knew that if she did, I would ask her questions about chemistry,” Cole said. “She didn’t want that.”
Sitzman, who laughingly agreed with Cole’s recollection, continues to verbally lead the Huskies (3-1-2), and they appreciate her personality and talent. They have given up just three goals in six games. Ochsner recorded her third shutout of the season in Naperville North’s 0-0 tie with Huntley on Wednesday.
“I would say we talk even more than we did freshman year,” Ochsner said. “I wasn’t that close with Addie when we first met, and now I feel that we’re so much closer than we were before.
“That’s helped our connection on the field, especially communicating. We can give friendly criticism, and it’s not anything personal. We can all give it and take it back.”
Sitzman, who is a three-year starter like DeCook and Ochsner, can play in the back and up front. She often does both in the same game and had a hat trick during the Huskies’ 6-0 win over Downers Grove South on March 22.
With three goals, Sitzman is tied for the team lead with DeCook, a Tennessee commit, and senior midfielder Kelly Wilson.
“Addie has always been great for us,” Welch said. “Her versatility really makes her dangerous on the field. That really adds to the team because we know we can rely on her in multiple spots. And also our bond — we’re all super close with Addie.”
That happened quickly.
“Addie likes to say she didn’t have friends coming on the team, but she does,” DeCook said. “We became a family really fast.”
Sitzman’s sunny disposition is one reason.
“Addie is a special kid,” Naperville North coach Steve Goletz said. “She’s so fun to be around. I am blessed to have so many great kids, but Addie stands out in regards to just her outlook on life. She’s always happy, always raising the spirits of this group. It makes me always happy when I’m around her.”
Talk to any of Sitzman’s teammates, and it doesn’t take long for the stories to flow and the laughter to get loud.
“She has that innate ability to laugh at herself a lot, and we have so many moments in practice where we all kind of stop for a second and look at each other and laugh because it’s Addie being Addie,” Goletz said. “It’s such an important dynamic.
“She’s got such a great personality, but when the game starts, she’d cut her leg off for us to win. When you have kids that are able to lighten the moment, that’s an important piece because I really feel like she is the glue that keeps this group together.”
Sitzman takes great pleasure in that.
“I love high school soccer so much,” she said. “It’s so fun to play with my friends.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
