Athletes in action powered by play, not slowed by rules

Mostly cloudy - I cover the sports of field hockey and girls’ lacrosse, both competitions governed by rules I couldn’t explain to a Martian, Miltonian or anyone else rimming the fence on game day. Both games are up and down. The idea is to push the ball past a goalie as many times as you can. Fans of both sports often scream, “What was that, a penalty?” Personally, I don’t know and I don’t care. I do believe that at times, aggression and athletic superiority are penalized in the name of safety. Rules involving off-season contact with coaches are even more murky, convoluted and ever-changing, but basically the move has been toward more liberalization. Any coach who knows the letter of the law and chooses to follow it is most likely not a very good coach. Kids are like catnip to a coach; they just start coaching with enthusiasm. It's what makes coaches who they are – people who love helping athletes get better. I lugged my big old camera to Cape’s open fields for field hockey Tuesday night. I learn so much watching veteran players assimilate freshmen into a team that has won 12 state championships since 2011. Coaches Kate Austin, Deb Windett and Anna Stancofski suggested the players have fun and play different positions. Thirty-five girls got after it over four running-clock quarters. There were no officials and no one noticed. June may be the best month on the scholastic sports calendar. 

GTO Judge - Steve Judge is the father of daughters Caroline, Kat and Annie. All three girls were on multiple Cape state championship field hockey and lacrosse teams. Steve, a Princeton Day School graduate, is also a longtime coach for Atlantic Lacrosse. All three daughters were college athletes, starting with Caroline, a field hockey player at Northeastern; Kat, a lacrosse player at Winthrop; and Annie, a field hockey player at Temple. I’ve done an informal study using Cape sisters as data points and concluded that athleticism and tenacity are most likely inherited from the mom. I suspect Tammy Judge contributes the tenacity trait.

Ally always happy - Ally Diehl, the 2025 Delaware Lacrosse Player of the Year as a sophomore, was leaving the hockey field at CR her freshman season on the way to Beebe to get stitches above her left eye. She smiled as I took her photo and asked her, “What freshman girl smiles on her way to get stitches?” Ally said, “I can’t help it. I'm always happy.” But she plays like a mean girl and is the total package of strength, speed and athletic intelligence. Four state titles in two years, and she never lost a field hockey or lacrosse game in middle school.    

The lucky ones - Athletes who have played field hockey and lacrosse for Lynn Richardson are used to her words of encouragement during games, and her favored word when the player messes up – unlucky. Lynn led Polytech to a state final appearance in field hockey in 2014, losing to Cape, and a 2015 state final appearance in lacrosse, also losing to Cape. Since coming to the Cape district coaching middle school at Beacon and Fred Thomas, her combined record over the last three years is 58-0-2. 

You can’t say anything - I am on occasion muzzled in a friendly suggestion way by family and friends who say, as nicely as you can tell a rogue old guy with nothing to lose he hasn’t lost already, “You can’t say anything. This is just us talking here.” I always look around to make sure no one is hiding under the tablecloth. 

Snippets - Rabid Phillies fans go Old Yeller when the team goes on a losing binge. Many are just brutal, taking apart select players and the manager and even the broadcasters. That is why most players are reserved, because they know fans are quick to resent the money they make when they underperform. Cape football coach Chip Knapp was a Cornell quarterback, a good guy, excellent communicator with a wealth of coaching experience. Cape has been out there the last two weeks – it’s a spring thing – with about 50 players learning Knapp’s nomenclature and system. "Hey, diddle diddle, let’s run up the middle.” Go on now, git!