Saving the game: Hayfield-Schaefer co-op has kept basketball alive for some – Austin Daily Herald

1 of 4

From left, the Hayfield/Schaeffer Academy starting five of Gabby Buehler, Maggie Hansen, Lily Morrisey, Betsy Gillette, and Jenna Christopherson have blended together as one team after Hayfield and Schaefer combined programs this fall. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Maggie Hansen looks to throw an in bounds pass in practice for the Vikings. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Betsy Gillette of Hayfield has her shot blocked by Lily Morrisey of Schaeffer Academy during a practice for the HSA girls basketball team in Hayfield Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Hayfield/Schaeffer Academy head coach Kasey Krekling speaks to the team at practice Monday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

HAYFIELD – Two area girls basketball programs were sitting at the crossroads this past offseason when fate intervened and they saved each other.

Hayfield was left rebuilding after a dominant three-year run and Schaeffer Academy, a private school in Rochester, was down to five committed players in the entire program. In an attempt to have a season, Schaeffer Academy put out a request to co-op with another school and Hayfield head coach Kasey Krekling responded. Now Hayfield and Schaeffer Academy have joined forces as a Class AA team.

Lily Morrisey, who attends Shaefer Academy, has now cemented herself as one of the go-to scorers for the Vikings as she posted 18 points and 17 rebounds in a recent game.

She’s just happy to have a team to play on. 

“It’s a very big blessing. Throughout the summer, I was praying that we would have a team. I’m so grateful that this has turned out how it has,” Morrisey said. “(The Hayfield girls) were very welcoming and they are all so kind.”

Krekling has had to slow down his team to help the five Schaefer players catch up. Since Schaefer ran just one or two set plays, Krekling has taken his time installing his offense.

Betsy Gillette, who attends Hayfield, said the team has remained patient while starting off 2-3 overall.

“We have a ton of plays, but (the Schaefer players) don’t know any of our plays yet, so we haven’t been able to run them,” Gillette said. “There have been stretches where we’re doing so good and showing our full potential. We’re meshing pretty well with them and it’s not awkward. We’ve had a lot of winning seasons and there is definitely pressure to keep that up.”

The players weren’t complete strangers before this season as some knew each other from AAU and some knew each other as opponents. Gabby Buehler, a Schaefer student, is the team’s lone senior and she recalls playing the Vikings at their peak.

“We played (Hayfield) two years ago and we got crushed by them. It’s nice to play here now. We have a great coaching staff and all of the girls are very friendly, kind and welcoming,” Buehler said. “I love basketball and I was really hoping that we would have a team, even if it wasn’t for Schaefer.”

Over the last three years, Hayfield had gone 89-10 overall and taken fourth place in the Class A state tournament twice. After last season, the program graduated two 2,000 point scorers in Kristen Watson, who is Hayfield’s all-time leading scorer, and Natalie Beaver, who is Hayfield’s all-time leading rebounder. 

As a team building exercise, Krekling is going to bring the entire squad to Luther College to watch Beaver play this Saturday. He’s also organizing other team bonding activities and he scheduled a speaker to talk to the players about teamwork before the season.

“We only have five Schaefer girls, but you can tell how committed they are and how much they love it, because they have to drive an hour and 20 minutes every day just to get to practice,” Krekling said. “They’re such good kids. Their parents were happy that they would have a chance to play, because we were the only ones that responded when they asked for a co-op. It’s a good thing for everybody, because we needed them too. We don’t have any seniors.”

Hayfield student Maggie Hansen said that the co-op wasn’t on the mind of the Viking players over the summer, but it’s an agreement they’ve embraced.

“It was definitely a shock at first,” Hansen said. “We’ve kind of had to learn their style, because we’ve played with each other forever.”

Hayfield student Jenna Christopherson receives plenty of motivation from her older sister Chelsea, who graduated last spring after playing a key role for the Vikings. Jenna has also gained some inspiration from her new Schaefer teammates.

“You can see that they’re passionate about basketball,” she said.

Hayfield-Schaefer Academy has already shown major signs of improvement. After losing to Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton by 34 points in a fall league game, the Vikings actually led JWP by 14, before falling by one point just a month and a half later.

“It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve seen different things about each group that are pros and cons and I think they’re helping each other,” Krekling said. “We’re very aggressive here at Hayfield and they went against some very good seniors over the past few years in practice. Schaeffer never had 10 girls last year so they couldn’t go five on five and they couldn’t get better in practice. We have about 20 percent of our playbook in and it’s probably cost us early. We’re just not there yet as a full unit, and we’ve still gotten much better. I think we’re going to be very good. I don’t think we’re going to lose many more games. It’s just a process of learning.”

 Why interest is slipping in prep sports

It’s no secret that sports participation is decreasing in area schools. LeRoy-Ostrander and Lyle-Pacelli combined football programs this fall, Austin had to forfeit a football playoff contest, and many schools are having to compete without a JV or freshman team.

Kasey Krekling, who has been around prep and youth sports for most of his life, has seen a decrease in Hayfield and he’s narrowed it down to a few reasons.

The first cause is that youth sports are starting in second and third grade instead of fourth and fifth grade. That is causing some players to burn out before they get to high school.

There are also more sports competing for kids time on a year-round basis. In Hayfield, dance and hockey have presented other choices.

“There are just so many options for kids now,” Krekling said. “If kids have started other sports before elementary basketball, they’re already invested in it.”

The final cause is the specialization of sports as some athletes have chosen to focus on one or two sports on a year-round basis. In small communities, losing those athletes has made it tough to keep up.

“It’s killing small schools, unfortunately,” Krekling said. “You don’t see too many three-sport athletes anymore.”