High School Sports
How a troubling trend is impacting girls high school basketball in Wisconsin
“He literally said, ‘I have talent, kids who played basketball in the past, who decided not to go out, and that group is more talented than the group I’m putting on the floor right now,’” Schindler said.
Schindler has talked to other coaches and athletic directors about the problems he sees at Deerfield, and they’re in the same position. He said one athletic director told him that they could put a group of girls together from the student body and beat the varsity team.
Most girls already had played anywhere between 250 to 300 basketball games by the time they entered Don Schindler’s girls basketball program at Deerfield.
“If we don’t have girls going out for the feeders, then we’re not gonna end up having girls playing at the high school level,” she said.
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Madison East
But development comes at a cost. Justice spent time this season teaching her varsity players how to dribble the ball and other basic basketball skills instead of using the time to game plan against an upcoming opponent or teach more advanced techniques.
With a young family of her own, Justice understands that there are more important things in life than basketball. She tells her players that family and school come before basketball, and her flexible approach to practice allows more players to stay involved with the team while working a part-time job or taking care of younger siblings.
Without a connection to the high school program or understanding of local rivalries, high school basketball isn’t always worth sticking around for, especially when players already are exhausted.
Deerfield, a Division 4 school with 205 students, had 10 players on its varsity girls basketball team this season.
The lack of a youth program also made it harder for Justice to coach her varsity team to victories. Girls are entering high school with no previous basketball experience and no grasp of the sport’s fundamentals.
Sara Mallegni remembers a few years ago one of her varsity girls basketball players quit to focus on her club volleyball season.
Unlike Madison East, Deerfield has a thriving youth program run by the town’s community center. However, community center basketball is only the start for girls who play there. Many soon join club teams and play in tournaments across the state and region, spending about three-quarters of the year playing basketball.
The Purgolders finished the season 7-15 after a loss to Waunakee in the regional round.
Deerfield finished 22-4 this season and won the Trailways South Conference. Schindler saw people in the bleachers he hadn’t seen in a few years who were excited by the team’s success.
