While the national trend shows a dramatic 38% decline in girls high school basketball participation, the tiny town of Newell, Iowa, stands as a powerful exception. The secret to its thriving program isn’t a superstar athlete like Caitlin Clark, but a deep-rooted, multi-generational community obsession that starts in the second grade.
The streets of Newell, Iowa, are quiet, marked by shuttered storefronts and vacant houses—a familiar scene of rural decline. Yet, the heart of this community of 850 people beats with an unexpected intensity. It pulses inside the Newell-Fonda High School gym, where the town and the neighboring community of Fonda come together to cheer on a girls basketball program that is a statewide powerhouse. This success makes Newell-Fonda a stark outlier in a national story of decline.
The numbers are staggering. Across the country, participation in girls basketball has plunged from 451,600 in 2000 to just 356,240 in 2025, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In Iowa, the drop has been even more severe, a 38% decline from 9,401 to 5,856 players. This trend is all the more jarring given the meteoric rise of the women’s game at the college and professional levels, fueled by superstars like Clark, who hails from the state.
“When I first started coaching girls basketball, every team you played had a good point guard, a good shooter and a solid post player and then they could build from there,” said Newell-Fonda coach Dick Jungers. “Now, some of the teams we play are struggling to have maybe even one or two good players in the whole program. It’s kind of concerning, but kids are putting their time elsewhere.”
Iowa’s own rich history in the girls’ game—dating back to the first state tournament in 1920—makes the current decline almost unimaginable. Yet, a handful of schools have disbanded their programs, and many others can only field a varsity team, often forcing junior varsity players to suit up for varsity games immediately after.
The Newell-Fonda Blueprint: More Than a Game
In Newell and Fonda, separated by just 9 miles, basketball is more than a sport; it is a cultural institution. This devotion was cemented by legendary coach Jody Maske, who took four teams to the state tournament from 1995-2002. He passed the torch to Jungers, who has compiled a staggering 527-83 record, winning four state championships and making 16 tournament appearances in 24 years.
The Mustangs are the undisputed queens of small-school basketball in Iowa. They have played in the state final seven of the last eight seasons, winning titles in three consecutive years from 2019-21. This season, they opened with a 14-1 record and an average winning margin of 34 points. They have been ranked No. 1 in the state since knocking off the team that beat them in last year’s championship game.
“It’s an intense desire to win, you’ve got to admit,” said 89-year-old Jim Gailey, who has been attending games for 60 years. The community’s passion is undeniable. For home games, the gym is often packed, with people standing in the hallways if they can’t get a seat. Games are livestreamed and draw up to 2,500 viewers, and pregame suppers featuring pulled pork sandwiches are a staple community fundraiser.
“In Newell or Fonda, what are you going to do if you’re not going to basketball games?” Jungers asked. “Sometimes it’s what gets people out of their house for the day,” added Andrea Vanderhoff, a former player and current coach.
From Second Grade to Varsity: A Pipeline of Passion
The secret to Newell-Fonda’s sustained success lies in its ability to cultivate talent from an incredibly young age. Youth programs are the lifeblood of the program, and the commitment starts early. This year, for the first time, the town formed a second-grade team. Of 21 eligible girls, 17 signed up.
“I think it’s what you do even if you don’t have athletic talent,” Vanderhoff said, laughing. “Everyone just wants to be a part of it.” Vanderhoff, a 2005 graduate, now coaches the second graders. Her daughter, Madelyn, is a freshman on the varsity team, continuing a family legacy that stretches back generations.
This generational transfer of passion is perhaps best embodied by 87-year-old Marie Breon, a member of the Class of 1956. She averaged over 30 points per game as a senior and still bemoans a controversial call that cost her team a trip to the state tournament. Breon drove the team bus for nearly 40 years and has seen three daughters, eight granddaughters, and now her great-granddaughter, Madelyn, play for the Mustangs. She sits in her reserved front-row seat for every game, a living link to the program’s storied past.
“They’re going to grow their kids up to be just the same as they were,” Madelyn Vanderhoff said. “It’s generation by generation here.” Parents who are former players and choose to stay in the area are eager to volunteer, whether it’s coaching a youth team or organizing a fundraiser. This creates a self-sustaining ecosystem of support and passion.
National Crisis vs. Local Triumph
The reasons for the national decline are complex. Coaches point to the rise of club volleyball, which often conflicts with the basketball season and draws athletes away from multi-sport participation. The recent growth of girls wrestling, now a sanctioned sport in Iowa with over 2,000 participants, has also siphoned potential basketball players. NFHS data shows volleyball has seen a 29% increase in participation since 2000, while basketball has fallen 21%.
Basketball’s unique challenges also play a role. The sport requires a high level of skill development that can be difficult to attain, and the gap between elite and casual players has widened. Coaches note that girls who struggle often get discouraged and quit by middle school. The physical nature of the game—the constant running and contact—also deters some players.
Even in the shadow of Caitlin Clark, the sport’s biggest star, the high school pipeline has not seen a corresponding surge. Clark’s alma mater, Dowling Catholic, has seen its numbers drop from 40 to 28 players in a decade. The surge in viewership and attendance for women’s basketball has yet to translate into more girls picking up a basketball at the youth level.
Coaches like Jungers, along with others across the state, are part of an Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union task force searching for solutions. Ideas include changing youth formats to focus on skill development and recruiting more female coaches at the elementary level. But for now, Newell-Fonda offers a powerful, time-tested lesson. While other communities struggle to field a team, Newell proves that when a sport is woven into the very fabric of a town—from the second-grader just learning to shoot to the great-grandmother still watching from the front row—it can not only survive but thrive.
As Breon said, with a mix of pride and humor, “Everybody knows us. We don’t have to tell ’em.” In an era of declining participation, that unspoken, unwavering community support is the most valuable asset of all.
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