Fredman photographer is a distraction who captures the action
Rolling in the deep - There is a reason most coaches don’t like photographers near their benches catching candid shots of athletes who should be paying attention to the game being played by their teammates. But what about college coaches who do sideline interviews on their way to the field or baseball players who talk to long neck Joe Buck from the dugout while the game is going on? I perched myself at the end of the Cape volleyball bench during the game at Caesar Rodney to get a different angle on the action - you hit it over the net and we’ll try to hit it back - and decided to leave when coach Carrie Evick decided to stand in front of me - so then I then I took a photo of her feet in flip flops. When I was leaving, three young players asked, “Will you take our picture?” I moved away, not wanting to be “that guy” but turned back to capture one quick snap. Got home, saw the photo on the computer and said, “I like it!” I don’t need a reason to publish it; after all, I’m the sports editor. Whoever thought that was a good idea?
Fighting for perspective - I always thought telling an athlete “have fun out there” was planting a seed that they might not. “Remember, it’s only a game,” is another disqualifier, meaning this game is bigger than life itself. I will tell you that the ultimate nirvana for athletes and coaches is to play hard but with an overriding sense of sportsmanship. That way you can never lose and will always be at peace. I have never been able to attain that level of development, but I have seen it in others. Playing in big games, and worse, watching your kids play in them, can be like sticking your head into a pneumatically powered vice. The best performers under pressure are the ones who get “jacked” and run on adrenaline all game long and never imagine all the consequences and scenarios that result from losing. I write all this because it is “money time” for high school sports with huge games leading to championships, so let’s all enjoy the ride.
Cross addicted - Food is an addiction for some, otherwise why would on-camera national figures show up fat for national broadcasts? The NFL Fox news team has Curt Menefee as studio host, a great voice and good guy, playing the straight man to Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan. And they get on Curt, who lost weight but then put it back on again. Menefee by the way is 49 with an honorary doctorate from Coe College in Iowa and has travelled to all seven continents and visited 70 countries and sampled their cuisine; otherwise, why go? I’m coming up on one year of my self-created diet of no cookies, cake, ice cream or candy, but have incorporated water ice, frozen yogurt and pies as replacement foodstuffs, which is totally illogical and insane. And I’m still waiting for my honorary doctorate with all the rights and privileges and none of the work. I mean, how awesome is that?
Snippets - Northeastern field hockey 11-3 at the University of Delaware 9-7 Friday night at 7 p.m. Cape fans are sure to double the crowd. Jacki Coveleski, Maggie Delp and Rebecca Pepper are on the Blue Hens’ rosters while Caroline Judge and Kaci Coveleski play for the Huskies. Don’t expect the players on the losing team to be mugging for photos.
I miss one hockey game and my freshman granddaughter Katie gets hit in the head with a hockey ball during warmups and has been thrust into the concussion protocol matrix. No contact for 10 days from last symptom. I said a little prayer, “Dear God, stop it!”
Cape soccer is poised to finish the season 14-1, and the loss at CR is an undisguised blessing because no one wants to play a Henlopen Conference Championship game leading into the tournament. The field hockey team won the Henlopen Conference Oct. 20 by beating Dover and barely mentioned it because it’s all about the postseason.
Cape’s all-purpose football player Quincy Duckworth has been out the last three weeks due to a concussion from the CR game. Coaches weren’t aware he was involved in a head-rattling collision. Go on now, git!
