Girls soccer: Crystal Lake Central alum Caitlyn Dayton takes over at Crystal Lake South

Caitlyn Dayton wasn’t sure how coaching soccer would find a way to stay in her life, but she knew it would.

Dayton had been away from the sport for about a year and a half after she decided to leave coaching at her alma mater Grand View University to return home to Crystal Lake. Yet despite the separation, there was a voice in the back of Dayton’s head that kept repeating that she’d be coaching soccer once again.

That premonition came true during the summer when Crystal Lake South’s girls soccer head coaching position opened up along with a college and career advisor position at the school. Dayton knew it was her sign to get back into the sport, and she took it, becoming the Gators’ new leader.

The District 155 Board of Education approved Dayton’s hiring in August.

“This is what I’m meant to be doing, this is what I should be pursuing,” Dayton said. “Everything just fell into place after that.”

Dayton was a four-year starter at Crystal Lake Central from 2010 to 2014 before playing at Grand View, starting for two seasons. She kept soccer in her life by coaching at the club level after graduating and then joined the Grand View staff as an assistant coach for three years starting in 2020.

Despite enjoying coaching at her alma mater in Des Moines, Iowa, Dayton wanted to return home to Crystal Lake. She moved back and started helping out as a substitute teacher at South in spring 2023 and even served as the Gators’ junior varsity boy tennis coach.

Then Dayton got a permanent opportunity to coach at the school when Kyle McCaughn left the program.

“It felt like everything aligned the way that it should be,” Dayton said.

South athletic director Jason Bott said he knew Dayton would be a great candidate to take over. He felt like Dayton came up with ideas on how she wanted to grow a program that went 4-14-1 last season and hadn’t won a regional title since 2017 – there was no playoff held in 2020 because of COVID-19 and then no regional held during the 2021 playoffs.

“This is what I’m meant to be doing, this is what I should be pursuing. Everything just fell into place after that.”

—  Caitlyn Dayton, Crystal Lake South girls soccer coach

Bott also liked that Dayton was in the building as an advisor and that he’d have a woman coach to lead a girls program.

“I think it’s going to be an awesome addition to our girls soccer program,” Bott said. “I think she’s going to do a great job.”

Growth in numbers will be a major way Dayton wants to build up the program. She remembered how tough it was to play against South when she played for Central, and she’s hoping to build a team that can get back to the level it competed at when she was at Central.

“That’s what I want to build it back to be,” Dayton said. “The team that everyone looks at says ‘OK, we’re going to Crystal Lake South today, we have a game on our hands.”

In the meantime, Dayton already has found ways to involve herself with the girls in the program. While many of the Gators play other sports throughout the year, Dayton’s made it a focus to be involved in the athletic department in different ways so that students are familiar with her.

She’s excited to be back to coaching soccer, even though she didn’t doubt she’d find a way back.

“I’m incredibly excited,” Dayton said. “This is an opportunity that I don’t take lightly. I’m really excited.”