Dexter couple has found a 'home away from home' in Bloomfield

Ben Sindle and the former Michaela Gard are a pair of Dexter High School graduates, who are embarking on a professional and personal journey together in the Stoddard County burg of Bloomfield, and despite an allegiance to the Bearcats, both are ecstatic about the situation.

“My family was joking with me,” Ben said of Bloomfield, “that (Bloomfield) was our home away from home.”

Ben and Michaela, who are now married, have been “best friends since the fifth grade.” However, the two didn’t begin dating until – ironically – they were separated by 323 miles.

“It was difficult,” Ben said of the long-distance relationship, which lasted for several years, “but we made it work.”

Following their graduation from Dexter High School in 2018, Ben attended Murray State University, while Michaela headed the opposite direction and studied elementary education at Missouri State.

Both were recently hired to teach and in the case of Ben, coach, as well, at Bloomfield Schools, after spending a year at the Kennett Schools.

“It’s nice to be here,” Ben said. “It really is.”

Michaela will teach kindergarten this fall, while Ben will teach physical education and serve as the Wildcats’ varsity boy’s basketball coach, and no, Ben didn’t need directions to Bloomfield during the interview process, that is because he grew up in the historic gym (despite being a Bearcat).

“My dad (Darrell Sindle) has been a custodian (at Bloomfield) for 26 years,” Ben explained.

So, in other words, Ben has had as much access to the iconic facility as any Wildcat player ever enjoyed.

“We used to come here, and he would make me work,” Ben laughed. “But he said, ‘If I worked hard when we would get halfway done, then I could get a ball out and shoot on the court.’”

That routine began when Ben was “nine years old,” and carried him through his days as a Bearcat sniper, who held the program record for 3-pointers made when he graduated (recent Dexter grad Truman Krapf broke his record this past winter).

“This is the best atmosphere,” Ben said. “You can’t beat this.”

As it turns out, Ben doesn’t believe his choice of spouse can be beaten either.

“She is the best assistant (coach) that anybody could have,” Ben said of Michaela.

Michaela, who ran track and was a cheerleader at Dexter, has already learned how to be a coach’s wife. She understands that Ben’s mind (and time) will often be spent in another room watching game film.

As the old adage goes: It’s not personal, it’s business.

“She definitely keeps my head on straight,” Ben said. “She has been really supportive of these (Wildcat players).”

Sometimes, perhaps, a tad too “supportive.”

“I’m telling her about our open gyms and practices,” Ben said, “and she tells me that I am being too hard on these boys.”

The Wildcat players (and every five-year-old in Bloomfield) will develop a great appreciation of Michaela’s soft touch, which Ben already has.

“She’s a keeper,” Ben said. “She’s the best at what she does.”