'It brings the entire community of Tiffin together'

Opportunity maker is what best describes Columbian girls basketball coach Morgan Harrigan.Two seasons ago, she took over a struggling TC girls basketball program from Jaycie Foos. Harrigan so far has gone 18-14 at TC.But her passion to grow the sport of girls basketball in the community of Tiffin runs much deeper than what the community sees at the varsity games.Last season, she implemented a program that is helping to solve a problem that many schools are facing: how to keep numbers up to keep a healthy basketball program going for more years to come, and more importantly, building bridges and unity in Tiffin.To understand the basketball number problem, one has to take a look at what the problem actually is.Numbers are down in girls basketball. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations' report for the 2024-25 season, girls basketball had 13,078 participants here in Ohio compared to the previous report from 2022-23 when there were 26,048.Locally, the decline in participation has started to rear its ugly head, with four schools having 15 or less in their programs, while five, including TC, has 15-plus. Fostoria has a girls JV team but no varsity this season due to numbers, and Mohawk only has seven girls on the varsity roster, but has 13 players altogether. Old Fort has 11 on its roster, with Calvert having 20 total between JV and varsity. Clyde leads with the largest with 23 on the roster, Bellevue with 18, Hopewell-Loudon with 19, and New Riegel with 12.Harrigan sprung into prevention mode to make sure the Tornadoes wouldn't meet the same fate. Currently, TC has 18 in the high school program, 18 in the middle school program, and 30 in the elementary program. "There weren't a lot of options during COVID," Harrigan said. "Stepping out of COVID, I wanted to personally invest in our youth. When I took the head coaching job is when I realized there was a void between the programs, especially with our junior high program."When she identified the need in the community to bridge the gap, she looked at all three basketball programs and posed the question to herself: how do I solve a need in the community?"I wanted to grow the girls basketball program in the community," Harrigan said. "I thought why not make this more of a community-style basketball? I have been open since Day 1 of trying to make sure that our skill sessions and open gyms are for the community, not just the high school kids. I wanted to build it right from the ground up."Though she wasn't coaching the Heidelberg University's women's basketball team anymore, she knew she had the possible future Tornadoes in her hands and possible future college basketball players as well. Harrigan became the opportunity maker that she is known at 'Berg to be and make a way to impact the community.She utilized a resource that she already had – her high school team, and without realizing it, ignited a fire and passion in them to give back to the very community that has bled dark blue and gold for years.The first part of building this meant that the high school varsity team had to make connections with the youth. It meant putting the captains of the team Lexi Beaston, Kenzie Felske, Chloe Heyman and Mia Zeis into the most important leadership role in the program: coaching."Something like this wasn't around when I was younger," Zeis recalled. "When I was in fifth grade, my mom was coaching me. We would have parents coaching us, but I didn't even know any of the high schoolers when I was younger."Zeis, known for her defensive speed, has brought that same aspect to her team."I really get into my defensive mode with them and I like to preach to them, 'Defense wins ballgames.' And always tell them if they can stop the ball then they can get a win," Zeis said. "I love coaching the younger kids and being a leader. When I see them do what I have taught them to do and score baskets, and play defense, it reminds me of when I was younger when I was learning about the game of basketball."One takeaway from this experience for Zeis is the lesson on leadership. She will need that leadership skill after graduation. Zeis is attending Ohio State University for nursing to specialize in pediatric nursing.Heyman coaches the sixth grade team. She recalls not coming to the high school games, nor being connected to the high school team in any way when she was younger."It's a unique opportunity, that's for sure," Heyman said. "When she (Harrigan) talked about it at a practice, I was really hoping that I would get a chance to coach. It's a great opportunity for the culture of our program to be able to connect with the younger girls. I think to be able to give these girls a good experience in the sport is to help foster their love for basketball"It's not about the score on the scoreboard at this age; it's more about building confidence and to know what to do."The remaining high school team members have other roles, including running the concession stand during the youth games, as well as the clock, gate and keeping track of the stat books. "It has been fun to see the step up in leadership and to experience what I and the other coaches experience," Harrigan said. "They will say to us, 'Coach we tell them the same things over and over again and they aren't listening' and I think 'huh.' I want them to understand that every person learns differently and to not be afraid to try different approaches. The ultimate goal is to keep it positive, build that connection, and ultimately for the younger ones to learn the fundamentals."Felske who coaches fifth grade has learned one important fundamental. The sophomore has gained more of a respect for what Harrigan does as a coach and has learned about different approaches to coaching a certain element."I think it's very rewarding on both ends," said Felske about the experience. "I think it's great to see how the girls can grow and gain that understanding of how to get to the level that we are at right now. For us, it's great to see them at the games supporting us, and for us as coaches to be there for us to support them."Berkley Brill, who is on the fifth grade team, has played basketball since she was young. She wasn'tinto any other sports and has found her passion."We get to know people better, as well as the game of basketball," Brill said. "Having a high schooler coach encourages us to not quit because they have experienced similar things and can talk us through it. My favorite thing to learn so far has been the shooting drills and just learning how to shoot properly."Elliot Hoyda is on the fourth grade team. She started into basketball because it is a sport that she discovered that she is good at from an early age."I like it because the high schoolers help show us what we can do," Hoyda said. "With the high schoolers coaching us, they make things fun for us through drills and games. My favorite thing to learn so far is just about the sport itself."Felske's passion for the sport was knowing that she gets to be a part of something bigger than herself. "This program is a great example of how I get to be a part of a bigger picture," Felske said. "I get to help these kids be great players. Not many schools have something like this, and the younger kids can be inspired to be like us. If they continue to work hard, they will be able to see the growth in themselves."The second part of building a successful All-Program basketball program: making sure everyone that enters learns the fundamentals and retains that knowledge, whether it is new or veteran.Most of the younger ones that have entered into the program are first-year basketball players. Harrigan not only wants them to gain understanding of the fundamentals at a young age, but to gain one baseline understanding that good basketball comes from hard work and discipline."I think the takeoff comes when the younger ones buy in," Harrigan said. "It's not about winning at this age; it's about developing skills, teamwork, and getting the love and passion for the sport. We are very new and we wanted to make sure we got the numbers up. It's free for the program and it's all strictly about who shows up and who wants to get better."No one knows the baseline discipline more than Harrigan's daughter Mya Shriver, who is in the eighth grade. While sister Madi isn't coaching a team, Mya is in the program and is being mentored by none other than Beaston.At the start of the All-Program Holiday practice, the girls paired up with one another to practice dribbling and passing. Beaston grabbed her mentee and stood across from one another, knowing that perfection was expected."It's so special just to be able to give back to the program that I grew up in, and to build relationships with the kids that will last a lifetime," Beaston said. "It's so cool going into the coaching aspect of it. With them so new to the game, they don't necessarily know a lot about the sport and they are still building their skill, but it's still so cool just to see the growth from the start of the season until the end."For Beaston's mentee and basketball partner in the program, it's made quite the impact already."It means a lot to me," Mya Shriver said. "Both who is in it and those surrounding it. It really helps make it a great environment. Lexi helps make it fun and I am excited to be coached by her. Lexi is understanding and she teaches me a lot."The third part of being able to build the program: incentivizing the high school students to buy in.For the high school students that commit the time to doing the program, it has a benefit of adding a seal to their high school diploma, the Community Service Seal, according to the curriculum guide for Tiffin City Schools. In order to have the seal added, they must complete 60 hours of community service within the four years that they attended Columbian High School, and it can't start prior to June 1st of their freshman year and it must conclude by March 1st of their senior year."It gets them community service hours," Harrigan said. "I also told them it was a way to make an impact on the community that has supported them, and I have had nothing but positive engagement from my current team on it and they are excited to be able to share their love of the game."The final part of the program is making sure that the connections built are on a strong foundation that will continue to build on top of each other for years to come."I love the relationships and the empowerment that they are able to share with each other," Harrigan said. "It's beyond the court; they see each other out in the community and in the schools. Some of our girls are lifeguards, so they see the younger kids at the pool during the summer. It brings the entire community of Tiffin together and I think that it is a reminder to everyone that it goes beyond the court, that it is bigger than just us."Other than Harrigan watching her daughters be a part of the program, she has one favorite moment that hits her about the significance of the program and its impact in the community."Its when we have our pass-out items at our varsity games and I see those varsity kids have their youth teams in the stands," Harrigan said. "They make sure that they get those items because it shows the bonds that they have. The younger kid is so excited to get that item and the high schooler knows that they are playing with that set of eyes that is watching them from the stands and you can see the residual effects and how impactful that bond is."