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An inexact science ain’t no science at all

January 8, 2013

Inexact science - “An inexact science ain’t no science at all” - Grandmom Rose.

I once witnessed a self-important, over-the-top, oh so full of his own self classroom teacher go absolutely apoplectic when his classroom management was rated as excellent but not exemplary. Talk about your sick puppies. Adults are often lousy evaluators of talent, from teachers who think they know who the smart kids are to coaches who at times can’t see the obvious talents an athlete’s relatives easily see. I was at a showcase girl’s lacrosse tournament in Charlotte over the weekend - Overtime Tournament - all kinds of coaches with clipboards were there with check-off sheets, but talk to most of them, many not 30 years old, and my evaluation was less than exemplary. I did steal a sheet from an unattended clipboard - that is my talent - and on a five-point scale, the player was evaluated on Technique, Athleticism, Clearing and Communication. OK, what about scoring and assists and the all-important athletic IQ? I once had a college basketball coach say to me, “Shooting is a cheap skill; anyone can shoot.” Funny, because in today's modern game, hardly anyone can shoot, and the game is so wildly crazy that the pure shooter would be better served entering an Elks National Horse Tournament.

Sunday kneel down - Sam Broadhurst has the psyche of a goalie in lacrosse but plays forward in field hockey; either way she is a gamer. During the second half of a Sunday morning getaway game down to Charlotte, where ESLC was spending all its time on the offense end, I saw Sam on her knees in front of the goal. I waved and she waved back. Afterward I asked her if it was a Sunday morning goalie goes to church moment. “No, my butt was getting cold from sitting on it,” she said. Sam is all in the joke; you don’t have to explain it to her. I don’t know how kneeling played on anyone’s evaluation sheet, but if any school wants Sam they better come after her early, because the sophomore will be quickly off the board.

Overpaid and overrated - Professional football coaches are not geniuses, none of them, and sports is not science, it is art, and you can watch film for eight hours, which only proves you are a slow learner. I have been to some pro practices, and the players pay as much attention as NBA stars to a coach during a time out. Two cases from the weekend games serve to illustrate.  Robert Griffin on a bad leg is like driving a Lexus with a flat tire on I-95.  Get the franchise out of the game; you have no chance. And the Minnesota Vikings had “No Throw Joe” Webb starting against the Packers because Ponder was hurt.  Webb couldn’t displace Joey Cahill in a Rehoboth Y flag game; of course neither could most NFL third-team quarterbacks.

Central grapplers ready to roll - I went to Temple with football/wrestler dudes from Granby High School in Virginia, creators of the Granby Roll. Sussex Central rolls into Cape Wednesday, Jan. 9, and those pesky and annoying Golden Knights just won’t go away; they keep coming up with good wrestling teams. Central won last weekend's Delcastle Invitational tournament followed by Saint Mark’s, Delaware Military Academy and Cape. Thomas Ott of Cape was the 220-pound champion while Austin Smith, J.J Currie and Aaron Mattioni took second.  This dual meet is always a barn burner, and the New Little Big House will be rocking.

Snippets - There was a line in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,”  when pinned down by gunfire, Butch says to Sundance, “They’re not as tough as they think they are.” Sundance says, ”Neither are we.”  Cape girls' basketball, now 1-6, has road games at Caesar Rodney and Dover this week. The Riders and Senators are a combined 6-10, definitely not as tough as they usually are.

Can Cape softball return to prominence coming off four straight non-winning seasons with a combined record of 29-45?   Softball used to be show time at Cape.  Last year, coach Jeff Evans salvaged a record of 9-9 while tolerating some real knuckleheads, and those were parents. Some great players in the program right now, but the team just needs that pitcher who can shut it down, plus Delaware scholastic softball is a hard place to make a living.

Go on now, git!

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