By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

Seven years ago, Bob Healy made a big decision.

In five seasons, he’d coached the Dover High boys’ lacrosse team to five state tournament appearances.

But Healy wanted something different.

So he stepped down as the Senators’ coach in 2006, taking over the program at Salesianum, the all-boys Catholic School in Wilmington.

"Sometimes change is good," Healy told the State News at the time. "Life gives you some opportunities and this is one that I wanted to take advantage of."

From a coaching standpoint, it was a great move. Under Healy’s leadership, Sallies went from mediocre to a state power, winning four state titles in seven years.

The problem was, Healy also wanted to remain a gym teacher at Dover High.

His friend and fellow former Wesley College football player, Shawn Plews, also teaches physical education at Dover. Both their wives work in the Capital School District.

And Healy and Plews, who is an assistant lacrosse coach at Salesianum, both still coach as volunteers for the Wesley football team.

Finally, however, that dual existence caught up with Healy. In June, the district told Healy he was being involuntarily transferred to one of its middle schools to make room for other gym teachers who also coach at Dover.

On the surface, the movement of a few teachers within a district seems fairly insignificant. While it’s a big deal for the teachers involved, it also happens regularly.

But, for whatever reason, this one seemed to stir up lots of emotion in our community. For the past few months, people debated it among themselves, argued on message boards and wrote letters.

Healy’s supporters said Capital was putting athletics ahead of education. There were also charges of nepotism because Colin Thomas, a gym teacher and multi-sport coach at Dover who was in line to take Healy’s spot at the high school, is the son of district superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas.

Dr. Thomas countered that the district had an obligation to put teachers in positions where they best meet its students’ needs. And since the Capital teachers’ union said it was permissable under the contract, the Capital school board approved the move on Wednesday night.

With teachers reporting for the start of the school year on Monday, Healy is now the gym teacher at North Dover Elementary while Colin Thomas teaches at Dover.

But the debate didn’t go away quietly.

At its July board meeting, the Capital school board listened to about a dozen Healy supporters, most of whom are connected to him through Wesley or lacrosse. It undoubedtly heard or read the critcism it was taking for the past month.

So, on Wednesday, the board answered back.

In a lengthy statement that was read at the meeting, the board said that Healy turned down at least three invitations this summer to return to coaching at Dover and keep his job at the high school.

The board also noted that, in 2006, Healy stepped down as the Senators’ coach less than 60 days before the start of the season. It said that, in 2004, the reason Healy was moved from South Dover Elementary to Dover High was because he was the Senators’ lacrosse coach.

And, perhaps most pointedly, the board said that when Healy was asked recently why he resigned as Dover coach, he said he felt the program had "non-committed athletes" and "non-caring parents."

There were also a handful of public speakers at the Wednesday board meeting, some of whom said they supported the idea of having coaches work at the school where they coach.

"During the course of the day, the coach would be in position to better understand what’s going on with the children," said Andy Ortiz, a Dover parent.

"I never heard of anyone teaching at a district and coaching in another district," said Jerry Houston, another parent. "I never heard of that before in my life. I don’t see — looking at the student — there’s no way that he’s going to get 150 percent out of that individual leader."

The board also read an email from Kyle Caldwell, a former Dover cross country runner, who had his coach leave the program to coach in another district but still worked at the school.

"To hear this news, I felt pretty betrayed," Caldwell said in the email. "The feeling wasn’t because the coach left the program. The feeling was because the coach left the program and still taught at Dover High School. ... Teachers are supposed to have pride in their school. How can they coach at a rival program knowing that they’re preparing their team to beat their own students?"

After Wednesday’s meeting, Dr. Thomas said someone recently suggested to him "Don’t we expect our people to bleed Dover blue?"

"Well, I’m not going to get into that debate," he said. "I’m simply going to say that we have to have people that want to be at Dover High School and want to work with our kids."

It might be worth noting that Plews did apply to be Dover’s head football coach a few years ago, with Healy as his assistant, but didn’t get the job.

There are also some other teachers in Capital who coach at schools in other districts.

Undoubtedly the debate will continue.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached
at 741-9227 or walter@newszap.com.

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

They had already come so far.

Jared Morris and his mixed doubles partner, Sarah Candeloro, needed to win six straight games to force a team tie in their Middle States Junior Team Tennis Championship match on Wednesday.

They won the first five games. But now Candeloro and Morris were facing a deciding point against their opponents from the Pittsburgh Polar Bears.

It was all or nothing for Candeloro and Morris, members of the Dover-based Delaware Nightmare squad. They knew it, too.

And, of course, the deciding point lasted — in Candeloro’s estimation — about four minutes.

"That was the longest point, I think, of my life," the Caesar Rodney High girls’ first singles player said with a laugh. "Jared returned the serve and I was at the net, just thinking the whole time, ‘If we don’t win this point, we would have gotten all the way where we needed to be and then lost.’ That would have been a heart-breaker."

Finally, though, with a pretty good-sized crowd of players and parents watching all the drama, a ball kicked off the frame of one of the Polar Bears’ players’ rackets and into the fence. Morris and Candeloro had pulled off the improbable.

"It was a relief," said Candeloro. "But then, when we got off the court, we were told we had to go out and do it again. So it was a moment of extreme happiness and then back to being serious."

The same two doubles teams had to play a 10-point tiebreaker to determine the winner of the team match. This one was a lot less intense, though.

Candeloro and Morris won that, 10-3, to give the Nightmare the hard-earned win.

"We had all the momentum," said Candeloro. "So I think we both just needed to calm down because we were so excited that we had gotten to that point."

When the match, which was played in Mercer County, N.J., was finally over, Candeloro said it felt like she and Morris had really accomplished something special. The Middle States title puts the 18U Nightmare in the USTA Junior Team Nationals, which will be played in South Carolina at the end of October.

The other team members are Hannah Heffernan, Sloan Barton, Nikola Sijan and Colt Williamson.

"A lot of people came on the court and we were hugging and high-fiving everyone," Candeloro said about the scene after the match. "It felt awesome."

Senior Series to honor two

When the Senior League softball World Series gets underway today in Roxana, it will be missing two of its original tournament committee members.

Treasurer George Cahill and committee chairman Gilbert Holt both passed away in the past year.

The two men will be honored during today’s opening ceremonies at Lower Sussex Little League. Two games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. toady with two more at 8 p.m.

"Both men were integral parts of the organization," said tournament director Martin Donovan. "Their knowledge, experience and counsel will be missed as we begin this year’s Series."

Odds & ends

•The Dover community lost Marjorie Martin at the age of 79 this week. She was the mother of four sons, including Renie, who went from Dover to a career as a major league pitcher.

Marjorie Martin, who was seriously injured in a car accident a few months ago, had worked as a secretary and a U.S. Embassy Correspondent in Taipei and Yemen as well as an active member of the Wesley United Methodist Church in Dover.

•More than 60 athletes along with 40 volunteers will take part in the second session of the 12th annual Special Olympics Delaware Summer Camp Barnes starting on Aug. 11 in Sussex County. This is the second straight year that about 30 high school students are volunteering as counselors for athletes from around the state as they take part in traditional summer camp activities.

•Kevin Charles, the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association executive director, has started his one-year term as the president of the National Federation of State High School Associations. He is the organization’s 53rd president.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached
at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

This all started on June 7.

That’s when Bob Healy was pulled out of a final exam he was giving to his Dover High physical education class and handed a letter.

The letter informed Healy that he was being involuntarily transferred to William Henry Middle School.

The move was being made, the letter stated, because of Healy’s unwillingness to coach at Dover High.

You may remember that Healy resigned as the boys’ lacrosse coach at Dover eight years ago, later ending up with the same job at Salesianum in Wilmington. This spring he led the Sals to their fourth state title in his tenure.

On Wednesday night, Healy — backed by a dozen supporters — took his case to the Capital District School Board.

"The question is, my fellow teachers, the people that I work with, the people that I care about, what’s going to happen to them?" Healy asked the board. "Are they next in line because they don’t coach? Are they going to get involuntarily transferred?

"Core teachers ... the math teacher that’s been teaching there for 10 years, does an outstanding job but he doesn’t coach or she doesn’t coach, you’re going to get involuntarily transferred because of that? That’s the question. It seems like we’re putting athletics in front of education right now in a time where Dover High needs some stability with their staff. It’s definitely a concern, without a doubt."

Healy has been in the district for 17 years, working at six different schools. He says he’s never received a poor evaluation in that span.

Indeed, most of the people who spoke to the board Wednesday used their two minutes of allotted time to extoll Healy’s teaching abilities.

Several of the supporters know Healy through the Wesley College football program, where he played and still coaches as a volunteer in the fall. That group included Wolverine head coach Mike Drass, offensive coordinator Chip Knapp as well as Bernie Nowakowski, now the head football coach at Sussex Tech High.

Also speaking on Healy’s behalf were Polytech boys’ lacrosse coach Bob Gilmore, whose son Tom will be a freshman at Dover High in the fall, and Paul McCommons, whose sons both played lacrosse for the Senators under Healy. McCommons’ son, also named Paul, is an assistant lacrosse coach at Sallies.

"I’ve known Bob and he’s a quality teacher," said McCommons. "He’s the kind of teacher they need at the high school. He relates to the kids. He’s committed. And he treats all students the same.

"In the world I live in, we reward good work. We don’t punish it. I feel he doesn’t want to go to another school. He wants to stay where he is. He likes what he does, he’s good at what he does, so why would you move him?"

Of course, what’s at issue isn’t Healy’s ability as a gym teacher. It’s whether the school district can and should move teachers in order to have coaches working at the schools where they coach.

It should be noted that the physical education teacher in line to switch places with Healy is Colin Thomas, the son of Capital superintendent Dr. Michael Thomas. The younger Thomas, who currently works at William Henry, is the offensive coordinator for Dover’s football team as well as a junior varsity baseball coach.

Dr. Thomas said the district does have the right to move personnel to positions where they can be the most useful.

"We need people at Dover High School that want to coach our kids," said Dr. Thomas. "Why would you want to be at Dover High School if you don’t want to coach Dover High School kids? I appreciate the comments (from Healy’s supporters) but ... we owe it to our kids and our programs to get people in the high school who want to work with our kids and our programs. That’s not too much to ask someone, it really isn’t.

"His avenue, if he doesn’t like it, is to grieve it through the union and the union would take on that cause," Dr. Thomas added. "The union, at least at this point in time, has indicated to us that the district has the right — within the contract — to transfer people to meet the needs of our kids and our programs. I don’t think it’s out of line at all to say that."

The situation goes beyond Healy. The Capital School District has several employees who coach in other districts.

That list includes Shawn Plews, one of Healy’s assistant at Sallies; Polytech boys’ basketball coach John Pierce, who works at Central Middle; Stephen Wilson, who is a softball assistant coach at Caesar Rodney; and Molly Phillips, the girls’ lacrosse coach at Archmere. Wilson (boys’ basketball) and Phillips (swimming) do also coach sports at Dover.

If nothing else, Wednesday night’s show of support caught the attention of board member Brian Lewis. Lewis said he was completely unaware of Healy’s situation before he heard the speakers.

Healy’s transfer was not voted on by the school board on Wednesday.

"It may be something that the board will deal with in the future but at least I would have appreciated a heads up," said Lewis. "I’m more interested (after listening to the speakers) in finding out who, what, why and where. I’m kind of disappointed that our superintendent — who sometimes forgets who he works for — should have informed the board at least of something possibly happening on the horizon."

Odds & ends

• This week the local sports community is mourning the death of Kevin LeMaire at the age of just 45. LeMaire was the father of CR state champion wrestler Kaleb LeMaire.

As well as teaching at both Cape Henlopen and CR, Kevin LeMaire was a standout lacrosse player at Cape who also helped get the sport started in Kent County as a youth coach in Camden.

Around Lewes and Rehoboth, he was also known as the area’s "oldest beach boy." He began setting rental chairs and umbrellas on the beach as a youngster and stuck with the job until last year.

• Former Delaware State basketball player Charles Shealey (1976-80), a member of the school’s Hall of Fame, was recently named the head girls’ basketball coach at Clairton (Pa.) High.

• Victoria Dawson, an assistant women’s basketball coach at DelState for the past six seasons, has landed an assistant’s job at Radford University.

• Former DSU basketball player Christian Hurrington has landed at Nyack College in New York.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached
at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

Paul Isenberg doesn’t remember the speaker’s name.

But he remembers her words.

Not that they meant much to him when he heard them at his Dover High graduation in 1983.

"She said, ‘Don’t worry about not knowing what you want to do,’" recalled Isenberg. "‘Because it’ll find you.’

"If you would have interviewed that big dope of an 18 year-old that day," he said, referring to himself, "and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be running a charity some time, doing this and doing that,’ I would have said, ‘You’re nuts. There’s no way I could do that.’"

Of course, Isenberg also never would have imagined that he’d lose his father, Guy, to lung cancer at the age of only 57. Or that his wife, Nicole, would be diagnosed with leukemia when she was nine months pregnant with the couple’s second child.

Isenberg lost Nicole when she was just 38.

The one-time Dover All-State football player turned bank vice president, though, somehow found a way to survive all that pain. In 2008, he started a group that’s now called Bringing Hope Home.

Located in Wayne, Pa., the organization — formerly known as the Great Guy’s Group — helps families deal with the enormous costs of having a family member battle cancer.

Last month, the Philadelphia Eagles honored Isenberg with its Community Quarterback of the Year Award. The award, which includes a $50,000 donation from the Eagles, goes to an area volunteer who has made a big impact on their community.

But Isenberg is quick to point out that it’s a two-way street. He gets a lot back from Bringing Hope Home, too.

"I believe in divine intervention," said the 47-year-old Isenberg. "It’s part of how I cope. ... It keeps me sane. It makes me feel better. There’s so many people out there who are alone — and they’re not alone when they get a call from us. That’s a big deal."

"That’s his passion — to make a difference," said Isenberg’s mother, Marie. "And he’s really doing it.

"He does it so well. It’s hard to say to say no when Paul is asking you for something. He has that kind of personality."

Usually, by the time Isenberg’s group gets involved, families are in pretty dire straights.

The medical costs alone of dealing with cancer are staggering. There’s so many other bills that pile up, however, that even financially-sound families can quickly find themselves facing harsh decisions.

On top of medical bills, said Isenberg, the average family affected by cancer pays between $20,000-25,000 out of their own pockets.

"We are helping families that are saying, ‘I’m going to pay the electric bill this month but I’m not going to pay for three months because I need that money to pay for groceries,’" said Isenberg. "By the time we get them, they’re really down that debt road pretty far."

Since its start, the organization has helped more than 850 families and raised over $960,000. Bringing Hope Home does more than just step in and pay some bills, though.

Isenberg and his small staff also try to help put the families in more manageable situations.

"We’ll talk to the bank, we’ll talk to the utility companies, we’ll talk to the landlord and say, ‘Look, we know they’re a month behind,’" said Isenberg. "‘We’ll pay for two (months), now give us two. People are pretty receptive if you try to work them.

"We do not use the word ‘patient’ at all. They’re our families and we try to treat them as such."

In that regard, helping families isn’t about only dollars and cents, says Isenberg.

He points to a woman who was dealing with breast cancer when her beloved garden had to be torn up because of a water main break. Bringing Hope Home found a landscaper to rebuild the garden.

"Whatever that family needs," said Isenberg. "We’ve paid for child care, we’ve worked with other charities to get people second opinions."

Isenberg, who works for Haverford Trust, is the unpaid CEO of Bringing Hope Home. Since he’s remarried, his family now includes four children.

His wife Miriam’s late husband, Michael Horrocks, was, like Isenberg, a former West Chester football player. Michael Horrocks was a co-pilot on Flight 175, which crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

But from all that grief has come some hope.

"We took some sadness from our family and we’ve used it to understand where people come from and what they need," said Isenberg. "It’s important that we let these families know they’re not alone and we’re helping them. That’s a real big deal."

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached
at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

Dan Candeloro hasn’t forgotten the first special-needs person he ever spent much time with.

His name was Kent Munson and he was a manager for the Dickinson High football team in the late 1970s.

Candeloro was the Rams’ big, talented defensive lineman. He said treating Munson poorly wasn’t even an option.

"Back in that day, respect was demanded from our coaching staff," said the now 47-year-old Candeloro. "I think that made things a little bit easier for everybody — especially when the older kids, the seniors and juniors, were accepting of Kent.

"It was just something that you did. It was like hanging out with your best friend. You respected him like he was one of us."

Three decades later, Candeloro’s football life will come full circle.

Now an assistant football coach at Caesar Rodney High, the Dover resident is an assistant on the Gold team coaching staff for the Blue-Gold All-Star Football Game. The 57th annual Blue-Gold game slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Delaware Stadium.

Thirty years ago, Candeloro was named the Blue-Gold game’s top lineman after suiting up for the Gold in its 10-6 victory.

It’s more than that, though.

For the last 13 years, Candeloro has taught at the Charlton School, Kent County’s school for special-needs children and young adults. So, for Candeloro, the Blue-Gold theme of teaching respect for special-needs people is more than just a nice idea.

It’s something he sees around him every day he goes to work.

"I won’t say I went out and actively pursued a career in adaptive education," said Candeloro, who was also a standout football player at Delaware State. "But, when it presented itself, it was definitely an opportunity that I wasn’t scared to take.

"I think being around special needs at such a young age, I didn’t shy away from the opportunity and kind of welcomed it," he added. "I understood it more than maybe a youngster coming out of college who hadn’t been around special needs."

Now Candeloro gets to be part of an event that will help even more people understand what special-needs kids are like. Charlton has about 10 students involved in the Blue-Gold Hand-in-Hand program, which matches game participants with special-needs children.

Candeloro said it’s been fun being around the youngsters at various events.

"That’s pretty exciting for me because I’ll get to see those kids on game day," he said.

This will be the first time Candeloro has been involved in the Blue-Gold game since he played in it. He said coaching in the contest was always on his "bucket list" of things he wanted to do as a coach.

Putting together football with the Blue-Gold message seems like a pretty natural fit for Candeloro.

"It think it (the game) lets everyone understand that the disability itself doesn’t form the person," he said. "People actually see that a child with Downs Syndrome can run and jump and communicate and have fun like any other kid."

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

You’ll never see Rick McCall’s name on a list of the state’s winningest high school coaches.

Of course, in some ways, the veteran golf pro has 20 state championships under his belt.

Nobody would argue that McCall didn’t have a hand in the DIAA golf state championship that Caesar Rodney High won last week. With two straight titles for the Riders plus the 18 state crowns won by Dover, that makes an even 20 for McCall.

The Dover resident was the former pro at Maple Dale, where the Senators play, and now helps out his son Ricky at CR’s home course of Wild Quail.

With that kind of success, it’s pretty clear that McCall’s philosophy of getting young players excited about the game works.

"To see their success just makes him very proud," Ricky said about his father. "He’s out there every day. He’s teaching more than he ever has.

"It’s fun to watch. I witnessed it as a player and then as an assistant at Maple Dale and now as a pro at Wild Quail. He just makes it fun. You can tell he loves growing the game of golf and he loves being around the kids."

"You have all these kids growing up and he started them," CR coach John Newman said about McCall. "They’ve gotten in good habits and continued that. He’s a great guy to be around."

This year’s CR squad may be as good as any that McCall has worked with. The Riders’ two-day team total of 588 as well as individual medalist Joe Visalli’s score of 139 are both believed to be tournament records.

And there’s no reason to think there won’t be more golf championships in CR’s future. Four of the Riders’ top six players were underclassmen — and there’s more where they came from.

The younger McCall said last Wednesday that at 3:30 p.m. Wild Quail’s driving range was filled with junior players.

"You can go all the way to second grade in the CR (school) system and they’ve got two or three kids in each grade coming up," said Ricky. "It’s not slowing down any time soon."

McCall said his father’s promotion of junior golf seems to have rubbed off on Wild Quail’s membership as well. He said a number of club members stopped out to watch CR play in the high school tourney.

That’s all part of the equation for having a successful junior program.

"I think people see juniors out there, my dad working with them and how much he loves it," said the younger McCall. "They respect that."

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

Lynn Richardson was already pretty optimistic about her fledgling Polytech High girls’ lacrosse team when the season started.

But she felt even better about the Panthers after they rallied in the closing minutes to edge Middletown, 12-11, in their opener.

"To me, it was a pleasant surprise," said Richardson. "I think that kind of jump started our season. It was like, ‘Wow, we might be better than what we thought.’"

Richardson was right.

In just its second season of fielding a varsity program, Polytech finished 13-2. The Panthers won their first eight games of the year before losing to highly-regarded Worcester Prep and Sussex Tech down the stretch.

Polytech’s strength of schedule wasn’t good enough to earn it a spot in the DIAA state tournament, which takes just eight teams.

The Panthers were actually eighth by the tourney points system. Ironically, though, Middletown — which trailed both Polytech and Caesar Rodney — earned an automatic bid as the Blue Hen Conference champion to take the final spot.

Richardson knew that’s the way the bracket was going to play out after the Panthers closed the season with a 13-6 loss to Sussex Tech. There was still some disappointment among her players, though.

"They were disappointed because they knew we had a good season," said Richardson. "But they were also realistic that, ‘Oh my gosh, if we’re number eight, we’re playing Cape or if we’re number seven and we’re playing somebody else.’ I said at the beginning of the season, we know we have to strengthen our schedule in the future.

"I think we had the right schedule for where we were as far as growing the program."

So while Polytech graduates eight seniors, Richardson feels good about where the program is heading. Only a few of the Panthers had even played the sport before high school.

"I think what we were able to do was just get a group of athletes involved in something in the spring that they haven’t really tried before," she said. "We’re starting to make them lacrosse players."

Smyrna's Jacobs voted into Delaware Baseball HOF
By Andy Walter
Delaware State News
Dave Jacobs never played baseball for the money.
He would have been crazy to.
“I was telling somebody the other day, I made $150 a month,” recalled the 77-year-old Smyrna man. “And, when you were on the road, they’d pay you meal money. I got a dollar and a quarter a day.
“A dollar and a quarter a day,” Jacobs repeated as he let out a hearty laugh.
No, Jacobs played the game because he loved it. And that love lasted well after his playing days were through.
For his accomplishments both as a player and then as a Little League volunteer, Jacobs was recently voted into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame. He and four other men will be inducted into the Hall at a ceremony at Wilmington’s Frawley Stadium next month.
A standout player at Smyrna High in the early 1950s, Jacobs spent six seasons in the minor leagues between 1953-61, mostly in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system.
Playing on teams in the South, Jacobs said people usually noticed his accent right away. But the utility infielder said it was never a big deal being a kid from a small town in a small state trying to make it in the pros.
“I never really thought much about it,” he said. “My theory was, you played the best you could and do things right. It was baseball.”
A 1952 Smyrna High grad, Jacobs started the next school year at Washington College before signing with the Pirates in the spring. That first season, with Bristol of the Appalachian League, was his best.
Jacobs hit .282 with 35 extra-base hits in 123 games. He finished with a .273 average for his career.
A 6-foot-2, 180-pounder, Jacobs got as far as Class AA, playing for New Orleans in 1956. The second baseman on that squad was future Baltimore Orioles’ manager Earl Weaver.
“He was a real pepper pot, he really was,” Jacobs said about the future Hall of Famer.
Jacobs never reached the majors like his older cousin, the late Forrest ‘Spook’ Jacobs of Milford. He finished his pro career with Class A Jacksonville in ‘61.
Returning to Smyrna, Jacobs did his share of coaching and umpiring in Smyrna-Clayton Little League. He worked for the Delaware State Police for 20 years.
When it was all said and done, Jacobs’ fond memories of baseball far outweigh his regrets.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do more,” he said. “(But) I don’t live in the past.
“It was quite an honor,” Jacobs said about making the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame. “I was very well pleased.”
The other inductees into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame this year are Wilmington’s Jim Johnson and Tom Bedows, New Castle’s Pat Ramone and Newark’s Vic Maggoli.
Toast of the town
It was a pretty memorable week for the University of Delaware women’s basketball team.
First, the Blue Hens were guests of Vice President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. The players and staff toured the White House before having a poolside dinner at the vice president’s Naval Observatory residence.
Then, on Thursday, the Hens were in Dover being honored by the Delaware General Assembly for their record-breaking season.
“It was just a wonderful week for our young ladies and coaching staff,” said coach Tina Martin. “To tour the White House, have dinner poolside with Vice President Joe Biden, and two days later come to the state capital and be recognized by the Senate, House of Representatives, and the Governor is something we could only dream of.
“This week has been truly amazing and a humbling experience. We are truly thankful, grateful, and appreciative of the all the attention we’ve received and these ladies will remember it always.”
On the road again
Wesley College may only be a small NCAA Division III school in Dover.
But the Wolverines’ football team is going to play a schedule in the fall that would rival any major college program in terms of travel.
Wesley’s nine-game slate for 2012, which coach Mike Drass finalized this week, has the Wolverines travelling to five different states: Texas (East Texas Baptist), Maryland (Salisbury), Louisiana (Louisiana College), California (Menlo College) and Alabama (Huntington).
At home, Wesley will host Texas’ Mary Hardin-Baylor, Birmingham Southern, Lynchburg and Apprentice.
The Salisbury game will be on Sept. 8, in the second game of the season, rather than its traditional spot later in the fall.
Odds & ends
•Caesar Rodney High tennis standout Jared Morris is going to continue his playing career at East Carolina next year. The defending state champion, Morris owns a record of 63-5 — all at first singles — after overcoming a back injury early in his high school career.
“Jared’s got the capability to play Division I tennis on any team,” said Riders coach Jim Harvey. “He’s just a really high-caliber player. I think he’s looking forward to playing some college ball.”
•CR and Cape Henlopen will hold their annual showdown to decide the Henlopen Conference title in boys’ lacrosse on Tuesday in Camden at 7 p.m. (The game was switched from Wednesday because of a scheduling conflict.) Cape hasn’t lost a conference game since falling to the Riders six years ago.
•The Polytech softball team is an impressive 15-0 but has to play the Henlopen Conference’s next two best teams this week. The Panthers travel to Delmar on Tuesday before hosting Sussex Central on Thursday.
•A pair of former Henlopen Conference athletes were named team MVPs in their sports at Washington College this weeke. CR grad Kevin Papen was named the Shoremen’s top player in men’s tennis while Sussex Central grad Kristin Cooper was the MVP in softball.
Papen, a senior, was an All-Centennial Conference second-team selection this year at both singles and doubles.
•Cape Henlopen High’s Jackie Coveleski was the only in-state player among the class of 11 recruits that University of Delaware field hockey coach Rolf Van de Kerkhof recently announced. Coveleski was a two-time first-team All-Stater.
“I am excited to welcome one of the best — if not the best — graduating seniors in the state of Delaware to the Blue Hen field hockey program,” Van de Kerkhof said in a press release. “Jackie has the skills, understanding and mentality to score and assist. I believe she can become a great Blue Hen representing her home state and state university.”
Sports editor Andy Walter can
be reached at 741-8227 or
walter@newszap.com.

Everyone knows that, in baseball, you don’t talk about a no-hitter or perfect game until it’s over.

Apparently, the same superstition applies to fastpitch softball.

So when some of Polytech High’s softball players in the dugout started discussing the fact that Shaina Reed was working on a perfect game last week, coach Jennifer Bradshaw was quick to silence them.

"I’m like, ‘Shhh, don’t say anything,’" Bradshaw said with a laugh.

But nothing could derail Reed as she completed the rare perfect game, retiring all 21 batters she faced in a 5-0 win over Woodbridge.

Perfect games aren’t unheard of at the high school level. Just last season, Polytech’s Lily Engel and Kristen Ball threw one in a five-inning contest.

Reed’s perfect game was a little tougher, though, considering the game went the regulation seven innings. A freshman from the Felton area, Reed struck out 13 of the 21 batters she faced.

"Our catcher (sophomore Alexsandra Mycek) was so excited for her," said Bradshaw. "And Shaina came in and was like, ‘Wow, I just did that. It was really cool.’

"The defense behind her played great. They were very supportive and proud of her. I think she really appreciated their efforts behind her."

Reed followed up that performance by throwing a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts as the Panthers blanked St. Georges, 4-0, on Wednesday.

Delaware State football player Jaashawn Jones is being featured in a story on Sports Illustrated's website on Tuesday. The lengthy feature details how he overcame his brother's murder - which took place with him nearby - to succeed in football. The main headline on the story reads: "You probably never heard of Delaware State free-agent running back Jaashawn Jones but after reading his haunting story you'll never forget him."

The story can be found at:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/the_bonus/04/24/jaashawn.jones/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t14_a0

By Andy Walter Delaware State News As it usually is in situations like this, the news was sudden and shocking. Ben Blacknall was dead. Jeff Braxton was Blacknall’s offensive coordinator when he was Delaware State’s head football coach from 2000-03. The news last Wednesday that the 64-year-old Blacknall had been found dead in Alabama wasn’t easy for Braxton to accept at first. “It took me a couple hours to really focus after I got the news that he had passed away,” said Braxton. “It really hit home to me in my heart. This was the guy who believed enough in me to give me an opportunity and a chance. That’s probably going to be with me for my entire life.” There were lots of people associated with DSU’s football program who were shocked by Blacknall’s passing, of course. The veteran college grid coach spent only four seasons with the Hornets. But he was there at a pivotal moment at DelState. When Blacknall was hired in 2000, DSU had just ended a 19-game losing streak the year before. The Hornets went 7-4 in his first season, though, ending the year with a five-game winning streak. Blacknall was named the 2000 Mid-Eastern Athletic Coach of the Year. Braxton said there are two games that really stand out from that 2000 campaign. That year the Hornets beat South Carolina State, 57-32, on homecoming and followed it up by rallying for a 46-45 win over North Carolina A&T the following week. The Bulldogs were coached by Blacknall’s college coach, Willie Jeffries, while A&T was his alma mater. Braxton, who is an assistant coach under current DSU head coach Kermit Blount, said Blacknall taught him a lot about the business. “He was definitely a blessing for me,” said Braxton. “He was a guy who would coach his coaches. Because he was from the South, he gave you that great Southern hospitality. But yet he was a great communicator of what he wanted and he also had great vision. “He brought the side of the game that people don’t see or know about. He gave you those little insights that helped you in recruiting, that helped you just become a better coach.” Blacknall is believed to have died from complications from diabetes, a disease he had for much of his life. DelState’s coaches watched him deal with it every day. “He had to be careful with what he ate and when he ate,” said Braxton. “But that never stopped him from being a great head coach.” After a few years out of the business following DSU, Blacknall was in his seventh season as the defensive line coach at Alabama A&M when he died. Braxton said he was definitely doing what he loved. “He was very happy to get back in the business,” said Braxton. “He had been in the coaching profession for over 30 years. For him, it was his dream job. That’s what he did.”

By Andy Walter

Delaware State News

Sam Wylie will never forget this one teacher he was around as a kid.

In the winter, when there was nowhere else for youngsters to hang out, the teacher — Doug Gibson — would open up the gym at Milford’s Banneker School so they could play basketball.

"We would thank him," said Wylie. "And he always told us, ‘You don’t have to thank me. (But) when you get older, do the same thing for some kids.’"

Wylie never forget that message. Indeed, he’s spent much of his life living it.

Last Saturday night in Dover, Wylie was one of 12 people inducted into the Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame.

By his own admission, the long-time Milford resident was never a star athlete himself. Rather, he’s helped a lot of young people reach their own athletic potential.

Whether it was driving Kent County kids to Wilmington so they could run track or working as a high school basketball referee for 37 years, Wylie always found a way to lend a hand.

In the 1970s, Wylie became the first black official for Board 129, which works basketball games in Kent and Sussex County. He realized the importance of his role.

"I said, ‘Well, if I start refereeing and do a good job, I could open the door for other black officials,’" said Wylie, who later served as Board 129’s president. "I wasn’t really so concerned about being the first one, but I just wanted to open the door."

When he was hired as the junior varsity coach at Greenwood High in the old Henlopen Conference, Wylie was the first black basketball coach in the league.

"I never thought about that until later years," he said. "I went through the whole season and never thought about (the fact) that all the opponents’ coaches were white. Nobody ever brought it up to me.

"Some of my friends would come to see me coach, they’d say, ‘Oh man, we finally got somebody black coaching.’ But I never thought of it that way. I just thought of it as coaching."

Really, Wylie started on his athletic path in high school. Like other black youngsters in Kent County in the 1950s, he attended Dover’s William Henry Comprehensive High School.

He was good enough to start on William Henry’s basketball squad. But the 1959 graduate was always finding different ways to help out.

In the days when teams had only one coach, he worked as the student manager for several William Henry squads — football, baseball and track. A few times he’d be the public address announcer for football games.

"I always liked those sports but I was never quite good enough to play," said Wylie.

Wylie stayed involved with track. When there was no place for Milford kids to run, he and wife would load up a couple cars and take them to weekly meets at Wilmington’s Baynard Stadium during the summer.

Eventually Wylie got involved with the Hershey Track and Field Youth Program. He was the state’s coordinator of the program for three decades, taking kids to regional and national meets.

In 2008, Wylie was presented with Hershey’s McQuaid Award.

Wylie even found time to umpire in baseball and softball, serving on the high school softball state tournament committee.

Actually, Wylie made a career out of doing whatever was needed. In 2008, he retired after 44 years in the Woodbridge School District.

Among other things, he worked as a teacher, counselor, acting assistant principal, disciplinarian and visiting teacher. And, even though he’s retired, Wylie is still chipping in.

Since March, he’s been working as the acting assistant principal at Phyllis Wheatley Middle School.

The bottom line is that Wylie just really likes giving kids something positive to do with their lives.

"If they were doing that," said Wylie, "they wouldn’t be out doing other things that may not be very good.

"A lot of things you do in life you don’t do for an award or anything. You do them because, at the time, you think it’s the best thing for others or to break ground for others."

There were a few other people with downstate ties who went into the Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Lincoln native Harry Crapper was a graduate of Georgetown’s Jason High who made a name for himself as a semi-pro baseball player between 1957 and ‘72. He was a three-time MVP in the Delaware Semi-Pro League.

Lewes' Perry Reese also went from Jason High to playing semi-pro baseball. He later played football with a U.S. Army team.

Alphonso Stevenson went from Jason High to a football scholarship at Delaware State College. A linebacker, he was invited to camps with both the Jets and the Eagles.

Wes Townsend was a high-scoring basketball standout at Indian River High who earned a scholarship at Delaware State.

Ben Sirman was known as a long-time coach at both Bridgeville and Seaford High before retiring in 2003. Purnell Griffin later became a long-time coach and official at Dover Air Force Base.

Odds & ends

•Caesar Rodney High grad Jimmy Miracle set a Delaware Tech-Terry Campus lacrosse record when he netted eight goals in the Hawks’ 19-18 overtime win over ASA College this week. The Magnolia native currently has 27 goals and 11 assists.

•Dover International Speedway and Pocono Raceway will hold a celebrity softball game featuring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton on May 15 at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J. Access to the Team Dover vs. Team Pocono game is free with a ticket to that night’s minor league baseball game.

•Sussex Central High grad Kristin Cooper set the Washington College softball record for strikeouts in a season with 79.

•St. Thomas More has coaching vacancies for the 2012-13 school year for varsity field hockey head coach and varsity boys’ basketball head coach. Interested applicants can submit a cover letter, resume, and list of references to: Dean Burrows, Director of Athletics at dburrows@saintmore.org or to Lynn Price, Associate Director of Athletics at lprice@saintmore.org. Applications must be received by May 1.

Sports editor Andy Walter
can be reached at 741-8227
or walter@newszap.com.

If you played softball at any level, anywhere in Kent County, chances are you crossed paths with Horace Ellingsworth.

The Dover man umpired softball games from Little League to men's adult leagues to the collegiate level.

On Saturday, Ellingsworth lost his battle with cancer at the age of 75. Ironically, he was in a Las Vegas hospice when he passed away.

Apparently going to Vegas was on Ellingsworth's bucket list.

A Caesar Rodney High grad, Ellingsworth had been an umpire for 51 years. He'd been inducted into the Delaware ASA Softball Hall of Fame.

I'll have more about Ellingsworth in my column in Sunday's paper.

So what do people want to eat at the ballpark?

At Georgetown's Sports at the Beach youth baseball complex, they're offering some healthy choices at the snack bar this year. Restaurant consulting company Highwater Management has added things like hummus and pita chips, a vegetable sampler, a fruit and walnut salad, and frozen grapes.

“We wanted to make a positive change in people’s lives,” Highwater spokesman Scott Kammerer said in a statement.  “Originally everyone thought kids were only going to want hotdogs and cheeseburgers, but they overwhelmingly chose these new foods.” 

“We didn’t think it would do well at all,” said Dan Wheeler, director of operation for Sports at the Beach. “But it really took off to become 20 percent of our sales.”

The Phillies, on the other hand, are adding 'Dessert Alley' to Citizens Bank Park this season with things like cupcakes and donuts on the menu. You can check out a photo gallery on the Phils' website at: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/photos/gallery.jsp?content_id=27734086&c_id=phi.