On March 1st, 2024, FHC Basketball completed a big comeback in the final seconds to take down Caledonia in their second playoff game in the state tournament. A benchwarmer at the time, Aaron Schellenberg remembers it fondly.
“That was insane,” Aaron said. “That’s what you think of when you think of March Madness moments. That was the coolest sports memory I’ve had.”
That little taste of a playoff run has prepared Aaron and the rest of the returning players for what to expect heading into the 2025 tournament. In order for the team to succeed, a similar mental performance would be crucial.
“We had a lot of good players,” Aaron said. “We kind of just put it together at the right time. We were playing really good together basketball; everyone was scoring, not just the same people in every game, and I think our defense was really good, too, which helped us beat East Kentwood.”
This year, Aaron was named a captain, assuming a leadership role. As expected, his mindset has changed in response to the additional responsibility.
“I feel like there’s a lot more responsibility now,” Aaron said. “Like, last year you just watched Jonas [VanderWoude] and Brady [Miller] and said, ‘Oh, they’re going to go do it all’, but now no one else is going to do it, now you’ve gotta go out there and do it yourself. [Coach George] was always encouraging us a lot and making sure that we knew that he believed in us, which I think gave us some really important confidence to be able to fill that role.”
Moving forward to the next round, the Rangers must prepare for FHN and then Northview if they make it past the Huskies after dispatching Union on Monday. Aaron recalls advice from an old mentor on his outlook after a walkover first round.
“Our old coach, Coach Paul, would say, ‘Respect all, fear none,'” Aaron said. “I always liked that one because no matter who you’re playing, you should respect them because, for Union, you can’t go in with the mindset of thinking that we’re so much better than them because then they’ll surprise you. And then with the ‘fear none’ part, I think going up against Northview, they’re kind of like the Goliath.”
Helping to lead the 13 best basketball players in the school isn’t the only role Aaron has. He’ll also step into a leadership role on the baseball team this year. With the baseball team, Aaron’s just going to enjoy it.
“I don’t feel a lot of pressure with baseball,” Aaron said. “I love getting to play, and I love my teammates, so it’s not as much pressure. I just kind of enjoy playing the sport and being with them.”
Once basketball season wraps, it’ll be on to leading the baseball team, who, despite a strong conference-winning regular season, was first-rounded by Caledonia last season. This team, Aaron noted, is exciting.
“We should have a really good team,” Aaron said. “Our class is really good, and the grade below us is really good, and I think we have a lot of depth. We should be really solid this year.”
As Aaron looks to close out his career as an FHC Basketball player, he thinks highly of his captaincy, but it doesn’t come without some extra baggage.
“It’s been awesome,” Aaron said. “I guess knowing that every day you have to go out there and be your best and you can’t take days off; I think that’s put a little bit more pressure on me. Last year, at times, I could just not pay attention during practice and slack off. I can’t really do that anymore.”
