03/07/2025
As a first-year varsity coach, I stepped into this season believing I had a purposeāto teach, to inspire, to shape young men through the game of basketball.
But what I never expectedā¦ was how much they would inspire me instead.
Can I share a few stories with you?
In the first few weeks of the season, after grueling practices, the entire team would line up and start running sprintsācompletely on their own. No coach told them to. Most teams complain about conditioning. But these boys? They embraced it. Watching them push each other, refusing to take shortcuts, made me feel like the luckiest coach in the whole WIAA.
Then came one of our brutal Wisconsin snowstorms. School was canceled, the week of a crucial conference game. I expected them to take the day off to rest. Instead, my phone was buzzing all morning. āCoach, can we practice?ā They werenāt looking for an excuse to take the day off - they were looking for a way to get better. When we werent allowed to use our school gym, they found another one, running their own practice at the Ho-Chunk Nationās D1 Community Center. No coaches. No parents telling them to. Just a group of young men who refused to let circumstances stop them from getting better. The result? We beat a team that we havenāt won against since 2018!
At halftime of so many games, we were losing. Sometimes by a lot. We started the season 0-9. The easy thing to do? Point fingers. Make excuses. Give up: But in our locker room, there was none of that. Instead, my players were grabbing the clipboard from meādrawing up plays, finding solutions, believing in each other. The result? Going 7-8 the rest of the year and doubling our conference wins from the year before!
And then, in our final playoff game, despite being the underdog, despite being undersized, despite trailing late in the game, we clawed our way back. With 2.2 seconds left, we tied the game. And then - heartbreak. A buzzer-beater ended our season.
But what Iāll never forget? The way these boys embraced each other afterward. No anger. No blame. Just pure brotherhood. Because the wins and losses donāt define a teamācharacter does.
This team set the foundation in our new basketball program for something bigger than basketball. They built a culture of grit, of heart, of family. They reminded me that no matter the score, no matter our record, no matter our size (or lack thereof)āto keep fighting. To keep believing. To stick together. To never give up. To never give in.
And that will outlast any buzzer-beater.
To my players: Thank you. You are the reason I coach.
