Sisters hold connection to Special Olympics team
Submitted photo
The Pony Express Riders Special Olympics basketball team includes a pair of sisters who have a chance to coach their brothers. From left is Tanner Hrenchir, next to his sister, Katie, and Jackie Haley, third from left, is next to her brother, Bryan Haley. Jackie Haley is a resident of Maryville.
SAVANNAH — A friendship through work led to a pair of sisters becoming coaches to their brothers.
Now, the two will guide the Pony Express Riders basketball team to the Special Olympics of Missouri State Indoor Games next month in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The team is made up players from St. Joseph, Savannah, Maysville and Wathena, Kansas.
Maryville resident Jackie Haley is the assistant coach on the team, which is guided by Katie Lyle, a Savannah resident.
This is the first year Haley has coached the team which features her young brother, Bryan, a junior at Maysville High School. Lyle’s brother, Tanner Hrenchir, is also on the team.
“It was a pretty cool experience even as a team, but coaching my brother made it a lot more special,” said Haley, who once played softball at Northwest Missouri State after helping Maysville win the Class 1 championship in 2013. “It is kind of tough sometimes because it is your older sister so you think you don’t have to listen as well. It is an awesome experience and I’m glad we get to do it together.”
The Pony Express Riders have won the past two tournaments it has played in to punch its ticket to the state finals.
The first weekend of January, the team was among the hundreds that gathered at Northwest Missouri State’s Bearcat Arena for the area tournament. Of the 27 teams entered, the Riders went undefeated to claim first.
That win earned them a trip to Joplin for the Missouri Regional Basketball Tournament, held at North Middle School.
The team won again, which secured the trip to state.
“They love each other and they are a family and it shows when they play,” said Lyle, who works with Jackie Haley at Altec in St. Joseph. “I was thinking about it earlier how really cool that I’m coaching with her. She also has a brother in the program and we can relate to each other. We get each other and that makes us feel more like a family. It is really awesome coaching her.”
The team is spending each Tuesday night at the Savannah First Baptist Church practicing in preparation for the state games.
Both coaches take part in practice and they don’t hold anything back. At a recent scrimmage, Jackie Haley jammed her thumb going for a loose ball.
“I love helping kids and this is something they love doing and I’m glad I get to help them grow,” Haley said.
The team is holding various fundraising activities to prepare for the trip to mid Missouri. A spaghetti dinner was held in Maysville earlier this month. This Saturday, there is a co-ed slow pitch softball tournament benefiting the team in Westboro. The deadline to sign-up is March 1 and if interested, contact Haley at 816-449-0574 or at [email protected].
There is also a benefit volleyball tournament at Bearcat Arena on March 25, which will have sign-ups running through March 17. For more information contact Chaz Lyle at 816-390-7449.
CODY THORN/DAILY FORUM
Bryan Haley, left, and older sister Jackie Haley share a laugh during a recent practice at the Savannah First Baptist Church. Bryan Haley is a junior at Maysville High School, where his sister also attended before going to school at Northwest Missouri State.
