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LaneTechFan.com Guestbook Temporarily Shut Down  4/19/07

Tailgating 2006 10/25/2006

Welcome Letter

 Welcome to LaneTechFan.com, an independent website dedicated to provide, news, notes, historical data, and other information related to Lane Tech sports, high school sports in Illinois, and Lane Tech in general. Lane Tech is one of the oldest schools in Chicago, IL and is celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2008. The Lane Tech experience has enriched the lives of thousands of people over the years. The Publisher hopes enlighten the lives of it’s readers through the information found in this website. This site will be a continuous work in progress. If you have any suggestions, comments, or would like to contribute in some way, feel free to contact the Publisher. Enjoy!

About The Publisher

            Hello, welcome to the Lane Tech High School fan site. My Name is Neil Hernandez. I graduated from Lane Tech in 1988. It was during my 4 years at Lane where I had the great and some not so great experiences that helped plant the seeds for making this website. Let me share you my story.

            After graduating from St. Gregory elementary school in Edgewater community on the North side of Chicago in 1984 I decided to attend Lane Tech. I picked Lane over the local public High School Amundsen or a private high school like Gordon Tech or Quigley North.

            I grew up in a family that believed that church and a spiritual life was the most important facet in life. So it seemed most of my life revolved around involvement with St. Gregory parish. All 7 of my brothers and sisters attended the catholic school, we always went to Sunday mass, and we attended as many church functions as we could. But I knew there much was more to life then the church and my neighborhood. I wanted to experience more of life and I felt attending Lane could fulfill that need.

            It was my involvement with the cross country, track, and chess teams at Lane did my world really open up. I spent four years on the track team (with the now late Coach Charles MacClinton as the head coach), three years on cross country led by Coach Jesse Sibert, and my last year on the chess team with Coach Carpenter). I was a team member of six city championship teams (four with track and two with cross country) and a part of the chess team that took 2^nd in the state. I still have my state medal at home. As far as I know that Lane team was the last Lane team (athletic or non-athletic) to have a top 2 state finish. But despite the relatively good results of my teams while I was there it was not the results of championships that impacted me most. Rather, it was the day to day experiences. I remember the feeling of running hundreds of miles during the summer at Horner Park with my teammates to prepare for cross country season, it was the joy I felt when our team found out we had the city track championship when we won by a slim margin over our rival Whitney Young to win the 1986 city title at Robeson high school track. I remember the excitement of watching football games like when Lane played Naperville Central for a state playoff game. It was the camaraderie I shared with my cross country teammates Victor, Phil, and Dillon. It was running my first cross country meet at Miller Meadows Forest Preserve in Oak Park where I saw other cross country teams from other high schools.

 It was at these cross country meets that I left with impressions and amazement of organization of some of those other schools. It was schools like New Trier, Naperville Central, Lincoln Way, Oak Park, and Conant that had particularly great programs. I saw the high level of participation, the parental involvement, the unison rituals, the school buses, the incredible warm-up gear, and all their fit athletes. Then I looked at my Lane team. We had about 30-50 runners on all levels (freshman through varsity) both boys and girls. Whereas a school like Naperville Central might have about 120 runners at all levels. No wonder schools like Naperville Central perform better every year than schools like Lane. They have a better and more organized athletic system. I said to myself: Here at Lane we have a good team, we are a top 2 Public League team every year, but why can’t we make it better. I asked myself what we can do to get up to the level of the Lincoln Ways and Naperville’s of the world. I knew at that time  there was not much I could do except do the best I can do given the situation that was dealt to me. I focused on the things I could control like the number of miles I ran during off season conditioning, the effort I out into practice everyday and helping out in recruiting more teammates for the team The other things I could not control I knew was better left off for “another time”. Now that I’ve graduated from Lane I can’t wait any longer. I’ve decided that the “another time” is now here. This is the time to do my part in building up Lane’s program as much as I can to the point that I can control.

I am not part of the Lane faculty, Lane coaching staff, or Lane employee. I am simply a Lane graduate who thoroughly enjoyed his experience at Lane and I want to do my part to enhance the Lane experience for others in the present and in the future. I hope there are other like minded individuals out there that share in my beliefs and together we can make it happen.

 ---- Neil Hernandez (Class of 1988)

Publisher

August 25, 2006

Winnetka, IL

Wherever you go Whatever you do Remember the Honor of Lane