The court at Elder High School is emblazoned with his name. He was the most successful head coach in Elder history, winning back-to-back state titles in 1973 and 1974. And even though Paul “Hans” Frey passed away in 2006, a tradition he began in the 1970s still lives on today.
The Paul "Hans" Frey court at Elder's Memorial Fieldhouse, aka "The Pit"
At halftime of the Jan. 29 game against rival St. Xavier, the 1980 state semi-finalist basketball team was honored at mid-court. The famous cheer, “Hans, Hans, open the door, let the Panthers on the floor,” was chanted by Elder students as the 1980 team received a scrapbook of memories from its time at Elder.
What that team had in common with the first team Frey coached, and the current team of young men that took to the court which bears his name, is a legacy of Catholic bonding and togetherness which Frey preached as head coach.
In 1970 Frey took over as the head basketball coach, and thought that having his team get together off the court was as important as building team chemistry on the court. His solution to build camaraderie; get the team together the night before a game and have Mass, dinner and hang out in an informal, non-basketball setting.
The Rev. Ralph Westerhoff, Elder’s team chaplain, remembered the beginnings of team dinners and Masses back in the early 70s. “Coach Frey preached togetherness,” he said. “We’d pick a Gospel theme and try to relate it to basketball and the team.”
The get-togethers would always begin with Mass, then a meal, then time for socializing or watching game films. Current Elder head coach Joe Schoenfeld, a former player and 1977 graduate, explained the big differences between those team dinners and the dinners held today.
“Father Westerhoff would take it upon himself to provide the dinner which consisted basically of bologna sandwiches, Cokes and chips. Really simple,” he stated. “If you were really rich, or if you’re not rich at all, nobody felt like, ‘Oh I have to keep up with the Jonses’ because Father took care of that stuff back in the day.”
Today, Schoenfeld noted that it is up to the host family on what they want to serve for the meal, which can be anything from chicken wings to pizza. The only thing that has remained on the menu throughout the past 40 years has been Mass and the spirit of togetherness first fostered by Frey.
“It’s just time for the players to be with the players,” said current senior Jordan Murphy. “Sometimes the coaches are there but we get to interact with the team not around basketball. It’s just us not focusing on basketball, just hanging out.”
A group of Panthers huddle during practice
Team captain Erich Vogelsang, also a football player, noted that there is a difference between a football team meal and a basketball team dinner. He said, “It’s easier to get a good connection with your teammates because there’s not as many people there for basketball. It helps team unity. We’re all together, and no one can really separate out into their little groups.”
For a team that came into the game with St. Xavier with a 7-7 record, team unity has been important. “We’re still working to get better,” said junior Dominic Glatthaar. “We’re still working to be as good as we can be.”
Schoenfeld started the same five players for the St. Xavier game as he did for Elder’s game on Jan. 26, against Roger Bacon. Elder lost to Roger Bacon 55-48 because it got off to a bad start. That changed in the game against St. Xavier.
“At Moeller and at [Roger] Bacon we got off to bad starts and you’re almost behind the eight ball before you get started,” Schoenfeld said. “So it’s a nice change of pace that we were able to get a lead and play with some confidence get the crowd into it, and be up 9-2 rather than down 9-2.”
A rowdy crowd of about 1,000 fans from both St. Xavier and Elder watched the Panthers jump out to a 12-5 lead early in the first. After three quarters Elder held a nine-point advantage, but the game got close in the fourth quarter as the Bombers mounted a comeback.
Elder, which had been nearly perfect from the free throw line began to falter late. “As you know, the game gets a little tighter in the fourth quarter,” Schoenfeld said. “Alex Welch had been struggling a little bit from the line and you could see at the end of the game they fouled him, put him at the line, and fouled him again, put him at the line.
If you’ve seen us play lately that would have been a great move but he practiced a lot the last couple days and he just knocked them in. That was huge.”
Schoenfeld and Welch the on-court action at practice
Elder iced the game late after Welch blocked a layup attempt by St. Xavier’s Alex Longi with seven seconds left and Elder up by three. Welch was immediately fouled, and he nailed both free throws to put the Panthers ahead by the final margin of 46-41.
Welch (second from left) will play football at Notre Dame next season. For now he's focused on basketball at Elder High School
“I thought we practiced well the past couple days and felt like we were confident as to what they were going to do,” Schoenfeld said after the game.
Schoenfeld stated how important team dinner bonding experiences can be when the game is on the line. He said, “Any opportunities that we can get to get the guys together and build that caring for each other so that when the game is on the line everybody has your back and we’re all together is good.”
“It’s a lot easier when you do struggle, it’s easier to get through it because you’re doing it together,” Murphy added. “It’s not a bunch of individuals struggling.”
And some players know that even though the game is important, learning life lessons from a Catholic perspective is even more important in the long run. “It gets guys focused a little bit more. It gets us to slow down and think a little more,” senior Ryan Murphy said. “It’s not always about us, there’s something bigger out there.”
Westerhoff said that players often come back and tell him they remember team dinners and team Masses, sometimes even more than they remember the games they played in. Schoenfeld reminisced back to his first team dinner. He still remembers the message given in Westerhoff’s homily.
“I remember vividly the ones we had at Coach Frey’s house. I remember Father Westerhoff’s homily from when we had it my junior year about nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket,” said Schoenfeld. “The talent you’ve been offered has to be put on display for other people to see. I still remember that 32 years later.”
Luke 11:33, states, “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.”
Schoenfeld is putting his talents to work 32 years later by fostering team unity and camaraderie that was first instilled in him by his head coach Paul Frey. When Elder basketball teams get together 40 years after the first team Mass they celebrate a legacy that will carry on into the future.
“I think it’s a neat thing being at a Catholic school that we can do that and we’re lucky Father Westerhoff is still around to help us do it,” said Schoenfeld.
Frey’s teams won back-to-back state titles, and the current Elder team hopes the lessons first taught by Frey will help them make a run at a state title in 2010. “[Masses] have been rather successful in unifying teams,” Westerhoff observed.
And this season has been no different.
The Elder Panthers warm up before their 46-41 victory over rival St. Xavier
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