FATHERS AND THE LOVE OF SPORTS
Local athletes remember the influence their fathers had on their careers
Michael Jones told his eldest daughter, “You’re going to make it — it’ll be OK,” but it was piping hot outside, and Brionna was sweating, and each of her 10 laps around the high school track was harder than the last.
Brionna figures she was about 14 then, old enough to be at the threshold of a sterling basketball career at Aberdeen and Maryland, young enough to not fully appreciate that her father wasn’t being mean, just pragmatic. Because if she couldn’t run 21⁄2 miles, she wasn’t in shape. And if she wasn’t in shape, she wouldn’t make varsity.
“It was a long day, but I got through it, like he said,” said Brionna, a rising senior center for the Terps. “And it paid off.”
With Father’s Day today, The Baltimore Sun surveyed local athletes, from Orioles and Ravens to Terps and Greyhounds, for cherished memories of their dads. The remembrances are as unique as the relationships they spring from, but in each there are virtues of fatherhood: love, patience, pride. And because these are athletes, after all, there are sports.
Brionna remembers fondly the time spent working on her game with her father, a former college basketball player himself. She has three siblings, who all play: Her
brother Jordon is a rising junior forward for Aberdeen; her sister Stephanie is an incoming freshman forward for the Terps; and her brother Jarred is a rising redshirt senior forward at Loyola Maryland.
Jarred thinks back to all the hours spent in the car with his father after his games were over.
That was the catch with having your ride be your coach: There was always a postgame talk. After a poor showing, Jarred sometimes would try to avoid the inevitable. Headphones bought him some time; he couldn’t listen to his driver, his thinking went, if he was listening to music.
“But eventually, he’d tell me to take them out,” he said, “and we’d have a talk.”
Some of his points, Jarred already knew. But it was good to hear them anyway. And if Jarred didn’t want any? “I’d just tell my ma I’d go with her,” he said. — Jonas Shaffer
A Giant experience
Almost from the day he was born, Ravens tight end Maxx Williams was around football, through his father, Brian. Maxx still remembers being in the New York Giants locker room with greats such as Michael Strahan.
Brian Williams played center for the Giants from 1989 to 1999, starting 62 career games. Maxx, born in 1994, was a fixture in the locker room until his father retired.
The Ravens drafted Maxx in the second round in 2015, helping him follow in his father’s footsteps.
“It’s nice having him because he understands what we’re going through, because he went through it,” Maxx said. — Jake Lourim
Always around the game
Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty grew up around the game with his father, Ed, who coached college baseball at Southern Maine.
Every day after school, Ryan’s grandfather would pick him up and deposit him at the fields with his father’s teams. It began as just an opportunity to learn and be around the game, but he realized what a true asset it was in his own life and career.
“I think it definitely helped me … to have that advantage and just be around it,” Ryan said. “I guess when you get to high school and you see some other kids paying a lot of money to go try and get a lesson, I think at that point you realize you had an advantage to be able to have that opportunity.” — Jon Meoli
‘Making sure I was getting better’
Former Terps basketball player Robert Carter Jr.’s first memory as a child was dribbling a ball around the family’s house in Thomasville, Ga. When he was old enough, his father, Robert Carter Sr., took his youngest child outside and taught him how to shoot at a hoop he put on the curb.
Unlike many fathers and sons, the Carters rarely played one-on-one, though Robert Carter Sr. was a high school football and basketball star before a knee injury wrecked his chances at a college career at Miami.
By the younger Carter’s count, they played “only about five times.” The elder Carter would silence his trash-talking son by hitting shots. Eventually, Robert Sr. was satisfied watching his son grow into a high school star at Thomasville High before going off to Georgia Tech and then Maryland.
“He went to all my high school games and my AAU games,” Robert Jr. said. “I remember him talking to me after each game and telling me what I could have done better and telling me his experiences. That’s what I remember the most. Just pushing me, never letting me relax and always making sure I was getting better.” — Don Markus
‘My dad kind of started everything’
David Shaw grew up in a football family. The Maryland defensive tackle’s father, Jim Shaw Sr., was an offensive lineman for Colgate. His two older brothers, Jim Jr. and John, played at Penn State in the mid-2000s. So David spent a good portion of his youth attending his brothers’ games at Spring Grove (Pa.) High.
In the past, the Shaw family’s Father’s Day activities included a fishing outing on their property. They would get free worms — Jim Sr. runs Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm — and David, his parents, two brothers and five sisters would pass the afternoon with a picnic on their property.
“My dad was the first one to start playing sports,” Shaw said. “My dad kind of started everything.” — Daniel Gallen
Discipline paved the way
Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley remembers his father starting him on the path to the NFL. He learned to play football at age 5 from his father, Clinton, a disciplinarian who stayed on C.J. and his younger brother, Jamey.
“I don’t want to say ‘aggressive,’ but he definitely made sure we stayed on our P’s and Q’s,” C.J. said.
Jamey is now a redshirt freshman linebacker for Alabama, where C.J. played.
He’s always there
When 6-year-old Jermaine Carter Jr. attended his first football practice, the future Maryland middle linebacker had no idea how to put his pads on. But his father, Jermaine Carter Sr., was there to help his son get suited up.
Jermaine Sr. has been an ever-present figure in his son’s career, from his days with the Upper Marlboro Mustangs to scoring three touchdowns in the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association title game to his time in College Park.
“It definitely is a great feeling to know that he’s there when I have a great game and even when I have a bad game,” Jermaine Jr. said. — Daniel Gallen
Fishing first, then football
Ronnie Stanley, the Ravens’ first-round draft pick out of Notre Dame, remembers not as much football as fishing with his father growing up. Ronnie, who is from Las Vegas, would go up north to Ely, Nev., with his father to fish and spend time outdoors.
His father, Ron, would push him in football as well, though. Ron would play quarterback for one-on-one battles at the park between Ronnie and his younger brother, Robert, now a redshirt junior linebacker at Fresno State.
“I was always busy with sports on my own, but he was always a big part of that … making sure I was active,” Ronnie said. — Jake Lourim
A constant presence
Gerard Evans did not get off to a great start when his son decided to play lacrosse. Knowing nothing about the sport, the father mistakenly bought a girls stick for Michael Evans.
But the elder Evans has provided unrelenting support ever since as his son excelled at South River, at Johns Hopkins and with the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. Michael will never forget celebrating with his No. 1 fan after Hopkins captured the 2007 NCAA Division I national championship at M&T Bank Stadium.
“My parents were sitting in a club-level suite and my dad couldn’t watch the end of the game because he was too nervous. He went out to the lounge and sat on a couch. When the final whistle blew, my mom ran out there to tell my dad that we won and he started crying.” — Bill Wagner
First call after starts
Orioles pitcher Tyler Wilson calls his father, Philip, “a huge motivating force for what I do in the game.” Philip played minor league ball in the San Diego Padres organization and has been Tyler’s pitching coach as long as he can remember.
Tyler’s father is still the first person he calls after every start, with baseball providing a “great way for us to connect on a deeper level through the game over the last 25 years.”
“There’s definitely hard times, when I didn’t do things the right way or I didn’t play the game the right way,” Tyler said. “That’s always been something that’s paramount to my dad, playing the game hard and playing it the right way. Anytime I didn’t control the things that I could control and play the game hard were the only times I ever had to face the music. He never got on me for playing poorly or anything like that. He always just wanted me to do my best.” — Jon Meoli
Playing for his father
Jake Zimmerman had offers to play lacrosse at Hofstra, Mercyhurst and Gettysburg, but the only school that attracted him was UMBC, where his father, Don, was the head coach.
“At the end of the day, it was a blessing,” said Jake, 26, who appeared in 37 games primarily as a short-stick defensive midfielder before graduating in 2013. “Not many guys can say they get to see their dad every day. My dad’s my best friend, and that’s how I approached it. I really enjoyed getting to see him at home and on the field and in the locker room.”
Don, who retired as Retrievers coach May 2, said two of his favorite memories were getting a congratulatory hug from his son after collecting his 200th career win at Binghamton on April 10, 2010, and watching Jake perform a postgame dance after a season-opening victory at Presbyterian in 2011.
“Jake and I had a wonderful relationship and always have,” Don said. “I love being around him, and I think he feels the same way. At a time when a lot of parents send their children off to school and don’t see a lot of them, I was in a situation where I was able to spend time with my son just about on a daily basis.” — Edward Lee
Maryland men’s basketball assistant coach Cliff Warren’s father, John, worked more than 30 years in marketing for Exxon and played just one sport — golf. He even got the golf coach at Mount St. Mary’s to give his son lessons when Cliff worked there as a graduate assistant under the legendary Jim Phelan.
While Cliff’s father was pleased that his son was pursuing a master’s degree, he wasn’t thrilled when Cliff told his parents that he planned to go into a career in coaching. That changed when Cliff was an assistant at Georgia Tech when the Yellow Jackets went to the Final Four in 2004.
“I flew my dad out for the Final Four and we beat Oklahoma State [in the semifinals] and we won on his birthday,” Cliff said. “We were in San Antonio and we could walk from the hotel to the arena and he said, ‘Hey, I can die and go to heaven now.’ He was so happy. It was one of the first times I can remember him saying, ‘I’m proud of you and you’ve done well.’ ” — Don Markus
More meaning for a new dad
Father’s Day is doubly meaningful for Ravens kicker Justin Tucker this year. On May 10, Tucker’s wife, Amanda, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Easton.
“It’s the coolest feeling in the world,” Justin said. “I’ve had the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl, hit some big kicks and win a lot of games with my teammates. But nothing will ever compare to seeing him take his first breath and being in that moment.”
Justin also recalls playing football with his own father, Paul, who always made time despite being busy with his job as a doctor. Paul held for Justin, and after each batch of kicks, the two would retrieve the footballs and start again.
“Just his presence, that’s something that I’ll always remember, always carry with me,” Justin said. — Jake Lourim
‘I’ve always looked up to my dad’
Jamir Tillman never got to see his father play in the NFL. Cedric Tillman spent seven seasons as a wide receiver with the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. Jamir Tillman was only 3 when his father stopped playing pro football in 1997.
Last weekend, the Naval Academy’s star wide receiver was on hand as Cedric was inducted into the Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame. Cedric is a native of Natchez, Miss., and starred in college at nearby Alcorn State.
“My dad doesn’t really talk much about his achievements, so it was really neat for me to see him get honored like that and learn more about his career,” Jamir said. “It was awesome because my whole family was there. I’d say we had at least 30 relatives at the banquet. We had an all-day cookout beforehand and I got to hear about all the great things my dad did, like being part of state championship teams in football and basketball and winning individual state championships in track. I was just so proud to be there.
“I’ve always looked up to my dad and to see him recognized as a Hall of Famer was very cool.” — Bill Wagner
“It was a long day, but I got through it, like he said. And it paid off.” Brionna Jones, right, Maryland basketball, on her father “I’ve had the opportunity to play in a Super Bowl ... but nothing will ever compare to seeing him take his first breath and being in that moment.” Justin Tucker, Ravens kicker, on the birth of his son “So really, if I have a bad day, he really understands what I’m going through. He’s always there in my corner, no matter what.” Maxx Williams, Ravens tight end, on his dad, below