Times-Reporter correspondent
BERLIN—The gym is filled with banners and the colors of red and black adorn each wall while the "HHS" is visible as the bleachers are pulled back.
Practice is about to begin and the girls on this team know that the true work of a championship team begins and ends here, not with the glitz and glamour of the media and trophies but with the mantra of "sacrifice, excellence, tradition" as the basis for a program renowned by their fiery coach and intense and skilled players.
The Lady Hawks basketball team and their coaches are on track for another successful run. But within this team the dynamics of another relationship, that of father and daughter, also play a part in the tapestry of the season.
For Kennedy Schlabach, a junior on the Hiland High School varsity basketball team, having her father as her coach is a positive.
The 5-foot-6 star point guard is not motivated by the accolades of past successes. She was named to the Associated Press All-Ohio 3rd Team last year as a sophomore and recently surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in her career. Her athletic abilities have been molded by the passion of her father, Dave Schlabach, head girls basketball coach at HHS in attaining those high standards of excellence.
"We are a big basketball family so it's basketball all year round for us," states Kennedy as she prepares to take the court for the practice session.
For Schlabach his analysis of the program is not just assessing player talent and skills or successful game strategy.
"We try to do more than just develop a basketball program here. I think that we are trying to develop traits in kids that allow them some success after they are done playing basketball...We are a very demanding program. So that's the sacrifice part of it. We think that it's a good thing to want to win, to be really good at something."
"Really good at something" is certainly evident in the statistics for Schlabach and the Lady Hawks.
Schlabach, well into his 26th season of coaching, has attained a 572-89 record and continues to mount up the awards, being ranked first in the latest Division IV poll. His teams have amassed 17 Inter-Valley Conference Championships, 22 Sectional Championships, 14 District Championships, and 12 Regional Championships. Add to those the Lady Hawks' four State Final Four Participant awards, four Division IV State Runner-up awards, and four Division IV State Championships and Schlabach's individual awards and a definite pattern emerges.
Hiland is 19-1 overall and 14-0 in the IVC after Saturday's play.
Excellence on the court is a numerical fact.
Kennedy, an honor student, would agree with her father's assessment of working towards excellence.
"It (basketball) definitely has a positive impact. Just the traits that we learn in basketball like responsibility and discipline...everything we learn here reflects somewhere in our lives so school is just one of those things..."
Schlabach has coached his share of other honor students. Forty-five of his high school players have gone on to play college basketball.
"That's exciting. We've got a great tradition here and that got started with Coach (Perry) Reese."
Kennedy, who has played the game since elementary school, is also quick to praise her father.
"I believe he is one of the best coaches and I love his style. I feel that he knows what he is doing."
She explains that the role of her father as her coach as "definitely having a positive impact on me because playing the game of basketball helps grow our relationship...I love playing the game and I love playing under him so it's just a great experience."
This trust between coach and player is something that Schlabach also attributes to the tradition established by Reese.
"For those of us who played for him or coached beside him, he was extremely demanding but he also was really good at developing relationships with kids, not only basketball players but also kids at school, teachers, and administration. He got our parents to trust us to be tough on their kids to push them to be better and so we appreciate that...This would not be the same place without Coach and what he established and hopefully we can keep that going."
As Schlabach reflects on being tough and his daughter's role on the team, he points out that, "for me it's a little bit different because I coached for 20 years before I got my daughter in the program. As she was growing up and being around all these great players that I had, she got to soak that in and now that she's here, it's enjoyable...She has worked hard for what she's accomplished."
Kennedy expresses that her role as an upperclassman on the team also brings with it some specific responsibilities.
"...my leadership is something that my team needs from me and my shooting and passing abilities. I feel that they have been really good this year. Still working on my defense but definitely improved since last year."
And her father also agrees with her assessment.
"She's skilled; she's worked really hard on her game. All those things bode well for being a point guard...I think that they respect her for that leadership quality that she has."
She also is quick to acknowledge her teammates.
"They are one of the biggest contributors to my success. Every day in practice we're pushing each other to become better. They just have the same goals in mind, too, so we are both working for that same end goal which is the state championship. Having everyone on the same track really helps you get to where you want to go."
Getting to where you want to go when your dad is also part of the experience is certainly a bonus. Schlabach states that coaching his daughter is also rewarding. "I appreciate the opportunity; time flies and obviously if you get extra time with your daughter in a certain environment you are going to appreciate that down the road."
Schlabach points out that the game of girls basketball has changed in the last 25 years.
"It's a lot faster; it's a lot more skilled. Kids are spending more time at it so the game has definitely changed. If you want to compete at the state level every year, you've got to really continue to work at it."
Working at it is something that Kennedy is accustomed to doing. As the team drills are progressing and the rhythmic sound of the balls pounding on the court becomes routine, the intensity of the experience is reflected in each of the players' expressions.
And as Kennedy dribbles and pivots and shoots the ball, her determination is evident in her every move. After ending her freshman year with a trip to Columbus, she also knows the sting of having a disappointing sophomore year.
"We have a little more motivation to fuel us for every game. Last year was a good thing...we are just more fueled this year."
Schlabach also remarks on the rewards of coaching.
"In the end it will be the relationships with my staff, coaches, and players. Wins and losses quickly kind of fade..."
"I don't feel that I could coach the way I do here anywhere else," Schlabach reflects. And as the drills continue, Kennedy demonstrates that passion and intensity in her play that he so clearly emanates with his presence on the court.
That forged relationship rooted in sacrifice, excellence, and tradition and played on the basketball court with father as coach and daughter as player will prove to be a treasured reward no matter the final score.
