In the quiet corners of northwest Iowa, the small towns of Newell and Fonda offer a familiar portrait of rural America, where main street storefronts stand empty and a tranquil stillness pervades the scattered houses. This placid facade, however, shatters on game nights, when the entire community converges on a single, vibrant epicenter: the Newell-Fonda High School gymnasium. Here, a powerful paradox comes to life, as a region experiencing demographic decline hosts a girls’ basketball program that is not merely surviving but flourishing with a level of passion and success that defies a startling national trend. While participation in girls’ high school basketball has plummeted across the country, even in a celebrated basketball state like Iowa, the Newell-Fonda Mustangs serve as a powerful counter-narrative. Their story is one of deeply ingrained tradition, community solidarity, and a sustained excellence that has transformed a sports team into the very cultural and social anchor of its community, offering a compelling case study in resilience and what it takes for a sport to thrive against overwhelming odds.
A Tale of Two Realities
The Heartbeat of a Fading Town
The Newell-Fonda Mustangs are far more than just a successful high school team; they represent a genuine anomaly in the contemporary landscape of youth athletics. The program’s vitality is immediately evident in its extraordinary participation rate, with 21 of the school’s 71 female students in grades 9 through 12 proudly wearing the team’s colors on the varsity or junior varsity squads. This level of engagement is a stark and powerful rebuttal to the widespread narrative of declining interest in the sport. The team’s legacy is one of consistent and historic dominance, a tradition meticulously built over decades. Under the stewardship of head coach Dick Jungers, who seamlessly continued the success of his predecessor, Jody Maske, the program has evolved into a perennial powerhouse in Iowa’s high school basketball scene. In his 24 years at the helm, Jungers has cultivated a culture of excellence, compiling a remarkable record of 527 wins against only 83 losses. This record is punctuated by 16 appearances in the state tournament and four state championships, cementing the Mustangs’ status as an elite program. Their recent history is even more impressive, marked by appearances in the state final in seven of the last eight seasons, a testament to their sustained competitive fire. Currently boasting a 14-1 record and a No. 1 ranking, the team consistently outmatches opponents with an average victory margin of 34 points, a clear indicator of their superior skill and preparation. This deep-seated tradition is not just a matter of statistics; it is woven into the fabric of the community’s identity, a sentiment perfectly articulated by senior center Jocee Walsh: “If you know Newell-Fonda, you know we play basketball.”
The game itself is a major social event, a community ritual that transcends the boundaries of a simple athletic contest. It often begins with a pregame supper hosted in the school cafeteria, a gathering that serves as both a fundraiser and a communal meal, bringing together families, farmers, and alumni. As tip-off approaches, the gym transforms into an electric arena, packed to capacity with enthusiastic supporters. The energy is palpable, with every seat filled and latecomers peering through the doorway, unwilling to miss a moment of the action. This fervent local support is amplified by a significant digital following; the livestream of home games regularly attracts as many as 2,500 viewers, a number that far surpasses the combined population of Newell and Fonda. This widespread engagement illustrates the team’s role as a unifying force, a source of collective pride that brings people together, whether they are in the stands or watching from afar. Coach Jungers aptly summarizes the team’s central role in local life when he poses the rhetorical question, “In Newell or Fonda, what are you going to do if you’re not going to basketball games?” In an era where community bonds can feel increasingly frayed, the Newell-Fonda girls’ basketball team stands as a powerful testament to how a shared passion for a local institution can become the very heartbeat of a town, providing a rhythm and purpose that resonates through generations.
A Nationwide Crisis
The vibrant success story unfolding in rural Iowa stands in stark contrast to a troubling and persistent national trend documented by the National Federation of State High School Associations. The data reveals a significant decline in participation in girls’ high school basketball, which has fallen from a peak of 451,600 players in the year 2000 to just 356,240 in 2025. This represents a staggering 21% drop over two and a half decades, a clear signal of shifting athletic priorities among young female athletes. During this same period, another sport has been on a remarkable ascent. Volleyball has seen its participation numbers surge by 29%, growing its player base and ultimately surpassing basketball to become the most popular team sport for girls in the United States. This fundamental shift is not an isolated phenomenon but rather a widespread movement reflecting evolving interests, changing social dynamics, and the increasing competition for student athletes’ time and commitment. The decline in basketball is not merely a statistical curiosity; it represents a cultural change at the grassroots level of American sports, posing a significant challenge to the future health and vitality of a once-dominant game.
The situation in Iowa is particularly acute, presenting a poignant irony for a state with such a rich and celebrated history in girls’ basketball. Iowa was the first state in the nation to hold a girls’ state tournament, an event that dates back to 1920, and it is the home of Caitlin Clark, a transcendent superstar whose influence has dramatically elevated the sport’s visibility on a national and global scale. Despite this legacy and the “Caitlin Clark effect” inspiring a new generation of fans, the state has experienced one of the steepest declines in participation in the country. Since the year 2000, the number of girls playing high school basketball in Iowa has plummeted by an alarming 38%, dropping from 9,401 players to a mere 5,856. This precipitous fall has had tangible and often painful consequences for schools and communities across the state. Some high schools have been forced to make the difficult decision to disband their girls’ basketball programs entirely, unable to field a team. Many others find themselves in a constant struggle to maintain both varsity and junior varsity squads, often resorting to shortened two-quarter JV games simply because the same small group of players is needed to compete in the varsity contest that immediately follows. Even large, traditionally strong programs are not immune; Clark’s own alma mater, Dowling Catholic, has seen its numbers shrink from around 40 players a decade ago to just 28 this season, underscoring the pervasive nature of this crisis.
Understanding the Decline and Forging a Path Forward
The Forces Behind the Fall
The erosion of participation in girls’ high school basketball is a multifaceted issue driven by a confluence of competitive pressures and intrinsic challenges within the sport itself, as identified by coaches and athletic officials on the front lines. A primary factor is the intense competition from other sports, most notably club volleyball. The volleyball season often directly conflicts with the basketball season, forcing young athletes to choose between the two. This conflict is exacerbated by the pervasive trend of sports specialization, where students are encouraged to focus on a single sport year-round to maximize their chances of securing college scholarships. As a result, the multi-sport athlete, once a common figure in high school athletics, is becoming increasingly rare. Furthermore, the landscape of girls’ sports in Iowa has been reshaped by the recent sanctioning of girls’ wrestling during the 2022-23 school year. In a remarkably short period, the new sport has attracted over 2,000 athletes, siphoning a significant number of potential players away from the basketball court and further dividing an already shrinking talent pool. This increased competition creates a challenging environment for basketball programs attempting to recruit and retain players in a crowded athletic marketplace.
Beyond the external pressures from competing sports, basketball presents inherent difficulties that can discourage potential players. Coaches consistently observe that the fundamental skills of basketball—dribbling, shooting, and complex defensive schemes—are comparatively difficult to develop and master. This has led to a widening gap between highly dedicated players who commit to year-round training and more casual participants. As this skill disparity grows, many girls who struggle with the fundamentals can become discouraged, leading them to abandon the sport by the time they reach middle school. The intense physical demands of the game also play a significant role. The constant running, physical contact, and “bumping” inherent in basketball are cited as a deterrent for some potential players who may prefer less physically demanding athletic pursuits. Addressing these challenges also requires a re-evaluation of coaching at the developmental levels. Dowling Catholic coach Kristin Meyer has pointed to a critical need for more relatable mentors at the youth level. She suggests that recruiting more women in their 20s and 30s with a background in basketball to serve as coaches could provide young girls with positive role models, potentially fostering a more inclusive and encouraging environment than the traditional “dad coach” model and helping to cultivate a lifelong passion for the game.
The Newell-Fonda Blueprint
In a proactive response to the participation crisis, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union had assembled a task force, which included both Coach Jungers and Coach Meyer, to explore and implement tangible solutions. Recognizing that the future of the sport depended on revitalizing it at the grassroots level, the group focused on innovative changes aimed at making the game more accessible and enjoyable for its youngest players. One of the key proposals championed by Meyer was a structural shift in how grade-school basketball was played. She advocated for implementing three-on-three games for players up until the fifth grade. The rationale behind this change was straightforward yet profound: a smaller-sided game would naturally increase player involvement. In a three-on-three format, every player on the court would get more touches on the ball, more opportunities to shoot, and a greater chance to actively participate in the flow of the game. This increased engagement was seen as a crucial tool for developing fundamental skills and, more importantly, for keeping young girls excited about and invested in the sport, thereby building a stronger and more sustainable foundation for high school programs in the years to come.
The Newell-Fonda program stood as a living embodiment of the principles the task force sought to promote, offering a powerful blueprint for sustained success. Their model was built upon a robust and deeply integrated youth pipeline that introduced girls to the sport at an early age and nurtured their development through a supportive, community-wide ecosystem. In the Newell and Fonda communities, it had become a rite of passage for girls to begin playing organized basketball in the third grade. The interest was so ingrained and widespread that, in a recent season, a second-grade team was formed, with an astounding 17 of the 21 girls in that grade level signing up to play. This early introduction, combined with a continuous development pipeline, was the key ingredient in their enduring excellence. It created a culture where participation was the norm, a sentiment humorously captured by resident Andrea Vanderhoff, who noted that playing basketball was simply what girls from the area did, even if they “don’t have athletic talent,” because “everyone just wants to be a part of it.” Ultimately, the success of the Newell-Fonda Mustangs demonstrated that in their towns, the girls’ basketball team was more than just a sport; it was the central pillar of community life and identity, a force that defied all national trends through an unwavering, multi-generational community investment.
