Niumatalolo: Practice could begin next week
Ashburton neighborhood is quiet and like a suburb
When Navy athletics entered a minimum 10-day pause on March 1, Ken Niumatalolo got a sickening feeling in his stomach.
His thoughts went back to this time last year, when college athletics started shutting down. Navy’s 14th-year football coach initially thought spring practice would have to be delayed. Within a few weeks, it became apparent that important period of development would be canceled.
Niumatalolo believes losing spring camp was the first significant step backward that ultimately led to the Midshipmen finishing 3-7 last season.
Upon learning Wednesday that Navy was extending the pause for at least another week, Niumatalolo decided to change the dates of this year’s spring camp. The Midshipmen were initially scheduled to start practicing March 29 but now might do so as early as Monday.
Niumatalolo told The Capital that Navy spring football would get underway whenever the current restriction of movement order imposed on midshipmen is lifted.
“We’re pushing up spring practice to as soon as possible,” Niumatalolo said. “As soon as this pause is over, we’re hitting it. I don’t want to delay any longer because something else might come up. Whatever is the first day we can come back, we’re going.”
Niumatalolo is concerned another outbreak of COVID-19 at the Naval Academy could shut down athletics for the remainder of the spring. He does not want to risk having spring practice cut short or interrupted.
“We can’t go two years without any spring practice,” Niumatalolo said. “If we did, it would be absolutely devastating.”
In years past, Niumatalolo has not utilized all 15 practices allotted by the NCAA. He is not giving up a single second of practice time this spring as the coaching staff begins the process of rebounding from a disappointing season.
“We need as many repetitions as possible,” he said flatly.
Niumatalolo learned the hard way just how critical spring camp is.
Navy needed to identify and develop a new starting quarterback to replace the record-setting Malcolm Perry, and that process was delayed until August training camp. The team never fully recovered from not having the spring to evaluate the quarterbacks.
The Midshipmen started three signal-callers over the course of the season, with Dalen Morris giving way to Tyger Goslin and then regaining the job before ultimately being replaced by plebe Xavier Arline.
“Not being able to work with the quarterbacks during the spring really hurt and played a big part in how the season went,” Niumatalolo said.
Making matters worse was the fact Arline, whom the coaching staff wanted to get a long look at during preseason camp, was not allowed to practice until late August due to coronavirus protocols.
“Everything about last season was so different from anything we’ve ever dealt with,” he said. “We didn’t have spring ball and we didn’t practice normally during fall camp. “It’s like trying to repair a roof in the middle of a storm. It just doesn’t work. We were trying to bake a cake even though we were missing some of the main ingredients. Spring practice was the flour; August practice was the butter and eggs.”
Editor’s note: The Ashburton profile is one article in The Sun’s City of Neighborhoods series, spotlighting Baltimore communities. Other neighborhoods in the series: Upton, Mount Winans, Stonewood-Pentwood-Winston and Dickeyville.
For decades, Ashburton in Northwest Baltimore has been the base of Baltimore’s Black elite. Former mayors Kurt Schmoke, Sheila Dixon, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Catherine Pugh have all called it home, as have doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs. The small neighborhood’s tranquil, upper-class vibe is distinguished by a preponderance of Englishstyle architecture; think steep, slate roofs, stone or stucco walls, stained-glass windows and manicured lawns.
History
Named after a distinctive mansion along Liberty Heights Avenue, the neighborhood has long been considered unique, charming and beloved. Ashburton has been nestled in Northwest Baltimore for almost a century. At first, the neighborhood was predominantly white and Christian and barred minority families from moving in. But between the 1930s and ‘40s, the neighborhood slowly integrated with a growing Jewish population. And between the 1950s and ‘60s, Ashburton’s demographics shifted again with more Black families moving into the community and owning properties.
In 1959, as Ashburton’s Black population was 5% and increasing, an article in the Saturday Evening Post called it a “changing neighborhood.” One resident was quoted saying the racist, yet common for the time sentiment, that the difference in skin color did not bother him, but the economic threat Black neighbors posed to the community did. Others quoted thought that if more people of color moved in, property values and the quality of houses would go down.
Six decades after that article was published, Ashburton is now 90% Black.
Physical space
Ashburton is bounded primarily by Callaway, Liberty Heights, Sequoia and Wabash avenues and Hilton Road.
It’s a quiet neighborhood some say is like a suburb with a range of single-family ranch-style houses, cottages and mansions with stained-glass windows.
“There are robust trees and it’s very close to a reservoir,” said Oliver Patrick, a visual artist who has lived in the area for nearly 40 years. “It’s an area that feels like you have to drive miles out of the city just to get there.”
Demographics
Ashburton’s population fell from 2,833 in the 1990 Census to 2,520 in the 2010 Census, according to an analysis by Baltimore’s planning department — and the city’s total population
has fallen in the past decade. In 2018, Ashburton’s median household income was $53,343, about 94% of the city’s median income; it had lower unemployment (5%) than the city at large (7%). The median home sales price from 2017-2019 was about $130,000, well above the city median sales price of about $80,000.
Transit and walkability
The walkability score ranks 50 out of 100 according to Live Baltimore. Rideshares, bike and scooter rentals are readily available.
Issues
Two people were slain last year in Ashburton.
Twenty-eight percent of the crimes within the past year were burglaries.
The schools in the area are performing between average and below average with rates between 1 to 5 on a scale of 10, according to greatschools.org.
“We have really good housing and a great neighborhood, and it has all the amenities people would want except for the most important amenity, especially if you’re a young family,” Tarrand said. “And that is a school within your community that is highly regarded.”
Things to do
There are several places of worship including Liberty Grace Church of God, Heritage United Church of Christ and the Hasuna Allahu Islamic Center mosque.
If driving, Ashburton is nine minutes from the Maryland Zoo, 10 minutes from Druid Hill Park and 15 minutes from Baltimore’s downtown. Residents can also stroll down to Hanlon Park and sit by the 10-acre body of water, Lake Ashburton.
Leadership
Edward “Ted” Caroll is a representative of the
Ashburton Area Association and has lived in the neighborhood since 1970, when he was a toddler.
His mother, Beatrice Odom Scott was dubbed the matriarch of Ashburton. A Sunday-school teacher at the Heritage United-Christ Church in Liberty Heights, she eventually became the president of their neighborhood association, where she served on the board.
Carroll says he has fond memories of his late mother taking their family dog to visit elders living in a nearby senior center.
James Torrence, (D), Baltimore City Council, District 7.
I understand there are 3 types of potatoes: early, mid- and late-season. I believe that early season potatoes go into the ground March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day. When do I plant mid-season and late-season? I want to plant Irish cobbler early, red potatoes mid, and blue potatoes late. The red has an 80 day maturity, the Irish a 90 day maturity, and the blue a 110 day maturity. I have never planted potatoes before.
The terms “early,” “mid,” and “late-season” refer to how long each variety takes to mature a crop after planting, rather than the planting time. If you wish to harvest new potatoes as early as possible, plant the red potato first since it will be the first ready, having the shortest maturity date. Otherwise, they can all be planted around the same time, since they will ripen (mature) at different times. Closely watch short-term and long-term weather forecasts, because potatoes planted too early (in cold
soil) stagnate rather than grow and are much more prone to rot. Above-ground growth is also frost-sensitive, though easier to protect when needed. Though mid-March is a commonly used guideline
to begin potato planting, it’s actually on the borderline of too-early and is riskier for cold damage. Depending on how quickly we warm up this spring — especially the soil temperature — you can easily delay planting into April. Search ‘potatoes’ on our website for complete growing information in our area.
I asked my neighbor about some bugs and he said they weren’t bugs, they were beetles. What’s the difference? Does it make any difference?
In everyday speech, the words “bug” and “beetle” get thrown around interchangeably, but, yes, the scientific difference does, well, make a difference. Both are insects with six legs, yet on different branches of a family tree. When using “bug” scientifically, people often refer to “true bugs” (so not to confuse it with a beetle or a Volkswagon.) Beetles have hardened forewings that cover their back, so they may look as if they have a straight line down their back. Beetles also have chewing mouthparts with mandibles ( jaws). True bugs, on the other hand, have forewings hardened at the base but membranous at the ends. This creates an easy-to-see triangular shape on their back. True bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts (a sort of elongated beak). So, whereas beetles will chomp their way through your plants, true bugs will suck out the life juices of plants — or other insects!
University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland’s Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.