Menu
Hoops a haven for Twin Rivers senior
For a high school kid, basketball can be a big part of life. But until something traumatic happens, playing a sport can also become therapy.
For Kyle Oberkramer, a senior at Twin Rivers, being a basketball player has been his life's work.
He grew up and lived his whole life in Broseley, played basketball for his dad and grew up to play for his hometown high school at Twin Rivers on varsity, starting with his freshman year.
But lately, Kyle has been thankful for life, his family, his teammates, his classmates and his coaches.
In a late-night drive back from Taco Bell on the northside of Poplar Bluff on the night of Jan. 2, Kyle was in the wrong moment at the wrong time.
According to a police report, as Kyle drove his 2004 Ford Mustang in the inside lane on Westwood Blvd. in front of The Guesthouse Inn, Valerie Denise Dockery, 40, of Poplar Bluff walked into the path of his car.
Dockery, a mother of four, didn't survive.
Kyle has had no contact with the victim's family since the accident.
"It just happened out of nowhere," Kyle said. "I didn't have any time to react.…
"I just pulled over and I panicked," Kyle added.
Poplar Bluff Police Department Deputy Chief Jeff Rolland, who is investigating the case, said no charges were filed against Oberkramer and that it simply was an accident.
"There was nothing revealed in this case for us to file criminal charges," Rolland said.
Still, that doesn't make it easy for Kyle.
"It was just one of those things where you just have to get over it," he said. "It's not gonna ever leave me, I have to move on in my life. I can't let it haunt me."
When Kyle finally made it home that night, he got the support needed from his father Dino, his mother Christine and brother Mason, who is a sophomore on the Royals varsity team. But he kind of shut himself out from the rest of the world that night and the next day.
"I didn't really feel like talking that night," Kyle said. "Since then, it's been easier. It gets easier every day, but it's never gonna go away."
From the vantage point of his brother Mason, Kyle was just in shock afterwards.
"He didn't know how to react to it," Mason said. "He was just really kind of confused. I just kind of let him be and I didn't really try and ask him questions about it because he didn't seem very happy."
Kyle spent most of the next day quietly at his home. He turned off his cell phone.
"It gave me a different perspective on how to take things on," Kyle said.
The big thing to lift Kyle's spirit was the support of his team and his community.
"I didn't have my phone on for about the first day," Kyle said. "As soon as I turned it on, I had text messages and calls and all my teammates -- they were there and supported me. Coach (Rob Brown), he said I had a place to come to talk if I needed it."
Brown felt bad for all parties involved in the accident.
"I just told him it could happen to anybody," Brown said. "It was a pure accident and it was unfortunate. I'm sure it was a lot to deal with at any age, let alone an 18-year old senior in high school.
"It's unfortunate for the victim's family, it's unfortunate for Kyle's family. Kyle has a wonderful family and are a strong support system for him."
Brown offered to let Kyle sit out of practice that Sunday afternoon as the Royals prepared for their first opponent in 2009, Bernie.
Kyle declined and returned to the court.
"That's the one thing that I could say that I looked forward to," Kyle said. "I just wanted to get back out on that basketball court to maybe take it off my mind."
When it became game time that Tuesday, Jan. 6, Kyle thought he was ready to have at it, but lots of thoughts of the victim's family still lingered.
"I just thought about how I'm just out here playing basketball," Kyle said of that night. "I can't imagine what the family is going through right now. But I have to do what I have to do. I have to continue my (high school) career. I want to go to college and play basketball. I just have to keep doing it."
Kyle, who is as mild-mannered a personality and as humble off the court as they come, learned basketball from his father Dino, who was his coach through grade school, as well as his uncle, Matt Thurman. Dino was an all-stater for Twin Rivers his senior year in the late '80s. Kyle loves learning the game as much as he can from his dad.
"He's been here, he's done all this," Kyle said. "He teaches me new things as (often) as he can."
After spending most of his four years on varsity, now Kyle is now a leader on the Royals.
He is one of three seniors along with Brett Whitlock and Zech Payne, who transferred after playing at Malden. This season, Kyle has also played alongside his brother Mason, who made varsity squad.
"It's good (playing with him)," Mason said. "He's a good inspiration for me. He really tries to do what's good for me and sometimes I don't like it but, he knows what he's talking about."
Brown, who took over as Twin Rivers head coach in 2006, first saw Kyle play as a freshman while he was an assistant at Clarkton.
"I watched Twin Rivers and Doniphan (in the) district championship in Malden (that season)," Brown said. "There was some foul trouble or some situation and coach (Jim) Vaughn brought him in and he played pretty well."
Brown noted that Kyle had come a long way since his he took over the program over two seasons ago.
"His sophomore year he was pretty raw," Brown said. "He came from a good family -- his father was a great athlete. Over the years, he has developed his shot a lot better, he has a lot better touch and he is strong physically -- that's probably his best attribute -- plus, he's got his head on straight and he's good kid."
So far, Kyle has talked to coaches from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina and Culver-Stockton in Canton.
"I think he'll get the chance to play either a small JUCO or an NAIA team." Brown said. "If he continues to work hard."