Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week: Jack VanLaningham, St. Charles North boys golf

Name: Jack VanLaningham

School: St. Charles North, senior

Sport: Boys golf

Why he was selected: In three rounds over the week, VanLaningham finished with medalist honors at all three events and did not finish over par, finishing at even-par at the Elgin Invitational and against Metea Valley, and at 3-under against Lake Park and St. Charles East.

VanLaningham was selected the Kane County Chronicle Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

Here is his Q&A with sports reporter Joel Boenitz.

What was the feeling of going 3 for 3 on medalist honors for the week?

VanLaningham: It was a lot of fun. We had a pretty loaded schedule, so I spent the whole weekend before just getting ready and getting my mind in the right place. I’ve been working on the mental game for golf, since it’s a huge part of the game, and everything kind of just came together. I got it going pretty good on Day 1 at Elgin Country Club and pulled out a nice win there. And then on Day 2, we were playing our rival school, which is a lot of fun, and I was fired up to play good. And then Day 3 kind of sealed the deal. We were playing at our home course, which I’ve been playing at since I was 8, and it all just came together for the best three days.

You ended up golfing 36 holes over the span of three days. How tired were you after that stretch?

VanLaningham: I was exhausted. I had a lot of homework to get done, but thankfully my teachers were pretty lenient with me about it. But I just kind of stuck through it and had the same mindset through each match, which was great.

Did you think that it was possible to get out of the week with three medalist honors?

VanLaningham: I knew it was possible. I knew after my performance on Tuesday that I had it in me, for sure. And I had been fired up for a while to play St. Charles East and Lake Park. So honestly, I was just happy with what we did on Tuesday and was even more fired up to beat our rivals, and it was great motivation.

What originally got you into golfing?

VanLaningham: My dad played three or four years at Methodist University and won a couple national titles there, so growing up I was always kind of in a golf-accumulated family, and I always played. I started when I was roughly 5, and I started playing in tournaments when I was 8, but I didn’t really fall in love with it until I was 13 or so. I give it all to my dad, because he was the one who got me into the game and kept me going to practice with him and put in the work. But I’ve met some lifelong friends through this game, and getting more involved with other people is the biggest part.

What part of the game do you think you do the best at?

VanLaningham: I think through all of last week I missed one fairway with my driver, so probably that. I’ve been working on it over the winter to try and get a higher ball speed, trying to get around 170 ball speed, which is great. But yeah, I didn’t really miss any fairways, and when you’re playing on short courses, that’s huge, and having a good driver game really goes a long way.

Do you have any superstitions that you like to implement before going through a round?

VanLaningham: I always did when I was younger, but over time I’ve learned to stay away from my superstitions. But I will always put on “Cemetery Gates” by Pantera before every round. I love it.