McKenzie Sanford lights and lifts up the spirits of those she touches

Looking for a seat not a story - A down day afternoon, I was cruising the Cape gym watching a little girls’ basketball practice before invading the wrestling room, then back out to the spacious gym where just two rows of bleachers were hydraulically pulled out. There was teacher Connie Smith and girls’ basketball manager McKenzie Sanford, a special needs student. McKenzie loves basketball and so Cape makes it happen. She attends practices and games. Boys’ assistant Tommy “Boo Boo” Rushin came into the gym for practice, grabbed a basketball and said, “C’mon McKenzie, let’s go.” Her eyes lit up - actually every cell in her body turned on like a power strip lighting the Apple Electric Christmas display. McKenzie could play a little bit, made some baskets, her smile radiated and so did Tommy’s. People helping people on a lazy afternoon inside a big, almost empty gym. McKenzie’s mom Jen Melson is a former student of mine. “McKenzie is in the functional ILC program at Cape. She has cerebral palsy, seizure disorder and speech delay,” Jen said. McKenzie also has a decent mid-range jump shot. Jen added, “Thanks so much for capturing photos of her playing basketball. They mean a lot to a special needs parent.”  

Dust in the wind - It’s easier to win 100 games in a row than to lose one. Congratulations to Delmar for winning their first state championship of field hockey and first in any girls’ sport. Tower Hill knocked Cape out of the tournament, then Delmar knocked out the Hillers. The hunt for November 2017 is already focused in the sights of all three schools which return most players. Down scope! I want to see a Cape team that has never won a state title seal the deal. Baseball has the best shot, and softball and wrestling could agitate the waters during the wash cycle. We don’t care about tournaments and travel ball; hang a banner in your high school. Quoting the late Fred Shero, coach of the Flyers, “Win together today, walk together forever.”   

Snippets - Madi Bada of Sussex Tech has signed a letter of intent to play lacrosse at East Carolina University. Head coach Amanda Barnes comes to ECU from Duke, where she served as an assistant. ECU is a Division I program and 2017 will be the Pirates’ first season. Cape’s junior field hockey and lacrosse athlete Annie Judge has verbally committed to play field hockey at Temple University. My wife Susan asked me, “Where do the Delaware field hockey players come from?” I gave her the breakdown: six are international - five from the Netherlands and one from Germany - eight are from Pennsylvania, two from New Jersey, three from Delaware, three from Maryland and two from Virginia. Head coach Rolf Van De Kerkof is a native of the Netherlands. Assistants: Jordan Mckee is a native of Ireland, Missy Arenz played for Delaware then was at West Chester before coming back to coach, and Jacki Coveleski is from Lewes and Cape Henlopen. The Messiah College Falcons won their first NCAA Division III field hockey title, beating the Jumbos of Tufts 1-0 on penalty strokes after 100 minutes of scoreless hockey in a snowstorm. Taylor Holt from Bear and Red Lion Christian Academy is the lone Delaware girl on the team with a Thanksgiving Day story to share with her Blue Hen friends. Go on now, git!