Warren defender Paige Hogberg learns to better manage on the field — by being a manager for another team

Warren defender Paige Hogberg didn’t realize that being a student manager was a role her family knew well.

Hogberg said she just wanted to become more involved in the sport when she asked Warren boys soccer coach Jason Ahonen about helping his team.

“When I mentioned that I wanted to manage, my dad told me he thought it was a great idea because he managed and had a great time,” she said.

Her father, Eric, played for the Willowbrook boys soccer team and was a student manager for the girls soccer team. Her mother, Gretchen, didn’t play soccer, but she was a student manager for the Antioch boys soccer team.

Hogberg didn’t just follow in her parents’ footsteps, however. She learned a few lessons by watching the boys play for two seasons.

“Being a manager, I got to see things from a different perspective,” Hogberg said. “I saw how each team struggles and how they overcome things.”

Hogberg, a senior, said she often became frustrated during games after making a mental or physical mistake. She highlighted a 3-3 draw against North Suburban Conference rival Libertyville last season.

“I watched the film of the Libertyville game and noticed I made the same mistake twice,” she said. “When I first made the mistake, my head dropped. After the second mistake, I noticed how my body language changed. I didn’t improve from there.

“Mentally, I’ve struggled for a while. I always tried to play a perfect game. That’s not possible. When you make a mistake, you have to move on and focus on the next (play). You don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself. It’s important to be in the moment.”

Warren girls soccer coach Ryan McCabe said he has watched Hogberg evolve over the years to become an unselfish team leader and captain. McCabe has worked with her for five seasons, between the boys and girls teams, and noted his “roots run deep” with Hogberg because she also attended his youth camps.

Hogberg’s leadership, communication and steady play in the back is a major reason the Blue Devils (1-2-1) allowed only one goal in their first three games before their 5-2 loss to Glenbrook South on Monday.

“Paige gave us some valuable minutes last season,” McCabe said. “She took feedback from myself and the rest of the coaching staff and has really grown from that. All of our captains graduated last year. She took that leadership role pretty quickly after last season ended.

“On the field, her communication is fantastic. She’s hard to tackle, gives great long balls and does a good job of making sure everybody is where they are at. We’re proud of how the defense has performed.”

Hogberg, who has played soccer since she was 5 years old, expects to hang up her cleats next season. She said she wants to focus on academics at Kentucky. But she left the door open for a possible segue into coaching.

Always watching and learning, Hogberg said she gained another level of appreciation for the sport while coaching kids the past two summers.

“I’ve always loved soccer,” she said. “Being on the field and the connection you make with teams makes it so much fun. It’s so much fun to teach younger kids about the sport and see them grow to love it.

“I’ve learned different ways of communicating. Each player is different. What works with one kid doesn’t work for another. Some kids are visual learners. Some are hands-on. You have to be patient and not get frustrated.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.