Haylee Althoff tabbed girls hoops coach at Red Bud
Growing up just outside of basketball-crazed Okawville, Haylee Althoff has had a basketball in her hands for as long as she can remember.
The love for the game, as well as a tireless work ethic and her own natural ability, helped Althoff earn honors at Okawville High School, earn college scholarships to both Southwestern Illinois College and Illinois College in Jacksonville and last year helped Althoff get her first job as a seventh-grade basketball coach at Nashville Middle School.
Now, at the age of 24, Althoff is ready for the next step as the girls basketball coach at Red Bud High School.
“I’m ready. I’ve been around basketball my whole life. My dad (Doug) has been a coach at Nashville (High School) for a long time and my mom’s side of the family has a basketball tradition as well,’’ Althoff said. “ I’m ready to be in charge. I’m ready to help teach, coach and lead a group of girls at Red Bud High School, which I feel will do some good things in the future.’’
Althoff, who played for highly-successful coach Kathy Lanter during her days at Okawville High School and also was part of winning programs at SWIC and Illinois College, takes over a Red Bud team which finished 8-15 a year ago.
The Musketeers, led by high-scoring Ali Ringering, were last among the top small school programs in Southern Illinois during the 2013-14 season after several years of mediocrity in the Cahokia Conference.
Therefore, Althoff’s first priority is trying to create a winning atmosphere within the Red Bud program.
“The fact that they haven’t won a lot or had much success is a concern because I’m afraid the girls have become used to losing. I don’t want them to have that mindset,’’ Althoff said. “If I get them to believe that winning is fun and they can win if they work and play hard then, I think we can have a successful program here.
“But for me it’s more about winning. Its about wanting something and fighting for it. It’s also about respect. I’m big on respect. I get that from my dad. When we go places to play, I want people to think of us as good people who do things the right way.’’
Althoff, who will teach physical education and driver’s education in addition to her coaching duties at Red Bud, faces a tough task in her first year with the Musketeers. The Musketeers could find themselves lacking in size and experience as they prepare for a season in a Cahokia Conference which features the likely preseason Class 2A favorite Central, along with always strong Wesclin and Carlyle.
“Central is Central and they’re going to be one of the best teams in the state. We’re going to have our work cut out when we play them. All we can do is play hard and do our best,’’ Althoff said. “To be honest, I really don’t know what kind of team we’re going to have because we’ve only had a couple of open gyms. We scrimmaged the other night and I think that was good that they got to hear me coaching them.
“I don’t know who is going to start. We’ve got a lot of inexperienced kids. We don’t have a lot of size, but I think we’ll have good quickness. We’ve got a few good athletes who I think will be able to help us. Right now, I just want the kids to get used to playing basketball with each other.
Haylee Althoff won’t be the only member of her family coaching this season. Her dad, Doug, was recently named girls basketball coach at Nashville High School.
It was her dad who taught Haylee, at a young age, that the name of the game in coaching is defense.
“I’m all about defense and that’s really weird because I love offense,’’ Althoff said, laughing. “My dad has always stressed defense and because I was around him so much on the basketball court, it has rubbed off.
“It makes sense though. You can score 50 or 60 points. But if your opponent scores 51 or 61, you’re going to lose. Pretty simple.’’
Contact reporter Dean Criddle at dcriddle@bnd.com or 618-239-2661.
This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Haylee Althoff tabbed girls hoops coach at Red Bud."