Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

4/2/2009 - Morris Will Be Missed

Before I call a game for Mugs Media, I always try to contact the coaches the night prior in order to do my pregame preparation so I don’t have to bug the coach too much on game day.

For the most part, the coaches in the Mugs Media area are very accommodating and friendly when it comes to my requests for information like stats and rosters. But there are a special few who I really look forward to talking to, coaches who are an absolute joy to speak with no matter what the subject.

Wendy Morris of Pope John is one of those coaches and that joy has been taken away this spring.

After starting the girls lacrosse program in the late 1990s at Pope John, Morris was not brought back this season to lead the Lions and that is a shame. I am sure the administration at Pope John felt it had its reasons with the Lions’ 1-18 season a year ago probably among them, but from a strictly selfish point of view, I will miss Wendy this spring.

Wendy was one of those coaches who always greeted you with a smile and seemed genuinely happy to be out on the field coaching and teaching lacrosse or field hockey in the fall (she still is the field hockey coach), and she was always grateful for any type of coverage her team received.

I have interviewed countless players from Morris-coached teams over the last two decades and not one of them ever had a bad thing to say about Wendy. Not one. In this day and age of constant coach criticisms, that is saying a lot.

Wendy was and always will be a great ambassador for Pope John, no easy feat these days considering all the animosity between public and non-public schools. When it came to Wendy, people outside of Pope John respected her and the way she ran her programs and treated her opponents. I can’t think of a more liked coach in the SCIL among her peers than Morris.

Right or wrong, that can’t be said for all the programs at Pope John, or for that matter, any school in the Sussex County Interscholastic League. I’m sure Christian Conway, a PJ alum and former lacrosse player for the Lions, will do a fine job and I wish him all the best. But it won’t be the same for me.

Wendy is a first class act and after being way from SCIL sports for about two years, she welcomed me back with open arms, which meant a lot to me. I was really looking forward to catching up with Wendy this spring, but I guess I will have to wait to the fall and field hockey season to start.

But without a doubt it will be worth the wait. Talk to you then, Wendy.

ON THE RISE…Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote in this blog about how lacrosse had taken off not only in the Mugs Media area, but in the state. Well, in the year since, the sport has continued its explosion which has caused a problem for schools looking for qualified coaches and officials for the ever-growing sport.

The Star-Ledger ran a great story the other day on the problem and I was talking with Spencer Williard, a member of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the North Warren boys coach, about the issue.

He told me that the coaches wanted to start a program where high school players would get involved in the youth levels as both coaches and officials. He said the idea was similar to what baseball and Little League does in that getting younger people into coaching and officiating earlier will always bring a fresh crop of coaches and officials into the high school ranks later on as the sports continues to grow.

Williard told me the idea was initially shot down by the national body that regulates lacrosse, but he hoped that the idea was not dead and that he and many other coaches will carry the torch until it was approved.

Williard said he didn’t know why the idea was rejected and I can’t think of a good reason, either. Here is hoping that Williard and his fellow coaches convince the powers that be to change their minds because lacrosse isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and it desperately needs new faces.

BY THE RULES…Taking a quick look at the softball regulations on the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s website, I noticed one major change in the rules and one rule that should be changed, but wasn’t.

The first one, is the installation of a voluntary 15-run mercy rule after three innings. Presently, a softball game is called after five innings if one team leads by 10 or more runs, which is a great rule. Now the state has added the option of ending a game after three innings if the difference is 15 runs.

It states: “After the third inning if one team is ahead by 15 runs the game may be ended with the consent of both coaches and the umpire.”

OK, makes sense, but how will it be applied if it’s voluntary? Will the coaches and umps decide before the game or will there be a discussion after the 15th run has crossed the plate?

I spoke with two veteran and well-respected umpires who told me that they will bring up the rule at the start of the game and ask both coaches what they want to do. If both coaches don’t agree to the rule, then the rule would not be put into effect.

Seems fair, but I believe there shouldn’t be any discussion. There is either a 15-run rule or not. Let’s be realistic, if a team is down by 15 after three innings, chances are they are not coming back to win, so end the game. No one gains anything in a blowout.

I also talked to several SCIL coaches and they feel that the rule won’t affect them this year because the league is too good. In other parts of the state where softball isn’t as strong, I feel the 15-run rule is a good one, but let’s hope it won’t have to be used at any time in SCIL play.

And the rule that hasn’t changed is the completion rule when it comes to state tournament games. In softball, if a state game is called after five innings, and a team is winning, it is official. If the game is tied, then it is replayed from the start. But in baseball, the game is suspended and completed on the next possible date.

Doesn’t seem too fair, does it? I had addressed the issue in a blog last year after Kittatinny, which went to the Group 2 final, almost lost in the section semifinals against Pequannock when a thunderstorm blew in during the top of the sixth with Cougars trailing 1-0.

Kittatinny had the bases loaded when the rains came and it would have been a crime if it lost that game because of an unfair rule. Luckily the rain stopped and the Kittatinny faithful whipped the Pequannock field into shape and the Cougars won 3-1.

There was talk last year of the softball coaches trying to change the rule, but according to the state website, no such luck. I mention this now in April just to give everyone a heads up because no doubt people will be talking about this rule come state tourney time.

That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.

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Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

4/2/2009 - Morris Will Be Missed