Sunday morning harmony of Kelsey girl and her dog Glitch
Color-coded - How many times over a football weekend do we see grown men - coach/coordinator types - looking down at a color-coordinated, two-sided chart to find just the right play, then like the song “It started with a whisper,” they place the chart over their faces because they know some front office intern with a minor in speech pathology perched in a sky box with Nikon binoculars is reading their lips. And with all that subterfuge you can forget the Xs and Os; it all comes down to Jimmys and Joes.
Glitch - I used to play a game with students in my psychology class called “Name that Dog,” going around the room asking students to give a description of their pets - four-on-the-floor, two-toned 1986 Beagle - and inquiring about the dog and human interaction behavior inside the house ("Sure, he sleeps with me in the bed!") and finally getting around to the actual name, often commenting, “What the heck kind of name is Scooter, and who owns a full-sized dachshund anyway? I thought they were extinct.” I captured a peace and harmony photo at the finish line of last Sunday’s Turkey Trot 5K. It was Indian River graduate and freshman at McDaniel College cross country runner Kelsey Minyon and her dog Glitch. A girl and her dog out and about on a Sunday morning: Is this America or what? Seriously, exclude 80 percent of the planet - no girl and no Glitch, not to mention no race.
Better shape - “Oh, you don’t know the shape I’m in.” - The Band. All coaches tell their teams in the preseason, “We will not lose any games because we’re not in shape, so plan to run, then run some more, and when the other team has stopped we will still be running.” I have seen the Cape girls win eight state titles since spring 2009 - four in lacrosse, two in track and two in field hockey. And in large part it’s because if you don’t rock a high level of athletic fitness and hardness, you will not see the field at Cape. That was proven in both the lax and field hockey tournaments. You will not throw more athletes onto the pitch than Cape, and every Cape girl has a motor running at high RPMs the entire game. Lacrosse girls not playing a winter sport are at Body Shop Fitness in Rehoboth three days a week all winter getting sport-specific strength and endurance training from Adam Howard, who actually knows what he’s doing. Field hockey girls play all winter and summer while track has harnessed powerhouse athletes like Kadijah Doughty, Tryra Weatherly and Amanda Hurst to complement such warriors as Ali Coning and Shanel Dickens. This onslaught of top-shelf committed athletes will just keep coming, and as the saying goes, “If you want to run with the big dogs, better get off the porch.”
Firch Lite - Mike Firch lives in Milford and used to be a guidance counselor at Cape before taking an administrative position at Sussex Tech, that silly rabbit. Mike is a great guy, just ask anyone - student or peer person - and he runs in all the races in the 24-minute range, and although it would pain me, he actually seems to enjoy it. Last weekend the 43-year-old ran three 5Ks over two days (I could complete three in two days, running clock) the Pumpkin Pie, Reindeer Run and Turkey Trot. Runner Ellie Shaffer of Lewes, 42, ran 26:41 in the Pumpkin Pie 5K and after passing me with my camera said, ”I didn’t realize that was you; I’d have given you a shout out.” It’s never good not to be recognized. Either you’re a poor approximation of how good you used to look; you actually look better in person than in someone’s memory bank or the person looking at you has early onset “I see Fred people” disorder.
Snippets - Daryl “Moose” Johnson made this commentary during an NFL telecast: “The tight end has been wide open on that same play three times and they hit him for a first down both times." Troy Aikman: “That is not an easy catch to make but he made it easily.”
Go to websites4sports.com if you’re so bored you’re looking for a scrimmage to attend.
The Rev. Debra Ryder was late for her own prayer to start the Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl, and I joked to her, “I was here early waiting for you to call down Jesus.” He son Morris fell out laughing, which is good because he’s young and weighs 340 pounds and could flatten me like a short stack and douse me with syrup if he felt like it. Go on now, git!
