Cody Palmer plays attack for Dover High and Wednesday, May 14, the sophomore scored three goals in a 14-9 win over Delmar. On Tuesday, May 13, Cody scored two goals as his team lost to Charter 19-4.
So what’s the connection?
Cody’s dad, Bobby Palmer, is a former Cape player and his grandfather, Ted Palmer, is a former Cape school board member and his grandmother, Carol Palmer, is a retired Cape kindergarten teacher. Cody looked at me suspiciously as I told him he was getting a “relative waiver” into my column.
BE PATIENT - Baseball people are all about hanging out and not rushing the game, which is fine if you are playing and get to hack and whack four times a game. But what about the rest of us? Last Wednesday I committed myself to the Woodbridge at Cape game and set a record for a no relative or girlfriend of a coach or player to watch a three-hour game - a game with no working scoreboard in which no one knew the inning or score. I was struck by Cape batters in the bottom of the sixth and chatter from the dugout, “Be patient.”
“No, be impulsive,” I thought.
“Wait for your pitch!”
“No, swing at anything,” I mumbled.
“Don’t help him!”
“No, please help him or we’ll be here all night.”
“Pick out one you like!”
“No, swing at anything closer, come to think of it, not close too!”
JELLYBEAN - Tim Bailey, 44, known around the resort area as “Chief” while working for years at the Rusty Rudder, passed away last Sunday of natural causes. Everyone in the tightly-knit, African-American community knew Tim who grew up in Coolspring, the nicknaming capitol of the world. Tim was my best sprinter on a 1982 track team running the 100 meters smoothly and effortlessly in 11.1, but Tim didn’t like track all that much even though he was the fastest person in the school.
I saw Tim on the Rudder deck about five years ago talking with some people and when he saw me rolling in his direction he smiled then looked concerned and said, “Coach, don’t come with all that Jellybean stuff I’m not Jellybean anymore.”
“And don’t you come with Cabbage Head - my Coolspring nickname - and we’ll call it even,” I replied.
I wrote a story about all that funny, back-in-the-day stuff which can be found on the blog side of my life at davefredman.blogspot.com/2007/08/jellybean-cant-run.html. Tim was a good guy who smiled easily, and it’s hard to be sad when I reflect back on the time I shared with him.
AVERAGE TRAINER - I spoke with multi-sport athlete Brandon Smith who told me he will soon begin training for a fall marathon under the direction of Kevin Danahy. Brandon, a Lehigh graduate, is all quick twitch hardness and plays basketball, soccer, flag football and softball, and he can sprint.
But I was thinking maybe trainers should be average people who rose up and did above-average stuff then fell back to average again. Kevin is an elite endurance athlete and reminds me of my buddy Dave Kergaard in the gym - just too knowledgeable and dedicated.
I mean, who can be like them? Wouldn’t it be better to have a trainer you can surpass quickly? When you look at a trainer and think, “If this guy ran a marathon I know I can.”
I am joking, of course, which is my defense mechanism to deal with my imperfections. But here’s a hint: if your trainer is giving you advice while looking at himself in the mirror, get a new trainer.
And if attractive women are talking to you in the gym but looking at themselves in the mirror, tell them to hang around some other fat guy.
SNIPPETS - Tricia Colucci of Rehoboth scored her team’s only goal as the St. Thomas More state tournament-bound soccer team lost to Archmere 2-1.
Kristina Lingo is home for the summer just completing her freshman year for Fairfield University.
The Stags finished 25-25 while Kristina led her team with a .322 batting average and hit three home runs. She hit 11 her senior season at Cape.
Sven Haag, visiting from Germany, ran a 1:57 800 meters at the Swarthmore Last Chance Track Invitational last weekend doing the negative split thing coming through the 400 in 60 and running the second lap in 57. “I should know better than to go out so slow,” said Sven, whose goal is to run a 1:52 before he returns home next week.
It would have been a crazy upset as first-year lacrosse program Sussex Tech lost to Caesar Rodney 15-14. Freshman Maxine Fluharty led the Ravens with 12 goals, which is just insane, while first-year player Lindsay Danz of Rehoboth scored two. Chelsea Allen of the Riders, a Rehoboth summer resident on her way to Towson on scholarship, scored nine goals.
Look for Cape girls in the Sunday paper to see if they nailed down another Division II state track title.
The girls won the title in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Milford won it in 2006 and Tatnall in 2007. Those three teams will battle it out this weekend. The meet is at Caesar Rodney High School.
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Sports Editor Emeritus
Email Fredman at fredman@capegazette.com
