Prep of the Week: Ayden Helder

(ABC 6 News) — When looking at Stewartville Tiger Ayden Helder, there’s always a consistent description that comes up for him.

“He’s a great communicator, a great leader for us, and just an overall great player,” Tigers head coach Parker Lyga stated.

“Great guy,” teammate Henry Tschetter effused. “He’s one of my best friends, he’s our quarterback, he’s a leader and he’s super fun to play with.”

“A leader,” fellow Tiger Max Barnes added. “I just – he’s always talking to everybody, he’s staying positive. He’s making sure that we’re all ready for everything. We’re ready for games.”

Helder has understandably been at the tip of the spear for all things Stewartville athletics, putting on a season for the ages.

The junior was the starting quarterback for a Tigers football team that went undefeated in the regular season and won the 2022 Section 1AAAA Championship. Following his campaign on the gridiron, Helder transitioned to basketball where he’s helped Stewartville maintain a spot in the Top 20 rankings all season while averaging double-digit points.

“I think when basketball started we were still kind of a couple of weeks behind because of our long run in football,” Helder explained. “So we kind of had the turnaround quickly just to be able to get in the rhythm so we were kind of at a disadvantage to start the year. But I think we started as well as we could’ve hoped to be a couple of weeks behind. It was kinda about putting in hard work right when we needed to.”

Helder simply has a knack for seeing the open man and putting the ball in the hand of his playmakers no matter the sport.

“I just try to see it as like one hole,” Helder continued. “One big picture. Just try to take in all the little stuff at once and try to put it together as I go and try to make the plays.”

Excelling during game time isn’t his only attribute, he’s solid in the classroom as well with a 3.9 GPA; an unsurprising fact to those close to Helder.

“I think we have four or five classes this year together,” Tschetter said with a smile. “I try to get in his group all the time. You know math or chemistry, he’s always walking me through equations and stuff all the time. He’s pretty fun to be with so I try to be in his group as much as possible.”

He may be a young man of many qualities, but Helder never gets too high or low on himself. A simple mindset keeps him grounded and continues to serve him well: self-improvement.

“Just about trying to get better every day,” Helder affirmed. “If we can come back next year or the next day better than we were today it’s a big deal, you know just trying to get better all the time.”