Showcase Q&A: Monroe City’s Yager discusses woodworking, golf and going to Mizzou
The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10.
MONROE CITY, Mo. — For Grant Yager and his two brothers, Cole and Blake, woodworking is part bonding time, part sibling rivalry.
“We definitely grew closer doing it,” Grant Yager said. “We get competitive, like who can build the best one.”
The brothers took up the hobby at a young age and have completed a plethora of projects.
“We’ve made anything from shelves to sleds and desks,” Grant Yager said. “We just made some Mizzou-themed cornhole boards, which were pretty cool. It’s just an activity my family has done together, and I really enjoy it.”
Grant’s favorite project combines the Yagers’ favorite pasttimes.
“I recently just built a poker table, like an octagon poker table,” Grant Yager said. “I probably put the most work into that one.”
While it is up for debate as to who is the best woodworker of the three brothers, Grant said that is not the case when it comes to poker.
“I’d definitely say Blake,” Grant Yager said. “I’m still getting there. I haven’t learned all the tricks yet. Blake knows all the odds and all that, the chances of hitting something. He’s actually going to be an actuary, so I guess it fits.”
Grant, Blake and Cole will have more opportunities for poker nights when Grant, who graduated from Monroe City this spring, joins them at the University of Missouri in the fall.
“My dad graduated from there, and he’s always wanted us to go to Mizzou or hinted at it,” Grant Yager said. “My whole family is really there, too. I have three cousins going there, and both of my brothers go there. All of their friends and my friends are down there, so it was kind of an easy choice.”
Before heading to Columbia, Grant Yager will represent his hometown black and gold in the Muddy River Showcase. Yager chatted with Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey about his future at Mizzou, golf and winning homecoming king in this Showcase Q&A.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about playing in the Muddy River Showcase?
A: I’m excited to see all the talent around. You don’t really get to see some of the best players in Missouri and Illinois together at the same time, so it’s going to be fun to see us play together.
Q: I understand you’re a big golfer. What’s your lowest round ever?
A: I shot a 37 in Palmyra.
Q: What about in 18 holes?
A: I think it was an 80.
Q: How badly do you want to break 80?
A: It’s been a goal for a while.
Q: You’re not playing for the high school team anymore, but do you think you can break it sometime soon?
A: Yeah, if I start pushing for it. I kind of took a break after golf season to get reset and everything, but I’ll get back into it, and hopefully I can this summer.
Q: What’s your favorite card game?
A: A couple buddies of mine play poker every week or two, and then blackjack. Just small games, nothing too big.
Q: What got you into playing cards?
A: My brother, Blake, the middle one, he started playing poker, and we used to play with quarters. That really got us into it, and we always played card games. We used to play spades. He’s really the one who got me into all those types of games.
Q: What are you majoring in at Mizzou?
A: I’m going for rehabilitation sciences, like physical therapy.
Q: What got you into that?
A: I tore my ACL and meniscus my sophomore year. Going through all that rehab, I just liked the idea of helping other people going through that. I’ve been interested in the medical field for quite some time, too, so it really just clicked when that happened.
Q: What was it like being homecoming king last year?
A: It wasn’t too expected, but I had to take the crown from Marty (Smyser). That was a pretty cool experience. The queen was one of the foreign exchange students. I bet that was pretty cool for her, too. It was pretty cool standing out in front of the crowd and taking pictures.
Q: Did you rub it in Marty’s face?
A: Yeah, I held it over his head for a while. I definitely did for the first few weeks.
Q: Are there any perks with being the homecoming king at a school like Monroe City?
A: Not really. It doesn’t really boost your popularity or anything, but it’s pretty cool to have that crown. You get to keep it, which I didn’t know. It’s cool to have that experience, get put in the newspaper and get your name out there, I guess.
Q: What did you do with the crown?
A: It’s sitting on my desk right now. I don’t have a display or anything.
Q: Did you give it back initially?
A: Yeah, I tried to give it back to my sponsor for student council, and she said, “You’re actually allowed to keep this,” and I was like, “Oh, that’s cool. Thank you.”
Q: So, something tells me you weren’t expecting to win, then?
A: I really wasn’t too worried about that. To be completely honest, I didn’t even want to be there because we were losing that basketball game. That was my biggest worry.
Q: Describe yourself as a basketball player.
A: I wouldn’t say I’m too much of an offensive player. I mean, I can shoot and do all that, but I’m more one of those guys who does the dirty work, gets rebounds, those hustle plays, gets on the ground whenever there’s a loose ball.
Q: That was the identity of those Monroe City teams the last few years, wasn’t it?
A: Oh, yeah. We really grew into that identity. It wasn’t going to be easy playing against us. It was going to be a hard four quarters.
Q: What was this last season like with all the success you guys had?
A: It was really cool. That 100th annual tournament, going to overtime against Palmyra, that’s the stuff you dream about, really. We just started clicking right from the start. We really just loved playing with each other. There aren’t a lot of teams where you get to play like that. Everybody gets a chance at scoring. It was a really fun thing to be a part of.
Q: How much did having so many football players on the basketball team help?
A: It really brought a toughness. I think that’s the right word. Our practices reflected how we played. We were really beating up on each other in some of those drills, but I think it really transferred to what we did in the games.
Q: What’s it going to be like lacing up your basketball shoes one more time?
A: It will be really cool. I didn’t think I would get another chance at getting to play in front of a crowd after that district game, but I think it’s going to be really cool getting to do that again.
Q: What are you doing for work over the summer?
A: I’m actually working with Marty. We work for Wink’s Lawn Service in Monroe City.
Q: Marty is going to Westminster College. How different is it going to be not having him around quite as much?
A: We still play Fortnite together, so I guess we’ll keep doing that. I know I’m going to watch some of his games, and he’s probably going to come down to Mizzou quite often, so we’ll probably stay close. I’m not too worried about it.
Q: Who’s the better Fortnite player?
A: Well, I’m just getting into it, so I’d have to say Marty.
Check out more of the Muddy River Showcase Q&As at the links below:
Payson Seymour’s Blake Schwartz
South Shelby’s Callie McWilliams
West Hancock’s Lewis Siegfried
Quincy Notre Dame’s Alex Dance
Central-Southeastern’s Lauren Miller
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