December 11-12

Brilliant sunshine on Sunday helped to melt down most of the mess from Saturday, on Monday morning I stopped by Reservoir Park. The dek hockey rink was completely clear except for a thin crust along the boards on the penalty box side, an area that rarely gets any prolonged sun. Had a game been necessary in the evening we would have been good to go, I could have pushed the snow into the center of the rink where the sun would have melted it down in good order. Luckily none of it was needed because the season is over and there aren't many who are upset about it. I spent my evening indoors at McCaskey with the basketball season opener and the start of my 30th year on the mic. The gym was built in 1973, in 2013 new lights and seating areas were installed and over this past summer the playing floor was redone and new scoreboards were added. Every year we play a non-league schedule that would make other teams cringe, on this night Chester (a perennial powerhouse and head coach Steve "Bird" Powell's alma mater) was the opponent. Coach Powell had cancer surgery in 2014 and his health is an ongoing concern, as a result there have been some changes within the coaching staff. The new head coach of the JV squad is a young man named Ray Lewis, former JV boss Mike Mitchell is acting head coach at the varsity level. During the varsity game Bird was present on the bench but Mike was entrusted with the rights the head coach usually receives. The JV squad lost 54-41, in the varsity game JPM came out on the wrong end of a 78-56 verdict. It was a two-point game at halftime, in the third Chester kicked it into another gear and the Red Tornado couldn't keep up. This is a very young team and the club made its share of mistakes but there was also a lot to like so there is reason for optimism going forward, it's all a matter of getting everyone on the same page. There are thirteen players on the roster (eight returnees) and ten of them got into the scoring column: Isiah Speller (the only returnee who did NOT play JV in '16-17) and Ajani Simmons had 12 each, Tallian Lehr added ten, Brian McKenzie and newcomer Eddie Simmons had six each, Gary Smith had three, Bryam Menendez, Isaiah Thomas and Makai Ortiz each had two and Zakeye Cooper made the book by hitting one-of-two at the foul line. The boys are back at home on Thursday the 14th for the league opener against Cedar Crest. On Tuesday night the girls' basketball team played its home opener against Reading High, it was possibly the lone chance I'll get to see them during the regular season. Head Coach Brian McCloud has his own reconstruction project going with a lot of new players, on this night the result was on the good side as the varsity won 72-70. As I was walking to the car after the game the wind was whipping around and it was bitterly cold. Did I mention how glad I am that dek hockey is over until spring? Take care, thanks for reading.