Krista Gingrich, Maggie Johnston and Heather McElwain hoist the championship trophy after the 1998 title game. (Submitted photo)

[Editor’s Note: Kevin Kodish was head coach of the Lewistown Area High School girls’ basketball team for 27 seasons, from 1984 to 2011. The Lady Panthers won consecutive PIAA State Titles in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons].

For many years, the athletic apparel company Champion emphasized a slogan with their products: It takes a little more to make a champion. From my vantage point, that simple little statement speaks volumes and is incredibly accurate.

The 1996-97 and 1997-98 Lewistown Area High School girls’ basketball seasons were magical and full of hard work, thrilling games, and, most of all, fun. The runs to state championships were pressure-filled for the girls, but their dedication to the fundamentals of the game, their strong desire for excellence and their unwavering commitment to each other, their school and their community carried them to the top of the state basketball world for two consecutive seasons.

Those two incredible teams boasted a combined record of 63-1 and finished ranked both regionally and nationally in the USA Today national rankings. It is worth looking under the hood to see what made those teams so special.

Obviously, to have seasons of that magnitude, you need to have skilled players with exceptional abilities. Just as important, you have to have “buy in” from all the players where everyone understands and accepts their role on the squad. Not everyone can start, not everyone is going to be one of the leading scorers.

Team captains and leaders who inspire their teammates are essential, and a positive team chemistry is needed when the tough, challenging times present themselves throughout the season.

For these teams, basketball was a way of life that spanned 12 months of the year. Immediately after a season ended, open gyms started. In addition, many players competed in AAU basketball throughout the spring.

When the weather really heated up, it was time for summer league basketball at the Juniata Valley YMCA in Burnham. The league got so popular that at one point, we had 36 teams competing over three levels. Sunday afternoon and evening games had to be added to the schedule so that all the teams could play their allotment of games.

After summer league, there was about a month off before school started and fall open gyms started in earnest. The players knew that there were other teams working hard and they needed to keep improving in order to achieve their dreams.

Weather never stopped these teams, either. I can recall a major snowstorm that struck the area two days before a big game. The storm dumped probably 18 inches on us. We could not practice at any of the schools, and the YMCA was not open, either.

Enter Joe Zampelli to the rescue.! Joe had a warehouse on South Main Street (the former Warner-Lewis Buick dealership). Joe had installed a basket for his daughter Andi to use inside the warehouse. Joe turned the heat on, swept the floor and invited players (who could make it) to the warehouse so they could shoot and work out a little bit to stay sharp. Krista [Gingrich] and I lived close enough to walk there, but some players faced challenges to make it.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for these teams on the health front, either. Aside from your traditional ailments like the flu, turned ankles, and pulled muscles, these teams faced their share of serious adversity and had to be very resilient over their years of high school.

In the 1995-96 season, guard Maggie Johnston tore her ACL in a state quarter-final game against Pittsburgh North Catholic. I will never forget how silent the packed IUP fieldhouse got when Maggie went down and did not bounce right back up.

We came up short in that game and finished the season with a great 28-3 record, but it left the players and fans wanting more.

During one of the final open gym sessions prior to the 32-0 state title season of 1996-97, Krista Gingrich suffered a broken bone in her foot. That injury caused Gingrich to miss the first 13 games of the season. The team refused to let the injury deter us, as each player reached a little deeper and held down the fort until Krista returned to the floor in game 14.

A high level of family, school and community support gives championship teams an extra layer of backing that comes in handy throughout a long season.

Before every road game, Joanne Gingrich welcomed the entire team and coaching staff into the Gingrich household for a pregame meal. This wasn’t a simple matter of a plate of spaghetti, either.

Sure, you could have spaghetti. But did you want Ziti, instead? No problem. Grilled chicken breast was available as a side, or as a great topping to a salad. Salads were certainly a staple at each meal, with a choice of about 25 dressings (I don’t think I am exaggerating. Joanne made sure to have everyone’s favorite dressing in stock). Cucumbers, carrots and celery were also available as a snack.

This special meal tradition continued after the state title teams for a few years as well, as Joanne passed the spatula to Joan Zampelli. The girls were certainly well taken care of in the food and nutrition department.

I will never forget the tremendous support our teams received from the Mifflin County community. When we left town for a playoff game, there were always signs and balloons along the route out of the area.

When we left Lewistown for the state title games, people had bed sheets hanging from the second floors of their homes, saying things like, “Go Lady Panthers! Bring home the Gold!”

Simply put, the Lady Panther fans were second to none. No matter the location, our fans packed the gym and made our girls feel at home. The gyms literally vibrated when our team took the floor to the thunderous ovation provided by our hundreds of fans.

To reinforce an earlier point, what was especially nice about both of our playoff runs was that every player contributed in their own way. Everyone knew their role and pulled together for the good of the team.

The three guards, Gingrich, Johnston, and Jenna Feathers, paced us in scoring, and each of them took turns sparking us in key scoring runs during games. Opponents couldn’t concentrate on stopping just one player.

These two teams featured defensive standouts like Sweeta Hutchinson and Heather McElwain, and tremendous rebounders like Enid Dunmire, Niki Snyder, Andi Zampelli, Hillary Worley and Melissa Merrill.

Other key supporting players helped the team reach its true potential. These players didn’t always get a lot of playing time in games but they always provided critical energy and competition each and every day in practice.

When thinking of those key supporting cast players, I remember players like Mackenzie Moser, Kim Maxwell, Jada Pursel, Gina Soccio, Ashley Miear, Katie and Jessy Wear, Heather Wheeler, Erin Searer, Haley Knable, Becca Getz and Kelli Altiery. Those players earned the respect of their teammates through the way they practiced and pushed the starters and key reserves.

I was very fortunate to have high quality, dedicated assistant coaches in both state title seasons. Charlie Funk and Ron Mills were super assistants, and Jim Fosselman supported us as scorer. Coach Funk also served as the junior high coach during the fall, so he coached the players at that point in time on their journey to the high school program.

It’s certainly important to note that in the seasons prior to the state championships, people like Dick and Aaron Gingrich, as well as Steve Feathers, provided great instruction and guidance to the girls. Dick started taking the girls to the Jewish Memorial Center in Altoona in 5th or 6th grade, and rivalries with schools like Central and Tyrone were born early. Aaron was a full-time volunteer assistant in the two years prior to the state titles before leaving to pursue his law degree. Steve spent many a day and evening on the black top of the McVeytown playground helping players to hone their skills.

The media, especially our local radio stations and The Sentinel, were incredible in their coverage, and who could forget the great videos of the games created by the Zampelli Electronics and Nittany Media crews. People like Joe Zampelli and Hank Hain made sure everyone had an opportunity to see the games on television. None of us will ever forget Roger Herto excitedly saying “She buried it” after a big three pointer or free throw in the big games.

Another memory that stands out to me was the willingness of WPSX-TV to help us out for the telecast of the title games. The Harrisburg PBS affiliate produced the games, but we needed WPSX to step up and pick up the game feed so people in Lewistown could watch the games live. I believe it was a mutually beneficial relationship, however, as I remember Steve Jones being a WPSX studio host during the games encouraging people to call in and pledge monetary support for public television. “Your support helps us bring great programming like this to you,” was a big tag line for the night. Needless to say, the WPSX phones were ringing all night long.

I also have to mention our athletic director extraordinaire, Tona Williams. I’ll never forget the night we won our first Western Final against Blackhawk. In the midst of the celebration, Tona mentioned we needed to do the state finals tickets for the parents of the players. I asked when, and she said, “Tonight!”

Indeed, the turnaround time between the games was short, and public sale of tickets had to be set up. Tona and her husband Chris came to my house that Wednesday night, and I think we were at it until about 3:30 a.m. figuring everything out.

It is now 28 years since that first state championship, and it is amazing to reflect back on that time. In the first title season, we were so fortunate to have our Lewistown boys’ team playing in the state championship game as well.

Lewistown was called “Basketball Town USA” by a Harrisburg television station, and we were all so proud to represent Mifflin County in such a positive way.

As the head coach of those teams, I am eternally grateful for all the players and families that contributed to our incredible run of success. Most of all, my family deserves my thanks and praise for everything they did for me. My wife Shelly and daughters Katy and Brooke provided lots of love and support to me every step of the way. I could not have coached or accomplished anything without them.

My mother was the number one Lady Panther fan in my mind, and she probably set a state record for being the treasurer of a sports booster club for the longest length of time. The Panther Club loved our teams, and our teams surely loved them back.

Taking all that into account, it really does take a little more to make a champion!