I had a heck of a week.
Not only did my pal Phill (the coyote hunter) not find the humor in last week’s “Tripple Overtime,” where I compared his new hobby to a “The Grey”/Liam Neeson-type scenario; not only did his brother Eric (not a coyote hunter) offer to write a guest “Tripple Overtime” column comparing his new hobby to a “50 Shades of Grey”/non-Liam Neeson-type scenario; not only did I drive all the way to the University of Delaware on Saturday just to find that I had accidentally brought the wrong press pass; and not only did some strange tracks appear in the snow in my back yard during last week’s full moon — but the only coyote hunter I know wasn’t taking my calls for some reason.
Yet another instance where taking “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and the rest of “Aesop’s Fables” so literally has come back to haunt me.
But after spending an inordinate amount of time trying to decipher the difference between coyote tracks, werewolf tracks and the tracks from my neighbor’s shih-tzu, I started writing a few stories for the week, and my attention quickly turned from coyotes to something entirely different: wolverines.
No, I’m not talking about the band of guerrilla warfare-savvy high-schoolers in Red Dawn. No, I’m not referring to the land-dwelling carnivore that can be found primarily in the alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere (thank you, Wikipedia). And no, I’m certainly not talking about Hugh Jackman and his only reason for whatever relevance he has as an actor.
I’m talking about the Wesley College Wolverines, who also had a hell of week — but not for any of the ridiculous reasons listed above, but because they greatly improved the future of their soccer program by signing Indian River High School seniors Luis Cruz, Danny Garza and Sean Whelen.
It was tough to remain subjective when writing the news article on the signing, after not only witnesses all three of these guys play for the past two seasons, but witnessing their leadership and character off the field, as well. Not only are all three of them All-State talents at their respective positions, but they’re always well-mannered, professional and driven during interviews, halftime speeches, timeouts and so on.
Wesley isn’t just getting players to fill out their roster and students to fill out their campus — they’re getting proven winners, proven leaders and proven role models. Whether it’s after a game-winning goal or after game won by 10 goals, they’re the type of players who show up for the interview with carefully thought-out responses and end it with a “thank you” and a handshake — which really is a dying art form these days.
The reality of the situation is that Cruz, Garza and Whelen could have taken their talents to plenty of college campuses next fall, but the self-described “brothers” decided on Wesley so they could continue playing together, as they have since they were kids coming up through the River Soccer program.
While it will certainly benefit the three of them as they adjust to the speed of the collegiate style of play and the collegiate lifestyle, it’s a tremendous move for Wesley, which gets a good chunk of the 2013 DIAA State Championship squad by signing not one, not two, but three players from the same prominent program — which is an occurrence about as rare as a work day for Hugh Jackman’s agent.
While Coach Steve Kilby and the Indians will certainly miss their leadership and their technical ability next season, Coach Steve Clark and the Wolverines will just be getting to appreciate it. But rest assured, local soccer fans, Wesley isn’t too far a drive to catch games next year, and there’ll be a game played at Salisbury, Md. — which means there should be plenty of chances to do your best Red Dawn/Swayze impression and tout “Wolverines!” as loud as you can from the bleachers.
I know I’ll certainly be at a few of them — you know, as long as I remember to bring the right press pass.