Players and coaches are on a first-name basis

Name game - Beacon Principal Kathleen Sheehan is in the West Chester University Sports Hall of Fame for lacrosse, a former Division II Player of the Year and an All-American. Kathleen calls me Fredman, and I call her coach. I remember her asking my son Dave, “Why does your dad call me coach?” Dave’s response, “He calls everybody coach.” The two most successful programs at Cape since 2009 have been field hockey and girls’ lacrosse with a combined 26 state championships. The players mostly call their coaches by first names sometimes preceded by coach. That goes back to coaches PJ Kesmodal and Bill Lingo, who were always PJ and Bill, and later Richard Collins who is always Richard. Field hockey coach Kate Austin is “Windy,” and coach Debbie Windett is “Deb.” Coach Tracey Griesbaum is Tracey. I’m the muppet with the nickname Fredman, but no high school athlete calls me Dave. I stopped by the girls' lacrosse practice Tuesday afternoon and grabbed a photo of coach Leigh Rupar and daughter Elsie sitting on the green turf of Champions Stadium watching speedy players scrimmaging on a half field of furiously focused fun. Cape 2025: a new crew that graduated 13 off last year's team. I flashed back to practice visits over the last 16 years, a year at a time. I have always walked away thinking, “These girls can play and they have fun along the way. No one talks of girls-to-women character building.”

So Yea - I watched the Big 10 wrestling championships and thought most of the post-match interviews were somewhat vacuous; the champion with a big belt over his shoulder like a prize fighter was tacky. And often the athlete would conclude with ‘So, yeah,” which means “I’m out of ideas; I'm a wrestler, not an orator.” Back in the early days of the Slam Dunk to the Beach basketball tournament, I thought the premier players from nationally ranked programs had been schooled on how to talk to the media. They spoke clearly in complete sentences, offered insights and smiled. No one wore a Gatorade towel over their head or hunched over a microphone wearing a hoodie while fielding questions. 

Canadian connection - I have a nephew and niece (my late sister’s children) who are Canadian citizens. Years ago, Susan and I visited Alcona, north of Toronto. There was ice fishing on Lake Simko that coincided with the annual smelt run. I had jokes being the smug, sarcastic American uncle who would never bring a chainsaw to a frozen lake. Grandson Mikey plays lacrosse for the Mercer Bears in Macon, Ga. He has several Canadian teammates because hockey and lacrosse are their games; you can bet your Iroquois Indians on that fact. Last year, Mikey got knocked to the turf on a vicious unnecessary roughness blindside hit that looked like a car crash. Six Canadians with mullets charged the field ready to retaliate. The Canucker accent is like clear mountain spring water; it belies the toughness and grit of Canadians. Plus, they are great teammates.  

Beyond budget - School sports teams have budgets, and overall athletics has one big budget. And then come the booster clubs for individual sports. There is fundraising and donations. All in all, a forensic economist would go into an attention deficit trying to track it all down. Some unsung community big boppers donate to specific booster clubs but don’t want a check-passing photo taken because other sports teams will be on them like apprentice telephone solicitors. GoFundMe donations, everything from funeral expenses to medical assistance, have blended into fundraising drives. It’s as perplexing as figuring out the NFL salary cap.

Four ballers - Cape baseball can boast four athletes who are part of Major League Baseball clubs. We all know Zack Gelof is with the Oakland A’s and is poised for a breakout year. Adam Gelof responded to my query, “Where is everyone likely to end up once the regular season starts?” Jake Gelof will probably be with high-A  LA Dodgers affiliate Great Lakes Loons; Luke Johnson will either be with the Florida complex team/league or the low-A Washington Nationals affiliate Fredericksburg Nationals; and Mason Fluharty has a great chance of opening with the Toronto Blue Jays. If not, he will be with their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bison for a short time before being called up. 

Hall of fame inductees - The Delaware Sports Museum & Hall of Fame has announced nine inductees for 2025. They are Robin Adair Harvey, Jake Bergey, Lenny Brown, Maxine Fluharty, Kurt Howell, Edgar Johnson, Laura LeRoy Travis, Dr. Willy Miranda and Ed Stone. Adair Harvey led the state in scoring when attending Cape Henlopen High School. She helped lead Salisbury University to a national championship, then coached Tower Hill to 10 state championships. Fluharty was an All-American field hockey player at the University of Maryland after twice being named Delaware’s high school Player of the Year and winning two state championships at Sussex Tech. The Delaware Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame announced seven inductees for 2025. They are Theo Bowe, Chuck Clausius, Walt Coppol, Mike Reeder, Darrell Tingle, Tyler Townsend and Jeff Trout. A native of Milford, Bowe was a standout at Milford High in 2006-08 and went on to a six-year professional career in minor league baseball with the Cincinnati Reds organization. He now resides in Milton. Townsend was the state’s top high school player in 2006 at Cape. He went on to an outstanding three-year career at Florida International University and played four professional seasons with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017 and served as a volunteer coach for Cape during its 2018 state championship season. He resides in Rehoboth Beach and is a partner in the restaurant business.

Snippets - Noah Burroughs has started all 10 games for the Salisbury Seagulls baseball team, batting .382 with three triples and a home run. Burroughs is a freshman out of Sussex Central High School. Mike Daisey, a rocker and sheet rocker, is his grandfather. Singer Derek Daisey is his uncle. Not sure if Mike or Derek can hit the curveball.  People have asked me if I’m a proponent or opponent of transgender males competing as females in competitive sports. I am the guy who has been out here covering all sports since before Title IX. Honestly, I’m neither a proponent nor an opponent. To quote a Bob Dylan lyric: “We’ll cross that bridge after we’re way past it.” Go on now, git!