Restrictive rules gave athletes more free time during summer months

Rules of restrictions - The hot summer months used to be a cooling-off period for school-aged athletes. It was simple: you can’t coach them, require them to be anywhere or hold it against them if they don’t show up for non-required open gyms and fields. But the restrictions were slowly liberalized and now the wheels are off the station wagon. “It’s all good” is never totally true; therefore, some aspects of this evolution are bad. The athlete always enjoys the personal freedom not to show up for the in-between summer stuff if they don’t want to, but entire sports families are goal-directed, chasing the dream like a greyhound behind a fake rabbit. Speaking of fake rabbits, there are a lot of fake coaches knocking about in the summertime, and some competitive games in tournaments can become a toxic mixture – a sports culture going Pacman and devouring itself like a 1970s Atari game.   

A couple of Lookers - Mike and Denise Looker of Stow, Ohio, are on a quest to run a 5K in all 50 states, which brought them to the Firecracker 5K in Rehoboth July 5. There are about 20 races completed on their journey. I told them I’ve interviewed a few 50-marathons-in-50-states people, and Denise said, “I wouldn’t run one marathon; I can't imagine 50.” A nice couple seeing the country and meeting new people. Denise left Mike, but not the marriage, during the race, running 31:55 to his 36:35. You meet people on the street who are so nice, then they are gone, never to be seen again. Chance encounters of the best kind.   

The Jenkster - There is no space-time continuum between the last time you saw Chad Jenkins and the present time. Chad is an international teacher most recently living in Uganda with his wife and two children. They are moving to Oman after his July visit to Rehoboth. Chad is a 1989 Cape grad, a former member of Rehoboth Beach Patrol and a cross country runner. He is an athlete without the buy-in bull – pretty much genetically and personality predisposed to fitness. His son Oliver, 13, is a natural who runs for fun, but never ran a 5K, and never on the flatlands. He is a hills-of-Africa kid who toed the front line in the Firecracker 5K, then ran 20:03 for a 6:27 mile pace. I know Fredman will never go to Oman, but the next time I see the Jenkster is certain to be exactly like the last time. Chad told me he was running the race rogue, but in race culture, he’s called a bandit.  

Black Men Run - Lawrence Keah, 39, of Harrisburg, N.C., ran the Dewey Beach Liquors 5K in 20:41 while wearing his red “Black Men Run” shirt, and matching “The Atlanta Journal Constitution” headband and American flag wristbands. I described him as an exquisite-looking athlete on my Facebook page. I know all the organizations that encourage running, from Black Men Run to  Black Women Run, to Let Me Run. They serve as encouragement to reluctant runners, a sport where the health benefits are many, but the experience can be unpleasant, bordering on painful. I’m not a demographer, but from observation, I’d say that 90% of run-for-recreation athletes are white. 

Free agent fans - You may not be James Taylor and going to Carolina in your mind, but if you are a loyal baseball fan of a certain team, you are making trades in your mind before the deadline. Free agency factored loyalty out of the equation, and just because you like a player – a good clubhouse guy – means absolutely nothing. Trading prospects is an entirely different gamble. I remember that’s how the Phillies got JT Realmuto. They traded Sixto Sanchez, who is still only 26 and a free agent with right shoulder issues.      

Book Club - Soccer coach Gary Montalto handed off a hardback book, “The Real Hoosiers,” he wanted me to read, as it dealt with issues I often write about. About four pages in, the author was quoting Bryan Stevenson, who played soccer at Cape in 1977 and ran on my track team. Gary was at Cape providing soccer instruction to four elementary school-aged girls who are serious about soccer. Gary always coaches the same way, explaining to athletes the why behind the action, encouraging them to see the field and anticipate the results. 

Snippets - DIAA needs an athletic waiver category titled “Adults Whose Advice Messed Up My Life.” Make them ineligible to attend games rather than punishing the kid. Go on now, git!