A goalie personality is no flinch, no fear, just rock and roll

Goalie guitar - Mariner sixth-grade goalie Penelope Bohl goes through her pre-game routine getting ready to face a tough Sts. Peter and Paul squad by turning her stick into a guitar. Bohl is just the coolest kid and plays the position with “no flinch and no fear.” Imagine yourself a sixth-grader playing the serious game of full-tilt lacrosse where older and bigger girls are throwing a hard rubber ball at your helmeted head. We are talking about old time rock and roll. 

Six goalies - I ran into 42-year-old Chris Keller and family Sunday at the Fort Miles 5K. He’s nicknamed Jeans because he once showed up at Cape lacrosse practice wearing blue jeans. Chris ran the 5K with his wife Virginia O’Connell and Baby Robin in a buggy. “She is growing up in your column,” Chris said. “She was in it last year.” Chris mentioned that he and family went to Cape’s Broadneck game over in Annapolis, Md. I mentioned to him that six Cape goalies were there, including Cape coaches Geoff Shupard and Franc Cook, starter Mason Trench and his dad Jeff Trench, and backup goalie Gus Musika. “How do you do that?” Chris asked with a smile. “A bigger question is how do I not do it,” I responded.   

Sub-7 Grade 5 - On the Legends Stadium track for the Morgan’s Message Mile, fifth-grader Ryan Mears ran away from the following field to an impressive 6:50 mile. Ryan was greeted at the finish line by his Pap Pap Tom Morgan. Alexis Mears and Tony Mears are his parents. No relation to “Pink,” the 440-yard sub 50-second runner named Lloyd Mears from Georgetown or All-American Old Dominion field hockey player Adele Mears from the 1979 Cape state championship field hockey team. Ryan is on the radar of Seashore Striders coach Tim Bamforth for the 2024 cross country fall season.

Freight and flight - A painted face that would scare Cochise and Geronimo and get Sitting Bull up off his chair walked past me at Morgan’s Message Mile. I paused him, “please stop,” before saying, “go play," and he was off. Jeff Jablon, faculty mentor, said, “That is freshman Harper Kaiser. Plays JV baseball. Just a great kid.” I, of course, know his dad Adam and mom Dana, and I later stopped Harper hoping he would follow me off road down memory lane where a penny for your thoughts is overpriced. But I lost my nostalgic trip to the ice cream truck parked inside the fence.

Boerne “Again” Texas - Steve Davis and his wife of 40 years, Susan Davis, were married 40 years ago to the day May 4, the day they choose to run a half marathon together then later in the day renew their vows. They were an REM video, “Shiny happy people laughing, gold and silver shining.” At the end of their race journey, 2 hours and 45 minutes later, Steven went to one knee and took her hand for a proposal re-enactment. The older grizzled guys at the finish line suggested Steve knock it off because he was making the rest of us look bad. I kept hearing the 1987 George Strait song, “All my exes live in Texas, a place I’d dearly like to be, that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee.”  

Bride and the Bandit - Brooke “The Bride” Nissley, 25, proudly wore her bride banner May 4 at the Seashore Classic Half Marathon, running 2:22. Her husband-to-be looked happy, not haggard and wore no bib. The guess is like a true nature's child born to wild he joined his fiancee for the big closing coming down the aisle to the finish line. 

A dog named Duck - The male team winners of the Seashore half marathon relay were Brad Dennehy on the first leg with about a 8:02 pace, then his son Liam bringing it home with seven-minute pace for a winning time of 1:36.49. “The key is to have a partner that is faster than you,” Brad said. Brad is from New Zealand; his wife Yvette from Milford. Duck dog is an English lab (somewhere there is a Cockney Spaniel joke) born in Milford. Yvette is the aunt of Cape teacher Bill Walls, who retired the trophy for his three times speaking at graduation and hours logged sleeping on the faculty room couch.  

Snippets - The Cape lacrosse girls won at Smyrna 21-2 May 8 to go 14-0 on the season. The team closes out the regular season at Archmere Friday May 10. Mason Fluharty, a fifth round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022, is now pitching Triple A for the Buffalo Bisons. Mason is listed as a left-handed reliever for the Bison team, also known as The Herd. Jake Gelof, a second round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was promoted to High A ball and is now playing third base for the Great Lakes Loons. Back around 2016, the Temple women’s lacrosse team walked onto the field at Georgetown University saying, “Hello, Fredman” as they passed. In 2024, the Mariner girls’ lacrosse team passed by and said, “Hello, Fredman.” Those are priceless moments of social relevance that make you feel like an impact player. Go on now, git!