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Will Edwards is a behavior manager by day and night

January 23, 2018

Good Will Coaching - Will “Stunts” Edwards walked out of Cape in 1987, where he was a gentle 6-foot-6-inch high-jumper, and went directly into responsible adulthood. Will has always been the “good guy” – it is just his nature. He works for the Sussex Consortium as a behavior manager. Last Friday night, I caught an image of Will talking to and coaching Omar Johnson, who got called for a technical foul at the end of the game. Somehow a ball thrown by Omar bounced off the noggin of a Central player after the two had been jawing at one another. Omar is a talented young man, yet his skill set needs to be harnessed. Will rocked some compassionate care, seizing the opportunity for a teachable moment. Soccer coach Gary Montalto sent me a message: “I thought that this was a great job by coach to speak to this young man in such a caring and professional manner after the technical.” We older coaches notice “Goodwill Coaching,” and it makes us feel good about the generational future of sports. 

Sweet T - Tiara Duffy is about to start her senior season as a softball player for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. No need to mention that she has stayed on the dean’s list all four years. I remember when T was the 2014 Player of the Year in field hockey, leading Cape to a state championship. I said to her, “Don’t let opponents see your smile. If they find out how nice you are, it will dull the fear factor, and you will lose your mojo.” Tiara just looked at me and smiled. Have a great season, Sweet T!

Haters and baiters - The over-the-top exuberance approaching gloating of happy Eagles fans gets under the skin of the non-enthused, like a school referendum in a retirement community. But the liberal use of the word “hate” when referring to the Eagles or Tom Brady is just a little extreme. Sports is about support, not detraction. Grandmom Rose: “Talk smack, but don’t detract.”

Jury selection - A committee is being formed (run away!) to interview candidates for the vacant position of Cape head football coach. Requirements don’t include ever having played, coached or even paid close attention to the sport. But a coach is also a teacher, so that opens the door for those with administrative experience from any “walk of life,” to quote Dire Straits. I think there should be a checkmate committee of retired teacher/coaches that gets to reject committee members just as trial lawyers do in jury selection. After all, the committee is rejecting all candidates except for one.   

Wham bam! - Chocolate lab Nestle went reverse retriever Jan. 13, disappearing into the Great Marsh for eight days then reappearing 300 yards from point of insertion on NFL Championship Sunday – near Oyster Rocks Road, if you’re tracking from home. Everybody and their grandmother was out looking for  Pete Wham’s dog. Grandmom Rose: “Get out of that jon boat, that’s stealing.” If dogs could talk, the lies they would tell! I once got a phone call: “Fredman, are your dogs lost?” “No, they know where they are. Let them go,” I said. My theory is no domesticated dog goes solo for eight days. Sure, they are wily, but some human either helped her or she stole from them, then slept on their dog bed or garage sofa. The great news is that she is back and already dreaming about what great adventure awaits her the next time out.

Snippets - Congrats to Cape girls’ basketball team, down two starters, pushing Sussex Central to the limit Jan. 19, before falling 52-48. The Vikings used only S players. When you go full-boat Scooby Doo and wear a rubber dog head to a football game and bark at the Philly skyline, you better hope your team wins; otherwise, you'll be hangdog man on the way back to your party bus. Great fun losing yourself like that, I guess. Beacon girls’ basketball, coached by Sam Purple, is undefeated at 7-0 and faces a three-game week, which ends with hosting once-beaten Chipman at home Friday. Sounds like my game. A rare girls’/boys’ basketball doubleheader versus Indian River is set for Thursday, Jan. 25. Girls’ game starts at 5 p.m., followed by the boys’ game. Go on now, git!

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