I Couldn’t Be Happier for ‘Coach V’ and The Schalmont Lady Sabres

What a game! What a Season!  Congrats to the entire Schalmont Community on the Lady Sabres winning a Class B State Title!

The Lady Sabres won the Class B State Title on Sunday, and on Monday morning Brian and Chrissy talked to the emotional Coach V after the win.  Check out the interview below...

Moments after the final buzzer sounded, Schalmont players and coaches leaped into one another's arms celebrating a hard-fought battle after narrowly escaping with a 2-point win on Sunday.

The Lady Sabres are now State Champs after holding off a very talented and tough team from Waterloo - but the game was hanging in the balance until the very final play.

See the wild final sequence here:

It is pure joy once that buzzer sounds and the celebration begins- a culmination of years of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and love for one another.

I went to a few games this year as Coach Van Hoesen (or Coach V for short) has been a friend of mine for many years, and win or lose, I've always enjoyed watching his teams play.

But this year's squad, led by experienced (and supremely skilled) seniors Payton Graber, Haley Burchhardt, and Sienna Hallberg, as well as sophomore standout Karissa Antoine and young freshman guard Gianna Cirilla were a special group, and Coach V knew it, but he kept things pretty tight to the vest.

When Coach V woke up mid-season to see that his undefeated team was ranked #1 in the state, he thought it was some kind of glitch telling me with a chuckle, "We're good Brian, but I don't know if we're that good- I guess we'll find out!"

Here we are a few months later, and now we know.  These girls were that good, and they accomplished something that had never been done before in school history by winning that Class B State Title.

It was a few moments after the buzzer sounded and the on-court celebration was winding down, and the Schalmont coach took a seat on the bench, waiting for the trophy presentation.  As he sat, staring at the floor,  Coach V appeared to be wiping tears from his eyes and I could only wonder what he was thinking about in that moment.

In the post game press conference, Coach V told the media he couldn't wait to see his players in the hallway the next day, so that he can celebrate with them in school. Just awesome - pure and simple. That's Coach V.

Coach Van Hoesen joined our show Monday morning, and in our exchange he told us what that wild finish was like, what school will be like today as well as a bit about what brought tears to his eyes when he was sitting on the bench.

I Couldn't Be Happier, or More Proud of  'Coach V' and The Schalmont Lady Sabres