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Yorkville coach finds joy in helping athletes reach new heights · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Yorkville coach finds joy in helping athletes reach new heights.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Joshua Welge, This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Ben Niles
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  Speaker 1: loves track and field and his specialty is the pole vault,
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  Speaker 1: but his biggest joy is helping kids reach new heights.
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  Speaker 1: The lifelong Yorkville resident who did pole vault in high
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  Speaker 1: school and later at North Central College and teaches at
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  Speaker 1: Oswego East now as a volunteer track and field assistant
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  Speaker 1: at Yorkville High School, it is so rewarding when you
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  Speaker 1: see the kids make these big strides and big improvements,
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  Speaker 1: Nile said. That is the cool thing about track and field.
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  Speaker 1: It is so measurable. You don't have to be the
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  Speaker 1: best athlete or even a good athlete to see big gains.
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  Speaker 1: You see them work hard in practice and it pays off.
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  Speaker 1: Teaching and athletics run in the family. Nile's mom was
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  Speaker 1: a teacher her whole life in Oswego. Niles, who teaches technology,
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  Speaker 1: is in his twenty seventh year in the district and
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  Speaker 1: has been at Oswego East since the school opened. He
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  Speaker 1: started teaching the same year as His wife, Cindy niles sister,
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  Speaker 1: was a volleyball and softball player at Yorkville. His younger
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  Speaker 1: brother was a wrestler and pole vaulter who also golfed
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  Speaker 1: and played football. Class of nineteen ninety five. Niles held
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville's outdoor pole vault record until the school's current standout,
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  Speaker 1: Evan Fowls, broke it. I remember going to a track meet,
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  Speaker 1: don't remember if I was in junior high or younger,
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  Speaker 1: and at Yorkville High School, in front of the main
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  Speaker 1: bleachers was where the pole vault pit was inside the
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  Speaker 1: track on the straightaway. Niles said, sitting in the bleachers,
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  Speaker 1: you have the best seat in the house for vault,
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  Speaker 1: and Yorkville had some good vaulters. I was really interested
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  Speaker 1: in it at the time. Niles helped coach track about
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  Speaker 1: fifteen twenty years ago more on a part time basis,
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  Speaker 1: and is now in his fourth year back coaching. He
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  Speaker 1: works with the sprinters and jumpers during the indoor season,
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  Speaker 1: but once the team starts the outdoor season, he works
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  Speaker 1: primarily with pole vaulters. Niles's contributions are invaluable in a
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  Speaker 1: sport that is routinely understaffed and hard to find someone
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  Speaker 1: who understands each intricate event. We are really lucky to
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  Speaker 1: have someone who is willing to put in the time
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  Speaker 1: like Ben. Yorkville Athletic Director Luke Engelhardt said, he is
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  Speaker 1: someone who is really involved in the athletic department behind
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  Speaker 1: the scenes as a hidden glue guy within our program.
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  Speaker 1: The pole vault is such a unique part of track
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  Speaker 1: to have a guy that understands the sport, that gets
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  Speaker 1: the kids excited to learn the basics and do it
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  Speaker 1: safely and do it well. He just does everything the
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  Speaker 1: right way. At Oswego East, he mostly teaches woodworking and
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  Speaker 1: residential construction. Niles grew up around the field of work.
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  Speaker 1: His dad was a builder who built homes in the
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  Speaker 1: area where Niles had a part time summer job in
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  Speaker 1: the construction part. We see a shortage of labor right now.
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  Speaker 1: We don't have the skilled labor to fill the construction
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  Speaker 1: jobs and they are needed, especially in this area. Nile said.
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  Speaker 1: It can be a good career too. We are trying
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  Speaker 1: to get kids exposed to what they are all about
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  Speaker 1: through a union apprenticeship or on the job training. Niles
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  Speaker 1: appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the community he has
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  Speaker 1: called home his entire life. If you told me this
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  Speaker 1: is what I would be doing, I wouldn't be surprised,
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  Speaker 1: he said. I always loved Yorkville. It felt like home
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  Speaker 1: after college. I didn't have an interest in moving. I
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  Speaker 1: had such a good experience growing up. I knew just
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  Speaker 1: about everybody K twelve, enjoyed my experience here. I really
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  Speaker 1: never considered leaving. Ben and Cindy, whether they intended to
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  Speaker 1: or not, have passed down a commitment to teaching, coaching,
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  Speaker 1: and service to their two daughters. Their oldest, Renee, who
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  Speaker 1: just graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in biology,
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  Speaker 1: now coaches the sprinters and substitute teaches at Yorkville High School,
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  Speaker 1: where she ran track. Their youngest, Grace, a high school
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  Speaker 1: senior at Yorkville, leaves for basic training in the US
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  Speaker 1: Air National Guard after graduation. Cindy, a teacher at Prairie
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  Speaker 1: Point Elementary, serves one weekend a month with the Air
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  Speaker 1: National Guard. Niles admitted that he had never thought about
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  Speaker 1: the different vocations as a common threat of service the
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  Speaker 1: Air Force, coaching, teaching, they are things that we enjoy,
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  Speaker 1: Niles said, I think everybody in our family recognizes how
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  Speaker 1: fortunate we are. We have been blessed to have good
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  Speaker 1: community members who have supported us, good parents, school systems
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  Speaker 1: that are tremendous. We're thankful for the experiences that we
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  Speaker 1: have had growing up. He said, I do what I
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  Speaker 1: do because I enjoy it. The kids are great, I
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  Speaker 1: work with great coaches. It makes it fun