No bigger day for the Sindle family, and hoops is just a small part

Bloomfield High School varsity boy's basketball coach Ben Sindle, and his wife, Michaela (Gard) Sindle, pose mid-court of the historic gymnasium after he was hired to lead the Wildcats in the summer of 2023. The couple are expecting their first son, Jaxton Lane Sindle, on Monday.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

BLOOMFIELD – December 7 is the famous “date that will live in infamy” for most Americans, however, in the Sindle household, no December date will ever be able to top Monday (December 30).

Second-year Bloomfield High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Ben Sindle will – possibly – lead his team in the consolation championship game of the Bloomfield Christmas Tournament on Monday at 4 p.m. against Twin Rivers, but that is far from his most important task on that day.

Sindle’s wife, Michaela, will be induced with the couple’s first child on Monday morning at Saint Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau, and Ben has aspirations to attend to both his wife, his newborn son, Jaxton Lane Sindle, AND his Wildcats.

“My wife,” Ben said, “she is actually a rock star. Her first thing today (after Bloomfield beat Doniphan to advance to Monday’s game) was she said that I needed to figure out how we can get me here in time to coach.”

Michaela is ready to pop “at any moment,” and has been immersing her first child in basketball, perhaps by osmosis, by attending this week’s tournament and maintaining a vigil courtside and in the hospitality room.

“She is amazing,” Ben continued. “But she knows this, and I have told everybody, that family comes first. So, I’ll be (at the hospital), and if everything works out where I can get back in time for the game, that will be the cheery on top.”

Jaxton doesn’t quite know what he is in for, but a large portion of his life is going to be spent in this beautiful, historic gymnasium, just like his father.

Ben’s father, Darrell Sindle, has been a custodian for the Bloomfield School District for nearly 30 years, and Ben has spent countless hours in the facility working as a player, and now an educator and a coach.

“We used to come here, and he would make me work,” Ben laughed when he was hired to lead the Wildcat program. “But he said, ‘If I worked hard when we would get halfway done, then I could get a ball out and shoot on the court.’”

That routine began when Ben was “nine years old,” and carried him through his days as a Dexter High School player. He held the Bearcat record for 3-pointers made when he graduated, but the mark was broken in 2022.

“It kind of gets me emotional thinking about that,” Ben said of raising his son in this facility. “It is so exciting.”

It remains to be seen just how good of a shooter Jaxton will develop into, however, the fact he is arriving in time to catch the championship day of the annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament leads one to believe that his future is destined.

Just as Darrell kept his son humble through a work-first, play-later approach, Ben already has that parental lesson down. Asked if Jaxton will become a better shooter than his father, Ben quickly responded ‘He’ll have to work on that.’