Reds Spirit Award winners found on 20-year-old clipboard

Reds Spirit Award - Aurelio “Reds” Maestri emigrated to Lewes from Austria in the late 1940s at the conclusion of World War II. He roamed the football sidelines of Lewes High School and later Cape Henlopen and his signature cheer was “Let’s go Cape, you bunch of stinking he-haws.” Reds never had a driver’s license, but went to all games, home and away. He would just start walking and someone would pick him up and bring him back. Coach Rob Schroeder instituted the Reds Spirit Award in 1987, and brought Reds to the banquet to present the award to Mike Snell. Reds thought he was receiving the award, not presenting, and didn’t want to give it to Mike. Reds was murdered in his home on St. Patrick’s Day 1989. It remains an unsolved cold case. Mike Snell would later die in June of 1990 in a motorcycle accident in California. The Mike Snell Friendship Award was created in his honor and was given out for 10 years. I found a list of the first 12 Reds Spirit Awards in my garage while looking for a clipboard. The one I found was 21 years old. The first winners were Mike Snell in 1987, Corey Williams in 1988, Greg Keck in 1989, Neal Cypher in 1990, BJ Vickers in 1991, Jevon Wright in 1992, Ron Werner in 1993, Eduardo Saez in 1994, Burli Hopkins in 1995, Jermaine Griffin in 1996, Dashon James in 1997 and Matt Graviet in 1998.

Coach and the Cake - “Coach, come and get a picture of the cake before we cut it.” I can take directions when they make sense, so I followed the woman at the girls’ lacrosse banquet at Baywood Greens because she called me coach. “Not that cake. Take a photo of the bigger one,” she said. She mentioned to a colleague, “Coach is getting a picture of the cake.” I had to tell her, “No, you the coach. I’m just following directions, trying to be a good player.” What made her think I was coach? Was it the white socks, the broad shoulders and big head or just because I had a big camera?

Is it a girl thing? The girls that play lacrosse and hockey at Cape are tough and perform under pressure, evidenced by 18 total state championships since 2009. I’d describe the sidelines on game day as focused friendliness. No one questions an athlete’s desire to be out there on the pitch. Coaches are called by first names, whereas I roll through life by a nickname. And it works for the girls even when men are the coaches like, PJ, Bill, Richard and Bruce. But on the boys’ sidelines, it would never work. I can’t imagine a player on the boys’ lacrosse team saying, “Hey, Mark, am I in on man-up situations?” I was Coach Fred, then Fredman, but never had an athlete call me Dave. Perhaps men are just not as comfortable in their own skin or just thin-skinned.

Fathers’ Club - Back in the heyday of the Philadelphia Catholic League, games were played Sunday afternoon after church. The game would be over and it was back to the school cafeteria for the post-game analysis, and there was always beer. Beer wasn’t bad. It was just beer. The coach would often roll the game film for the Fathers’ Club, breaking down and discussing each play and taking questions. Airing it out seemed like a better idea than mumbling and complaining. That could never happen in the craft beer world of today. That level of honest and open communication is gone, like a short neck brown bottle of Ortliebs.

Varsity Club - I have pitched this idea for years. High schools should have a Varsity Club. The entrance requirement is a varsity letter and modest GPA, let’s say 2.5, which is head above the waterline while paddling through academia. Mental and physical fitness should be stressed along with community service projects generated by the athletes themselves. And above all, sobriety should be sold as an option. Let’s get real, the culture underlying athletics often grants a waiver to weekend drunks and stoners. That is a contradiction. Anyone can play games and get drunk at parties, but maintaining the Athletic Ideal takes a different level of self assurance and confidence. Intervention should begin before it is needed.

Beach Blast Lax - Games are set for Friday, June 21 through Sunday, June 23. There are six fields at Cape and another four in Lewes behind the Lewes School and Shields Elementary. There are eight age groups by year of graduation, starting with 2020 all the way down to 2027/2028. Go to beachblastlax.com for complete schedule and live results.

Snippets - Question asked and answered. I was a giant toddler when I first disappeared from my row home and walked two blocks to Connie Mack Stadium under the turnstyle and sat in the shade under the overhang along first base watching players like Robin Roberts, Curt Simmons, Granny Hamner, Jackie Robinson, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider. I was North Broad Street at Temple guy when the Phils collapsed in 1964 with players Chris Short, Art Mahaffey, Ray Culp, Richie Allen, Ruben Amaro and Johnny Callison. Costen Shockley from Georgetown High School started nine games for that team. Do I care more about the Philly neighborhoods outside the stadium than any player on the 2019 roster? I think I do. For most to all of them, there is no community buy-in, but I still watch and listen on the radio. Wednesday, as they were losing a double header to the Nationals, I was screaming at the truck dashboard as Darby perked up, “is this the time when I bite someone?” I am an incurable fan and miss the voice of By Saam, who died in 2000, but would be 104 if he were alive today. Saam called 13 no-hitters, including Jim Bunning’s perfect game against the Mets on Father’s Day in 1964. But enough lamenting, time to go for a long drive back to a past I can never catch, like second baseman Ted Kasanski on a humpback liner. Go on now, git!