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Text file of the story published in the
Christmas issue, December 25, 2009 in The
reprinted here with their permission. Friday,
December 25, 2009 A place to
call home Johnnie
Bennett says he used to live as a thug. He decided to leave that life
and return to school. But that's tough when you don't even know where
you're going to sleep. At more than a
place to play basketball. Johnnie Bennett finally found a place to
call home. By Brad
Foster
brad.foster@roanoke.com 981-3222 Matt Linkous couldn't take his eyes off the scrappy teenager. Sure, Johnnie Bennett was a good basketball player, not to mention his team's vocal leader, but that's not what grabbed Linkous' attention during a game last month. As Bennett raced up and down the floor directing his teammates, Linkous, the coach at basketball player's feet. His shoes were full of holes and falling apart. Linkous was stunned, but he was also familiar with the school that Bennett's team is from -- Covington Boys' Home. The small boarding school operated by the Episcopal Church on the outskirts of against when he played basketball at Gateway
Christian in As a coach, Linkous has looked for ways to support the school. That's why he invited the Hilltoppers to his two-day tipoff tournament. "They are giving kids a chance that normally would not get a chance," he said of the Boys' Home. Bennett is one of those kids. "To be honest with you," Bennett said, reflecting on the struggles he's faced, "I don't understand why I didn't just give up." Bennett admits it: He was a thug.
When the 19-year-old moved to Clifton Forge from issues, he had dreadlocks and saggy pants. "The whole nine yards," he said. "I'm not saying that I chose to be a thug, that's just how I was brought up."
He had no intention of enrolling in school. But that changed as he adjusted to life in the Alleghany Highlands.
"It felt so peaceful and different from as well as go to school."
He took the initiative to enroll at
Bennett said he made mostly D's and F's at school in changed in His only problem: getting there. Staying with his brother in Clifton Forge meant he was more than 10 miles from school. "I went every day," Bennett said. "Just when things got hard on transportation and everything because of living arrangements -- I'd just have to come to school and leave. But I made sure I got to school, though." Bennett doesn't like to talk about problems that arose at his brother's home, but he soon found himself unsure of where he would sleep each night. Dennis Fitzgerald, the basketball coach at Boys' Home, among other duties, described Bennett's living situation as "couch surfing." "When I woke up, I knew I was going to go school, I was going to go ahead and do my work, but after that, that's all I knew," Bennett said. "There was a couple of times when I thought I was going to have to sleep under a bridge."
Recognizing the need for an intervention, made arrangements for him to stay at a local motel for two weeks. After his time at the motel ran out, the school set up a meeting with representatives from Boys' Home. Bennett was not enamored with the school's grooming and dress code policies. In order to enroll, he would have to cut his hair and change his wardrobe. "We outlined some of the stuff that Johnnie might have to change, and he wasn't quite ready to change all of them," Boys' Home Executive Director Donnie Wheatley said. "Being the age he was and the circumstances he was coming from, it was more his decision than it was anybody else's." Bennett originally passed on the offer, but after reflecting on his decision overnight, he knew what he had to do. The next morning, he called Boys' Home and officially enrolled. It was Sept. 23. Helping hand Boys' Home was founded in 1906 as a place for boys to get a basic education. It moved to its current location a dozen years later. It eventually became a boarding school, taking in wards of the court, boys who were in the judicial system as well as some whose parents did not have the means or abilities to care for them. At its peak in the 1950s and '60s, the school had a regular enrollment of 85 or greater. This year, its 35 residents range in age from 7 to 19. All but two of the current students were privately placed by their families. Also, the school, which originally cared for boys almost exclusively from "We see a lot of families whose kids are becoming known to the court, and the court is basically giving them an opportunity to do something about it," Wheatley said. "They're being diverted out of the system." Many of the families the school currently serves are low-income. Boys' Home gets some government support. About 3 percent of its total funding comes from tax dollars, but the rest is collected through fundraising and donations. And once the essentials are taken care of, there's not much left for extracurricular activities. The school runs its basketball program -- as well as other recreation activities -- on an annual budget of about $16,000. The Hilltoppers -- formerly known as the Indians -- have not purchased new uniforms since 1997. And as enrollment has dropped, so has the number of victories. Residents also have the option to attend and play sports at the public schools in "We encourage the good basketball players who have themselves- together and are doing OK academically to play in the public schools," Wheatley said. This often leaves Fitzgerald, in his sixth year as head coach, with a bunch of youngsters who have little or no organized sports experience. "They've played in the streets," Fitzgerald said. "Very rarely do we have someone that has played any organized basketball." Wheatley, himself a resident of Boys' Home from 1959-66, can recall a different era. "In the 1950s and again in the early 1960s, we had some pretty tough teams here," he said.
More than
just winning That's not the case anymore. At one time, the school even dropped basketball because of poor results and little interest from the residents. The school's administration now realizes that basketball has value beyond wins and losses. "We all like to win, but that's the least of our worries," said Fitzgerald. "We use basketball for several reasons. We use it to build self-confidence, teach sportsmanship and show them how to get along in a team environment." Players sign a contract as well as a code of conduct saying that they will adhere to certain principles, and they must show it on the floor. If a Hilltopper knocks an opponent to the floor, he is required to help that player up. Trash talking and taunting are not tolerated. For the most part, Fitzgerald's players buy into the philosophy, and at least one person in the high school basketball community has noticed. Veteran official David Felps was assigned to the Hilltoppers' game against Boys' Home lost 80-38, but the score wasn't what caught the referee's attention. "They played their hearts out," Felps said. "They were very respectful of my crew and I, starting with the coach on down through the last player." Natural leader Leading the Hilltoppers this season is Bennett, whose daily routine is unique even for Boys' Home standards. While the rest of the home's residents who attend public school go to Alleghany High, Bennett was allowed to remain at He takes eight classes (the standard semester load is seven) so that he can graduate at the end of the year. He's passing all of them.
"I never understood math, but once I got here to teacher, the way she teaches, I can remember it," he said. "I can do math in my head; I don't have to use a calculator." Bennett also joined the Hilltoppers' basketball team, marking the first time he has played organized hoops. The wiry 6-footer averages almost 14 points per game, but it's his leadership on the floor that has most impressed Fitzgerald. "He's doing tremendous," Fitzgerald said. "He's the one that encourages our younger players, he directs them on the floor. He never gets mad; I've never seen him mad. He's quite the young man." Bennett's game actually complements the core mission of the program. He's unselfish and never lets up when the clock is running. "I love to pass the ball," Bennett said. "To see them make the shot, and they feel so good and so happy, that makes me feel good and happy." All of these things would make him a valuable asset at a public school such as January. However, Bennett said his place is with the Hilltoppers, who went 1-7 before the holiday break. "I never had a family, and I feel like this here is becoming family now," he said. "It wouldn't feel right to leave them. I understand that I would get more recognition at [ basketball, but I'm not in it for those things."
Springing to
action Linkous was ready right away to show his support for the Hilltoppers. As Boys' Home was in the midst of a lopsided loss on the first day of the two-day tournament, the Pathway coach went into action. "I got the kids together Friday and just asked them if they would go home and check their closet, and if they have any [shoes] they would be willing to give away, bring them in," Linkous said. "I told them if you don't have any, just bring $5, and we'll go out and buy them some shoes." The next day, the Panthers did not disappoint their coach. "I was expecting to see just six or seven pairs, and I looked in there, and there was probably a good 30 pairs of shoes," Linkous said. "A lot of them went home and brought three, four, five pairs of shoes in for those guys." Boys' Home accepted the goodwill gesture before their first game that morning. Several Hilltoppers even played the remainder of the tournament with their new equipment. "We do buy team shoes; it's just that they were late coming this year," Fitzgerald said. "We were so moved by that. That's, to us, what it's all about." The two teams squared off twice that day, with Pathway winning both games handily. The Panthers went on to win the tournament, but Boys' Home was the unanimous choice among the tourney's coaches for the sportsmanship award. Pathway plans to build on what it started. If the Panthers return to the Virginia Association of Christian Athletics state title game this season -- they finished second a year ago -- they plan to invite the Hilltoppers to join them at their pregame meal.
A future
with hope
When the Hilltoppers hosted School before winter break, Bennett was still playing in a pair of the Dwyane Wade high-tops one of the Panthers players had donated. He scored 10 points, playing hard from start to finish, but the Hilltoppers fell 44-26.
Bennett is spending Christmas with his grandmother in he is eager to return to what he now considers home. And with just a couple of months left until graduation, the Hilltoppers' swingman is starting to look over his options. "It's confusing because I think about it almost every night as I go to sleep," he said. "What am I going to do with my life? ... I never had options growing up. I just keep doing the right things and hopefully that'll lead me to the right direction." Bennett hopes to enroll in college and pursue a career as a firefighter. He dreams of going to Virginia Tech, but he knows community college is his first step.
away from where he is now, and Bennett would almost certainly be able to stay on the Boys' Home campus. Also, Boys' Home will be able to help him pay for college. No matter what he decides, Bennett knows that he couldn't have done it without the support of Boys' Home. "This is my family," he said. "Boys' Home is teaching me to become that man that I deserve to be." Copyright © The |