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DeutschMar. 4—MITCHELL — It's been five years since Todd and Jaime Neuendorf and their three children — Easton, Addison and Paxton — called Mitchell their home.
Yet, in some ways, this winter made it seem as though the basketball-happy family now residing in Hamlin County never left.
During the Neuendorfs' four years in Mitchell between 2017 and 2021, Todd was the head coach of the Mitchell High School boys basketball program. Jaime also served as an assistant coach for the MHS girls team, and the kids were usually nearby, meaning the whole family logged plenty of hours at the Corn Palace.
Even still, in terms of game days spent at the Palace for the Neuendorf family, this season still stacked up with any of the years they lived in Mitchell.
Of course, that's due to a very specific set of circumstances.
Over the past several years, both Hamlin basketball teams, with Todd and Easton on the boys teams and Jaime, Addison and Paxton on the girls side, have made regular appearances in Mitchell for various high school basketball showcase events such as the Hoop City, Hanson and DWU Classics.
But this year was the start of a different dynamic.
Easton, now a college freshman, started all 28 games he appeared in for the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team. At least one parent, but usually both, made it to every game except one — an exhibition at South Dakota State that coincided with Hamlin's season-opening doubleheader at Groton — including 13 trips to Mitchell for DWU home games.
It helped that the bulk of the Tigers' schedule landed on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which are normally light on high school games. As Hamlin's activities director, Todd was also able to set the Chargers' schedule in a way that minimized overlap with DWU.
"We've decided that we won't miss our kids' activities; we'll make sure we're at every one of their games," Todd said. "We've coached everybody else's kids over the years; we don't want to miss our own."
In all, the Neuendorf family was involved in 17 games on the Corn Palace court this season, with Hanson Classic and DWU Classic games for both Hamlin teams in addition to Easton's 13 games with the Tigers. The number of Palace games the family took part in is actually even higher when counting the DWU women's games that often precede the men's games and other high school classic games on either side of Hamlin's contests.
Apart from the team bus trips, most of the miles were put on the family's 2021 Honda Accord, nicknamed the "Grey Ghost." The Neuendorfs estimated that the odometer started the season in the high-160,000s, and it has now gone well past 175,000 miles.
"We loved our time here," Jaime said. "And we joke that coming the two hours (to Mitchell) is just another home game."
One of the most unique game days of the Neuendorf's season came on Saturday, Feb. 14. Todd's Hamlin boys made an early trip to Mitchell to play in the noon game at the DWU Classic. From there, the Neuendorfs split off and continued on to Yankton, where Easton and DWU played at 3:45 p.m against Mount Marty.
Though Addison and Paxton typically stay home on Wednesday nights, DWU's Saturday home games are easier to attend. The support goes both ways, too, with Easton catching as many of his sisters' games as possible, even beyond basketball. Last fall, he made the nearly five-hour round trip from Mitchell to Groton for a Hamlin volleyball road match on a Tuesday night.
"It's always been a family thing. We've always been there watching each other and trying to get to every game possible," Easton said. "It just means a lot to me to have their support and support them."
"As much as we (siblings) are hard on each other, we also still support each other a lot," Addison added. "Someone will always be there, and I think that's something special about our family."
Next year, that schedule is set to get even busier. Todd, Jaime and Paxton will all still be at Hamlin, with Easton at DWU, but Addison is set to move on and continue her basketball career at Northern State in Aberdeen.
Compared to DWU, NSU plays more games on Thursdays and Fridays in addition to Saturdays, which will certainly complicate the schedule and likely lead to more split trips for Todd and Jaime to see both Easton and Addison. However, Jaime's parents, who also made regular trips to Mitchell to watch Easton play this season, live in Aberdeen, effectively giving Addison a second home base.
"It's a little crazy," Addison said. "There's always something going on with basketball in our family, but I think that has brought us all so much closer to each other because we all love the game."
"It takes a village to make it work, and we have a pretty solid village," Jaime added. "Basketball has kind of defined our family, but it's fun. You get to watch your kids do what they love and compete. I wouldn't trade it for the world."