Managers making positive impact at both St. Charles schools

During the course of the season, high school basketball teams become part of a larger family.

Not only do teams spend half of their time taking bumpy bus rides to away games, they spend the majority of their holiday breaks preparing for and participating in 3- and 4-day tournaments.

For nearly half the year, players spend countless hours hanging around each other, and coaches work on fine-tuning offensive and defensive strategies when not breaking down game films or combing through scouting reports.

Meanwhile, there are many behind-the-scenes people doing their part to contribute at practices and on game days. They're the ones making sure the water cups are filled, towels are distributed, auxiliary scoreboards are operating at practices, and games are being videotaped.

They're high school basketball team managers ­- and they take their jobs seriously. At St. Charles East, junior Mike Ayache - or "Meatball Mike" as he is affectionately called by Saints players - provides statistics to coach Brian Clodi and his staff from his palm-operated device.

"I have one other spotter and we put in the stats," said Ayache. "At practice, I joke around with the guys and keep them loose."

Ayache, who was discovered by Clodi during driver's education class last year, enjoys being around the players, especially Drew Vazquez, Colton Kumerow, Zach Zajicek and Kendall Stephens.

"You develop a bond being around each other," added Ayache, one of five STC East managers.

That bond is even tighter for Saints managers Casey Carlson, Brayden Nuessen, MacKenzie Schweizer and Grant Sturgeon - all of whom are special-needs students at the high school.

"Our managers are the best," said senior guard Bryce Barry. "They're fun to be around. They make the entire team chemistry better. "The main thing is building relationships with those guys. I've known Grant (Sturgeon) since my freshman year and I met some of the other guys at the beginning of the year. They all do their jobs well."

Clodi, who has a long history of involvement with Special Olympics, has relied upon special-needs students as team managers for the past 7 years.

"I try to do things for kids who don't get the same opportunities as others," said Clodi. "We try to find kids who obviously want to be around the game of basketball."

It's not all easy street for the managers.

"These guys all know they have a role to do," said Clodi. "They're not getting anything for free. They have jobs to do and we hold them to it." There are some light moments as well.

"I remember when we were at the York tournament and Grant kept filling up water cups on a table at one end of the court," said Barry. "By the end of our game, the entire table was covered with filled cups - enough for the next game."

Nuessen, a sophomore who transferred from STC East from Quincy last year, handles videotaping on game days.

"I like being around the players," said Nuessen, who learned of the job from one of his neighbors - Clodi. "It's fun to mess around with them.

"The home games are the best when the fans go nuts."

Schweizer, a freshman otherwise known as "Mac," is a jack-of-all-trades who can often be seen getting carried into the gym on the back of senior forward Jess Striedl or chest-bumping with players during team introductions.

"Basketball is my life," said Schweizer, who has a nifty jump shot of his own and plays basketball for his Special Olympics team.

Sturgeon, a sophomore, is one of the veteran managers now in his second season. He looks forward to every game, especially the away contests.

"We have a lot of fun on the bus trips," said Sturgeon. "After we win, we sing the school song on the way back home."

Sturgeon, who has always been a home sports enthusiast, is "all about the Saints and school spirit," according to his mom, Jennifer Payne.

"He is very proud that he belongs to something that is very visible," said Payne. "And I am very proud of him. I love watching how hard he works and how the boys interact with him."

Payne is especially grateful to Striedl for going above and beyond with her son.

"Jess drives him to everything he needs to be at," said Payne. "He really goes out of his way for Grant and I can't quantify it. He's a real big brother mentor."

Striedl deflects praise for his thoughtfulness.

"It's not all about me," said Striedl. "I like helping them out. They do a lot for us.

"You learn they're not different from anybody else and they're brutally honest. If you shoot an air ball, they'll let you know. If we're losing at halftime, Mac will come into the locker room and say, 'we need tough defense,' - and he's right every time."

At St. Charles North, team manager Johnny Remitz often gives players motivational pre-game and halftime pep talks.

"I think he feels like he's an assistant coach," said his dad, Al.

"He gets them fired up in his own way and you understand that he's sincere," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin. "We can have a rough practice and then it ends on a good note because Johnny picks us back up or hits a free throw to cut their (players) sprints in half.

"It's a great experience for everyone involved. As coaches, we see another side of our players. We see kids like Scott Hedges and Josh Mikes help him in and out of the bus and it makes you feel good."

Remitz, a junior special-needs student at STC North, is in his second season on the North Stars' bench. Among his favorite players are Chris Conrad and Mikes.

"Any time he's included in anything school-related, it puts him over the top," said Johnny's dad. "Coach Poulin has given him a great opportunity to feel what it's like to be on a team."

"Whenever we see him, he brightens our day," said North Stars senior guard David Johnson. "He'll always make you happy."

The feelings are mutual.

"Johnny looks up to them and I think it's a two-way street," said Johnny's dad. "When we're at the grocery store, he knows more people than I do."

"I look up to Mac, Grant and those guys," said Barry. "I've learned a lot from being around them. If you're having a bad day, just seeing their smiling faces makes it better."

In somewhat of a role reversal last December, Barry and Striedl cheered on from the stands as Schweizer and Sturgeon competed in a Special Olympics swim meet.

"They're always there for us so we figured we can be there for them, too," said Striedl.

"These are experiences I'll remember for a lifetime."

You can contact Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com