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Guitar-strumming goalie Jeff Trench tops 40 in harmony

December 30, 2016

Trenchtown Rock - Think reggae, home of Bob Marley and Rastafari elder Mortimer Planno. Dec. 28 was the 40th birthday of one of Cape's all-time lacrosse goalies Jeff Trench, who now works on the pilot launch in Lewes and is half of the musical duet group 3C North. Jeff was in the cage in the 1995 state championship game versus Sallies (22 years ago) played at A.I. du Pont High School. The atmosphere was literally electric - the game was delayed in progress by lightning, and it was easily the most crazy and physical game in the history of the tournament, maybe any tournament. In spite of the lightning, fans rimmed the field from sidelines to endlines. Players and students, and it seemed parents, wanted to fight; it was highway to the danger zone on the field, highlighted by collisions in the midfield.

Midway through the first half, Jeff ran up the left side on a clear and got demolished by a Sallies player right in front of the Cape bench. Cape boys came off the bench, and Paul Cominish was ejected - 22 years later he's still ready to rumble. A highlight in the stands was when my future daughter-in-law, Suzannah, cold-cocked some kid who would not stop yelling at her boyfriend Jack. Hometown baby! We roll together and we roll deep! So do Sallies people; they never let go of their loyalties. That was the first Cape team to get to the final and the best team not to win it, losing 12-6. “I remember coming up from that hit with my helmet on sideways and grass stuck in my face mask,” Trench said. “I guess demolished is a fair description.” The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all.   

Head on a swivel - I am always looking to capture the magnificence of the moment not obvious, the subtleties that reveal the true character of an athlete. We all see the two-handed slam and an ankle-breaking crossover dribble, but character and compassion, person-to-person sportsmanship and humanity, not rehearsed, are what inspires us all. Brandon Slater from Paul VI was taking off his warmup shirt prior to the game versus Bishop Loughlin when he looked toward the wall and saw a young man with cerebral palsy in a wheelchair. Brandon went over, talked to the fan, touched him and smiled, they both smiled. I thought, “Some send thoughts and prayers, while some send themselves.” I missed the moment for camera capture, but my eyeballs snapped and saved it in my brain. Slater is listed as the No. 10 small forward in the country in the junior class. “A great kid and top student” said Vince Robertson, whose son Ian played on Slater’s AAU team over the summer. Grand Mom Rose: “Stop and see the world we’re passing through, make connections and make a difference.” Slater scored 20 in the 82-79 loss to Bishop Loughlin.  

Gifted and talented - Exquisitely graceful and fluid young men, explosively powerful, challenging every moment with nobody backing down, that’s what I saw over three days of Slam Dunk basketball. The older I get and further away I am from being that same athlete, the more I appreciate what I’m watching. And terms like “trash talking” or “don’t bring that weak junk in here,” the glaring staredowns or barking after a dunk and pointing at yourself, I saw none of that. Coaches have different styles; some seem to be tough on their own players, but you have to look at the kid and how he accepts discipline and handles adversity. I remember coach George Glenn always said, “Discipline is what you do for somebody, not to somebody.” I always thought schools should be organized into teams by homeroom, with each teacher as the coach who is responsible for the kids over four years of high school. The successes of each is judged against the other.

Bowl me over - There have been 25 bowl games completed as I write this column in the early morning of Dec. 29 with 17 left to play. Is that saturation of the marketplace or a bonanza for those who will watch anything rather than actually physically move their own body into action mode? The current debate, “Should a player predicted to go in the early rounds in the NFL draft risk injury for another month of college football?” The sound advice is “no,” especially when balanced against coaches chasing the dollar, showing no loyalty to the team that accepted a bowl bid. Schools that fire coaches are on the hook for the remainder of the contract, but coaching contracts have a buyout clause that is paid by the recruiting college to the school left in the lurch. The player has no moral obligation, unless in their personal code of ethics and loyalties they feel like they do.

Snippets - Lewes Polar Bears plunge Sunday, New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. at Cape Henlopen State Park. Thought of some resolutions, but haven’t committed to any and most likely won’t, I just am who I am. Go on now, git!

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