This unstoppable Kansas City basketball team is full of resilience and team spirit | Opinion

Change can be difficult for any of us. Imagine being a high school student-athlete and losing your head coach midseason and having to adjust to not one, but two new voices inside the locker room.

But young people sure are resilient. I was reminded of this recently as I watched the Ruskin High School boys basketball team play against Lincoln College Prep.

I was there to write about Ruskin’s unique setup — it’s not everyday you see two head coaches, one a Black man, the other a white woman, lead a basketball team made up of young African American players. I came away with a story about a buoyant team spirit.

On Dec. 15, Ruskin’s Shannon Moore and co-head coach Dana Ostertag took over the boys basketball program. They were offered to share duties on short notice. The duo couldn’t say no.

The two “have been really good teammates before as far as coaching together,” Ostertag said. “We know each other’s systems. He’s so much the brains of the operation, and I’m the energy, making sure the guys’ heads are still in the game. It’s just a really good balance.”

Was this good cop-bad cop routine I witnessed against Lincoln Prep, with the intense Moore and a chill Ostertag a positive development for this group of young men? I’d say yes.

Ruskin, 5-5 this season, is no stranger to success on the hardwood. The Golden Eagles have won or shared four consecutive Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference Blue Division championships and were Missouri Class 5 District 7 champions last season with a 20-9 record.

After former coach Marcus Whitney left for a different coaching position in another school district, an interim coach was put in place this season. Last month, school administrators decided to go in a different direction.

Against Lincoln Prep, Moore stalked the sideline most of the game, instructing and encouraging his players the only way a veteran coach could: sternly. Seated to his right was Ostertag. She provided a calming presence for the Ruskin boys.

Ostertag is a health and physical education teacher at Ruskin. She is also head girls volleyball coach and an assistant for the school’s track and field program. From 2016-2018, Ostertag and Moore, also a Ruskin physical education teacher, were assistant girls basketball coaches together at the school.

“I trust her,” Moore said. “She knows the game. She keeps me grounded. When I get a little bit off the chain or I want to blow up, she settles me down and talks to the guys. She has a great relationship with our kids.”

Senior guard puts on a show

Pierre Smith is the unquestioned leader of the Golden Eagles. He is also Ruskin’s best player, one who Moore told me deserves more recognition and an opportunity to play college ball. Based on my observations, I find it hard to disagree.

In basketball parlance, Smith is a certified bucket-getter — a high-level scorer with deft ball handling skills, a soft touch around the rim and a fearless approach to attacking the basketball goal. And he’s a lefty, which gives him a decided advantage in a sport dominated by right-handed players. On Friday, he led his team to a scintillating 69-66 double overtime win over Lincoln Prep.

After the game, I stopped Smith as he emerged from the visiting locker room at the historic Interscholastic League Fieldhouse in Kansas City. I wanted to know how the 5-foot, 11-inch point guard and his fellow Golden Eagles had adjusted to the sudden in-season change of leadership.

Smith, a walking bucket if I ever saw one, answered in the affirmative.

“I feel like it’s a good thing,” he said. “Coach Moore, he pushes us a little more. Coach O, she knows what she’s talking about. She makes sure we get stuff done, makes sure we do the right steps, discipline and stuff like that.”

The Golden Eagles can fly. They raced up and down the court all night long with Lincoln Prep. From the start, it was evident Smith was Ruskin’s go-to guy. But to walk out of IL Fieldhouse with a victory over the Blue Tigers was a total team effort.

A neutral observer I was not. I found myself rooting for the Golden Eagles to come out on top. Everyone loves an underdog story right? I sure do.

Played hard for victory over Lincoln Prep

The hard-fought victory over Lincoln Prep was well-deserved, Ostertag said.

“They worked really hard over the Christmas break just to buy into the things we put together to learn how to win again with a different system,” she said.

On this night, the atmosphere inside the packed gymnasium was electric. Nervous tension filled the air. Smith and his mates remained poised throughout four quarters and two extra overtime periods. He may have broken a sweat, but I couldn’t tell. The young man displayed a level of calm the most 17-year-olds don’t.

“That guy’s a monster,” Moore said. “People don’t know about him but hopefully tonight people will start recognizing who he is and what he is capable of. I love these guys. They did a great job for us.”

I hope Smith gets a chance to play college ball. He definitely has the temperament and skills to do so.

I don’t know how this season will play out for the Golden Eagles. But I was impressed with their collective will to succeed under such circumstances. Could they win their fifth straight conference title?

With Moore and Ostertag at the helm, that’s certainly a possibility.