By Jeanne Sager
ROSCOE — November 11, 2003 – Sometimes it’s the quiet ones who surprise you.
Justin Bowers doesn’t like to brag about his accomplishments.
He admits he’s generally pretty quiet.
But the Roscoe senior has a lot to crow about – last year he was a division All-Star for football, and he represented Section IX at the state golf tournament.
As a quarterback and linebacker, he led his team two years in a row to sectional berths and a Class D Division championship in 2002.
“Obviously, Justin’s a good athlete,” said Roscoe basketball and football coach and Athletic Director Fred Ahart. “I think the main thing for any high school player, and Justin fits this, is he enjoys athletics.”
And Bowers works hard. He puts in hours after practice, when the rest of the team has gone home, to brush up on his skills.
He lifts weights during football and basketball seasons, and he practices his golf swing at tournaments during the offseason.
“All I do is play sports,” Bowers said.
That started when he was a young child. He was playing backyard ball with his buddies in fourth grade, and he took his first shot on the links at age 8 with father Bucky Bowers.
Later Bowers joined the Catskill Junior Tour for golf and signed up for modified football and basketball at the Roscoe school.
He joined the varsity golf team as a seventh grader, and he’s played on the higher level of athletics for the past four years on the gridiron.
He’s been an important member of the Roscoe teams, Ahart said, a player who works well with the younger athletes and pushes himself to succeed.
Bowers is a senior this year, which means many of the guys he’s been playing sports with since elementary school have graduated.
This year he took a leadership role on the football team, signing on as captain. Ahart expects he’ll have a similar experience on the court this winter, working with a number of new players who are moving up to the varsity level.
“He’s very good with the younger players, and patient,” Ahart said.
Bowers is also looking forward to heading back out on the course when the weather improves – golf will be a constant in his life.
Sports are a way to pass the time, he said.
“It’s something to do,” Bowers noted. “School goes by quicker.”
Bowers is weighing his options for next year, considering whether to pursue a spot on a college football team or head to the Coast Guard.

Name: Justin Bowers

Age: 17

School and grade: Roscoe Central School, 12th grade.

Hometown: Roscoe

Parents and siblings: Bowers is the son of Bucky and Colleen Bowers. He has an older sister, 19-year-old Jenna, and a younger sister, 14-year-old Alyssa

Favorite sport: Football

Favorite school subject: History

Future plans: Bowers has looked at a few colleges, and he’s considered trying to find a spot on a college football team. He’s also studying a career in the Coast Guard