Sports have always offered a home for Steve Strelow.
Various sports kept him and his older brother Billy busy when they were growing up.
“Sports were a way for us to stay active, and we were always working to be better than each other at everything,” Strelow said.
Sports continued to be important to Strelow in high school, especially after he transferred from Oak Forest to Libertyville during the winter of his junior year.
“Moving to a new school was tough and a little scary at first,” he said. “I had my family at home, but as soon as sports started, I had a new family.”
Strelow has several of those at Libertyville, where he is a successful varsity athlete in baseball, football and wrestling. Baseball is his favorite, and he quickly made his mark for the Wildcats in that sport.
Strelow hit .319 with 22 runs scored and 14 steals while playing three infield positions in his first baseball season as Libertyville won a share of the North Suburban Conference title and a Class 4A regional championship last year. He was named an all-conference honorable mention, but that wasn’t his most prestigious accolade.
Only a junior at the time, Strelow won the Brett Butler Award, which is named for the Libertyville graduate who played in the major leagues for 17 years.
“That award usually goes to a senior,” Libertyville baseball coach Matt Thompson said. “The coaches vote on it, and it goes to the player who goes all out for the team, shows grit and exemplifies what we want in our players.
“Steve came in and became so dependable for us, and he’s a really tough kid. He does everything we ask of him at a high level.”
Strelow wasn’t familiar with Butler’s background, but the magnitude of the award wasn’t lost on him. Strelow got to meet Butler last week when the Wildcats were in Arizona.
“It was a great honor and really cool to meet him,” Strelow said. “I try to be the hardest worker on the field, and I’m glad that people recognize me giving my all.”
Strelow discovered he had his work cut out for him as soon as he joined his new teammates. Libertyville’s successful baseball program produces not only conference titles but also college recruits.
“I didn’t honestly know how good Libertyville was,” he said. “But at the first practice, it was pretty obvious these guys were legit. I had to show that I deserved to be there.”
Strelow’s grit has served him well in each sport, including football. As a running back in conference co-champion Libertyville’s prolific offense led by senior quarterback Quinn Schambow last season, Strelow rushed for 389 yards and two touchdowns on 70 carries and made five catches for 60 yards. He missed time late in the season with a blood clot in his left leg.
“My leg started feeling really tight, but I was able to come back in only a couple of weeks,” he said.
Strelow then went 18-2 at 190 pounds during wrestling season, which ended prematurely for him after he suffered a broken nose during a match.
It was the second straight season he didn’t have a chance to qualify for the state meet after doing so as a 152-pound sophomore at Oak Forest. Having transferred in the middle of his junior year, Strelow was ineligible for that postseason despite a 19-1 record.
“I’ve always been willing to put my body on the line, but that left a sour taste because I was really hoping to get downstate again,” he said.
Strelow’s nose injury hasn’t interfered with baseball season, however. The Wildcats returned from Arizona with a 7-0 record, and Strelow is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts, has driven in three runs and has scored six runs.
The run he scored on the last day of the trip came in true Strelow fashion. He was hit by a pitch, executed a delayed steal of second base and scored on the ensuing overthrow into center field.
Strelow, who is weighing college options that could include baseball or wrestling, has a knack for making things happen.
“If we’re ever off to a slow start to a game, he’ll do something like that, and it gets us all going,” Libertyville senior shortstop Cole Lockwood said. “He truly is our glue guy. He shows up every single day, and he’s our main energy source.
“He’s a great guy to have on your team.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
