English
EspañolCARL JUNCTION, Mo. — That orange ball will always have air in it. It will always bounce. You can always put up another shot. But it won’t always be the same as it once was.
Bobby Waggoner knows that all too well after 76 years of life, 48 of those coaching and at least 10 playing the game of basketball. He’s seen the game through various lenses. This lens he’s looking through now is on the brink of ending.
Waggoner has been coaching at Carl Junction public schools in some form or fashion since 2010, when Brad Shorter gave him a call and asked him to come over and help with junior high girls basketball.
Now, he’s the assistant for the boys high school team where his grandson, Cooper Vediz, is a senior.
“It’s tough. One day, he’s holding your hand. The next, he’s the man. I’m just glad I got to be a part of it,” Waggoner said.
Vediz recalls those younger days with his grandpa well.
“It’s meant a lot growing up with him all my life to have a basketball in my hands and him to teach me,” Vediz said.
Waggoner has been able to work alongside multiple coaches at Carl Junction as an assistant during Vediz’s high school career. For that opportunity, he says, he’s “very thankful” for Carl Junction giving it to him.
“It’s been great. Getting a little emotional, but it’s been great,” Waggoner said as he worked through the tears welling up in his eyes. “We’ve been shooting hoops since about 5 or 6 years old in the driveway. It’s been great, it’s been awesome.”
The grandpa-grandson duo of coach and player are getting ready for the final stretch of high school basketball together. Carl Junction’s district tournament begins Tuesday at Willard High School in the Class 5 District 6 tournament.
The Bulldogs (14-12) are seeded second and will face seventh-seeded Marshfield (9-17) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. They defeated Marshfield a week ago in the regular-season finale.
“Anybody can win it. There’s really seven strong teams that can win it, and we’re one of them,” Waggoner said.
Vediz said the key is having good practices up until game day and everyone getting back healthy from sicknesses and injuries.
Waggoner showed emotion while talking about his grandson and the time spent playing basketball with him, but he also had an opportunity to give Vediz a hard time.
As they went to get a basketball for photos, Waggoner asked Vediz, “Can you hold a ball long enough without turning it over?”
Vediz didn’t react or respond. Comments like that are similar to things he may hear on the court when Waggoner feels the need to correct him for something he did in a game as well.
“Most of the time, I tune it out. Just when he’s trying to be smart and funny,” Vediz said. “He tells me stuff I already know, just telling me again.”
“That’s part of my job, to correct mistakes. If you kick them in the rear end, you better pat them on the back,” Waggoner said. “I think sometimes I’m not his favorite grandpa or favorite coach.”
But Vediz calls this experience an opportunity to bond with his grandfather and sees it as constant support throughout the games or practices. The two will be fighting for as many more days, laughs, tears, jokes and wins in basketball as they can get this week to extend this time together.
Waggoner says he’s coached a total of 48 years and about 36 of them in public education. He’s spent time at Columbus High School in Columbus, Kansas, Lamar, Parkwood High School in Joplin, Carthage and Carl Junction.
He also coached his two kids in AAU competitive travel basketball at the regional and national levels. His son, Ryan Waggoner, is currently coaching junior high basketball at Diamond. His daughter, Angie Vediz, played in the final four twice in both basketball and volleyball at Carl Junction High School.
A big part of this journey for Vediz and Waggoner, Vediz says, are his parents, Brian and Angie. He’s thankful they’ve supported him by paying for things, driving him and always being there.
Waggoner has now coached six family members — his two kids, two nieces, Cooper Vediz and his sister, Olivia. And he’s not done coaching just yet.
“Probably not here, but if the situation came open where I could coach somewhere, I probably would. I’d like to hit that 50-year mark,” Waggoner said.
He wanted to mention some coaches who made an impact on him as a youngster as well: Kenneth Tucker of Jasper, Ron Ellis, Howard Schuler and Bobby Jones were people Waggoner said played a role in his life as a basketball player. But it all started when Tucker put a ball in his hand in the third grade.
“I’ve had a ball ever since,” Waggoner said. “I’m thankful to him.”
And he’s tried to do the same for his kids and grandkids.
“He’s been a leader to me, a role model, all my life,” Vediz said. “He pretty much taught me everything. Anything that has a ball in it that he played.”
It doesn’t stop with sports. The two used to enjoy days on the water fishing for largemouth bass off of Waggoner’s boat at Stockton Lake or Table Rock Lake and sometimes farm ponds.