“Born to play the game” may be one of the most overused clichés in sports, but it seems to fit Lake Central’s George Karabatsos.
The senior midfielder comes from a family of soccer players.
“Everyone in my family has played soccer — like every single person,” Karabatsos said. “My dad played a little, but I think I got my talent from my mom for sure. I have an older brother who played and two younger sisters who are sophomores this year and also play at Lake Central.”
So Karabatsos, whose father is from Greece, knew early in his life that he was destined to carry on the family tradition. But he wasn’t the only one who saw it coming. Lake Central coach Jereme Rainwater did too.
“We identified him at a very young age,” Rainwater said. “We knew he was a player coming up through the system even before he got to high school.
“At Lake Central, you always hear about guys coming in, and you know that’s the next potential star. When we got to see him play his freshman year, we knew George was exactly that.”
Rainwater, who also coaches Lake Central’s girls soccer team, was right. As a junior, Karabatsos was named All-Duneland Athletic Conference and All-District, and he has only gotten better.
Karabatsos kicked off his senior season with a bang, scoring a hat trick just 35 minutes into the Indians’ opener.
“That definitely got me excited,” he said. “Starting the season hot had me looking forward to what’s next. I’ve just wanted more and more — for myself and for my teammates — since that game, and we’ve all gotten better from there.”
Karabatsos has eight goals and three assists this season. But it’s his newfound ability to elevate his teammates that has truly raised the ceiling for Lake Central (8-2, 4-0).
Take sophomore midfielder Ethan Tarry, for example. Tarry burst onto the scene as a freshman and has emerged as a true 1B to Karabatsos’ 1A this season — also recording eight goals and three assists.
Tarry credits Karabatsos, his close friend, for much of that success.
“He makes the game very easy,” Tarry said. “He’s always in the right spaces at the right time, so playing next to him allows us both to have more scoring chances. It allows me to move off the ball, which gives us the right opportunities to finish attacks and ultimately win games.”
According to Tarry, Karabatsos has made the biggest impact on him outside the sport.
“George has helped me a lot off the field,” Tarry said. “He takes me everywhere, and he’s like a brother to me. We go everywhere together. It’s something that’s allowed me to feel comfortable from the get-go, almost ever since I’ve been here.”
Rainwater said Karabatsos, who also fills his eight-seat SUV for trips to Lake Central football games, is a tremendous leader.
“He’s going to be remembered as a catalyst for not allowing us to be mediocre,” Rainwater said. “We’ve always been a program that’s been on top, and going back two, three years ago we were, and then we didn’t necessarily have a great year last year, and I think he’s going to be remembered for not allowing that to continue. George just wasn’t going to allow us to be mediocre. It’s not in his blood.
“He’s a leader on the field. He’s a leader in the classroom. He’s a leader in his family and to his sisters. He doesn’t know this — and I’m not saying this to sell them out — but when I’m in training and talking to his sisters, their eyes light up if I say, ‘Hey, George would do this,’ or ‘George would do that,’ because they look up to him like the great big brother he is. He’s awfully special.”
Karabatsos wants this season to be special for the Indians.
“I just want us to keep winning,” he said. “For me, I want to keep scoring, keep helping my team score and keep helping my team win.
“To do that, I need to play in a way that allows everyone to benefit from how I play but also allows me to benefit from how everyone else is playing. We need to keep the culture and keep the competitiveness between us high — just don’t drop off, really.”
Rainwater summed it up with six words.
“As George goes, Lake Central goes,” he said.
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.