A special day of lacrosse at Manor Field
The Interboro Middle School girls lacrosse team played host to the players from Anderson Middle School in Philadelphia and their coaches last week. The Anderson players are part of the Harlem Lacrosse Program, which helps inner-city youth get their first experience with the game.
Anderson coach Jody Mayer brought her team to Manor Field in Essington to practice and scrimmage with the Interboro team at the invitation of Bucs head coach Dr. Chris Goldberg.
“They’re used to practicing on blacktop or in Cobbs Creek Park,” Goldberg said. “This was the first time they’ve played on a lined field.”
Many of the Interboro girls welcomed the chance to help the Anderson girls learn more about lacrosse.
“We’ve all experienced what they’re going through trying to learn the game,” said Dani Linker, an eighth-grader who plays center for the Bucs. “One of their girls came up to me and asked about what she should do, and I was happy to talk to her about learning to bend down to pick up the ball and cradling.
“It made me happy the times they could run down the field and actually score goals.”
Mayer, is a former field hockey and lacrosse captain at Haverford College who was an assistant coach at Haverford last year.
“Harlem Lacrosse is very involved with teaching atrisk youth the game, and also with providing them with academic support,” she said. “So many of these kids live in unsafe areas, so their times at school and with lacrosse are some of the best times they have.
“There are Harlem Lacrosse programs in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Los Angeles, and they have helped have an influence on the lives of more than 1,000 young people. (Our girls) are learning every day.”
Aniyah Rogers, a seventh grader who plays defense, is among Mayer’s players who began practicing last September.
“I could see today how you have to keep running after them if they get past you,” she said of scrimmaging against another team. “Some of us are as fast as them, but we have a lot of things we still have to learn.”
Fifth-grader Nilah Thompson has turned into an enthusiastic learner, according to her coach.
“I’m just happy I can be part of a team,” Thompson said.
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum on Iven Road in Radnor continues preparations for its June 2 dedication of a statue of Emlen Tunnell, the Radnor High graduate who saved two lives while serving with the Coast Guard during World War II, played for two NFL championship teams — the 1956 New York Giants and 1961 Green Bay Packers — and was the first AfricanAmerican elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The statue will be located outside the Radnor Township Municipal Building on Iven Road.
Former Chester High standout Ted Cottrell will be among those attending the statue unveiling.
Cottrell, who played at Delaware Valley College, was a seventh-round draft pick of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in 1969. He played linebacker in Atlanta for two seasons, then spent one year with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
He coached at Rutgers University for eight seasons before becoming linebackers coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. He also coached with the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers.
The Sports Legends Museum is holding a year-long commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mickey Vernon, the Marcus Hook native who won two American League batting championships.
The Mickey Vernon video on www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com for the month of May is an interview in which Vernon talks about a confrontation in the batter’s box between himself and pitcher Early Wynn, one of his former roomates.
Go to https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AhxFymDhAbm to see the interview.
Ky McNichol of Springfield High girls basketball and Mike DeLeo of Penncrest High’s girls soccer accepted William McCray Memorial Coach of the Year awards at the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame dinner last week.
“When I was growing up, my parents — Mary Beth McNichol at The Academy of Notre Dame and Terry McNichol, formerly of Haverford High — both were basketball coaches,” she said. “My sister (Kacy) and brother (Shane) and I have been around basketball all our lives and really learned to love it.
“I know I wouldn’t be here accepting this award with the support I got from them, my assistant coaches and our players.”
DeLeo coached the JV boys soccer team at Penncrest before he began coaching the girls team.
“You stand on the shoulders of those who surround you,” he said. “And that’s our players and their parents.”
Bill Greto Jr. accepted the Hall of Fame’s Humanitarian Award on behalf of his father, Bill “Bugs” Greto, who has been director of charity golf tournaments in the area for many years.
“One of my dad’s greatest attributes has always been his heart,” Greto Jr. said. “He said that he shares this award with all the wonderful donors and golfers who supported him over the years.”
The 1961-62 and 1962-63 Darby-Colwyn High basketball teams, who won 50 consecutive games on the way to a pair of state championships, received the Hall’s Team of Excellence award.
“It’s great to know the wonderful legacy we left,” Charles “Pete” Coleman, whose later brother, Arnold, played for a state championship team at Darby-Colwyn in the 197172 season, said.
Among the other D-C players who attended the Hall of Fame awards dinner were Ron Baldino, Wayne Trent, Harry Collins, Dave Kennard, Charles Lansberry, Adrian Harmon, Rudy Taylor, Sonny Realer, and Rich Truitt.
Penncrest senior Tara Higgins ran the second leg as the Lions placed third in the Central League 4 x 400 race at the Penn Relays Thursday afternoon.
She then did a mad dash to get to the throwing area in time to get off a best throw of 137 feet, 1 inch to place fifth in the javelin.
“I was really tired, but I knew I needed to trust my training and form and get a good throw out there,” said Higgins, who is headed to Cornell University. “I worked on building my speed up into my crossovers and releasing at a good angle.
“The throw didn’t feel that great leaving my hand, but I looked over at the sign and was ecstatic to see (137-1). Overall the day was just a blast, and I’m really happy with my performance and my team’s performance.”
Higgins has been working with Penncrest assistant coach Andrea DiFabio, who was a state champion thrower and an All-Delco basketball player at Sun Valley High.