May 18, 2005
Return of the three-sport athlete
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
Alfred Lord Tennyson originally wrote, “In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love”.
The famous line from his poem has later been changed to “thoughts of baseball” or “thoughts of golf” by
writers making it fit their stories.
But look around.
It is just past the middle of May and the thoughts of young men (and women) are turning everywhere.
There are soccer leagues, basketball leagues, swim meets, field hockey contests. It seems many sports
do not really have a clearly-defined season anymore.
More and more over the past decade, athletes have been encouraged to focus on their best sport. At
Ocean City High School there have been some very successful examples – Pat Lynch in wrestling, Chad
Severs in soccer, Jeff Michner in golf and John Richardson in running come immediately to mind.
These athletes could have competed successfully in other sports. Michner, a good baseball pitcher, even
tried to work out a schedule that would allow him to play both baseball and golf, but it didn’t happen. Golf
and bowling, by the way, are the only two sports a high school athlete can double up with. In other words,
you could compete on the bowling team and the basketball team. Or the golf team and baseball team.
There was a time when such a restriction did not exist. Many remember Don Tarves or Dan Money, very
quick runners, finishing their events in a track meet at what is now Carey Stadium, then being driven up
Fifth Street to the baseball field, changing into a uniform as they traveled. They would be inserted as a
pinch-runner, steal a couple bases, score a run and go home.
Now, with specialized clinics and camps, plus tons of off-season travel teams and leagues, an athlete can
stay involved in his or her sport for 12 months, if that is the goal.
You hear coaches talk about how they prefer their athletes to play other sports. And they probably do, on
some level. But they also want their athletes to spend a significant amount of time developing the skills for
their sport.
All of this makes the return of the three-sport athlete at Ocean City High School that much more surprising.
There has always been a handful of two of three-sport athletes at small Group 1 or Group 2 schools. There
are less athletes available there. They need them. Ocean City produced its share – Fenton Carey, Archie
Harris, Trish Hopson, Andy Jernee, Chet Loveland, Dan Money, Joi Johnson, Harry Smith, John Burch,
John Huff, Dave Andrews, Leon Brown, Joe Myers, Scott Lipford, to name just a few, over a 70 or 75 year
stretch.
These versatile performers have largely disappeared at the bigger schools. But the halls of OCHS seem to
be filled with them right now.
There have always been the runners – like Paul Boardman, Mike Long, Allie Moreland, Brittany Sedberry.
Dedicated, talented runners who compete in the most basic of competitions, a race, in some form all year
long.
What we’re seeing more of are those who compete with different skills during all three seasons. For
example, three OCHS football players were named all-conference. And all three – Jim Crowley, Mike
Hinsley and Dave Beyel – are three-sport athletes.
You’ll also find Pat Tolomeo, A.J. Harris, Graham Ginn, Dan Bonato, Melissa and Rachel Hunter, Mike
Tyrrell, Ryan Skellenger and Casey Beyel competing in all three seasons. There are more, not only on
Raider varsity teams but junior varsity and freshman, as well. We’re not trying to name them all. The point
is, their number has increased. And, since Crowley and Tyrrell are the only seniors (aside from some of
the runners) among those on our list, it doesn’t look like it’s a trend that is going away very soon.
The pressures to manage time effectively are greater on today’s high school students than most of us
outside the school may realize. Even among those who don’t play even one sport.
But the balancing of schedules and commitments by a student-athlete like Jim Crowley, Allie Moreland,
Mike Long or Mike Hinsley is an incredible challenge. Not to mention the challenge faced by their family
members who attend virtually every game.
Three-sport athletes are getting the most out of their high school years, exposing themselves to a wide
variety of experiences. And to do it as successfully as many are right now at Ocean City High School is a
pleasure to watch.
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Tom Williams' columns