Relaxed laxer now a rising eighth-grader and a player

Relaxed laxer - Summer sports camps proliferate here at Sesame Street by the Sea, and quite frankly, they make me tired just watching them. That’s why they hire young college players as clinicians while the director goes and sits in the truck or under a canopy. I grabbed this photo at Gamebreaker lacrosse camp in Rehoboth seven or eight years ago. Players pretend to listen to a life lessons message, the gist of which I can’t remember because I went full boat ADD once I joined AARP. The player resting on his stick is Kyle Morgan, now 13 years old and a rising eighth-grader at Sussex Academy. Older brother Ryan Morgan is on the Cape team. Kyle is the fifth child of eight in the family.     

Bird-watcher - I don’t understand grown men who are jazzed by bird-watching, because it’s not what I do. I am on the Orioles watch, and they have six straight home games – three versus Atlanta and three versus Philadelphia. The Phillies’ good fortune covering for frontline injured players Turner, Marsh and Realmuto, I totally don’t trust. The Orioles and Yankees are arguably the best two teams in baseball, with the Dodgers and Phillies in the next tier. This stretch of games will set the stage for how the season is going to play out. I’d love to watch the series in Baltimore versus the Phillies from a luxury box behind home plate. Speaking of plates, I was an invited guest once into a luxury suite that included catered food. I don’t think I could get used to it, but for a one-shot deal, it was pretty cool. 

Coach the kid - Parents of adult children learn not to take blame for bad decisions of their progeny. The smart ones also learn not to take credit for good stuff they themselves could never do. Veteran coaches – the ones who stay and are good at it – know to coach the kid (athlete) and stay away from parent associations, which may be negative. The athlete is not responsible for an overbearing and obnoxious sports parent – there are quite a few out there. And young people who are athletes, believe me, they understand the entire dynamic. 

Prime meridian - If you are several standard deviations past the prime of your athleticism but still use SportsCenter fantasies to help you fall asleep at night, do you realize that if you appeared in any of the sports you watch on television, you would be the star of a new smash hit comedy series? Imagine it’s the bottom of the ninth inning and you have to come in to catch Jose Alvarado. Imagine you have to be a hockey announcer for a Stanley Cup overtime period. Back when I was fitter and leaner but still past prime, I could instruct ripped and fit track athletes on how to triple jump, pole vault, hurdle, throw discus, use the starting blocks, pass and receive the baton, and do it all on air without moving my feet. 

Traveling music - Summer is the season for travel ball for most sports, and it's a nationwide thing. I hear about the great competition, and I have no doubt that is true, but if the games and tournaments are so great, how come the only fans are related to the players? I believe it's because the teams are not relatable to towns or high schools. 

Snippets - Coach Rob Percival, who has been my forever friend since I arrived in Lewes, won a state championship as head coach of indoor track at Seaford in 1991. I left him off my initial list of former Cape athletes who have won a state title as a head coach. I just wanted to see if he read my column. I was happy before the trail system that is laid down like a web over this marshy mecca bracketed by an ocean and bays, producing so many routes to fitness. It’s a great place to exercise. My advice to walkers, joggers, bikers and electric gliders is to realize that right of way is only a state of mind, so be careful and cautious, what boaters call proceed with prudence. There are four different 5Ks this weekend; you can check out the race calendar and jump into one or two, or steer clear of them all. Remember, buying Dad a power washer for Father’s Day is like buying mom a washing machine on Mother’s Day. NBA players Luka Doncic of Slovenia, Nikola Jokic of Serbia and Kristaps Porzinghis of Latvia have two things in common – they are all tall and come from countries most American fans couldn’t find on a map. Go on now, git!