When The IHSA Banned Girls Basketball at GHS

Girls basketball in Illinois is starting practices this week. It is an exciting time for many female basketball players as they anticipate the excitement of games, conference championships, holiday tourneys, and the IHSA State Series. There is much to look forward to. 

During the 1971-2 school year, a group of Galesburg girls had a similar excitement as they looked forward to their basketball season. There was to be no conference championship, no holiday tourneys, and no IHSA State Series. That didn’t matter- for the first time ever, sixteen Galesburg girls in 1971-2 had a team and were going to get to play games vs. other schools. 

1988 Illinois Class A Girls State Tourney

 State Champions- Teutopolis

Streaks Alumni Profile- Rev. Tyson Parks III- 1993

Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile features Rev. Tyson Parks III from Galesburg HS’s Class of 1993. 

Tyson was one of the all-time greatest wrestlers in Streaks history. He qualified for State- three times, won the WB6- 3 times, and was Sectional champ- 2 times. He later won the CCIW crown while wrestling for Augustana.

Rev Parks is widely respected in Galesburg for his energy and commitment as a pastor. In the last few years, he has moved to Peoria where he is continuing his minister in so many different ways. He has impacted and continues to impact so many people. 

I appreciate Rev Parks for taking the time from his busy, busy life to share some of his memories. 

Coaches as Storytellers

There are many skills that a coach needs as a leader. One such important skill is to be a storyteller. This may seem to be a silly idea but think about it. 

As coaches, we are constantly sharing stories of past athletes at our school  as well as stories of college and pro athletes. Our stories are designed to point out approaches and attitudes of athletes that led to success or led to failures. 

This Week in Galesburg History- Nov 2, 2026

“This Week in Galesburg History” 

Lots of winning going on this week!! 

Lombard wins, Knox wins, and the Cubs win!! That doesn’t even count the GHS IM basketball champs. 

Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg came to Galesburg. 

This is a look back at the history of Galesburg (and the world). What was going on 100 years ago, 70 years ago, 60 years ago, 50 years ago, 30 years ago, and 10 years ago this week? 

“This Week in Galesburg History” appears on Mondays on the WGIL website and the Massey Basketball Blog.

1988 Illinois Boys Basketball Class A State Tourney

State Champions- Pana

2nd- Pinckneyville

3rd- Walther Lutheran

4th- St. Elmo

The First 20: Setting the Tone for High Performance Basketball Practice

Sometime is not what you say, but what you do as a coach that impacts your team and impacts your practices. All coaches want their teams to have high energy practices. 

I believe the first 20 minutes of every practice are important for determining what the practice will be like. Here are two little things that I felt helped me create a high performance practice. 

1964 Illinois Boys Basketball State Tourney- Official Program

 

State Champions- Pekin

2nd- Cobden

3rd- Decatur

4th- Rock Island Alleman

Tracing Centralia Basketball into the Record Book by Bill Niepoetter & Ray Albert (1982)

This is an article written in the 1982 IHSA State Boys Basketball Tourney Program. It was commemorating Centralia’s 1500th win earlier in the 1982 season. 

It was written by Bill Niepoetter of WILY Radio in Centralia, and Ray Albert of the Centralia Sentinel. 

19 Tips for Coaches & Players

Here are 19 posts from social media that are designed to help players and coaches. 

HOF Insights: 5 Tips for Coaches

 

(Originally posted in August of 2025)

Question of the Week: What are 5 tips you would give to coaches to help them and their teams have a positive experience? 

1955 Galesburg HS Reflector

1955 GHS Reflector

1987 Illinois Class AA Girls State Tourney

State Champions- Immaculate Heart of Mary

HOF Insights- Identifying and Building Team Leaders

In the “HOF Insights”, I ask a group of successful, veteran coaches to share their thoughts on a variety of topics. Each week, I ask a different question. The questions can be focused on helping coaches, parents or athletes to have a more successful athletic experience.  

A crucial component of a successful team’s culture and of their execution on the court is the effectiveness of the team’s leaders. This week I asked the coaches how they identified leaders and how they helped develop leaders. 

Coaches’ Corner- 10 Questions About the Shot Clock Coaches Must Answer

In Illinois, high school basketball will be adding the shot clock next season. Every coach has watched colleges and the pros play with the shot clock so I am sure most coaches have a few strategies in mind as they prepare for the season. Here are 8 questions that each coach must answer in regards to the shot clock…