Hayfield residents taking pride in their athletes
It’s basketball playoff time and the Hayfield Vikings are fighting for the top spot in girls and boys A competition at Williams Arena (a.k.a. the Barn). Hayfield’s teams are the only Dodge County and Byron High School remain in contention for a state title.
Last Thursday night I watched as the Hayfield boys took on Goodhue for the Section 1A championship at Mayo Arena.
It was my first time at the arena, but I was fascinated by the control the Vikings had in a ball game that was back and forth. This well coached Vikings team was in control even when the Wildcats tried to claw their way back into contention.
A large crowd of folks from Hayfield was on hand cheering on the guys as they punched their ticket to state tournament in the Cities. There was no lack of enthusiasm from the fans, the pep band, which had performed earlier in the day in the quarterfinals for the girls’ basketball team.
There must be something in the water in Hayfield that has produced such great athletes. Last year, the boys were state champs. Their baseball team was the A champion among state competitors.
Even young families were at the arena last Thursday with children. Three-year-old Cohen Snyder was bouncing his ball in an area near the Hayfield pep band with his wide eyes saying: “Put me in coach!”
While high school sports are observed by a lot of parents, grandparents and other siblings, most communities have a fan base that consists of the entire population. Hayfield is one of those towns. There is a pride generated by the folks rallying to show up at these high school games.
I’m writing this column as the Hayfield ladies are taking on Minneota, a perennial state contender. I had to turn off the action to get some work done. It was excruciating to wonder what the score was before I yielded to the temptation and rejoined the broadcast on TV 45.
With 2:00 left on the clock, our Vikings were trailing the Minneota Vikings by 49-42.
One positive we can take away from the loss as Vikings fans—the Vikings didn’t lose.
Final score: 53-45.
Now it’s up to the guys from Hayfield to re-establish their supremacy in Minnesota single A competition, which began yesterday. Enjoy Hayfield’s run for a state title. All of Dodge County is behind the Vikings!
TEAMWORK
”There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
—Michael Jordan