Cape boys’ lacrosse players go hard and you can coach them up

Simply the best - I have been saying this over the last 25 years: “The Cape boys’ lacrosse team is the best-coached boys’ team in the school over time and in real time.” Practice is no joke, and a player who slacks on a single slide or ground ball will be noticed, as will the good plays and hustle plays. Some athletes can’t take it, like those who like to hide in the margins of total commitment. All players get coached up and get better, and all parents are never all happy, and some close games get lost, but championships are contested, and seven have been won since 1998. Some boys go on to play in college, next-level guys, because they graduate from a real program. The downside is they may never be coached so well again with the degree of individual attention that they received at Cape. If you are a parent whose son came though this program, then you know what I’m talking about. Just consider yourself fortunate.

Don’t hang your head - A team loses a big game each time another team wins one. Athletes thrust suddenly into the throes of crushing disappointment must fend off the most inane words of consolation from well-meaning fans, like, “Keep your head up. You have nothing to be ashamed of. At least you got here.” In the 50 years of Cape sports, the Vikings have won 58 state titles, but they have also lost in the finals or have come in second 37 times. Stinging losses by sports include: Field hockey and boys’ lacrosse with four each, football and boys’ basketball with three each, and girls’ basketball, baseball, softball and girls’ lacrosse with one apiece. In the running sports of cross country and track, Cape placed second in points in cross country and boys’ track five times and girls’ track nine times. None of those athletes hung their heads, but they didn’t get a banquet either.

Backward ballers - Many young people feel their privacy is invaded daily by their so-proud parents but don’t have the heart to suggest they back down the spiral staircase of social media. “Confessions of a Travel Baller” is a book I intend to write, where no parents are allowed impute or to step on their child’s lines. I ran into two stud athletes this spring, a girl and a boy, both of whom have achieved great athletic success in high school. Each made the decision not to play in college, just wanting to see what the world looked like outside of their sport. And it’s not quitting when you simply decide to do something else with your time.

Pumped partisan - There is no cheering allowed from the press box or courtside tables or sidelines from those wearing a credential allowing special access. So why is it not only allowed but expected from the major league broadcast booth? The Phillies are the worst offenders, especially John Kruk. Ben Davis, who went to Malvern and was a major league catcher, is the best in the booth, and Sundays with Mike Schmidt are the absolute worst. And just like in criminal court, don’t ask a question you don’t know the answer to, then expect the stat geek sitting behind you to look it up.

Snippets - Cape field hockey will open the 2019 fall season by playing in the Tournament of Champions at the DE Turf Sports Complex. The Vikings will play Notre Dame Prep (Md.) Friday, Sept. 6, then South River (Md.) Saturday, Sept. 7. Then the Vikings will host Tower Hill Friday, Sept. 13, and Padua Friday, Sept. 21, before playing at Delmar Tuesday, Sept. 24. Cape graduated eight seniors, all real-deal players. I’m still waiting for someone to leak to me information on the vacant boys’ basketball job at Cape. Cape wrestling is hosting open mats Monday and Thursday nights from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mostly high school and middle school-aged grapplers. If younger, bring a partner. Anthony Caruso, Cape’s two-time wrestling state champion, will attend Midway University (an NAIA School) in Kentucky this fall. If you are a novice planning to race in the ocean, you should practice getting kicked in the face and swallowing saltwater before competing. Biking the trails and rolling through crosswalks that cross roads is a low-percentage move, so stop before you’re dropped. The lean lifter look is what sports require. A decent amount of reps blended with good nutrition and cardio, and you’ll be a smoothie operator. Don’t take advice from blockheads who want you to run through brick walls. Milford will have a girls’ lacrosse team next spring that will be coached by Amanda Frampton. By Henlopen Conference rule, the Bucs must play all Northern Division teams, including 11-time state champion Cape April 8. The Henlopen Conference does some dumb stuff. It may be time for Cape to go Van Halen, “Might as well jump!” Go on now, git!