HENRYVILLE, Ind. (WHAS11) – High school basketball in Indiana is life.
So, a basketball hitting the court in an Indiana high school gym is like a heartbeat: there's rhythm, consistency, a soulfulness.
But on the afternoon of March 2, 2012 in the Henryville High School gym -- there was no heartbeat. Only silence after an EF4 tornado shook the town.
“It was kinda surreal,” said current Henryville basketball coach Jared Hill. “Seeing the destruction and seeing the National Guard walking through your town, for me, it was like seeing a war scene. Seeing the troops and the destruction, it was kinda scary the magnitude. You look at the school and most of it is missing, and not knowing what was next was probably the scariest part.”
Hill grew up in Henryville just like his parents, his grandparents, and generations all the way back to the 1800s. Returning to his hometown as a teacher and coach was something he always wanted to do -- but he had no idea how crucial his influence would be in the timeline of Hornets hoops.
The year after the tornado hit, the Hornets basketball season resembled the town's struggle: the team went 0 and 20.
“It was really hard not winning any games,” Hill said. “I was the junior varsity coach still and it was pretty hard to stomach…The team was basically destroyed for two years.”
“It was tough on us,” said Braxton Robertson, who was in 7th grade when the tornado hit, and in 8th grade during that winless season. “It was tough on the team as a community, and it was really just heartbreaking -- but to see where we are now, it's that much more sweeter.”
Fast forward five years and the town has really come a long way.
The school is standing, the gym has all its walls; and now on Friday nights, the stands are full.
This season, the Henryville Hornets have won 19 games, the most regular season wins in school history -- and they've brought the heartbeat back to this town.
“It's really amazing to see us grow and see the community grow at the same time,” said junior Nick Walker who is the Hornets’ leading scorer. “It means a lot because when you think of Henryville basketball, you don’t think of winning much, especially the last few years. I mean, 0 wins, 3 wins, 9 wins, and now 19.”
“We've got pride with what we've done in the community, and now we take pride in what we do on the basketball court,” added Robertson. “It's kinda just translated into winning basketball games.”
Those 19 wins are something the team has wanted to share with the community, and they show that pride every night when the buzzer sounds. After every game, win or lose, the Hornets will walk over to the fans in the stands and shake their hands, thanking them for taking time to come support the team.
“It’s always go out and thank 10 to 15 community members who came to our game,” explained Robertson. “There are so many things they could be doing, but they take their Friday and Saturday nights to drive 25, 30 minutes to an hour to watch us play. So, we really want to make sure we acknowledge that they came.”
Adults involved with the program said it’s no question the last few years have been a struggle with the town rebuilding and this team going through some growing pains, but it’s that extra effort that everyone has gone through that makes this season extra special.
“I think it all comes back to how hard do they work,” said Henryville High School Principal Troy Albert. “Are you willing to put the time in and are you willing to sacrifice for your teammate? And I think that was the part they learned from the tornado: the sacrifice for your teammate part. I think they bleed for that.”
“People are just happy, they are really happy with our boys,” said Hill with a smile. “Just the support because we did have a time period when it wasn't there -- and it's great to have it back.”