Cape lacrosse alumni gather for moments of reflection

Alumni game - Coach Lou Norbeck, a former Cape football and lacrosse coach, and history teacher with a sense of history, arranged an alumni lacrosse game May 4. There was a meet-and-greet before the varsity match. Then at halftime, former players and managers were introduced to the fans. “I’m glad there was no actual game,” said Bill Lorah, Class of 1980, who was also on the 1979 state championship football team. “I think as a 60-year-old I’d be good for about 60 seconds.” The current Cape players stood on the field to respect the moment and really seemed to enjoy sharing some Cape lacrosse history. The Vikings won the game 26-0, but on the pitch at halftime, the talk was of the start-up days of Cape lacrosse. 

JV boys’ lacrosse - As a young dad, I used to show up late to Little League baseball games so I wasn’t drafted into the thankless job of umpiring. Now as a pop pop paparazzi of Cape sports, I sometimes show up late – after the JV game – so I don’t have to shoot and process game photos, adding another four hours to my work day, which ain’t real work like mixing mortar or teaching a world cultures class. But for boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, I make an exception, figuring if I’m going to lug heavy camera equipment and a blue chair, which is sometimes a green barstool, to the sidelines, I may as well shelter in place early, then try to unravel junior varsity digital data, which is always inaccurate and incomplete after the game is over.  The JV boys played Salesianum to a 4-4 tie on goals by Sawyer Carter with two, plus Hank Anderson and Tanner Wyshock. Cape also beat Sussex Tech 13-1 on goals by Price Lindsay with four; Wyshock, two; Anderson, two; Brycen Stewart, two; Lucas  Stevenson, one; Tyler Kendall, one; and Jukai Payne, one. The JV is now 5-1-1 on the season. And grandma Joanne Aikens made me chocolate peanut butter candies for my efforts. Her grandson William Aikens is a goalie on the JV team, and Joanne is there every game.   

Boats and bridges - The outdoor sports scene will be socked with a soaking this weekend, but at least there will be northeast winds blowing 25 mph. There are tennis matches, baseball and softball games scheduled as well as lacrosse games and the Seashore Striders half-marathon on the beach side of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. A good time to duck and seek shelter from the storm, if you ask my all-weathered saturated self. The downside of turf fields is they are always playable. Ocean City, N.J., is scheduled to cross the Delaware Bay for a 3:30 p.m. game at Cape Saturday, May 7, in girls’ lacrosse, while Cape boys’ lacrosse must cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or take the I-95 northern route for a 2 p.m. game at St. Paul’s of Maryland. Grandma Rose: “Waterdogs don’t like the rain; they prefer to stay in the doghouse with you.” Welcome to my house! 

Spring signings - I’m as confused as the next person on college signing dates for sports and what exactly is being signed by the student-athlete for the various NCAA divisions. And I never ask about money unless I forgot my wallet and want to stop at Wawa on the way home. 

Delaware club lacrosse - The Blue Hens club team is in Austin, Texas, outside the city limits, playing in the National Club Team lacrosse tournament. Victoria Lockwood and Meredith Lockwood are on the team. Victoria is a graduating senior, while Meredith is a freshman who was originally headed to University of Vermont, but 2020 virtual learning changed her plans. By the way, both Lockwood girls can really play. 

Cannonball Hudson - Mark “Cannonball” Hudson, at Cape for the lacrosse alumni celebration, was also on my early track teams – he is Class of ’79. His earned nickname came from his style of going over the high jump bar, which resembled a person diving off a Third World-country cliff. Mark has been a true friend of mine for 45 years; he is a hilarious and witty person, and a Cape loyalist.   

High five - I will have five minutes Thursday, May 12, at the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame banquet at the Chase Center along the Wilmington Riverfront to step to the podium and summarize my sports life in a sincere, yet humorous retrospective. I’m the guy who can speak 90 minutes on the history of the Clark Bar, yet I realize brevity is a virtue in public speaking – “I can tell it but can’t sell it.” The audience will be spared a litany of Fredman stories, which is how I organize my personal history. It ain't about me, but I was there. Play it forward, all in all, it's just another plaque on the wall. 

Snippets - Spoke with Todd Mock along the fence at Wednesday night’s lacrosse game. I asked him if he could still bust a guard trap 97 yards for a touchdown like he did at Sussex Central on a Saturday morning in 1985, and that big ol’ rascal who worked construction and looked like a humanized forklift just laughed and said, “I don’t think so.” Go on now, git!