The 13th man

Don’t expect to see Mt. Spokane senior Cody Schmidt’s name in any high school basketball headlines this season. In fact, you may not see his name in very many box scores.

But if you ask Wildcat coach Bill Ayers which of his 13 varsity players best embodies the concepts he’s trying to teach, both on and off the court, Schmidt’s name will probably be the first you hear.

He’s the 13th man on the Mt. Spokane team, which is unusual in itself. Most coaches keep no more than 12, the maximum number who can suit up once teams reach the district playoffs. And keeping a senior who probably won’t play much – well, that just doesn’t happen.

Unless, as it happens, you’re Schmidt, a young man who by virtue of his work ethic, commitment and loyalty to the Mt. Spokane program made it impossible for Ayers to cut him and has him saying right now, “Everything I’ve seen tells me I made the right decision.”

Schmidt moved to Spokane before his eighth grade year and has been in the Wildcat basketball program for four years, including one as a freshman and two on the C squad. When he talked with Ayers before the season about turning out, the Mt. Spokane coach told him that everybody has a chance, but it would be a steep hill for him to climb.

“He told me he just wanted to part of the team,” Ayers said. “Cody understands his role and knows exactly where he stands. If we get to districts, he won’t be able to play. But he’s bought into the concept of play hard, play smart and play together, and what he brings to the table is extremely important.”

Besides offensive and defensive fundamentals, the concepts Ayers tries to teach are humility, passion, unity, servanthood and thankfulness. In his view, those are pillars of citizenship that will last a lifetime. And when he looks at Schmidt, he gets a glimpse of the man he expects Cody to become, one who will put everything he learns to good use.

“Just suiting up for the Mead game will make everything worth it,” Schmidt said. “Coach and I talked about my role before he made cuts, and I felt that if I had a chance to be on the team, I might as well do it.

“Hopefully, I’ll get in sometime. I know I’m not as good as the other kids on the team, so what I need to do is bring a positive attitude all the time, not get down or let other guys get down on themselves.

“I’m sure there are lots of guys who wouldn’t do this. But we have a lot of guys who can be stars, so we need someone who doesn’t have to be.”

After graduation, Schmidt plans to enlist in either the Air Force or Navy.

“More school doesn’t interest me right now, and I want to take the opportunity to serve my country,” he said.

In the meantime, he’s serving his team, and as he says, “The 13th guy is still one of the guys, because we’re all one team.”

And his personal goals for the season? He thinks a moment, then concludes the conversation exactly as you knew he would.

“You know, I don’t really have any personal goals. As long as the team plays well, I’ll be happy.”