BC versus Harvey (Otherwise Known as Sticks and Gnats)

"So, is this one of your hotter days?"

That was  a third-quarter question asked near the goal as one of Harvey School's players conversed with a BC Cadet. We parents couldn't help chuckling. On its spring break, Harvey School of Ketonah New York sent its boys' lacrosse teams below the Mason-Dixon line for a little southern hospitality and some lacrosse practice. They met up with the BC Cadets on the first day of spring.

After a rainy St. Patrick's Day and a couple of chilly follow-up days, we Savannahians relished the blue skies, 76 degree temperatures, and the chance to get outdoors again. Of course, the boys on the field, having run about 16 miles in as many minutes, were a little warmer than we. But still: "Is this one of your hotter days?"

I've been in New York when it's hotter.

I happened to get a shot of the conversation.

I just wish I'd been able to hear our cadet's reply to that question.

Clearly, Harvey School's lacrosse team has much more experience and skill, as evidence by the final score. I stopped counting at 12-2. I was pleased the game wasn't a shutout. Yesterday's game was a learning experience for our boys. But the Harvey team learned about something too:  gnats. As we on the sidelines swatted, slapped, and counted the tiny pink bites on our skin, the Harvey boys in blue had to push through their plays with the irritation of those invisible nuisances. And the gnats were out in full force yesterday. They're not used to hiding out for such a long winter.

The Harvey boys also weren't expecting our sand covered field, which has become much more grainy after so much wear and tear this spring. When a BC cadet dropped his mouth guard in the sand, he and to suck it up and put it back in his mouth. A Harvey boy had the same misfortune a few minutes later. He tried to get away with playing without it. The official caught him, though, and put the boy in the penalty box. 

I wonder how long that young man brushed his teeth last night. 

Here's Lawson going after Harvey's #11.

Two BC players scored for the Cadets yesterday, and they deserve recognition here: 

• Jack the Ripper (11) scored the team's first point among loud cheers from the parents, who were afraid for a moment the team would go home with a big goose egg. Jack saved us from that. 
• And then there was John Sharpley (29), who scored in the second half of the game. John's shown some real aggressiveness on the field, so it was just a matter of time before he slammed that ball in the net. Way to go, Sharp-eye Sharpley! (By the way, our roster shows that John is #31 on the team, but he's really 29. Please make note of that on your copy).
• Our goalies are showing much improvement this week, so I need to put in a shout out to Athen Abercrombie, who stands at that goal waiting for a solid rubber ball to come sailing right at him. Although the Harvey team get a number of scores past him, Athen also stopped just as many. He's making great strides there. Go, Athen!
• One more shout out goes to Robbie and Alison White, who always make sure all the parents have a roster of both the JV and varsity teams, complete with parents' names. Not only did they extend that effort this year, but when new players joined the team, they went back to their list, corrected it, laminated each one, and handed them out a second time. When Robbie handed one to me, he said, "This one has mistakes on it too, but we'll just have to deal with it. I'm not going to make these again." No worries, Robbie and Alison. We appreciate the effort. You're rock stars.

Other highlights of the game:

• All JV players showed much more aggressiveness on the field yesterday. Lacrosse is such a high impact game. In fact, when people first watch the sport, they're a little surprised that the players can hit each other with their sticks. But once you get use to it, it's surprisingly a little fun to yell, "Whack him, Lawson! Poke him!" Lawson did a lot of that yesterday.
• And while I know I should take the officials' calls more seriously, I do get a little amused at how Coach Daly will get in their faces when he disagrees with their decisions. Coach is also a lacrosse referee, so he knows when the calls are good and bad, and I appreciate his going to bat for his team (pardon the mixed metaphor). But when the game official threw a flag on Coach, I had to chuckle just a little bit.

This is just after one such incident.

So now the BC Cadets pack up and head to Atlanta, where they will play St. Pius and Collins Hill. I'm sure the JV boys are looking forward to their first road trip. I hope they win like they pounded on Bluffton High School last week. The Remlers won't be able to attend the games, so if any parents have photos they want to share, please send them our way! 

Go Cadets!

Top O' The Mornin'

On this rainy St. Patrick's Day I sit at my computer wearing my green Peanuts(c) tee shirt and hoping for the best for my freshman BC Cadet who awaits his turn in the parade. Call me and Stephen bad parents, but we just didn't see the point in standing in the rain for an hour until our drenched son walks by. So sorry, Lawson.

Because weather forecasters have been predicting today's rain for the last week, the Remlers decided to celebrate St. Patrick's Day Tybee style, so this past weekend we packed a cooler, some folding chairs, a big salad and our cameras, and we made a day of it on Butler Avenue for Tybee's annual St. Patrick's Day parade.

The delight of this event is manifold:

• It's only an hour long, as opposed to Savannah's 3-4 hour production.
• Lawson doesn't have to march in it, and that makes him happy.
• It runs down Butler Avenue, a four-lane street, which gives the parade participants much room to walk
• The wide street gives spectators much room to spectate
• Parade participants are allowed to interact with the spectators, even giving out beads, candy, and tickets (from the Shriners' Keystone Kops)
• The Remlers always have a place to park because the parade runs right by JoJo and Pop Pop's house
• That means when the parade is over, we simply go inside and feast on fried chicken

Who wouldn't love that?

To top it off, the sun was shining and the temperatures were in the '70's.

Our friend Kimberly Saxon took her five year-old Holden to his first parade, and he had a ball. Who wouldn't. He sat in his chair and watched entertainment walk by, and periodically, someone walked up and handed him a goodie, which he stuck in his pocket. By parade's end, his little blue jeans were weighed down with lollipops, Tootsie Rolls, and plastic green beads.

And to top it off, he got to ride up and down JoJo's elevator.

Good stuff.

I have only one recommendation to the city of Tybee Island: Make sure all city employees understand the event is intended to welcome visitors, not turn them off.

Prior to the parade, Tybee residents and tourists had lined up along Butler Avenue with chairs, coolers, strollers, and the like. We Remlers were at the end of 10th Court, and some other Tybee residents (we didn't catch their names) had set up camp in an adjacent parking space.

A Tybee Parking Services employee approached them and told them that if they intended to sit in that parking space, they had to pay the meter.

What???

No traffic is allowed on Butler Avenue during the parade. Did this guy really want us to believe the city intended to check meters during the event? And what did the island stand to lose during that one hour? A buck? Two? Puh-leez.

Of course, our neighbors ignored his warning and enjoyed the parade without incident. But that one moment of stupidity gave the city a little black spot. And if that parking attendant spoke to every family standing in a parking space, well, that's not very good for tourism. Just saying.

Fortunately, everything else about the parade was fun and upbeat, and we're glad we got a chance to wave and cheer at the grand marshal, the Beach Chair Brigade, Father O'Brien, and a fat man who really should put his clothes on.

We'll miss all that Savannah excitement today, but we'll catch it again next year. For now, Tybee's parade served as a great substitute.

Cadets Trap the Wildcats in a Stunning JV Match

Since Davis graduated in 2012, the Remler family has missed a fun springtime activity: Benedictine Lacrosse. Lawson was in the seventh grade when Davis graduated, so we had a couple of years of getting our younger son trained and ready for the high school lacrosse environment. He played on St. Peters's inaugural LAX team and attended summer and fall camps, but this year he's graduated to the BC team, and Stephen and I are glad to be back in the stands.

The year started out with intensive training. An entire semester of yoga helped Lawson increase his flexibility while maintaining his strength. I must say I'm impressed with his ability to perform the crow pose, which I've never been able to do after about four years of doing yoga.

After the yoga series, he progressed to field training--daily after school workouts and practice sessions to prepare him for the tryouts. 

Lawson made the JV team, which started its season in February with the Ricky McAllaster Memorial Lacrosse Classic. He actually played on the RIP-10 team that weekend, and wore the special number 10 for that tournament. RIP-10 made it to the final round, but they lost to Henry County. Still, they played a good game.

When the regular season started, the BC boys changed their uniforms, and Lawson converted to Davis's number 16. That makes it easier for us to find him, but still I want to get him some bright yellow cleats to make him stand out on the field. Lawson is a middie (midfield), and he runs across that field like an antelope. So far the team has played some tough games. Wando High School stomped the cadets, but Wednesday night, BC played Bluffton High school and won 17-3.

Go, BC! But in addition to congratulating the team on their win, I think other words of praise are in order:

• Three cheers go out to Avis Coleman for loading her full-sized van with teenaged boys and driving them to Bluffton High School. Armed with a full tank of gas and cases of Girl Scout Cookies, Avis helped out the team when the BC bus filled up. We appreciate her volunteerism, especially after the game, when she had to endure the stench of sweaty helmets and pads on the trip home.
• Seven cheers go out to Avis's son Jack Coleman, who scored as many goals for the JV cadets! What he lacks in size, Jack makes up for in energy and skill. He's all around that goal like a mosquito, and the opposing teams don't really know what to do about that. Jack had the ball in the net before the goalie saw him coming. And for that Coleman's new field name is Jack the Ripper.
• More cheers sound for other members of BC's JV team:  John Sharpley, Matthew Whelan, and Drew Tison, who scored, assisted with scores, and defended the ball when BC had possession. They all made for an exciting game.
• And for his long-legged lopes across the field, we give a shout out to Lawson Remler. At six feet tall, most of it leg, Lawson can cross that field in half the steps it takes its teammates. We watch the other BC players churn their legs like locomotives. And then here comes Lawson: whomp...whomp...whomp. I'm sure he doesn't like the comparison, but he honestly does look like he's doing jete's across that field.
• Most cheers go out to the coaches, Dennis Daly and Dick McAllaster, who give all their afternoons to tune these boys up and get them ready for competition. For that we give these men accolades, cheers, huzzahs, and two thumbs up.

BC's varsity team plays Tuesday the 18th in Atlanta. We wish them the best of luck as they face their opponents. While the Remlers cheer on the varsity players, Remlerville reports will focus on JV games, since these are the boys we'll be watching for the next four years.

Go Cadets!