Batavia's Torres thrives as team leader

Last year Batavia fought its way through the season, took some lumps, and gained a lot of valuable experience along the way.

This season, the Bulldogs are about as experienced as any team in the state with 16 seniors on the roster.

While so many players have offered so much to the success of the Bulldogs this fall, the rock of the team has been senior defender Anthony Torres.

For his performance on the field as a player, his leadership as a captain and his determination and commitment toward success, Torres has been named the 2011 Captain of the Daily Herald All-Area Tri-Cities Boys Soccer Team.

“He's simply been the rock for us all season,” Batavia coach Mark Gianfrancesco said. “He's always been the guy that they're going to turn to so he can lead them. You can hear him before the game, during the game and at halftime. He's been a true leader.”

Thanks to the tireless and selfless efforts of Torres this fall, the Bulldogs were crowned Upstate Eight Conference River Division champions during the regular season and in the postseason they won the first regional championship since 1995.

Batavia didn't capture its eighth win last season until its final regular season match on Oct. 13. This season, the Bulldogs came out and made a major impression right away, rattling off seven straight victories and getting their eighth win on Sept. 17.

“We hadn't had the best of seasons in recent years so we wanted to get off to a good start,” Torres said. “I think working hard coming into the season helped.”

The Bulldogs only lost a few players from last year's team but have had far more success this season. Have Torres and his teammates matured and improved a tremendous amount in just 12 months?

“We've focused on playing the ball a lot better on the ground and we've done it,” Torres said. “We're playing quicker than before and looking to keep the ball. It's been more of a possession game this year and we've worked hard on it.”

When a team is senior-heavy like the Bulldogs, sometimes it's led collectively. While the players all know their roles and understand what they need to do for the team to succeed, Torres has been there all season to make sure the unit maintains its cohesiveness as its essential leader.

“I think they know about my experience with club so they look at me as a role model,” he said. “I know that they want me to be that leader, especially as a captain, so I show them that if I work hard then they're going to work hard too.”

The Bulldogs have most definitely followed his lead as they posted a 13-5-3 record in the regular season before winning two consecutive post-season games to advance to the Class 3A Naperville North sectional.

“I like to work hard so I think everyone else follows,” he said. “It doesn't matter how much talent you have. If you don't work hard you're not going to come out with many wins.”

Winning hasn't been a problem for the Bulldogs nor has having fun, as this is a group that seems to enjoy every moment it gets to spend with each other. It makes sense too. After all, when you're with many of your buddie,s and you're finishing your final year of high school, you have so much in common and also realize the end of your high school playing career is near.

“We've done a lot of team bonding stuff and I like doing that,” he said. “We've done that as much as we can. It's a lot of pasta parties and just hanging out. I think bonding as a team has helped us out when we play.”

In addition to ruling conference play and making an mpact in the post-season, the Bulldogs dominated the local scene, sweeping past Geneva, St. Charles East and St. Charles North and outscoring the three squads, 12-2.

“One of our biggest goals was to come out and make a statement close to home,” he said. “We wanted to make some noise and show we were the best team in the area.”

While St. Charles North can make a valid argument that it's just as talented as Batavia, the Bulldogs did win the head-to-head matchup. Regardless, it's been an unforgettable season of successes for the Bulldogs.

“The three (Torres, Cody Witkowski and Lalo Cuautle) have been amazing and while they're separate, they work together,” Gianfrancesco said. “They've worked so hard to get the other guys to play with them and to rise to their level.”

While being a star player could cause a kid to showboat or get a big head, Torres is as humble of a standout athlete that you will find anywhere.

“He won a player of the month award where there was voting and stuff and someone told him about it and he was like ‘What was that for?',” Gianfrancesco said. “He's just that type of kid. He's got a lot of goals, he's very approachable and all the guys respect him.”

Torres doesn't know what lies ahead beyond Batavia, although he does want to continue playing the sport he loves.

“I'm still looking,” he said. “I'm not sure where I want to go, but I definitely want to keep playing.”

Some school will be blessed with this gifted Bulldog.