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PLAYER OF THE YEAR BILLY MCGUINNESS, LYONS
Boys soccer player of the year: Lyons senior Billy McGuinness

Lions' standout defender learns life's lessons from family

Lyons senior Billy McGuinness is the 2009 Chicago Tribune boys soccer player of the year. (David Banks, Chicago Tribune / September 20, 2009)

By Steve Reaven Special to the Tribune 11:42 p.m. CST, November 20, 2009

Billy McGuinness knows about big wins. He knows more about big losses.

McGuinness' older brother, Tommy, contracted a parasitic infection in his brain when he was 3 years old. The illness confined him to a wheelchair for most of his life. Tommy died two years ago. He was 17.

McGuinness, a Lyons senior and the Chicago Tribune boys soccer player of the year, credits his parents, John and Irene, for guiding the family through a brief but appropriate grieving period.

"It was a lot of work to take care of him and we all pitched in," McGuinness said. "That changed my perspective on life. I look at life differently.

"I learned not to sweat the small stuff."

At least off the field. On it is a different story.

What happened on the field this season was pretty special for McGuinness. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime of the Class 3A state championship match against Lake Zurich and anchored a defense that allowed six goals during a 15-match winning streak to end the season.

"You couldn't write a better script for him or for the team," Lyons coach Paul Labbato said. "Defense is where he gives us just so much value.

"Winning a state title tested the whole idea of whether you can do so with his brand of defense leading the way."

McGuinness' brand revolves around never taking a play off, sweating the small stuff during a match.

The four-year starter is consumed with improving, even going to odd extremes looking for an edge.

That's where pingpong comes in.

"There are a lot of skills that go hand in hand with soccer," McGuinness said. "In pingpong, you have to be quick and have really solid reaction ability. You have to see the next shot unfolding and be able to anticipate."

His work ethic stems, in part, from his exposure to yet another sport -- swimming.

"You're basically torturing yourself," said McGuinness, who will choose between Princeton and Akron. "But it really helped strengthen my mental aspect when I switched solely to soccer. Between that and having some really good coaches, I bought into the idea of getting results in every training session."

A big part of his "mental aspect," though, comes from his childhood. Comes from his brother and his mother and his father. Comes from his perspective.

"They made sure that (the grieving) process didn't last too long," McGuinness said of his parents. "I'm now more able to take a step back and acknowledge that soccer is just a game. There are much bigger problems in the world besides what happens on a soccer field."