What is more envious than the life of a benchie? Not a starting spot on varsity, that’s for sure. For those of us who play team sports, we all are familiar with the bench: the place where dreams are lost and the hope of playing can only come through a substantial lead. However, we here at the Panther Press don’t view those athletes as mere backups or roster-fillers but the real stars of every team. You know who we are talking about, those athletes who play not for the love of the sport, but for the love of the merch and the ability to use team hashtags.

Our first benchie of the week is the very creator of this series: Kaedryn Keller. Kaedryn has been an enthusiastic participant in the girls basketball program since freshman year. She was first introduced to the bench her freshman year when an injury prevented her from playing. After low-key (and I mean, low-key) dabbling on the JV team during her sophomore campaign, she finally upgraded to the varsity bench for her junior and senior year.

If you go to any varsity girl’s basketball games, you will surely find her on the bench, cheering on the actual athletes who play in the game. However, she does not consider herself a mere cheerleader, but a first-responder for the team. When someone goes down, Kaedryn is the first person to help her up and escort the fallen comrade back to the bench.  This setback for the team still doesn’t mean Kaedryn will see any court time; it would likely take numerous injuries for that to occur.  Her teammates often refer to her as the “team mom”, as in the caring, supportive presence who one might find at a team dinner, not on the court.

Before one of her recent games, the coaches rounded-up the troops and delivered valiant words of inspiration. Amidst this fervor, it was declared that all seniors would play that evening. As the names were called out, each name echoed through the locker room…well, every name except Kaedryn. Accepting her fate, she returned to her benchwarmed throne and earned another notch in her championship Benchie Belt.

I recently caught up with Kaedryn to ask her a few questions regarding the bench life (we took a seat for the interview, as that is how Kaedryn is now most comfortable):

Q: So have you ever played in an actual game before?

A: Yes. During our game against Moon, the coach decided to put me in (he may not have been feeling well) and so I went in. During my time in the game, I managed to score my first two points (for people who don’t know basketball, that’s only one basket) of my varsity career. All the parents stood up and went wild because I finally did it.

Q: Wow, that’s so inspirational for those other benchies out there. Anything is possible. Any advice?

A: Work hard so you don’t have to sit on the bench as a senior.

Q: Would you say that the bench builds you up or brings you down?
A: Honestly, it’s funny to joke about it.  I AM looking forward to intramural sports in college.  I’ve heard everyone has to play?!  I really hope that’s a rule or something.