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Trish Betthauser has played and coached girls and women’s basketball at every level except the pros.

It has given her an eye for talent, and she liked what she saw in Tomah last week, especially among the girls who will be seventh- and eighth-graders this fall.

“Whoever is fortunate enough to get the (girls) coaching job at the high school has a bright future ahead,” she said. “I like their attitude, and I was really impressed with their ability to listen to someone they don’t know.”

Betthauser returned for a first-hand look at Tomah basketball as the lead instructor of the first annual Tomah Youth Basketball Camp. Nearly 100 athletes attended the three-day camp at Tomah Middle School for boys and girls entering grades 3-12 next year. The camp, which ran June 30-July 2, was sponsored by Kwik Trip, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.

For Betthauser, it was a chance to return to the hometown where her basketball journey began. She enjoys her time in the gymnasium and was delighted when her sister, Teri Derousseau, first approached her about a camp in Tomah.

“Teri wanted to provide an opportunity for the younger kids in town,” Betthauser said. “Teri has done a lot of the organization, and we got a lot of help from Sue Mubarak with Tomah Youth Basketball. I just finished up four camps of my own in Illinois, so I’m in camp mode.”

Betthauser was a standout player for Tomah High School and then competed for four seasons at UW-Oshkosh, where she played for head coach Kathi Bennett.

Betthauser was then Bennett’s assistant during collegiate stints at Evansville and Indiana. Betthauser briefly took the interim head coaching reins at Indiana in 2002 after Bennett was injured in an automobile accident.

Stevenson HS

After Bennett left Indiana, Betthauser landed at Adlai Stevenson III High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. She just finished her second season as head varsity girls coach with a team that started two freshmen, one sophomore and two juniors and still managed a .500 record (“We have high expectations next year,” she said.). She also teaches chemistry at the high school.

With 4,600 students, Stevenson High School has 1,900 more students than the biggest school in Wisconsin. She said a school that large is a challenge for any coach.

“The advantage is an abundance of resources for both teachers and students,” Betthauser said. “But with a school of that size, students often feel they get lost in the program, and you can’t always get the student-athletes you want to try out.”

Betthauser said she would entertain the right offer to return to the college ranks, but there are things about high school coaching she prefers.

“In high school, I have more time in the gym to develop young players,” she said. “In college, the recruiting kept me on the road so much. I was the gym, but not as much as I wanted to be.”

When she’s teaching youngsters in a camp, she emphasizes three things:

* Proper instruction. It doesn’t necessarily have to come from a coach; it can come from a father, brother or uncle.

* Positive practice environment. Athletes need an environment that allows them to practice skills over and over again and where they can feel comfortable practicing a skill in which they aren’t yet proficient.

* Opportunities to compete. “When you step inside the lines, that’s when you get a true picture of how someone is going to perform,” she said.

Betthauser enjoyed the camp and the time to catch up with friends and family (her father, “Boomer” Betthauser, was one of the camp instructors).

“It has been a special time,” she said. “Personally, to see how the youth in the community appreciate the game is something very positive, and it’s important for that continue. Pride in your community and pride in your school -- those things are very important.”