Name Dropping | Champaign 13-year-old 'the best around' for his age at bridge

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Thirteen-year-old Lee Blocher is like many young people his age. He enjoys soccer, spending time with friends and playing video games. ("Minecraft" is his favorite.)

One atypical feature, however, is his love of the game of bridge.

Blocher, son of Kyle and Grace Blocher, is good. So good the terms “gifted” and “savant” have been used to describe his ability.

The Edison Middle School eighth-grader will compete in the World Youth Bridge Teams 16-and-Under Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy, this summer after qualifying against other young people in trials in Atlanta.

This isn’t Crazy Eights or Old Maid we’re talking about here.

It takes good memory skills and logical thought to excel. Most important to showing improvement, however, is to play bridge regularly.

Blocher, who has been playing for about five years, can thank a family member for his introduction to the card game.

“My wife’s brother was national Taiwanese champion,” Kyle Blocher said. “We went to visit him several years ago over Chinese New Year.

“He got out the equipment and said, ‘We’re playing bridge now.”

It was the start of a relationship for Lee Blocher and rekindled one for his father, who knew the basics of the game but hadn’t played it much.

Both now play regularly at Champaign’s Ginger Creek Bridge Club and compete in tournaments.

Kyle Blocher said he is “a little bit better” than his son at this point, but knows Lee is gaining and will pass him.

Lee said he trains three times a week online with a coach, although soccer practice has curtailed that for the past few weeks.

“I have a partnership coach two times a week and playing coach once a week,” he said.

“I do stuff with my dad that also helps me.”

While he said he enjoys playing bridge the most, soccer practice has to take precedence because it’s that time of the year. (He plays central defensive midfielder for the Illinois Football Club.)  

The complexity of the game is what he likes about bridge

“You have to be thinking all the time ... being able to figure out what other people have. It’s really fun that you can get better every single time.”

Blocher said he enjoys being able to figure out what cards other players are holding.

“There’s somewhat math involved in bridge,” Blocher said. “It’s not serious math. It’s usually counting and usually addition, figuring out what people have.”

Making quick decisions is a plus.

Each board of bridge, he said, generally takes about seven minutes, with about three minutes for bidding and four for card play.

Play generally involves 24 boards of bridge spanning about three hours, sometimes with breaks in between.

Lisa Bienvenue began playing pro-am bridge with Blocher several years ago and said “he’s the best” in terms of his demeanor as a player.

“He’s very quiet, very respectful. Even when he plays with or against players not as good as him, he’s very patient and respectful.”

It’s interesting when the pair play against much-older players who have never played bridge against him.

“They will make assumptions that this is just a kid,” she said. “There are young people who are quite good, but they’re typically college-age.

“They think they’re going to win” and when they don’t, “they start asking questions.”

“He’s quite good. He’s definitely played above his level.”

Bienvenue said when competition goes long, Blocher often starts getting sleepy, so she provides blueberries or other snacks to give him an energy boost.

At a major tournament in Chicago, Blocher and Bienvenue advanced to the semifinals.

Blocher has no qualms about playing against players much older — he estimates most players at the club are 50 or older.

He has introduced the game to some of his friends, to wit Bienvenue calls him a “Pied Piper of sorts.”

Kyle Blocher said compared to someone older,  his son would be considered an advanced-level adult player.

Lee Blocher said the trials in Atlanta were “a lot of fun.

“I can play it for a long time,” he said. “It’s just great how it’s very strategic. If you’re not thinking well you’re not going to do well.”

Kyle Blocher said in a Memphis tournament they played seven hours a day for 10 days straight.

“You play three and a half hours, go to lunch and play another three and half hours,”he said.

Becoming a professional bridge player is a possibility down the road in which people pay to play with them.

That route, however, might not be the most lucrative.

If the professional route doesn’t pan out, Blocher said he might want to go to law school.

WOOTON NAMED A TOP FFA SECTION LEADER

Kaydance Wooton of Farmer City has been named an Illinois FFA Top 10 Section President.

While Wooton attends Deland-Weldon High School for most of her classes, she attends Blue Ridge High School in Farmer City for her agriculture classes and FFA.

She is among the FFA top section presidents who are invited to attend the Premier 20 Leadership Conference April 28-29 in Bloomington.

The conference is an opportunity for youth in agriculture from FFA and 4-H to further cultivate leadership and professional development skills.

Illinois Farm Bureau and Affiliates Youth Education in Agriculture Committee seeks to cultivate the next generation of leaders in Illinois and sponsor both the Illinois FFA Top Section President award and Premier 20 Leadership Conference.

NOON ROTARY HEARS FROM MARRON

Mike Marron, former Illinois state representative and current Vermilion Advantage CEO, was the featured speaker at last week’s Danville Noon Rotary meeting.

Marron spoke about the importance of letting go of the past, embracing the present and planning for the future.

Vermilion Advantage is ramping up its social media efforts, including a new podcast, to expand its reach into the community. Marron spoke about initiatives to address blight reduction and the need for additional housing options.

He also feels that investing in additional forms of marketing for Danville is necessary to sell all the community has to offer.

Vermilion Advantage has  formed an advocacy committee to address local challenges, to take a stand on issues and make Danville an environment that is friendlier to small business.

The organization is working closely with schools and industry partners to educate students on local career paths and incorporate the necessary training into the curriculum at earlier ages to prepare students for opportunities that await them upon graduation.

WHITE NAMED CLUB’S STUDENT OF MONTH

Emarion White has been named Rantoul Exchange Club student of the month for March.

The Rantoul Township High School senior ranks ninth in his class with a grade point average of 5.526.

He is a son of Java Pollock of Rantoul.

At RTHS, he has participated in football, track, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society and student council.

Honors and awards include academic letter, Excellence in Intermediate Algebra, Excellence in Social Science and Excellence in Art.

His volunteer efforts have included eight hours for track meets, two hours for freshman open house, three hours in elementary school run event, four hours for madrigals dinner, nine hours for FCA dinner, five hours for community track pick up and six hours for little league football practice.

White has worked for two years for Bill’s Lawncare.

His goal is to play college football while studying business, sports management or physical therapy.

PATTON NAMED URBANA POET LAUREATE

Angela Patton has been named the 2025 Urbana poet laureate as selected by the city of Urbana and the Urbana Arts & Culture Program.

Patton is the fifth poet laureate in the city’s history.

The honoree is a published book author, small business owner and works for Champaign County.

Her career has centered around communications in all forms.

Early in her career she worked as a journalist and editor. Prior to working for Champaign County, she was a communications professional at the University of Illinois for more than a decade.

She is passionate about the creative arts in all forms and her community.

Patton was selected through a competitive application process by a panel of literary and arts experts.

The poet laureate receives a $2,000 honorarium for the one-year term, funded by the city of Urbana’s Arts & Culture Program.

Patton’s proposal to lead workshops for writers and building writing programming for Urbana residents of all ages impressed the jury. Her storytelling and writing spans diverse subjects and engages the reader.

The public is invited to Patton’s poet laureate celebration from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at the Gallery Art Bar in downtown Urbana with a poetry open mic to follow. 

AREA RESIDENTS RECOGNIZED AT LAKE LAND

Lake Land College Honors students, presidential scholars and members of the Phi Theta Kappa  Honors Society were recently recognized at a banquet on campus.

Local residents who were recognized as this year’s Phi Theta Kapp graduates were Kaylee Blackford of Potomac and Pam Reese of Tuscola.

FALL HONOR ROLL

On Mondays, we tip our hats to academic award-winners from our area.

DEAN'S LIST

Palmer College of Chiropractic (Davenport, Iowa) — Kyle Newman, Danville.

Eastern Illinois University (Charleston) — Lexi Saathoff, Bondville.