ELWOOD -- After defeating Eastern 11-10 in walk-off fashion, Elwood softball reached the sectional championship game. On May 24 -- the day of the title game -- Elwood athletic director Ryan Vanskyock was active on social media via the department’s X, formerly known as Twitter, account. “(I) love this community,” he wrote.
“Elwood Health and Living supporting the Panthers! Keep those photos coming! Let’s GO Panthers!” He asked his community to show its support by dressing in blue, calling it a "blue out." Fans and spectators sent in photos of themselves and others in blue. By looking at the activity and traction, you might think this is a common occurrence for the Panthers.
However, before Vanskyock -- who is also the Panthers’ boys basketball coach -- was hired in 2022, that was not the case. “(Our teams) felt like they had already lost, and they already gave up,” Vanskyock said. "I knew that right away we had to change that mentality of 'You're not losers.
'” When former AD Marty Wells left the position, Elwood superintendent Troy Friedersdorf wanted to hire someone who could grow the support and find a way to get the community out of the "loser's mentality" funk. “(The job) is a lifestyle, and it's how they choose to live their lives,” Friedersdorf said. “We were looking for somebody that loved athletics, loved kids and loved the community.
(We wanted) them to come in and connect in all of those areas.” After being hired, Vanskyock -- who graduate.
