LOV NORTHSIDE

Home to Wrigley Field, the Cubbies, and the place WE call HOME.  The North Side of Chicago has been the left ventricle in the beating heart of the LOV body. This is where we were born, where we grew up, and where we’ve grown… The birthplace of our journey and where the seed of our vision was planted.

The Northside is home for several of our members like our Founder, Harshil Thaker; our Program Leader, Earl Schultz; LOV Leader, Dani Rivera, and Development Leader, Lois Kettering. This is also the place where we will be holding our Northside Grass and Indoor clinics. WMS Boathouse, Clarendon Community Center Park, and Menomonee Club for Boys and Girls- are our new “homes” located on the Northside. Without the dedication and shared belief in positive change through sport, none of this would be possible without our partners.

As we have used sport as our vehicle for positive evolution, so has our Northside native, Earl Schultz. A graduate of Walter Payton College Prep, Pitzer College, and currently pursuing his graduate degree in Physical Therapy at USC- Earl Schultz is an incredible athlete, student, and PURE SOUL who brings love and light to the journey of fighting for positive change. A self-proclaimed “storymaker, not storyteller,” Earl Schultz is certainly living up to his purpose in many ways. 

Growing up in Wrigleyville / Boystown in a co-op subsidized housing complex, Earl has experienced every level of what it means to connect with others from all walks of life and parts of the world. His housing complex was filled with immigrants, his neighborhood was predominantly populated with LGBTQIA+ members, and he is the child of an interracial partnership. 

Diversity and the byproduct of unjust systemic foundations has led to an unequal treatment that we aim to forever change, and is something that Earl has experienced first hand. “When you’re different, you have to shape your way of communicating or acting / how you carry yourself,” says Earl, when asked what it was like to be a minority in a neighborhood, school, and sport that didn’t quite fully recognize his circumstances. In his words, the feeling, “I’m not supposed to be here,” is a driving emotion that Earl has experienced and which keeps him pushing for change; the next generation of athletes should have the right to feel as though they are always getting a fair shake. LOV truly believes that “Equality is a requisite”.

For Earl, LOV means a way for him to give back to the people who need it the most; having someone in your corner; financial support; a vehicle to get you from point A to point B; and it goes beyond volleyball- it bleeds into family, profession, outreach, and access.

Earl currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his wonderful girlfriend Zoe, he is training for AVP and FIVB tournaments, and he is a true LEADER in the fight for EQUALITY in our World.

We LOV and support you Earl.