La Crosse is “second home” for Chill’s Anderson

ONALASKA, Wis. — Most Chill players live with host families. Not Hunter Anderson.

“Not many kids get to say they live with their grandparents right out of high school” Anderson said. “It’s kind of different for me.”

“It’s such a good feeling to know that he’s comfortable here,” said Anderson’s grandma, Susan Austin.

Anderson is from the Twin Cities area, but his grandma, grandpa, mom, aunts, and uncles all live in the La Crosse area.

“My mom’s whole family grew up here basically.”

That made the decision to play in La Crosse an easy one.

“It’s home to me, I guess you could say. It’s just one of those cities, when I was younger, where my Grandma and Grandpa lived, so that’s kind of what makes it more special for me,” Anderson said.

Living in La Crosse means he gets support from another team: his Grandma at home.

“She’s almost like my Mom, I guess you could say, because I’m with her 24-7,” he said.

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“I don’t see him much because he is so busy,” Austin said. “But I do nag him about a few things that his Mom and I talk about. Things like flu shots, and what’d you eat for breakfast, and are you in on time, like you’re supposed to be?”

Austin says she attends every Chill home game, often taking tickets at the door.

Anderson also has a funny connection to Chill coach AJ Degenhardt, a graduate of La Crosse Logan High School. Anderson’s uncle coached Degenhardt on a Boys and Girls Club baseball team.