For most schools, a co-op means combining in all sports that both schools have to offer, but as of right now, Potosi and Cassville are only combined in some sports. These sports include football, baseball, softball, track and field, and girls basketball. Sports that Potosi and Cassville are not combined in are boys basketball and volleyball. Potosi/Cassville players have created friendships with each other through practices, games, and weight lifting sessions that will last a lifetime. Now, imagine what it is like to be teammates for some seasons, but rivals the next. That is what athletes of both genders from these two schools experience throughout the school year.
Potosi and Cassville, or PC for short, first joined forces in 2017. For those of you that follow Potosi/Cassville football, you would have noticed the co-op has definitely benefited the team as a whole. Cassville has brought many talented players and great coaches to the team. Combine that with Potosi’s top players and seasoned coaching staff, and we get a consistently successful football team.
Since Potosi/Cassville has joined as one football team, they have made the playoffs every year. Coaches on this team have shown that whether you are from Potosi or Cassville, there will be no favorites when it comes to where the player is from. If a player has shown more effort, skill, and heart they will see time on the field.
When covid-19 affected the team this past season, many Cassville players were quarantined and unable to participate in practices and in games. This affected the team’s energy in the locker room and success on the field. “You may only see small numbers coming out of Cassville, but those numbers seem a lot bigger when you don’t have them,” said Owen Vogelsberg. Owen is a three-sport athlete and a linebacker and guard for PC football. Owen is very aggressive, talented, hardworking, and is very thankful Cassville joined Potosi for football. These two teams joining has built many friendships and has given players an opportunity to work with someone they were not as familiar with.
Jack Kaiser, a Potosi senior, has played all four years that Potosi/Cassville has been a co-op. Kaiser is a very successful PC player. This past season, Kaiser was awarded 2nd Team Associated Press All-State Team, WFCA All-Region Offensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle, 2020 Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Academic All-State Team, 1st Team All-Six Rivers Conference Offensive Tackle and Defensive Tackle, and Six Rivers Lineman of the Year. Jack is also a three-sport athlete, participating in football, basketball, and baseball.
When Potosi competes against Cassville in basketball, any player who was previously on the football team and is now on the basketball team loves the challenge. Kaiser looks forward to the competitiveness and fun of having Cassville on the basketball schedule. “Basketball is just a different sport. In football, I know that they are on my side, and in basketball they’re not,” said Jack. Potosi understands that when they step onto a basketball court against Cassville that they have a job to do and they have to get it done. Although competing against each other may bring some hard feelings at first, in the end all is forgiven.
There are mutual benefits to both schools through our co-op programs. Talented athletes get to compete in the sports they love, teams benefit from more participants at all levels, and strong friendships are formed. Going from teammates to rivals and back to teammates again, the players and coaches have a strong bond with each other that cannot be broken.