Hawks’ graduating ‘four-of-a-kind’ will leave a gaping hole

The Hiland Hawks’ senior foursome of Austin Mast, Michael Miller, Brady Schlabach and Bruce Troyer aren’t the most gifted athletes to come through the Hiland system over the past half-decade. But sometimes pure athleticism can’t be measured in terms of how high kids can jump, how fast they can run and how quick they are. Sometimes it is the size of the heart, the leadership qualities and the spirit that make a player so valuable.Hiland head coach Mark Schlabach has seen what those four seniors have meant to the program.“For those four guys, basketball is really important,” said Schlabach of his senior quartet. “They aren’t super-talented athletes, but they are all just basketball guys through and through.”Which was why Brady Schlabach sat red-eyed following his final game, and why Miller’s acceptance of the team’s district runner-up trophy was accompanied by a head hung low. Basketball courses through their hearts. They live it daily, and now it is done.“I’m worried about our program with those guys leaving, because we don’t have a lot of kids who feel the way those four kids feel about the game of basketball.”It may be just a game, but when you care so deeply and pour yourself into it for most of your life, the game and life meld into one. That is why these four seniors have played such an integral role in the continuing success of the Hiland basketball program, and why coach Schlabach knows they will be far tougher to replace than anyone can imagine.