Terrapin Tables

That's right folks - highlight of my athletic career. Peaked at 13 years old. All downhill from there.

I am awesome.

Clearly this begs the question: "What was your greatest athletic achievement?" I nominate Mike's play in right field for starters.

Somehow, despite being a slow, white, slightly overweight kid since I was about 10, I had a few pretty good years.

- I was, amazingly, a vicious shutdown corner in football. I led the league in interceptions, don't ya know. Perhaps my Dad's proudest moment was when the coach told him he'd "neve seen coverage like that." Too bad I was, what, 13 or 14? Yeah, if anyone is under the impression I'm claiming I could do it now, go back to any football game we've ever played and see how many times I lined up across from John. Right.
- I could always hit the ball really, really far in baseball, but there were no fences so I never got home runs (see the slow, fat, white comment). Danny Jost's dad, the coach,like to tell me to "unhook my caboose" as I rounded second. Asswipe. I hit like two triples a game, though (and I remember Pat serving me fatties when he pitched for Gohering Printing...thanks dude).
- Goalie for an undefeated soccer team. I got sick though and couldn't make the select team tryouts. So what, I probably would have got killed anyway. I still have the T-shirt that served as our jersey. Not like as a memento, I sleep in it.
- My favorite single moment: I was the catcher for JC Warner, I was pretty good, we went to the state playoff dealie but got creamed by Arbutus. Anyway, I guess I was like 12, we were playing Kent Island Veterinarian. Before the first inning I did that "Coming Down!" where you throw to second after a warmup pitch like someone was running for the bag...I was good at the hop-up-step-throw motion, and it was a perfect throw, fast, low, right there. The other coach turned to his team and went "Nobody Steal!" all urgent. God I loved that. Nobody runnin' on me.

I will also share my worst moment: leaving the field as a team in the third quarter in the playoffs during my only year playing football. Why? Because I was on the Grasonville team, one of two white guys (the other was Greg Olson, the eventual QACHS QB). We were playing the Cowboys, the Centreville team, and the refs had decided the "black team" wasn't going to go the Super Bowl. They were calling ridiculous penalties, giving them five downs, spotting the ball like two and three yards ahead of where it should have been, all kinds of shit. I remember the little team, the under-110-pounders or whatever, were crying. One of the refs even said something to my Dad along the lines of "yeah, well, what're you gonna do." Well, we left.

...at least you're over it...

Not to turn this into an episode of Outside the Lines, but I think we've all been humbled by sports or learned a little humility. I was cut by the baseball team, the basketball team, lapped in the 800 meter, got dunked on, ran into innumerable fences, walls, etc.
That being said, I've struck out in the neighborhood of 14 batters in a game, thrown a runner out at home from the outfield in a little league all-star game, dunked a basketball, cracked 200 in bowling, won the QAC Chamber of Commerce tennis tourney and beat an active D-III basketball player in one-on-one.
But man, I wish I had played football in high school. Not to live in the past or anything.

You never played high school football? I ws under the impression you once scored four touhdowns in a single game.

Highlights/Lowlights of my athletic career (not necessarily greatest achievements, but the most/least memorable):

Highlights
-Vaulting 12'2" during my senior season of outdoor track
-Coming in 4th during a middle school sprint behind Bruce Boardley, Damian Johnson, and Dontae Watkins (nope, didn't win, but any of you Stevensville Middle alums will back me up, those guys were fast)
-Kicking a homerun during my visit to the middle school as a fourth grader. If I remember correctly, John went to band practice while I went to gym class.
-Winning the Bayside Championship 800 meter relay as the anchor leg

Lowlights
-Catching a fly ball to the face while playing right field during my one and only season of playing baseball. I still have the ball from that game too.
-Getting scored on by Aimee Marlett from about 35 yards in 11/12 soccer.

Not one season. One game.

Yeah, that fucking band class blew chunks. Jesus Christ, WTF? I never attended that school, but I can still remember what the band room looked like. Why? Because I spent what felt like an eternity in there doing nothing. I sat on an f-ing riser and wished death upon whatever middle-schooler I was assigned to that day. It was like I was being punished.

You guys have tremendous memories. I don't know that I have anything this epic, although I remember Mike's 'catch' for Chesapeake Vets vividly. My memory stinks, this is the best I can think of...

- Pitching a complete game vs. Chris Schindler of Big Daddy's as a 9 year old for State Farm.
- Being called up by Mr. Mitch (proud liquor store owner whom I spoke with last week) to Georhing Printing a year early as his pick in the next year's draft. Apparently you could do that. Who knew.
- Lots of baseball and soccer all star/select teams, 9 through about 14 years old.
- Stopped a penalty kick by Billy Milholland - it hurt.
- Made varsity baseball my sophomore year, albeit I was only on the bench for a few games before I went down to play JV.
- Bit player on Bayside Champion soccer team
- Lowlight - Getting hit in the nuts with a pitch during the 10 and under all star game by a giant on Riviera Beach. Sonny Pritchett's Dad was our coach.
- Lowlight - losing my starting goalie spot to Joey Apple. Although, he was better than me, sadly.

POLK HIGH RULES!

You know, I pulled all the carpet out of that god forsaken band room with my Dad. Asbestos everywhere. Mmm mmm good. Oh, and my mother was working at Stevensville Middle that day - and was my math teacher. How's that for awkward as a 4th grader...Moms is your first teacher, surprised I didn't get beat up immediately.

For one week, Chris Schindler had the best curveball in little league baseball. After that, it would start off three feet behind you and end in the dirt at your ankles. Oh, and it travelled at 11 mph too.

I remember when we moved up to the Senior league, Ryan Eber's dad and Jordan Taylor's dad drafted this stacked-ass team on purpose. I can't remember our sponsor, but we wore white jerseys with red and blue. Anyway, I was all excited to be a part of this kickass team. Then I went ahead and hit like .185 that year. I figured out, years later, that those were the days when my eyesight started going bad. I started wearing glasses like two years later, but it had crept up on me and I couldn't see shit. It sucked.

Pat, was it against you guys when JC Warner let Damien pitch? That guy was like out Torri Hunter, sure, but his career ERA was about 243. We had a huge lead, and I think he gave up 7 or 8 runs vs. like 2 outs. Danny Jost's dad's head was exploding. Speaking of that guy, how many times can we remember Danny crying when he made a mistake because he knew his Dad would never let him hear the end of it? I always felt bad for that kid. At least, until the lollipop thing and his love affair with Josh.

My stepmother taught Sunday school now and then. That was fun. I would have rather gone to hell. Schindler's curve ball was novel because he could throw one. Jeff Ward had the best curve. I remember getting a pity ball called because my knees had buckled and I had leaned away from the plate as the pitch broke right over the plate. The whoever was umping told me something to the effect of 'The next one like that will be a strike.'
JC Warner was a stacked team to begin with. I remember Danny had a shirt that said "I (heart) my attitude problem."
Playing against Sonny Pritchett's team in little league (they wore orange) was scary. I think he caught and a relative of his pitched. When he crouched behind the plate he was still taller than me.

McCreary - you were Fishermans Inn

Pritchett's team was Bay Carpets (I think)

Jeff Ward's curveball was the best I've ever faced - his fastball was just too slow to be effective

Danny was pretty much a bitch with the crying thing...

Hmm. This list is kind of like Nate's - not necessarily my best achievements, but the most memorable ones.

Highlights:
-On one of the travelling teams in soccer (must have been elementary or middle school) - getting into this big old melee inside the penalty box, and blocking 2 or 3 shots while our goalie was down on the ground.
-Winning a wrestling match in double overtime, when I weighed something like 155, and the coach had shuffled the lineup to put me against a 171 pound guy. I've never been more exhausted than after that match.
-Another wrestling match - I think freshman year, the wrestle off to see who was going to be varsity when the senior got injured. I beat this kid in overtime, Bobby something or other, who spent just about all his spare time weight lifting, and nobody else on the team thought I was going to beat him.
-Getting a half Nelson started early in the second period, realizing I had another minute and a half to pin the guy, so just taking my time to make sure I did it perfectly and the kid had no chance. At the next day's practice, the coach used me as an example to tell everybody how to do a half Nelson the right way.

Lowlights:
-Getting pinned in like 30 seconds by Mike Chenowith. Granted, he was a monster that I think pinned his way through the state tournament up until the last match, which he simply won on points.
-Getting tired in the third period of a match against a kid from Maryland School for the Deaf. When I saw him looking over to his coach to get advice, I strategically placed by body between them so he couldn't see what his coach was signing. I still won, but man did I feel like an asshole.

If you want to get into college, there are lots of saves I remember making in roller hockey, but there's not much to describe them other than saying I blocked the shot. I do remember though, from the Maryland Intramural Roller Hockey Club (or whatever), Chad being the only one to get into a fight. Dropped the gloves and everything. And the guy he was punching was such a dick that the refs didn't stop it for a while. That was funny.

Oh, and from the season I played rugby, making an open field tackle on the sidelines right in front of our team, and hearing the coach say something to the effect of, "Now that's how to make a tackle."

I think my favorite moment ever at Love Point Park was, again, all thanks to Daddy. We we both there, killing time for something, I have no idea what (maybe were both reffing the 6-7 year old soccer games?). Anyway, we were throwing a football around for no good reason.

So this kid Cory, that was like a year or two older and always acted like a bully (he was a white-trashy kid, and I remember everyone said he had lost a testicle climbing a fence), he jumps in between us and "intercepts" our ball. The ensuing conversation went a little something like this:

Cory: I have your ball.
Pat: Give it back.
Cory: No.
Pat: (punches him in the mouth)
Chris: Hey, Pat, throw me the ball.

That was awesome.

Corey "one nut' Shoop.

I hated that fucker

Well, I was on the all but 2 black kids Grasonville team, which I won Unsung Hero award for and I had 4 years on the QACHS football team that one year won Bayside Champion. And by the way I dropped Dontae Watkins with one right hand punch in Ninth grade.