By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The game was over.
The two teams had gone through the “hand shake” line.
A few of the fans had started filing out.
But then the announcer started talking and offering congratulations. Suddenly, all eyes were fixated on the man in the red shirt standing in the middle of the gym at Dieterich High School.
Not many coaches last 26 years. And even fewer at the same school.
But Jeff Schafer is one that has. He took over a program 2½ decades ago that was in desperate need of a turnaround -- and proved to be the perfect man for the job.
His first team went 5-19, but after that, the wins began to pile up. In his 10th season, he became Effingham High School’s all-time winningest girls’ basketball coach. Two seasons ago, he became the school’s all-time winningest coach period – surpassing Jim Maxedon’s 458-win total as coach of the boys’ team during his 24-year career.
On Friday night, Schafer reached yet another coaching milestone – notching the 500th win of his career – and all accomplished while coaching and guiding the Lady Hearts basketball program.
“I thank God for putting me in the right spot,” Schafer said moments after the brief ceremony. “When they first asked me to do this, I said ‘no.’ But here we are all these days and years later, and I still love it.”
It won’t go down as the prettiest win in his career, but when the final horn sounded, Effingham had its second win of the young season, a 68-33 decision over the Lady Maroons.
The game was never in doubt. In fact, the Lady Hearts never trailed.
After Averie Wolfe knocked down a three and Saige Althoff converted a Dieterich turnover into a bucket, EHS had its first double-digit lead late in the opening quarter.
Bella Austin, Sydney Donaldson, Alyssa Martin and then Austin again scored to open the second period and extend the lead to 24-8. Later, Wolfe and Bria Beals connected from behind the arc, Donaldson added a pair of buckets and Althoff completed the 12-0 run with a short jumper to expand the gap to 38-12.
It was 38-15 at halftime.
“We did get off to a bit of a sluggish start,” Schafer admitted. “I thought we passed up some easy shots. We were actually too unselfish. But it’s hard to get mad at the girls for being unselfish. Overall, I thought we played okay.”
A three by Tessa Raddatz and then two in a row by Beals made it a 30-point cushion, 54-22, late in the third quarter. It was then just a matter of playing out the clock to notch a career win very few coaches get to experience.
“I’ve been reflecting a lot these last couple days,” Schafer noted. “The coaches I’ve had, all the kids that have played here and the supporters that have come out and watched us play.
“My family has always been very supportive,” the veteran coach added. “It takes a lot of people to build a program like this.”
Schafer, who is in his 27th year as the EHS head coach, now has an overall record of 500-264.
It was also a milestone result for Effingham girls basketball overall. It was the program’s 700th victory since beginning in the 1979-80 season.
“For me, it all starts with my assistant coaches,” Schafer said. “We’re all on the same page. I’m so fortunate to have this group with me. They make it fun to come to practice every day.
“And we’ve had so many great players come through,” the coach added. “The kids come to work and they buy in to our program and how we run it. If they’re willing to put the work in, they’ll be better players when they leave the program.”
This year’s team figures to be an outstanding one. The Lady Hearts were 29-5 a year ago and their top six players are all back.
On Friday night, they showed the type of balanced scoring attack that will make them difficult to beat. Martin and Wolfe both had 11 points, while Beals scored nine, Donaldson and Althoff added eight, Raddatz chipped in seven and Austin had five.
Brittney Niemerg led Dieterich with a game-high 17 points.
The Lady Hearts, now 2-0, will play next week in the Bob Kerans Thanksgiving Tournament in Newton. They will play Altamont at 6 p.m. Monday; Flora at 6 p.m. Wednesday; and Newton at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
“I’m in such a better place now than when I first started coaching,” Schafer explained. “Back then, it was all about getting a win. But as the years went by, I got smarter. I got better at building relationships and learned to enjoy the game and coaching much more.
“Now, the most important thing to me is helping the girls enjoy playing basketball and playing together,” Schafer added. “All these years later, I still love doing this. I thank God every day that I get to work with these assistant coaches and I get to coach this team. They’re a special group.”
