Lake Central leans on ‘special’ George Karabatsos

“Born to play the game” can be one of the most outstretched shots in sport, but it seems to adapt to George Karabatsos de Lake Central.

The senior midfielder comes from a family of footballers.

“Everyone in my family has played football – like every person,” said Karabatsos. “My father played a little, but I think I had my talent for my mother for sure. I have an older brother who played and two younger sisters who are second year students this year and also play in Lake Central.”

Thus, Karabatsos, whose father is from Greece, knew at the beginning of his life that he was intended to continue the family tradition. But he was not the only one to have seen him coming. Lake Central coach Jere Rainwater did it too.

“We identified him at a very young age,” said Rainwater. “We knew that he was a player through the system even before he reached high school.

“In Lake Central, you always hear about guys entering, and you know it’s the next potential star. When we could see him playing his first year, we knew that George was exactly that.”

Rainwater, which also leads the Lake Central Women’s Football team, was right. As a junior, Karabatsos was appointed All-Duneland Athletic Conference and All-District, and he only improves.

Karabatsos launched his senior season with a blow, marking a hat trick just 35 minutes after the Indians opened.

“It certainly excited me,” he said. “Starting the season, Hot impatiently made me wait for the next one. I just wanted more and more – for me and for my teammates – since this match, and we have all improved from there.”

Karabatsos has eight goals and three assists this season. But it is his new ability to raise his teammates who really increased the Central Lake ceiling (8-2, 4-0).

Take the second year midfielder Ethan Tarry, for example. Tarry broke into the stage in the first year and has become a real 1B at 1A of Karabatsos this season – also recording eight goals and three assists.

Tarry attributes to Karabatsos, his close friend, for much of this success.

“He makes the game very easy,” said Tarry. “It is always in the right spaces at the right time, so playing next to him allows us to have the chances of scoring. This allows me to leave the ball, which gives us the right opportunities to finish attacks and finally win games.”

According to Tarry, Karabatsos had the biggest impact on him outside of sport.

“George helped me a lot out of the field,” said Tarry. “He takes me everywhere, and he’s like a brother for me. We go everywhere together. It was something that allowed me to feel comfortable from the start, almost since I was here. ”

Rainwater said Karabatsos, who also fills his eight -seat SUV for traveling games in Lake Central, is a great leader.

“We will remember him as a catalyst so as not to have allowed us to be mediocre,” said Rainwater. “We have always been a program that was at the top, and two, three years ago, and we did not necessarily have an excellent year last year, and I think it will be recalled not to have allowed to continue. George was just not going to allow us to be mediocre. It is not in his blood.

“He is a leader in the field. He is a leader in class. He is a leader in his family and his sisters. He does not know it – and I do not say that to sell them – but when I’m training and talking to his sisters, their eyes light up if I say:” Hey, George would do this “or” George would do this “.

Karabatsos wants this season to be special for the Indians.

“I just want us to continue to win,” he said. “For me, I want to continue to score, continue to help my team score and help my team win.

“To do this, I have to play in a way that allows everyone to benefit from how I play, but also allows me to benefit from how everyone plays. We have to keep culture and keep competitiveness between us and do not really deposit.”

The rainwater summarized it with six words.

“As George is, Lake Central goes,” he said.

Noah Pose is an independent journalist.