Sussex Central lacrosse kids show good old American grit

Sussex Central lacrosse - The Golden Knights got waxed by Cape in both the JV and varsity games April 10 at Legends Stadium, but if that’s all you saw, then you missed the story. The Golden Knights played a lot of kids – two full teams – representing their diverse talent pool of athletes who seemed to have fun playing the sport of lacrosse. It is hard to catch up to 45 years of Cape lacrosse history – the ball just moves too fast. Before the varsity game, there were technical problems cueing up the national anthem, so the Central team sang it. I mean they went total glee club and sounded good. And then some JV players ran a big flag in front of their fans during the early moments of the varsity game. It was really quite inspiring. And so IRSD voters, please vote Yes! in the May 7 referendum and do right for your kids because they do right by you every day, in ways you don’t even know.

A beautiful day at SA - April 9 was Darby’s birthday. No, not Darby Dog, who is 91 in dog years, yet still has ups, but rather field hockey and soccer player Darby Klopp. Cape battled the Seahawks at their turf field stadium, which is beautiful, and came away with a 3-0 victory. It was their sixth straight shutout to start the season. I have often written, “I cover high school. I’m not in high school.” But I had to capture a photo of Darby with her teammates on her 18th birthday. It certainly beats any present I could buy, and, yes, grand pop Buzz was there. If I had thought about it, he’d have gotten in the picture as well.

Fredman walks into a Bahr - I walked across the field before the afternoon soccer game at Sussex Academy to introduce myself to head coach Casey Bahr. I went to Bishop Egan High School, lived in Penndel, Pa., inside the Neshaminy School District, where Casey and his brothers Chris and Matt went to high school, and his father Walter Casey Bahr was the soccer coach. The Bahrs are the soccer version of the Manning family in football, with Casey playing the part of Cooper Manning. “What are you doing here?” I asked coach Bahr. “I retired here,” he said. “Do these people have any idea who you are?” Casey joked, “They just know I’m a 70-year-old bald guy who coaches the soccer team.” Casey played on the 1972 U.S. Olympic soccer team and in the North American Soccer League. His brother Chris was an All-American at Penn State who played for the Oakland Raiders, winning Super Bowls in 1980 and 1983. Chris’s son Dieter Bahr played for Delaware and graduated in 2016. Matt Bahr spent 10 years in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the 1979 Steelers. Casey’s sister Davis Ann Bahr was an All-American gymnast at Penn State. Walter Bahr, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 91, is in the National Soccer Hall of Fame and numerous others including Temple University. He was captain of the 1959 U.S. World Cup team. Watching the handshake line, I saw Gary Montalto of Cape shake hands with Casey Bahr and they both just moved on. I ask Coach Mont: “Do you understand who that is, coach Casey Bahr, besides like you, another bald soccer guy retired to Sussex County?” Montalto didn’t need to play Final Jeopardy; he figured it out, “Oh my goodness, that Bahr family?”

Snippets - I have talked to college recruiters of all sports who tell me they lose a significant percentage of athletes in the guidance office. That’s the way it used to be, and I’m sure in 2019 there are all kinds of confidentiality roadblocks before the coach discovers, “That kid can play here, but I have no chance of getting him through admissions.” And let’s be blunt, no college messes with a woman who can’t pass the NCAA Clearinghouse. Legendary basketball coach Jack Kraft of Villanova recruited me out of high school, then saw my transcript. Kraft looked at me and said, “What were you doing the last four years? The last time I saw that many 70s was at a deck shuffleboard tournament in Boca Raton.” Fans who continually whine and criticize officials get on everyone’s nerves from both teams, and the players don’t like it either. “Call it both ways, ref!” “You mean at the same time?” Go on now, git!