Some great high school coaches are taken for granted
Grand Mom Rose: “Don’t take your head for granite.” “Is that a blockhead joke, Grand Mom?” “Yes, it would appear that it is, yes.” I sometimes call it head coaches' disease; sometimes it afflicts the great ones who get a sense that what they do for kids and the school climate doesn’t mean much to certain administrators and board members, and perhaps even some parents. The vice of nonchalance, the attitude that anyone could do your job, drives some great coaches to the sidelines. I have coach friends all over the country working in secondary and even middle schools, and if they are not loved, they leave. My friend Ollie Goulston - I met him when his team played in the Bay Ball Tournament - who coached at Hoover High in San Diego the last 10 seasons, resigned before this year's schedule began. Goulston said, “The level of support, the sense of cooperation, the sense of fellowship that made Hoover special has changed. I’ve voiced my concerns repeatedly. Those concerns have fallen on deaf ears.” Goulston is a Dartmouth graduate committed to making a difference in the lives of kids through basketball. He had won 26 games for six years in a row; his 10 years' record was 255-82.
Winter track - The state of Delaware does not have a single venue for indoor track, sometimes called winter track. The sport goes back to the early '70s for Cape, and it’s a big part of the success of outdoor or spring track. Cape and Sussex Tech run Wednesdays at the Worcester County Parks and Recreation Center. So do Milford, Caesar Rodney, Smyrna and Lake Forest, but none of the teams have diversified depth. There seems to be a lack of sprinters for most schools. Sussex Tech girls won the Jan. 15 meet with 68 points while Cape was 10th with 31. The CR boys won with 59 points while Cape was back in sixth with 22. Austin MacElrevey won the 1,600 in 4:42, and Sam Young won the pole vault at 13 feet. Freshman Dionte Mackey was third in the 55 hurdles and fourth in the long jump. Megan Hart was second in the high jump with a leap of 4-feet-10 inches while Keren Rams took fourth, jumping 4-8.
Extremely wow! - That's what the river conditions sign read the day a white water run-the-rapids party of old friends rafted down the raging Lehigh River years ago. My wife and I were pretty much "life up for grabs,” but at least some relatives were watching our four children. The condition of the river was raging, the craziest it had been in a generation. A seven-hour trip, no way out. The good news: no banjo players in the Poconos, only fiddlers. I went “what the heck wet deck” and covered the Cape swim team’s showdown with Caesar Rodney and “Extremely wow” was my reaction. Those swimmers are tough and fit and focused. They just show up for as many as four races and I thought, “It's too bad Cape doesn’t have a natatorium where spectators can watch and get a sense of how awesome these athletes are."
Racquetball - Midway Fitness and Racquetball of Rehoboth Beach continues to host tournaments. Racquetball is a great sport but not recommended for the orthopedically impeded. Club champions were crowned Jan. 11 in a number of categories from singles to doubles in A and B divisions and a single women’s division. Wes Thawley was the Men's A champion and teamed with Pat McGuire to win the doubles championship. Dominic Nicoletti was the Men's B champion, while Terri Rock was the Women’s champion. Kyle Kilgoe directed the tournament.
Snippets - Both Denver and Seattle are favored this Sunday in the NFL Conference Championship games, but I like the underdogs in both games. New England is tougher than Denver, and San Francisco is better than Seattle. What a warm media day: John Harbaugh and Bill Belichick. Go on now, git!
