ALTON – Alton High boys soccer player Caleb Chestnut is getting ready to take a step up to the next level.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Chestnut signed a letter of intent to attend Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, a two-year school, to play on the Blue Storm men's soccer team starting this fall in a ceremony held at Alton High.
“When I visited them, I felt like they had a great atmosphere,” Chestnut said, “and I really liked their coach (Larry Petri, who has been SWIC's men's soccer coach for some 30-plus years). They want to win.”
The fact that Chestnut will remain in the Metro East to play college soccer means much to him. “It's far enough away where I can move out, but I don't have to leave my family,” Chestnut said of heading to SWIC – the main campus of which is about a half-hour drive from Alton.
“We're always excited about other guys when they get an opportunity to play at the next level,” said Redbird coach Jay Robertson. “It's something I know Caden has wanted to do for a long time like Nick (Hatfield) a month ago when he signed.
“He worked really hard last off-season and took the steps needed; he's a big, stong kid, works hard, plays multiple position and I'm sure he'll be a very welcome member to SWIC's program.”
Robertson praised Petri for the job he's done with the Blue Storm program since taking the helm of it in 1983. “Larry's done a great job with the program,” Robertson said. “Caden will have a shot to play there for two years and possibly move on to a four-year college after that; he keeps improving year after year.”
“I think he's going to come in a compete as a defensive player,” Petri said. “We're a team in transition; we'll be freshman-oriented, so we'll need some guys that can stabilize the backfield. Hopefully that's what we're hoping for defensively.
“Usually, when we've been good defensively, we're going to be a good team. It's going to be a trial-and-error situation with all the new incoming players,”
Petri will have just two sophomores returning to the 2016 Blue Storm; he indicated things will be wide-open for positions on the team. “We're going to have a lot of new faces; it's going to be a competitive battle, and hopefully being competitive will bring out the best in everyone.”
More like this:
