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3-Pointer
Point 1: NHL Lockout players, Fans lockout NHL If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? That is the question Gary Bettman should be asking himself right now. The NHL season should have been in full...
Are You A Side-Line Coach
With spring in the air, flower’s and baseball are in full bloom. As the father of a nine-year old son, each day is spent perfecting the art of baseball. This includes making that perfect pitch to first base, snagging those ground balls and...
Coaching Sports For All The Right Reasons
The Glove It was during a March evening in 2002 that I received word that my grandfather was dying. I drove the four and a half hours to Ironwood, Michigan in a snowstorm to say goodbye. I was able to see my grandpa and he was able to recognize me...
Watching the NFL versus the MLB
Imagine placing two flat screen plasma TV's side by side in your
living room smack dab in front of your couch. You've got beer,
snacks a-plenty and fresh batteries in your clicker.
One TV has an NFL game on and the other has a Major...
Why Do You Run?
Copyright 2005 Mary Desaulniers
It is a simple question from a seven year old that starts me on
a life review. "Why do you run?" she asks when I stop for
lemonade at her make-shift stand, the one sporting a sign that
warms my heart: "...
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Barone Drexel and Harris - My Mentors, Teachers and Coaches
My life was always about playing ball, mostly baseball as I grew up. Therefore, I was always at the playground on Chancellor Avenue. This was a hotbed for sports activity in the Weequahic section of Newark. From Monday through Saturday there were countless games taking place. Baseball on the dirt field and softball on the blacktop. Basketball games, and volley ball games were always being played. Mr Barone, Mr Drexel and Mr Harris oversaw the games that were played. Sometimes they played in those games. They ran the show. Organizing teams for a given game or creating teams for a new league they took charge and got things done. I did not realize some of the things they did that impacted my life until I left the playground scene many years later.
I looked up to all three of them, for being fair, for listening when I had a problem and for being funny. Each one of them was unique. Each one of them was taught me in their own style.
Mr Barone or Mr B as most of us called him was about five feet. The only thing that was small about him was his height. Playing ball with the teenagers was one of his favorite things to do. He often was the director that played in the games when we needed another guy. I would also see Mr B talking to some kids in the batting cage teaching them some fundamentals about batting. He always made himself available either on the playing field or by helping some kids with their homework. I appreciated that he gave of himself. So did many of the other kids. A great guy.
Mr Drexel or Billy Boy as we sometimes affectionately called him was the jokester. No matter how serious I thought the situation was Mr Drexel had his way of making the incident a little
less severe. His lightening up of the moment always made us laugh. I loved that about him. He was noted for his chicanery on the field or court as well. He would find an edge and use it. All within the rules. A Drexel play was referred to bending the rule as far as you could. Hidden ball tricks in baseball and sneaky out of bounds plays in basketball were two of his specialties. What was great was how often they worked. He knew just when to use them. A great guy.
Mr Harris seemed like the leader of the group. The other directors called him Bucky. I always called him Mr Harris. He spoke sternly and was always fair. He was the law. He had a little bit of a snarl about him. I had the utmost respect for him. I thought it was an honor to go to the store and buy him his Garcia Vega cigars.
When he asked me to go I felt like I won something. He was a great guy.
For me these three guys were my mentors as I was growing up. Providing me with guidance on and off the field. There was always one of them at the playground to talk to or get things going so we could play an organized game. I learned about fairness, being stern and about taking the edge off in a seriousness situation from them. Felice Barone, William Drexel and Bucky Harris will always be in my hall of fame. They meant a lot to me.
About the Author
Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 40 years. Writing about his favorite subject, baseball, has been a blessing. You will enjoy the heartwarming stories, the unusual statistics and inspiring quotes. But mostly you will love the heartwarming stories that hit a home run to your heart.
Join his ezine http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com/index.php?tag=goart
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