Copyright Chicago Tribune
When Lake Central senior midfielder George Karabatsos says he’s “just grateful to be playing,” he means it. Karabatsos has suffered back fractures four times. The first occurred when he was in eighth grade, and the last was near the end of his junior season. “It was just from playing,” Karabatsos said. “I would just recover, then it would just reoccur. It was a reoccurring injury my whole high school career. This year was my first year I was ever truly healthy. “They would almost always happen toward the end of club in the summer or right after high school season. Last year, I fractured it the last three games of my season, and I kind of played through it in the postseason.” But Karabatsos hasn’t experienced any problems since then, allowing him to reach his potential for Lake Central this season. He posted 16 goals and 10 assists as the Indians shared the Duneland Athletic Conference title with Crown Point and Valparaiso and then won a Class 3A sectional championship. Having Karabatsos, a four-year starter who is the 2025 Post-Tribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year, at full strength was music to Lake Central coach Jereme Rainwater’s ears. “We’ve obviously had a few kids like that,” Rainwater said. “They’ve come in right away and made an impact. But he was a kid that earlier in his career, he dealt with injury. It was one of those things like, ‘Hey, is this going to be a long-term thing? Is he never going to get quite healthy enough?’ “He overcame it every year. He managed through the season, and then he would take some time off to get better.” Karabatsos, whose recovery process typically took almost four months, was at his best this season. “I feel like I had more confidence and a better mindset in general,” he said. “Along the season, we got scored on first, but I didn’t hang my head low. I just kept my head high and kept my teammates’ heads high as well.” Karabatsos especially felt that responsibility as a first-time captain. “It was definitely new because you’re the role model of the team and everyone looks up to you,” he said. “If they see you working on the field, not giving up, they’re going to do the same. “It was definitely different at first. I’m not much of a vocal player, but I definitely changed this year being more vocal and demanding of my teammates.” Rainwater praised Karabatsos for sticking with those teammates for all four seasons. “He’s a kid that has shown the importance of high school soccer,” Rainwater said. “He’s had every opportunity to do something else or play at a club somewhere else, and he made a full commitment to being here and being a leader for everyone that’s around him. Just a fantastic young man.” Karabatsos was rewarded with three sectional titles in four seasons and a regional title in 2023. This season, the Indians lost to South Bend Adams in penalty kicks in a regional final. “Not to brag, but we’ve been in the regional final game three of the last four years, and George has been there and started all three of those regional final games, which is a huge deal,” Rainwater said. “We won one of them, and it’s not like we’ve been outclassed in any of them. We won the regional final, it’s been a shootout, a one-goal game, and he’s been involved in all of those. This year, as a captain, he’s really done a lot. “George has done a tremendous job over four years of making sure not only the team has had success, but individually he’s grown as a player and a person. I can’t be happier for him.” Karabatsos said it was “tough” joining the varsity team as a freshman, given the expectations to maintain the culture and standards of the tradition-laden program. But he never took the results for granted. “It definitely was a great senior season for me,” Karabatsos said. “It was my best season. I’m just grateful our team played well, helped us win games, so I could end my senior year off with a bang.”
