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Mar. 28—STEWARTVILLE — Those card games at the Shindelar house, they refuse to end.
When you have five family members who don't accept losing, that's what you get — games that go deep into the night, nobody conceding a thing.
The mother of the house, Jessica Shindelar, says that competitive edge has served them all well. Mostly. She and husband Marty have raised four achievers. They are oldest son Jason (college freshman), followed by current Stewartville High School students, daughters Audrey (junior) and Danika (freshman), and finally sixth-grader Lucas.
"Pretty much anything can turn into a competition under this roof," Jessica said. "And as the mom, that is not always good. I am putting out a lot of fires."
Name the Shindelar with the most "fire" and all fingers likely point to Audrey. Don't read this book by its outwardly quiet cover.
Audrey is not one to be denied. Nowhere is that truer than on the basketball court, her favorite place. That's where the 5-foot-11 athletic, supremely poised and unselfish guard has made the biggest name for herself — big enough to be named our Post Bulletin All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year for 2024-25.
It comes after a season in which she led her team to the state tournament while averaging 22 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals per game. She scored all of those points on deadly shooting — 52% on 2-pointers, 35% on 3-pointers, 85% on free throws.
An off-season spent refining her jump shot and incorporating new moves to free herself got her there.
She did it all while following her daily competitive grind, one that touches all facets of her life.
"Competition is where Audrey shines," said Jessica, also pointing to her rigor in the academic world, including four-hour stretches of studying for big tests that have helped her maintain a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
Jessica sees first hand that same "want-to" — and then some — from Audrey on the basketball court. The former University of Northern Colorado basketball player is a Stewartville assistant coach to head man Tanner Teige. There is no drill deemed too inconsequential by Audrey. Just like when she plays a family card game of Texas Hold'em or board game Monopoly, she wants to finish first. Always.
It's a drive that's served her well. In fact, as a mostly lead-by-example type on Stewartville's girls basketball team, it's served the entire program well. The rest of the Tigers players follow her lead. Stewartville basketball practices are high-octane events, pretty much everything a competition.
"My competitive streak comes from my siblings," Audrey said. "I always bring that competitiveness. I never want to lose, especially to them in board games, card games and any sport. But I've cared about winning ever since I can first remember. Losing is not fun. It's a terrible feeling."
As second-year coach Teige sees it, Audrey has the perfect blend to have developed into not only a great player, but an ideal leader and person.
Her desire to improve is insatiable. Basketball never really ends for her, Audrey shifting immediately from the high school season to AAU ball, she and Stewartville teammate Jayci Rath both playing for the Minnesota Fury out of the Twin Cities. Individual workouts also don't end, those often done with her mom and freshman sister Danika — a starting point guard at Stewartville — in tow. Shots and moves and ball-handing drills are done over and over again, those sisters crafting their games into something special.
But it's much more than Audrey's basketball skills that jump out to Teige. It's her care for her teammates, on and off the floor, that he also covets. His star shooting guard, who will play in two years at Division I mid-major basketball power South Dakota State University, is as giving and unselfish as they come.
Just listen to her.
"I like to pass the ball, because when a teammate scores off of it, that makes two people happy," Audrey said.
Teige appreciates her deliveries. She is the catalyst for almost all of what Stewartville does well.
"Her passing is one of the things that makes her great," Teige said. "Plus, she pushes her teammates to be great. They all work with each other, with that competitive nature that they now all bring."
Also a standout track and field athlete at Stewartville who's reached the state meet in the high jump (5-feet-3 her personal best) and the 400 meters (just less than 60 seconds), her life isn't solely sports and academics.
She is also an outdoors girl. She gets to tap into that a few weeks of the year especially when she and the family go to Colorado, visiting her grandparents and other relatives. There, they hike in the mountains, fish, and go boating and four-wheeling.
Even when she isn't immersed in Colorado's outdoor grandeur, Audrey still finds time for the outdoors and her beloved fishing. There is a pond near her Stewartville home that she frequents, putting a worm on her line and hoping for the best.
"When I get a fish on my line, there is always that excitement that comes with it," Audrey said.
Still, it pales in comparison to her truest passion, basketball.
For Audrey, there is nothing like it.
"Basketball, it's just something I've enjoyed my whole life," she said. "I like the adrenaline of making a shot or playing in a close game. I just enjoy it so much."
Continue reading...
When you have five family members who don't accept losing, that's what you get — games that go deep into the night, nobody conceding a thing.
The mother of the house, Jessica Shindelar, says that competitive edge has served them all well. Mostly. She and husband Marty have raised four achievers. They are oldest son Jason (college freshman), followed by current Stewartville High School students, daughters Audrey (junior) and Danika (freshman), and finally sixth-grader Lucas.
"Pretty much anything can turn into a competition under this roof," Jessica said. "And as the mom, that is not always good. I am putting out a lot of fires."
Name the Shindelar with the most "fire" and all fingers likely point to Audrey. Don't read this book by its outwardly quiet cover.
Audrey is not one to be denied. Nowhere is that truer than on the basketball court, her favorite place. That's where the 5-foot-11 athletic, supremely poised and unselfish guard has made the biggest name for herself — big enough to be named our Post Bulletin All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year for 2024-25.
It comes after a season in which she led her team to the state tournament while averaging 22 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals per game. She scored all of those points on deadly shooting — 52% on 2-pointers, 35% on 3-pointers, 85% on free throws.
An off-season spent refining her jump shot and incorporating new moves to free herself got her there.
She did it all while following her daily competitive grind, one that touches all facets of her life.
"Competition is where Audrey shines," said Jessica, also pointing to her rigor in the academic world, including four-hour stretches of studying for big tests that have helped her maintain a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
Jessica sees first hand that same "want-to" — and then some — from Audrey on the basketball court. The former University of Northern Colorado basketball player is a Stewartville assistant coach to head man Tanner Teige. There is no drill deemed too inconsequential by Audrey. Just like when she plays a family card game of Texas Hold'em or board game Monopoly, she wants to finish first. Always.
It's a drive that's served her well. In fact, as a mostly lead-by-example type on Stewartville's girls basketball team, it's served the entire program well. The rest of the Tigers players follow her lead. Stewartville basketball practices are high-octane events, pretty much everything a competition.
"My competitive streak comes from my siblings," Audrey said. "I always bring that competitiveness. I never want to lose, especially to them in board games, card games and any sport. But I've cared about winning ever since I can first remember. Losing is not fun. It's a terrible feeling."
As second-year coach Teige sees it, Audrey has the perfect blend to have developed into not only a great player, but an ideal leader and person.
Her desire to improve is insatiable. Basketball never really ends for her, Audrey shifting immediately from the high school season to AAU ball, she and Stewartville teammate Jayci Rath both playing for the Minnesota Fury out of the Twin Cities. Individual workouts also don't end, those often done with her mom and freshman sister Danika — a starting point guard at Stewartville — in tow. Shots and moves and ball-handing drills are done over and over again, those sisters crafting their games into something special.
But it's much more than Audrey's basketball skills that jump out to Teige. It's her care for her teammates, on and off the floor, that he also covets. His star shooting guard, who will play in two years at Division I mid-major basketball power South Dakota State University, is as giving and unselfish as they come.
Just listen to her.
"I like to pass the ball, because when a teammate scores off of it, that makes two people happy," Audrey said.
Teige appreciates her deliveries. She is the catalyst for almost all of what Stewartville does well.
"Her passing is one of the things that makes her great," Teige said. "Plus, she pushes her teammates to be great. They all work with each other, with that competitive nature that they now all bring."
Also a standout track and field athlete at Stewartville who's reached the state meet in the high jump (5-feet-3 her personal best) and the 400 meters (just less than 60 seconds), her life isn't solely sports and academics.
She is also an outdoors girl. She gets to tap into that a few weeks of the year especially when she and the family go to Colorado, visiting her grandparents and other relatives. There, they hike in the mountains, fish, and go boating and four-wheeling.
Even when she isn't immersed in Colorado's outdoor grandeur, Audrey still finds time for the outdoors and her beloved fishing. There is a pond near her Stewartville home that she frequents, putting a worm on her line and hoping for the best.
"When I get a fish on my line, there is always that excitement that comes with it," Audrey said.
Still, it pales in comparison to her truest passion, basketball.
For Audrey, there is nothing like it.
"Basketball, it's just something I've enjoyed my whole life," she said. "I like the adrenaline of making a shot or playing in a close game. I just enjoy it so much."
Continue reading...
