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Sports - Louisburg
Written by Andy Brown   
Wednesday, 04 February 2009 09:00
Chad and Jennifer Dean sat just behind the scorer’s table inside the Louisburg High School gymnasium during the championship game of the Louisburg Girls Basketball Tournament and they were loving every minute it.

They got a chance to root on their newfound team — a team they couldn’t help but fall in love with.

You see, the Deans’ Freeman, Mo., home burned down on Christmas morning and they were left with nothing. The towns of Freeman and Cleveland, Mo., came together to help the family, and it all started that day.

Both Chad and Jennifer teach at Cass-Midway Elementary School, where Susan Tinich, the wife of Louisburg girls’ basketball coach Terry Tinich, is the school’s principal. Chad is the varsity girls’ coach at Cass-Midway.

So when Susan heard the horrible news, she passed it onto Terry and shortly after he contacted his team to see what they could do to help. The Lady ’Cats responded in a big way.

The Wildcat team collected more than $1,000 worth of clothes, gift cards, toys and presents for the Dean family over Christmas break. All that added up to eight big garbage bags of stuff Susan delivered to the Deans.

“It wasn’t just one time either,” Chad said. “After that, there was more stuff that came in later. The community had a pancake breakfast for us at the school, and the Louisburg team showed up. I wasn’t there, but the whole basketball team came in their warm-ups and ate breakfast together.”

What was more impressive was the girls wanted to do this on their own and had no urging from their coach. They wanted to help in anyway they could.

The Wildcat players did a lot for the Dean family over the holiday break. When they were supposed to be enjoying their time off and relaxing, they came to the aid of a family they have never met before.

The Dean family has received several bags of items from people all over the Cass-Midway community, and without Louisburg’s help, they still would have received more than they could have ever dreamed of. But that is not the point.

It is all about helping each other in a time of need, maybe when others aren’t as fortunate as you. The Deans spent Christmas trying to explain to their three children about how their home was gone, along with their presents they had just opened hours earlier.

So, as the Deans watched the Wildcats win the tourney, they couldn’t help but stand up and clap. Because those girls are a team you can root for.

— Andy Brown can be reached at 837-4321 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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