McCurdy: Ridgedale manager Bret Leach gets his shot in uniform

MORRAL - Bret Leach made the most of his moment.

"I can tell you right now that memory will never leave my head," Ridgedale boys basketball coach Nathon Loney said. "I don’t care what happens. I could win as many basketball games as I wanted and that one will still be with me."

But before that moment, there's a backstory with the Ridgedale senior.

He is the son of legendary Rockets volleyball coach Cherie Leach, a teacher in the district and also the basketball scorekeeper. Diagnosed as borderline autistic with other issues, Bret came to Ridgedale in fourth grade a different kid than he is today.

"I know part of it is because I teach hear and I’ve coached here, but he has really made himself who he is. The kids just take what he does," Cherie said, adding that he also plays baseball. "He used to have a hard time making conversation. If you could have seen him from the time he got here until now, you would be amazed by how much he’s grown and become the person that he is."

He played basketball in elementary school and junior high, quitting after his freshman season but staying a part of the program as the varsity manager.

When coach Jon Otterbacher left after last season and Loney was hired as the new coach, Bret didn't immediately come back. He was uneasy about approaching the new guy.

But before the second game of the season, he made an impression on the first-year varsity head coach.

"I saw Bret come down to the bench and he was giving all the kids high fives. I thought that was pretty cool," Loney said. "After the game, I asked one of the players who that was and he said it was Bret Leach and he was Sam’s brother. Sam plays on the team as a sophomore."

Loney approached Cherie about getting Bret to return as a manager. She laughed at the suggestion. Turns out she and her son just had that conversation in the days before.

"I told Bret that he’s a senior now and if you do, I need you to step up and go talk to Coach Loney. He was afraid to because Coach Loney isn’t on staff here, so he didn’t know him very well," she said.

With mom's blessing, the next day Loney had a message for Sam Leach: Bring your older brother to practice.

The head coach and manager immediately hit it off.

"Bret and me have become pretty good friends," Loney said. "He’s become my little sidekick. He’s been strapped to my side since that day."

Cherie said Bret is learning to communicate with an iPad and one of his frequent pen pals is the coach. The two even coordinated a game during the season where they dressed up complete with bowties.

After practices, the manager shoots while the head coach rebounds. Some days he chucks up more than 100 shots. That was the case a couple weeks ago as Loney watched Bret nail 14 of 20 free throws.

Afterward, the coach went into the locker room with a message for Bret's younger brother who averages six points a game, but made just 6 of 11 free throws through 19 games.

"I said (Bret) is the better shooter in the family. He can shoot it," Loney said.

The practice display got him thinking. How about putting a uniform on Bret for the final home game of the season?

He ran it by seniors Lucas Mattix, Austin Price and Franklyn Lofton, and they enthusiastically endorsed the opportunity.

"They all love Bret. He’s like a brother to all of them," Loney said.

He also ran it by Cherie.

She needed Loney to get an okay from the seniors and their parents. After that, he needed to convince Bret.

The first one was easy. The other one took a little time.

On a Tuesday, Loney asked him what he thought and Bret balked, unsure and uneasy about the chance. But by Friday he was warming to it.

During lunch he told Athletic Director Greg Rossman that he was going to start and hit a couple of 3-pointers in the first minute then sit down so the other guys could play. Then at Saturday morning's shootaround, he told Loney his decision.

"He said he was going to play if I didn’t care. I told him he was playing regardless and he didn’t have a choice," Loney said with a laugh.

The coach didn't just give Bret a jersey last Saturday night. He put him in the starting lineup against Mohawk. In the first couple of minutes before he could be subbed, Brett did indeed uncork a couple of shots, but didn't score.

In the final minutes of the game they would lose 66-35, Loney told his assistants he was putting Bret back in so he could get one more ovation.

And he did.

And then Bret got run over by a Mohawk player going for a rebound.

And that put him on the foul line, shooting a one-and-one.

And like he did in all those post-practice sessions with Loney, he showed what he could do. Not only did he make the first, but he also made the second.

It was the best two marks Cherie ever put in a scorebook.

"The girl who kept the score for Mohawk beside me, I was telling her the situation and she was so excited as well. I told her I would probably be crying, so if I miss something, you have to stay on top of it," Cherie joked.

She cried right there at the scorers table.

"It was an amazing experience for him," she said, thanking Loney and his staff, the seniors and their parents and the Ridgedale community for their support as well as the sportsmanship shown by Mohawk. "I think he’s probably still on cloud nine because every now and then people will come up to him and say that was so awesome. He’ll just grin from ear to ear."

Rossman agreed.

"He deserved it and it was awesome," the AD said. "Everybody loved it and it was the highlight of the night, him getting out there on the court."

Sam Leach may have more points, rebounds and 3-pointers made, but Bret has one bragging right over him.

"He teases his brother that he has a better free throw percentage than he does. It's pretty good," Cherie said with a chuckle.

It hasn't been the easiest of seasons. The Rockets have won just two games. Yet for Loney, it's unforgettable mainly because of his manager.

"That happening there Saturday night was more important to us than anything that happens the rest of the season," the coach said.

Bret Leach didn't just make the most of his moment. He made a lifetime of memories in the process.

Rob McCurdy is the sports writer at The Marion Star and can be reached at rmccurdy@gannett.com, work 740-375-5158, cell 419-610-0998, Twitter @McMotorsport and Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star.