Athletes and artists and nice stories from out of bounds

Athlete and artist - “She’s got everything she needs. She’s an artist. She don’t look back. She can take the dark out of the nightime, paint the daytime black.” – Bob Dylan. I rocked “Old Philosopher” to my wife: “Sports is fleeting, but art endures.” “That’s why they have instant replay,” Susan answered. On Wednesday, I was rocking the Cape rotunda, snapping a photo of Timesha Cannon for Athlete of the Week when I noticed Cape student artwork being taped to the inside office windows with enough tape to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. I have been a collector of student art since like forever. The rendering of a kooky kick-about teenager created by sophomore Paige Ludwicki drew me in. I see Paige on the athletic pitch in field hockey and soccer, but the artistic side I had no idea existed. So I snapped a photo to show to my Facebook empire, who are people who understand the power of nice stories. Good teachers comprehend and celebrate the multifaceted talents that teenagers walk around with all day long, but like all of us, it’s cool to hear it from someone else.

Niceness never quits - A short story began in 2014 when granddaughter Anna ruptured her ACL during her sophomore fall ball season at Temple. Two years later, Sussex Tech athlete Kira Short went down with the same injury. Anna had never met Kira, but texted her words of encouragement. Her dad Darren introduced himself to me at a game shortly after all that and told me how meaningingful it was to their family that Anna had thought to make contact. On Tuesday, after eighth-grader Lilly Short scored a direct kick goal for Sussex Academy against Cape, I spotted “happy and all in” dad and introduced myself, which is a dumb thing to do when you already know someone. He let me know that Kira had visited Liberty University and committed to play field hockey there. And he added: “Lilly will be playing at Sussex Tech next year.” There is a lot that goes on “out of bounds,” which is where I make a living and everyone is on the record forever.

You da best - No, you da best. I talk to officials before games, and if I see them walking off after a game I say “Good job.” On Wednesday before the Smyrna game, Karla Andre, an experienced official with a deep college background, who starred at Ursinus College and ran successful lax camps in Florida, asked, “Are you Mr. Frederick?” I reluctantly admitted that maybe I was, even though toddlers call me Fredman. She then said, “Your writing is top-notch and your column is the best. I’ve been a lot of places, and you’re as good as anyone out there. No, actually, you are better.” Turns out Karla is friends with Anne Reed and Carolyn Ivins, who are friends of mine, and she is close friends with Hall of Fame Ursuline coach Feffie Barnhill, who also played at Ursinus. And me, I’m just some guy from Philly.

Going out of my head - You know the expression “Don’t let anyone live rent-free inside your head.” And that is why self-discovery and self-awareness and positive self-image are so important to an athlete. I tell young athletes, “Have a firm grasp of who you are and be OK with it.” I once had a principal stand in front of me and say, “I know lots of kids in this school think you’re cool and that you think you’re cool, but I just want to say that I don’t like you.” I responded, “To quote Elton John, ‘Don’t go breaking my heart.’” But the dude got inside my head for an instant; perhaps I was some trifling slacker surfing the waves of secondary education, but, if so, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, and I was having fun.

Snippets - Alvernia softball pitcher Riley Shields (Cape) was not only the school’s Athlete of the Week, but also she was honored as one the the Division III Athletes of the Week. Her compact refrigerator must be running out of room. The Coastal Running Festival is this weekend with a 5K in Dewey Saturday and a 9K, half and full marathons Sunday staged at Rehoboth and the Boardwalk. My Philly brother Tom asked, “What do people do down there when they’re not running?” I told him, “Stretch before and drink afterward, which is what some (but not all) call hydration.” Go on now, git!