BILLINGS — Welcome to Beyond the Box, a weekly look at the people, personalities and stories that make Montana high school sports special — beyond the scoreboard.
This week we head to Hardin, where a senior tennis player is part of a family story that's been unfolding on the same courts for more than a decade. We also have a new edition of The Real, this week featuring a Jefferson golfer whose list of 10 things you probably don't know about her might surprise you. And we stop in Whitefish, where a softball coach shares two memories from his past — one from a blizzard state championship game, one from an impromptu spitting session.
Let's get into it.
LEAD STORY
Last in line: For William Noteboom, the final chapter comes home
Between the scrape of sneakers and the pop of ground strokes, senior William Noteboom is writing the latest chapter in a family story that’s been unfolding on Hardin’s tennis courts for more than a decade.
William is the fifth Noteboom sibling to play for longtime coach Mike Flamm, a run that began with oldest brother Jonathan, who graduated in 2019. Since then, there’s almost always been a Noteboom in either the boys or girls lineup.
“It is kind of neat to see the whole family go through,” Flamm says.
Jonathan earned back‑to‑back second-place finishes at state in doubles, the second of those with brother, Ben. In Jonathan's senior year, Hardin won the team title. Ben followed by winning a state championship in doubles with Ken Swisse in 2021. Ben’s twin, Abi, qualified for state all four years and collected divisional titles along the way. Jameson, the fourth sibling, placed third and sixth at state and was part of a divisional championship team.
William knows that résumé by heart.
“It does kind of bring a lot of pressure,” he says. “All of my siblings have done such great things in tennis, and I really just want to leave a legacy behind. I want to do something good.”
He’s already well on his way. As a sophomore, William and partner Derek Blankenship finished sixth at state and won divisionals. Last season, he and current partner Adrian Taganahan took third at state, and they’re back together again this spring.
Doubles, William says, just suits him: “I love being at the net.”
The Noteboom legacy extends beyond the kids. Flamm met the family’s father, Cabel, while watching Jonathan play, and soon Cabel was a volunteer assistant.
His presence helped quietly raise the program’s level, and with Flamm’s push to bring more kids into the sport, helped make Hardin a true tennis town.
This spring, Hardin will host the state tournament for the first time, putting William’s final postseason on his home courts. William says he’s excited to play in front of family, teammates and everyone he knows who loves coming to watch.
“It’s very important to me,” he says. He sounds exactly like what he is, a kid eager for his turn to step into the story.
Flamm says seeing William at state, with the whole Noteboom clan gathered around the courts, will be the signature legacy memory for him.
But as much as the Notebooms have meant to Hardin tennis, William says it goes the other way, too.
“It’s not just my family, my teammates are a huge part of this, and they mean a lot to me,” he says. “They’re the reason I’m here today.”
BEYOND THE BOX
The Real Shae Jones-Moore
Jefferson senior Shae Jones-Moore has competed at the Class B state golf tournament two years running. The three-year letterwinner plans to attend Grand Canyon University to study environmental science. There’s a lot more to her story than what shows up on a scorecard.
- The only reason I have been so successful in not only the sports I play but also in academics is my strong relationship with God.
- One of my biggest dreams in life is to travel the world and hike everywhere I go.
- After watching the show “River Monsters” as a kid I have a horrible fear of fish.
- My favorite part of golfing is getting to experience so many different courses and being able to be outside so much.
- I have been involved in several high school clubs and sports including FCCLA, BPA, student council, Collision, volleyball, cheer, and golf.
- I had strabismus eye surgery when I was in third grade, so I no longer need to wear glasses.
- My favorite thing to do in my free time is play Spikeball with my friends.
- The place I feel most comfortable in is on car rides where I can talk with my friends and family
- I can play the viola after joining the orchestra my sophomore year for fun.
- Last year at divisional golf I hit a truck off the tee box in the practice round.
Now you know Shaelynn Jones-Moore.
The Clipboard: A blizzard, a championship and a spitting lesson
Jack Foster has been around softball long enough to know that the moments that stick with don’t always involve trophies.
The Whitefish coach spent time at Post Falls High School in Idaho before moving to Montana, and two memories from those early days define him as well as anything.
One came in 2010 at the Idaho state championship game in Twin Falls — played, improbably, in a blizzard. His Post Falls team wasn't favored, but early in the tournament, two senior leaders, Bri Joseph and Richelle Ashburn, set the tone.
"They came over and said with confidence, 'I think we can do well in this tournament,'" Foster recalled. "With their confidence rubbing off on the others, we played our best ball of the year."
Post Falls won the state championship. Both Joseph and Ashburn went on to play Division I softball.
The second memory is considerably less dramatic, though considerably more entertaining.
One day his players asked why baseball players were always spitting. A discussion followed, and later Foster walked onto the field to find his daughter, Angie, had taken matters into her own hands, huddled up with her teammates and conducting what can only be described as an impromptu spitting clinic.
"High school girls with spittle on their chins and fronts of their shirts," Foster said. "They were having a blast. I just let them go and watched."
Some coaches find their ‘why’ in championships or simply being in the moment. Foster seems equally proud of both.
That's Beyond the Box for this week. See you next time.
