Give the Bench Buddies Their Due

 

Give the Bench Buddies Their Due

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  Peter 2:7

It is to a strange fraternity these five belong - The Bench Buddies. They are bound by being labeled as ones of inferior talent, however, they wear their dubious status with pride, as a badge of honor. On the surface it is certainly strange. There is no logic. You spend all summer and every day after school playing a game you seldom get to play in. How crazy is that? So, why? Listen and they will tell you. Like the grieving lyrics of a country music song, you take what life gives: lose the ego, accept the selfless pledge of always being a good teammate and youth is fleeting, so it is what it is. And it is good. If you are not going to play, then at least make a lot of noise.

Jaylyn Countryman, A.J. Shoemaker, Percy Campbell, Bo Patterson, and Owen Lehenbauer are members of the Monroe City boys’ basketball team.  Countryman is a Junior. The other four are seniors. They get into a meaningful game about as often as the geese go south. They do at times get mop up minutes, but only when their coach starts to worry that his team is running up the score on a hapless opponent, the kind of lopsided win that leads to those nasty sportsmanship letters to the editor.  No coach needs that, so get in there boys and hold the score down.

For a player, life on the Bench is a state of mind. It's like sitting on the dock fishing all day with a cooler of beer and a Cardinal baseball game on the radio, but with no fishing pole. There is a lot of hanging out with your fellow Bench Buddies, but come the end of the day, not much (tangible) production to show. There are interruptions to the lull, some activity to keep the blood flowing. You get to jump off your perch for every good play one of the chosen ones on the floor makes and every time one of the “regulars” comes out, high fives are slapped all around. Then you sit back down.

But deep inside, these less than Fab Five have got to be thinking, "I don't care what the coach says. Win or lose, it ain't my fault." Right?  No, not at all, says Jaylyn Countryman. “Yes, it's true I do not get to play very much,” the reed thin junior states. “Of course, I would like to play more but I also want to give back. I want to be a good teammate. I want to push our guys hard in practice and if I can do that then I can contribute. If we can win the state tournament, then I can feel like I was a part of that, that I contributed.”

Countryman is an “outsider, not from here,”  as the locals say. “My grandparents moved down here from Iowa in 1989. I lived in Columbia (MO) with my mother until my freshman year of high school. Then we moved here.”

Maybe he just was behind and never caught up?  Not in what counts, he explains.

“To be honest, I was starting to get into trouble. Columbia wasn't a real positive environment for me. Structure was really lacking. I liked coming up here to visit my Grandparents. I liked the guys that I met up here. Many of them were on the basketball team and I thought if I could move here, it would really help me stay out of trouble. I had to talk my mom into it. It was not easy because it was going to be a big strain on her. She has a good job in Columbia that she did not want to, nor could afford to, give up. She agreed we would move up here because it was best for me. She has been commuting to Columbia ever since, for two years. That's a long drive and a big sacrifice and she knows that I really appreciate it. ‘Then show me by making something of yourself,’ she tells me. I really am trying to.”

Would any of the Bench Buddies trade their dream of a state title for playing time? Nope, according to Bo Patterson.  In his assessment, one would defeat the other. “The best guys are the ones playing. They give us a better chance to win,” the mild mannered and friendly bench rider admits, with no hesitation. “I just try to work hard every day at practice. I know I'm not an overly talented player but still being part of the team is rewarding. If I am not as good as the guys playing ahead of me, then the way I see it, I need to do two things; work hard to try and get good enough to play and, second, be a good teammate by supporting the guys playing ahead of me. That they are my friends, makes the second part easy.”

Percy Campbell is another latecomer to the club. “I moved in here (Monroe City) for my senior year,” he shares. “I attended my early school years in Normandy (a district in North Saint Louis County). I lived with my mom. I went to Vashon my first three years of high school. My mom and I moved there from Normandy. Vashon is considered kind of a rough school, kind of a ghetto type school, but my experience there was very positive. I had good teachers. But I just felt like I could do a little bit better in a smaller school.”

Many city kids, even at a young age, have carefully cultivated an aura that will keep outsiders at bay and insiders off balance. Percy displays no such demeanor. He is open and pleasant for a stranger to speak with.

In this land of pickup trucks and cream gravy for breakfast, Campbell says he has adjusted well. “It is different than the city, where I have always lived. But it has been good. I have gone hunting for the first time.”

“My Stepmom got a job last year down at The Landing (a seasonal water park on the nearby Mark Twain Lake)," Campbell continues.  “And when I would come up here for a visit and I really liked it. I worked there this summer and Josh and Josiah Talton both worked with me. I got to know them. And that had a lot to do with my decision that I was going to move out from my mom's and come up here and live with my dad and stepmom for my senior year (of high school). I had never played organized basketball before but both Josh and Josiah encouraged me to give it a try. When I started playing this summer the coaches and my teammates were all very supportive. I don't have any (illusions) that I'm a great player. I know that this is a very talented team and these guys have played together for a long time. But I don't feel like an outsider. I work hard in practice; I'm trying to get better.”

Owen Lehenbauer is a legacy. His parents grew up and attended Monroe City schools. Mother Kara (Thompson) was a Panther athlete. “I know what it is like to play basketball and I know what it is like to sit on the bench.” She also understands. “As a parent, sure, I would like to see Owen play more. But I have no criticism of the coaches in that matter at all. They do a very good job of making all the kids feel like they have an important role on the team. This group of seniors is just so close, they pick each other up, they will not let each other be down.”

“I just like being part of the team,” Owen says. “I couldn't ask for better teammates than I have in our senior class. They support me and I feel I need to give back in the same way. I've learned so much by being a part of the athletic programs here at Monroe City. My job right now is to prepare the guys that do play. I spent a lot of time on what is called the “scout team.” It is me and the other varsity guys who do not play much. We (take the role) of the other team's players. We show our guys what they need to be able to do against the team we are preparing them for. When I'm on the bench, I want to be the guy that cheers the loudest. I want to be the first one up to congratulate a teammate. That's my role and I think it's a big role and I'm proud to play it.”

A.J. Shoemaker moved to the area when he was young. His father and mother grew up north of Monroe City, in Keokuk, IA and Kahoka, MO, respectfully. A.J. quickly states he would like to play more but has learned to see the big picture. "I work hard in practice, the best I can. When the games come, I try to do my best to encourage (my teammates). We have developed a routine on the bench, the five of us. We are up cheering each good play we make on the floor and we try to meet the guys coming off the floor for a time out with enthusiasm."

Shoemaker says having played with his teammates so long makes the camaraderie he treasures so vital to his feeling of belonging. "It means a lot," he says.

Shoemaker accepts that many may not think what he and his fellow subs do is much of a contribution, but he begs to differ. "Coach tells us we matter. He shows us respect. And even if they don't always say it, I know our teammates respect us."

Respect, there is no more treasured affirmation for one who must sacrifice his own needs for the good of the group.

The Bench Buddies will never hold equal status with the totemic figures from Panther programs' past. So be it. But, for this team to claim a state title in March, it must have a whole that is larger than the sum of its parts. The individual parts of this team are just not good enough. The epitome of low maintenance, don’t overlook the cog these five fill in a wheel rolling on the path to post season dreams.