Good coaching is worth its weight in gold at any level

Coach connections - I snuck this snap of Seashore Striders coach Tim Bamforth with talented runner Addie Dean at the saturated Run with Santa 5K Dec. 14 at the Cape Henlopen State Park fishing pier. Here is Tim describing the photo: “This is Addie Dean, seventh at the youth cross country nationals last month in Indiana. Today, she runs a 5K in 28 minutes without any problem, and she is 6 years old. She has become a Seashore Strider billboard, decked out in purple and gold. I was explaining to Addie that in 10 years she will win this Santa race.” What are you talking about, Coach B – I just run. A great little runner with a bunch of talent coming up.  

Awesome to ordinary - The Caesar Rodney boys’ basketball team hit the Cape Big House floor running Dec. 13, leading the Vikings 29-16 at the end of one quarter. Project that pace over four periods and the score is 116-64. The final score was 71-60 (according to Kenny the Stat Cat Riedel, it was 69-60). The score of the last three periods was 44-42 in favor of Cape. The Riders won their first three games by an average of 37 points. Ja’Vaughn Burton scored 23 against the Riders, while Sh’kai Chandler hit for 20 points. Kamal Marvel had 19 for the Riders. What it all means for the boys of coach Shemik Thompson is hard to project. Six Cape players who saw considerable time against CR combined for six points. That will have to improve. The Cape boys host Lake Forest Thursday, Dec. 19. The Spartans were 15-5 last season, including a 54-36 win over Cape.  

Cape girls got game - The Cape girls’ basketball team is following the formula of the 11-time state champion girls’ lacrosse team. Go out and play the best people to get better and be ready for the postseason. The Vikings took the American Heritage School of Florida into overtime Dec. 14 before losing 62-58. American Heritage was the 2018 Florida 6A state champion. The game was played at the St. James Sports Complex in Northern Virginia as part of the She Got Game Classic. Cape was paced in points by Dania Cannon with 21 and Abbey Hearn with 15. The Vikings will next play St. Mary’s of New York in the Diamond State Classic Saturday, Dec. 28. 

Follow the money - The Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles game this Sunday shows the Cowboys as two-and-a-half-point favorites based on the early Las Vegas betting line. The odds are established by a combination of expert analytics and monies wagered. Dallas at Philly on Sunday is the Eagles’ playoff game. I’m an Eagles fan, but not a Dallas hater. The NFL is a better league when the Cowboys are good. The key to the game is the Double E, Ezekiel Elliott. If he gets his game going followed by the obnoxious “feed me the ball” signage, I’m going to no sound.

Beast of the East - Cape wrestling will host Wilmington Charter Wednesday, Dec. 18. Mariner will wrestle Beacon at 4 p.m. as the undercard, followed by Cape JV, then the varsity match. This weekend, Dec. 21-22, the Vikings will send wrestlers CJ Fritchman, Luke Bender, Mikey Frederick, Finbar Rishko, Juan Lares, Andre Currie and Jackson Handlin to the prestigious Beast of the East Tournament at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center. The Beast is considered the best and toughest wrestling tournament in the country. 

Perception is reality - Look at all the conflict and consternation inside the world of politics which spills over into the courts, often populated by biased arbiters of blind justice, then translate that into sports discussions, and it’s not hard to understand that we often see the same things but have different explanations. Demographics and housing costs have changed the economic and social profile of the Cape district dramatically since the creation and consolidation of Milton, Lewes and Rehoboth 50 years ago. Like a walk-in clinic, I’ll weigh in on the subject, but I’m not writing prescriptions. 

Snippets - I chatted with Fred and Shelly Dec. 15 at Pine Hollow Christmas Tree Farm, then went out and threw a kid’s multicolored plastic necklace I found on the ground over the tree I chose after deliberating five minutes. The tree was shaken like a wet dog, pruned at the bottom, bagged and thrown in my truck. I had Merrill Reese on the radio doing play-by-play of the Eagles at Redskins game. Freddie said, “Your money’s no good here, just like your checks.” Local muppets rock!  Go on now, git!