The Stephan Decatur defense was battling to keep Cape out of the end zone at last Wednesday night’s scrimmage. After a pileup at the goal line there was some pushing and shoving after the play. The Decatur defensive coach told a player, “There is a fine line between aggression and stupidity.”
Later, the offensive coach told his backs, “Put two hands on the football but don’t be tippy-toeing.”
A Cape coach spoke to his defense players: “You gotta have ferocity each time you’re in there.”
And these words from a frustrated coach to his players: “This is football! Take it seriously! Grow up!”
Most of the time players give no sign of facial recognition that they have the slightest hint what the coach is talking about. Ferocity?
CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINER - Karen Costanzo is a ful-ltime, certified athletic trainer employed by the Worcester County Board of Education and assigned to Stephen Decatur High School. Karen is a graduate of Salisbury and in her sixth year working in the school district. She is paid on a teacher’s salary scale, comes to work every day at 11 a.m. and stays through practices and games.
Karen believes most school districts in Maryland are moving toward having a fulltime certified athletic trainer as part of the program.
I can tell you that schools that don’t bring a trainer to a game or scrimmage don’t hesitate to use the services of the other team’s trainer.
TAPE JOBS - Football coaches are the world’s worst at taping and the further from the ankle the more likely the creation of a pre-game mummy wearing a high number wrapped and strapped together by a line coach with a signature finishing touch like taping two fingers together.
Before pre-wrap, which is now used in abundance, the athletes would be sprayed with “Tough Skin,” a brown sticky substance resembling nicotine stains.
I have taped thousands of ankles and realized that every coach had a different approach and many were avoided by players the way you avoid a bad barber.
“I know I’ve been waiting 30 minutes, but I just remembered I don’t think I need a haircut today.”
DELIVERY DATE - Cape staff were recently given a tour of the new high school “under construction,” but then again isn’t everybody, and were told that completion and delivery was scheduled for the fall of 2009 which caused much idle chatter: “We thought it was 2010 that’s what we were told and now it’s 2009” - and some can prattle on about such new information while the well adjusted simply respond, “whatever.”
The old school will be demolished and disappeared the following year and when no one is paying attention cool things will happen with leftover money. The new field house at the top of the stadium opposite the scoreboard is scheduled to be open by the Sept. 7 Indian River game. I am told that the women’s bathroom has 36 stalls. I wish I didn’t know that but now you know it too.
POP GOES THE WARNER - Last Saturday I came down Route 1 and saw Pop Warner tykes playing football at Hudson Fields. Now I hear the league has relocated to Rehoboth joining the Henlopen Soccer Club as a major youth organization which has left Hudson Fields for lesser and less convenient venues. If this is not about rental fees, then what is it about?
CHATTANOOGA TO COLLEGE PARK - Anyone who made the all-night, overnight roll over to Chattanooga bus trip last December to watch Delaware play Appalachian State in the National Championship IA game is most certainly taking a deep breath and heading west over the Bay Bridge for the Blue Hens opener at Maryland on Saturday, Aug. 30. Game time is 3:49 with the extra four minutes allowing fat people to climb to upper-level seating.
This has all the makings of a traffic nightmare for us Delaware beach people and if I weren’t working I’d be planted in my garage searching for ESPNU like the rest of you. Delaware leads the series with Maryland 5-3-1, but Maryland won the last three, most recently a 21-0 victory in 1948 - a cool 60 years ago.
Delaware coach K.C. Keeler is entering his seventh season at Delaware with an overall record of 52-26, while Maryland coach Ralph Friedgon enters his eighth season at the helm at Maryland with a record of 56-31. There are 20 Division IA transfers on the 2008 Delaware roster.
SNIPPETS - Nikki Rhoades returns in goal for the University of Delaware field hockey team that has received several preseason votes as a top 20 team. Nikki is a former starting goalie for Cape Henlopen.
The final Cape preseason football scrimmage will be Saturday, Aug. 30, versus McKean at Legends Stadium.
This has been the worst preseason of pro football as even the most blockheaded fan realizes that these are not real games and so there is no way to gauge how good your team is going to be. The Eagles open the real season by hosting the Rams on Sunday, Sept. 7, and there is no chance of the Birds losing that game. The Eagles are at Dallas on Monday night, Sept. 15. Is it just me or have other people had Chris Berman up to the eyeballs? During week three, Sunday, Sept. 21, the Eagles host the Steelers and the following Sunday play at Chicago. That should be a 3-1 start for the first quarter of the season.
How many times have Philly fans bailed this season? Does that make them front runners? The weekend series versus the Chicago Cubs should be great and with college football and the NFL beginning, it is time for a splitter and TV No. 2. Don’t make excuses for yourself. For a sports fan being a passive aggressive is a good thing. Just remember these two important words on game day: universal remote!
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Sports Editor Emeritus
Email Fredman at fredman@capegazette.com
