Kids share magical moments with coach/parents

Come get these memories - An important game Friday night at Cape’s Big House. The bleachers are pulled out on both sides as Cape hosts Sussex Central for temporary Henlopen Conference supremacy. The national anthem is played, which is head on a swivel time for Grandpa Fredman and his Nikon. I have seen it all, until the next time I see something new. Cape coach Chuck Hudson, an ambassador between Central and Cape, and his daughter Hayden, hands on hearts, looking up at the flag. Hayden is a team manager and in sixth grade at Beacon Middle School. Every time I see her she is smiling. Her grandfathers are coaches Charlie Hudson and Bob Cuthrell. Just hanging out with dad and being part of a high school girls’ team has got to be pretty special. Coaches spend so much time away from home that it’s wise to bring a kid or two or four along to work.

Sam Young - The former Cape athlete is a redshirt junior at the University of Virginia. He won the pole vault at the Nittany Lion Challenge Jan. 12, with a jump of 16-feet-6.77-inches. Beside UVA, there were teams from Penn State, Georgetown, Maryland and Pitt. Sam, a high school state champion, went to Delaware, but they had no track team, so he later transferred to Virginia. An amazing young man with an incredible story. Matt Lindell, Sam’s high school coach, gave his own testimony for Sam. “An all-round awesome student-athlete. He took care of business in the classroom, and he was one of the most team-oriented athletes I have ever seen on the track and in the field. Whether it was the 4-by-8, 110 hurdles, 800 meters, 300 hurdles, 400, 4-by-4, and, of course, pole vault, you could, and I am sure still can, count on him at any time when the team needed points.” Sam has jumped 17 feet outdoors and is tied for second on UVA’s all-time list. He holds the freshman record of 16-feet-8-inches.

Fredman Facebook Players of Game - I’ve been finding four Athletes of the Week (with some help) since the Cape Gazette lifted off in May 1993. The last two years when out covering a game I may snap a post-game player photo and call it “Fredman’s Facebook Players of Game.” The kids like it and so do their families. It’s just one of those fun moments of sharing. After the big win over Central, I lined up a trio and told Dania Cannon: “You are here for 21 points;” Lexy Watkins: “You are here for slowing down Raeonna Stratton (10 points);” and then I said to Mehkia Applewhite, “You are chosen for the most missed layups” (she had 12 points). All three players laughed spontaneously because Mehkia was a runaway train for most of the game, a dominating performance end to end.   

Grapple at the Brook - Cape wrestlers spent two days at Springbrook High for the 14-team Grapple at the Brook Invitational. The Vikings placed second in the team competition, five points behind Springbrook. Tournament champions were Anthony Caruso at 132, Andre Currie at 152, Chris Handlin at 182 and Bill Ott at 195. Caruso was also named Outstanding Wrestler. Third-place finishers were Darryl Sykes at 113, Carson Kammerer at 120, Jackson Handlin at 160. Finbar Rishko at 138 was fourth, while Mikey Frederick at 126 and Roy Jones at 170 both placed fifth. Cape will wrestle at Sussex Tech Wednesday, Jan. 23. The Ravens are fresh off a team victory in the Best of the Nest Duals at Kenwood High in Maryland.   

Glove Box - Tom Brady maybe does buy gloves for his offensive line because no one from Kansas City laid a glove on him the entire game. Check out the size of his protectors: LT LaAdrian Waddle, Texas Tech, 6-feet-6, 315 pounds; LG Joe Thuney, NC State, 6-foot-5, 308; C David Andrews, Georgia, 6-foot-3, 300; RG Shaq Mason, Georgia Tech, 6-foot-1, 310; and RT Marcus Cannon, Texas Christian, 6-foot-6, 335. I was hoping that Andy Reid could take his team to the Super Bowl and win, but on that overtime game-winning drive by the Patriots, he just looked overwhelmed and stunned. “Snap out of it, coach!” Blitz, red dog, bring the house and the garage too! Brady will pick you apart like a 1977 barbecue chicken from Lloyd’s Market.

Snippets - All the tedious replays that are ruining football and the officials miss a flagrant pass interference call that is non-reviewable that costs the Saints the game against the Rams along with a bunch of other dumb stuff. Melanie McCloy (Cape), a freshman at Princeton University, is playing Ultimate Frisbee on the Tigers’ club team. Simply called “Ultimate,” Princeton’s team is divided into two groups: Clockwork, the competitive team, and and Stopwatch, the developmental team. I remember a national champion Frisbee dog at halftime of an Eagles game dazzling the crowd, but when he ran down the plate for 40 yards, leaped 5 feet into the air to snag it in the end zone, then dropped it, the crowd booed the dog like Todd Pinkston going over the middle. Go on now, git!