Basketball in the Heartland

Saturday I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to the small town of Sully for a basketball scrimmage involving three area high school teams. Getting out of Des Moines and into the countryside was good for the soul. Driving mile after mile past green fields and immaculately cared for farms and acreages was just the prelude for entering the quaint central Iowa town a few miles south of Interstate 80. It’s pretty evident the residents of Sully have considerable community spirit as virtually every home along the main road are in ‘neat as a pin’ condition. And of course being a town in which Dutch ancestry predominates, the yards are uniformly pristine. They even have one of the original style Caseys, unlike the gigantic mega marts which other places have been forced to endure.

The highlight of the trip, however, was walking into the gym of Lynnville-Sully High School. This little cracker box is the type of facility in which generations of farm kids and small town boys and girls became community heroes of the hardwood. The hometown pride is manifested in how spotlessly clean the floor, bleachers, hallways, and locker rooms are even in the middle of summer. Everywhere are reminders of past glories in the form of trophies and banners from championship teams and state tournament appearances.  I really liked seeing the permanent display of conference standings (of course updated with every team with zero wins and losses for the upcoming 2018-19 season!). Of particular note were the signs proudly indicating L-S being recognized for being among the elite academic schools in the entire state as rated by the Iowa Department of Education. Simply put, these people are winners.

For those of you who have been in small town gyms, you can probably guess this gym also serves as the school auditorium with a stage along one sideline. You can just close your eyes and imagine the bleachers located on the stage, elevated several feet above the floor, packed with rabid fans 'raising the roof' for a Friday night basketball game against a heated rival from the South Iowa Cedar League. Being there is enough to give a basketball junky shivers down the spine. The place just oozes with both charm and character (OK, I’ll admit it. It sort of feels like being in a place like Hickory, Indiana made famous by the movie Hoosiers). After the scrimmage, I told the coach his gym is a Mecca for basketball. He probably thought I was kidding, but I wasn’t!

The forty or so kids who played Saturday morning were all clean cut and well behaved. They competed hard during two back to back games, responded positively to their coaches, and for the most part minded their manners when the referees made judgements for which they disagreed. There were a scattered few parents and interested fans who came in to watch, but their presence was pleasantly discreet.

All in all, the whole day was a emotionally and spiritually refreshing experience. L-S is not the only place in Iowa where old school basketball still thrives, but unfortunately in much of rural America it is becoming much less common. Just take a look at the archives of the IHSAA and IGHSAU to see how many championships have been won by schools which no longer exist. For example, the tiny town of Hansell, deep in the heart of north central Iowa, was once a girls basketball hotbed. This town of 94 hearty souls was home to state champions in 1940 and 1951 as well as five additional state tournament appearances over a fifteen year period!

Hopefully boys and girls basketball will be played in places like Sully, Kalona, Remsen, and Stanton as well as dozens of other small towns for generations to come.