This is a production of SDPB.

It's hard to talk about high school sports in South Dakota without mentioning basketball.

Whether you're talking about some of the great programs or players of the past or watching history being made right now, the sport defines who we are in the Mount Rushmore state.

The word to remember tonight is inspire.

Thank you for joining us and welcome to Tales From the Hardwood.

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Our first stop tonight brings us to Yankton, where we'll meet the student manager of the Bucks Boys basketball team.

As you'll see, being a student manager is just the tip of the iceberg for this young man.

Meet Miles Kreskey, a senior and student manager for the Yankton Bucks.

We help with basketball practices, running the scoreboard, helping with drills, and getting the balls out, putting the balls away and making sure the floor is clean so the players don't slip.

Then on game days, it's making sure we have enough towels, the slip knot, making sure we have the tripod and the iPad, and then keeping stats also, and we're there from three 30 to eight whenever the freshmen and sophomores start, and then until the end of the varsity game.

So he's more than just a manager that maybe just fills up waters and things like that.

He does great with stats because he understands the game and you never have to worry about miles.

You never have to worry about things being done, things on the bus, getting off the bus when you get home late at night, he's always at practice on time, ready to go.

Things are out.

When it comes to Miles, never question his heart and passion.

His story, however, began much differently than most.

We can't imagine our family without miles, and I can't imagine miles being any other person than he is right now.

We found out during the pregnancy that Miles was going to be born with some type of dwarfism, so getting that news in the dawn of the internet age and when he was born, he was perfect.

We had a geneticist there at the time and he confirmed that it was Achondroplasia most common form of dwarfism.

So we did a lot of homework and did our research and learned all we could about the condition and how we were going to have to treat him potentially differently.

But all that was really focused on when he was first born and it didn't take us long to realize that Miles was special in a different way.

Miles loved sports and he's played a lot of them in his 18 year life already, but the one that he's best at might surprise you, badminton.

That's probably the sport that I'm best at, so I'm a two time para Pan PanAm champion, or I've won two golds in the PanAm Championships for singles and then three in doubles and then no golds in mix ofs, just a few silvers.

And then I've won a gold in the pair PanAm games once and then or two golds, one for singles, one for mixed, and then a silver medal in the 2019 pair.

PanAm games in singles.

Badminton has brought me to Denmark, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Columbia, Australia, Japan, Thailand, Canada, and a few more that I can't think of right now.

So when he was eight, nine years old, he really started falling in love with it and first of all, the challenge of finding anybody that played badminton competitively in the area was tough.

We discovered a group down in Omaha that was the first step.

He showed that tenacity and that competitiveness and just wanted to nurture that, and he started watching YouTube videos on technique and learning how to play the sport and got to a point where he was being somewhat competitive with some of these kids, and that's when the pair of badminton angle started.

Started.

Appearing.

It's fun to compete against them.

I get to learn some different ways to compete and how to carry myself on and off the court, and it's just great being around them because they also give me tips and pointers about how to become or get better and stuff, but it's really over the past few years, they've really helped me to strive to compete with them and win a few matches against them.

Despite all the medals he's already achieved.

When it comes to his role models, he looks at his parents.

It means a lot.

We knew when he was born he was going to have some challenges in his life, and my wife and I both wanted him to understand that physically he might be different than other kids, but that shouldn't prevent him from doing anything else.

And to have him understand that we want the best for him, that means a lot and it shows how much he's matured as an individual and grown into such an amazing young man.

One thing I'll always take away from sports is no matter what the scoreboard is or whatever somebody's saying that it always comes down to you to, are you going to finish what you're doing or are you just going to let it go and not push yourself to become or play the best that you can for all four quarters or all three sets or whatever it is you're doing.

It's almost impossible to talk about inspiring people without talking about those who help inspire our kids.

The coaches.

Our first coach story tonight takes us to Southwest South Dakota, where Ruth Dreamer is laying the foundation in her first year with the Ulrich's Boys basketball team.

Basketball is life to me.

I grew up watching it before I actually got to play the game, so I think that's where the interest and the love for it grew is I just got to be around it.

Ruth Dreamer has had a strong love for basketball her entire life.

This year she took a new job as the boy's basketball coach for Oryx High School.

This number calls me and they're like, Hey, are you coaching anywhere?

And I'm like, no.

And they're like, well, we need a coach.

I'm like, where at?

And they're like, ORX Boys varsity.

I'm like, really?

And they're like, yeah, if you're down, I'm like, yeah, sure.

Let me come in.

Did the interview the next day, got hired, and it was definitely a challenge.

Like I said, I didn't ever think I would, but it's exciting and it's fun.

I really, really like it, especially with this group of boys.

They're really eager to learn, so it's just been really, really an amazing experience.

Ruth grew up in Pine Ridge where she became a standout player for the lady.

I actually had 1800 points in my high school career, so the first thought people asked me was, well, when did I start playing in high school?

And they actually asked me as a seventh grader to play, but I never wanted to.

I always thought I was way too small, so I wanted to stay in middle school until I graduated eighth grade, but back then I played the first two quarters for my freshman team, so they're like, okay, we're going to save you for jv.

So then I played two quarters on JV and they're like, okay, we're going to save you for varsity.

So I played two quarters on varsity and then from that day on, I never played freshman or JV again.

I became a starter for varsity for the rest of my career.

Ruth is focused on creating something special at our new home.

I guess it just shifted more or less to the program that I want to build here.

As.

Long as you keep dribbling, he's going to get out of way because you're bigger, but when you extend that arm, then it's.

Offensive.

And Orx is a great school.

They have welding, they have woods.

We're actually getting a new weight room built.

Like I said, this gym's only two years old, this whole school actually.

So it's just exciting because I think that's where my mindset shifted, where I'm not worried about my position as much as I am about, what do you call the recreation of this school, the foundation of it.

I really, really want to start and end my career here.

This is the program I want build.

It's a great opportunity.

She pushes me to be the best that I can in every day I practice.

She doesn't force anything on me and it just helps me love the game even more.

She just pushed me to be a better person every day and I appreciate it for that.

My first thought when I heard that a female coach is going to be our coach was I thought she wasn't going to be able to coach us.

She's a girl and this is a man's sport, but after the first day of practice, she showed me that she has a lot more to offer than other coaches in the past year, and she knows a lot more than boys.

I could tell you that she's a very vocal coach, but if you do something wrong, she ain't going to get on your butt about it and tell you that you're doing something wrong.

She's going to teach you to stop doing that and make it a good habit rather than a bad habit.

She taught me to eat right healthy.

Treat your body just as you would.

Don't put toxic things in it like smoking, drinking, alcohol and that stuff.

Along with helping players be successful on and off the court.

Ruth hopes she can also be a role model for future females in the state.

Honestly, I would say just stick with your goals and dreams.

Like I said, I didn't think I'd be coaching a boys team, but I love it.

It's exciting.

It's a new challenge and I'm always up for a new challenge, but just take your time and be patient because I almost was, like I said, I was just going to sit back and not coach anywhere and I answered that call or whatever, but just I would just say, take your time and just stay focused because you never know when your opportunity is going to present itself.

One three.

With all sports, there are challenges that come along with it.

For a senior at Brandon Valley, one key challenge extends off the court.

The sounds of the game of basketball are familiar to the Altoff family.

Whether it's the PA announcers introducing the players.

Number 24, 6 8 senior.

Or the cheerleaders leading the cheers.

It's been something that has resonated with us I think here these last few years for sure.

The altos love of the game continued on with all of their children, including the youngest.

Josh.

My brother's always played growing up, so I always went to their game, so he just had fun watching them, so I figured I played.

Well.

Josh appreciates the game of basketball.

He's got a greater appreciation for the sounds of the game as he was born deaf.

Every newborn turns out is screened for hearing, and when she did Josh's hearing screening, she did not find any vibrations or brainwaves that he was hearing sound.

So she let me know that she had serious concerns about significant hearing loss in both ears, and that was all the information we were given before he was discharged from the hospital.

And that started us on our journey of having him evaluated and figuring out that he had a profound hearing loss.

With a lot of research and a new job opportunity for Brent in Memphis, Tennessee, the Altoff were able to find a way for Josh to here with a cochlear implant.

The blessing was that in Sioux Falls, there was a physician who would do the cochlear implant surgery, but he would not do it in Sioux Falls, and he'd only done six patients.

When we got to Memphis, we got him in to be seen by a physician who had implanted over 160 kids, and the surgery ended up being at the children's hospital, and he was able to get both sides implanted at once.

We did a lot of research considered the impact of raising a son through the deaf community versus the cochlear implant option, and it wasn't an easy decision.

We didn't know what was truly best for him, but having older brothers, we just felt that the cochlear implant would be a better option for our family and trusted in God.

I'm definitely happy that they did because without it, there's a lot of things about my life that would've been different, a lot of things that I wouldn't have been able to do, so I'm definitely happy for sure.

Now, Josh is leading the lys on the hardwood with full hearing.

As long as he's got his ears on.

You really don't notice it a whole lot.

It might fall off once in a while if he gets hit hard on a foul or something like that, but the guys are good at relaying the information, making sure if he's on the other end of the court that they're saying it a second or third time closer to him, get the message passed.

He's good at just looking and dialing in and reading lips like everybody should, but he's really learned that he's got to really have eye focus and make sure he is doing that.

But man, the expectations are just the same, and Josh wouldn't have it any other way.

Just that as long as you got the right attitude and the right work back thing that can't really hold you back, it means a lot because without the cochlear implants, I wouldn't be able to hear that.

And it just reminds me that it's kind of a gift that I've been given, so I'm very thankful for it.

The town of Oneida is filled with rich sports history, especially in basketball.

Names like Jim Sutton and Kent Hyde will never be forgotten.

Another name that will live on forever at Sully Buttes High School is Mark Seffner.

Even though Coach Seffner is no longer with us, his legacy of what he did and who he impacted will live on.

Justin has it.

That's Carly off her three too strong rebound with four seconds left and.

Is going to win it.

It's perfect.

Season is complete.

It's been a long year when you think about that, these kids have used that as motivation and it paid off.

Tonight.

It's hard to talk about Sully Butt's basketball without mentioning the name Mark Seffner, even though he had coaching and teaching stops in Gregory and Timberlake during his journey as well, his Chargers teams in Oneida saw the most success.

The 2007 State B Girls basketball tournament champions, the Sully Buttes Chargers.

His Sully Buttes resume included four state championships with the girls basketball team and three state football title game appearances in football.

And now.

Mark tragically passed away in October of 2022 during a battle with cancer, but his legacy still lives on.

There was a gym committee that went into, they wanted to redo the gym, do some upgrades, and it hadn't been painted and 30 some years, and there was a lot of things that they wanted to upgrade.

And so they came in and they were going to redo the floor, and as soon as Mark passed, I was saying immediately, this floor needs to be named the Marks after floor because he's was such a proponent on this floor.

Shortly after Mark passed away, it had been in the works, and the superintendent sent me an email and said, I needed time to speak with you and Scott, and they had a rendering of it, what they thought it was going to look like and showed it to me, and we were obviously very, very touched, very honored.

It right away was just like, oh my gosh, I can't even imagine that.

And then you flip to being really emotional because you miss them and you know how much that would mean to them.

And the people that know Mark would know, he would be so embarrassed.

He would be so just very humbled by it, and we were too very lucky to be tagging along.

To work with him was amazing.

I mean, I learned so much from him in the coaching era that I wish I knew that way before I left and came back here.

I mean, he mentored me.

I mean, as a coach, as a friend, I looked up to him, I respected him, I followed his footsteps.

I stepped in and basically took over for him at that time.

And then when he had passed, yes, I wanted to take over as head coach just to keep following in his footsteps and follow his dreams.

The girls really respected him and knowledge, I mean, took in all of his knowledge for the basketball games and even in practice, and they looked up to him a nonstop, I mean, even on and off the court, he was a respectable guy and influence on their lives.

One of the things that we pride ourselves on is having a very tough schedule, so we try to play the best teams in the state.

On December 21st, 2023, Sully Buttes held a ceremony to officially dedicate the court in honor of Mark Seffner.

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a large round of applause as we officially dedicate this court.

And honor.

Isn't, especially to me and my mom, knowing this day has been coming, we had it circled on the calendar, and then to see people that came here are from near and far.

It was a pretty cool deal to see everyone.

It says so much about where we live and why we choose to live here because we might get a little ly with each other, but this is a pretty special place to live, not just in Oneida, but in the Midwest, South Dakota especially.

Yeah, we had tons of support, tons of support.

They let Scott and I come in, make the first baskets on the court and i's two for four, and yes, mine were layups.

Scott probably made all four his, but that meant a lot that they wanted to include us in that.

How special is it that the court here is being dedicated to Mark?

This is a special night.

He loved all his players.

He loved his school and he gave so much.

He gave so much of himself.

He expected that from his players, but after that game, he was just a regular guy and he would talk to those players.

He'd follow those players after they went off the college, air drift, if they played or if they didn't, he still followed him.

He was just a great person.

He was a good coach, but he was a better person.

I need the help for help 1, 2, 3, 3.

Not only on the basketball floor, but in the classroom, chorus or whatever.

I'm very excited for all my players.

What brought you back to Facilit?

I wouldn't have missed this.

I'm glad that I schedule for Calvin Fitness this year, and this is the first time I've been back to a game in this gym.

Another, I was just super grateful that came here and during my time and just super grateful to set my family and now into coaching.

I get to hopefully kind of be a little bit like him.

I hope that those things are in me that he hasn't stood, and if I can be half the coach that he was, I'll be lucky.

She has been such a leader since she started playing for us.

I tried to follow her, all of her activities and stuff, and very proud Chloe with all the things that she's involved in.

Mark son Scott now teaches his dad's PE class at Sly Buttes High School.

He also spends time as an assistant football coach and a basketball official.

Right when I took over, I mean, it felt natural right away.

Being around the kids every day, being able to feel that satisfaction that he had giving back and being with those kids every day and now being able to walk out every day, every morning being on that floor and get to see his name that I know he's with me and he is above watching, and that just cool, really to be walking around that floor and get to teach there every day.

We're really going to miss him.

He was such a good friend and I loved him like a brother, and the community loved him, and we just, every day you look back and you try and smile about the things that, the good things that you remember about him, but the community's just going to really miss him, and we miss him as a whole, and that's there.

We're never going to be able to fill that back in locally with having him not here anymore.

But the dedication is really special because it is going to allow us to celebrate Mark in a place that he loved and a place that our family spent a lot of time in.

There's heartbreak in that gym for our family and much joy and a place that's just always felt like home to all of us.

We've spent a lot of time there.

They back us and give us a hundred percent support throughout the season, and I was really proud and honored.

Tonight, we displayed four very different people when it comes to sports in South Dakota.

Each have a very different journey, but all have inspired at every school, with every sport or even activity, you'll find people who are inspiring others every day.

So the next time you're at a game, maybe it's a concert or even a play, take a look around and appreciate the work and time that others put in to make what we have in our state.

Great.

We want to thank you tonight for joining us for Tales from the Hardwood, I'm Craig Maddick.

Goodnight.