Field Days: Work, play all part of the Engelkens game plan
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the smell of sizzling red meat fills one of the barnyard’s seven buildings.
It’s Wednesday, a little after 1 p.m. It’s rained all morning, and it’ll rain all afternoon. The ground is soaked soft, and the aluminum roof is making its own sheet music.
There’s still work to be done for Keith Engelkens and his two sons, Kal and Kirk. Now, though, it’s dinner time. Time to share a few laughs. Time to bust a few chops and eat a few burgers before it’s back to business.
Kirk Engelkens has spent much of his 18 years on this farm, between Coleta and Chadwick. This isn’t where he learned how to throw a football, shoot a basketball or pitch and hit a baseball.
He became quite adept at doing all three, mostly growing with the games in the open spaces around his family’s home near Milledgeville High School. The seeds sown there sprouted into an All-State quarterback, one of Class 1A’s top point guards and an All-Area pitcher, shortstop and leadoff hitter.
A few miles away, the Engelkens clan farms 2,000 acres of corn, soybeans and cattle. This is where Kirk Engelkens became Kirk Engelkens. The young man who knows a little hard work goes a long way, and a lot goes even farther. The leader who lifted his 150-student school in his 1,200-person town to 134 wins and 49 losses in his three sports the past three school years.
SVN’s male athlete of the year.
“There’s not a lot of games played here,” said Keith, whose farm has been in the family since 1939. “When you get here, it’s time to work.”
In some ways the Engelkens barn – where the team colors switch from Milledgeville orange to John Deere green – is the ultimate man-cave. Heavy machinery? Check. Grill, with fully stocked fridge a few feet away? Check. Girlie calendar? Small and discreet, but check. Every tool in the Craftsman catalog? No, but getting there. Loyal companion? Meet Bailey Hot-Rod Obama, a 10-month-old blue heeler cattle dog.
Against the rear wall, lumped together two by two, lie the true representation of what goes on here: 12 pairs of rubber work boots, all 24 shoes caked in mud.
“I was taught a lot here,” Kirk said. “A lot about life. My dad can be demanding at times. In the end, it makes you a better person. I think it helped a lot in sports, too.”
This day’s work – cutting insulation panels and attaching them to the barn’s walls – pales compared to some of the toughest tasks Kirk and his older brother undertake. One of Kirk’s least-favorite activities is building fences around the family property.
“It’s not fun,” he said. “But it’s got to be done.”
Keith makes sure life isn’t all work. Even during busy seasons – planting in the spring and harvesting in the fall – the Engelkens sons have never missed a practice or workout. That’s the way it was for Keith when he played football and basketball at Milledgeville a generation ago with the permission of his parents, Alan and Leanne.
“That’s the way it’s always been,” Keith said. “Everybody pitches in so they can do the things they want to do.”
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So many positive adjectives could describe Kirk Engelkens’ athletic prowess. One can’t: once-in-a-generation. Keith and his wife, Jody, a third-grade teacher, have provided Milledgeville with three of its greatest athletes – in a five-year span.
Kal, a 2005 Milledgeville grad, many times was worth the price of admission to a Missiles football, basketball or baseball game. Though never surrounded with the talent his younger brother enjoyed, Kal kept his teams competitive, almost single-handedly some seasons.
Keali, younger than Kirk by a year, is better at softball than Kirk or Kal ever were at any of their sports. She also plays volleyball and basketball.
“I’ll never know what it’s like to be that dominant,” Kirk said. “You’ll never see me try to bat against her. I’d strike out for sure.”
Kal shaped Kirk’s desire to excel at athletics. Soon, Kirk grew taller and leaner than his brother. The two disagree on when Kirk caught Kal.
“Seventh grade,” the 6-foot-1 Kirk said proudly.
“Eighth,” the 5-9 Kal corrected. “Either way, sometimes life’s not fair.”
In the first half of this decade, Kal dominated the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference the way Kirk would the next four years. Both brothers are the type of athletes who can’t name their favorite sport or say which one is their best.
Comparisons between the two took place all over northern Illinois, with the exception of one spot: the Engelkens home.
“We were scared to death about people comparing the two,” Keith said. “Luckily they both held their own.”
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Kirk Engelkens has played his last big game, thrilled his last packed house. In the fall, instead of joining a college team, Kirk will head to Illinois State University. He’ll major in math, minor in agriculture. He’ll be joined in Normal by two good friends and scholastic stars – Polo’s Matt Scholl and Annawan’s Alex Coppejans – who also decided to walk away from organized athletics while they’re ahead.
“I’m just going to go to college, have fun and get my degree,” Kirk said. “At least we should have a good intramural team.”
His brother’s sour small-college sports experience weighed heavily on Kirk, who could have played basketball at his pick of Division III universities or junior colleges.
Kal considered playing all three sports at Wisconsin-Platteville before deciding on baseball. As a freshman, Kal hit 2-for-12 in 10 games. All the while, the school was in the process of tearing down its baseball field to build a new track, putting the Pioneers on the road for 29 of their 38 games.
After that, Kal dropped baseball. He graduated from UWP in May and plans on dedicating the rest of his life to farming.
“I saw how much Kal put into baseball and what happened to him,” Kirk said. “I didn’t want that to happen to me.”
Kirk’s tuition at ISU will be provided by a scholarship from state Rep. Jim Sacia. After graduation, the honor-roll student hopes to go into education and coaching on his way to becoming a principal.
“I’m ready,” Kirk said, looking out into the raindrops. “I’m not scared or anything like that. Just ready.”
