There's nothing wrong with starting off with an apology. Last week I mentioned the Blue Devils recent Section 9 – Class B championship in indoor track. The Blue Devils had several outstanding performances including the win by their 1,600-meter relay team that won the event in 3:44.08. I mentioned the efforts of Sam Pozorski, Joe Barrera and Ryan Valencia — all of whom had outstanding runs. Unfortunately, everyone knows that the relay team consists of four runners and, as good as that trio was, they wouldn't have won the event without the help of teammate Danny Quiceno, whose name I accidentally left out. My apologies……….Speaking of runners, Ellenville track coach Phil Althouse might want to keep an eye on young Justin Guiliano. Justin, who began running 5K races after his fifth birthday, has completed races up to 12 miles long. But what do you expect? Justin is now a veteran runner at the age of six. Recently, Justin took home a third place trophy for the Under 12 age group of the Orange Runners Club series. Justin's parents Jamie and Marcus Guiliano are owners of the Aroma Thyme Bistro. Jamie is a former Ellenville Blue Devils cheerleader and Marcus was one of the greatest Ellenville High School pranksters ever. And in only seven more years, young Justin Guiliano may very well be a standout runner for the Ellenville track team……….All New York State public high schools have been involved over the last few years in a campaign to improve sportsmanship at high school athletic events. A reminder is read before each contest, encouraging fans, parents, students, and athletes that the purpose of high school athletics is to provide a positive experience for the athletes. Fans are encouraged to show good sportsmanship. Things like booing the referees are discouraged. And here is where I get in trouble. Anyone who attended the Section 9 girls' basketball game between Ellenville and Spackenkill last week in Poughkeepsie witnessed an absolutely horrible performance by the referees. The two veteran referees were so bad and inconsistent in their calls that even the normally calm Tom Nolan got a technical just before half. Coach Nolan was upset with the horrendous and inconsistent calls made by the officials. The technical foul was well deserved and Nolan was trying to get the calls evened out, which eventually happened in the second half. Purists will tell you that there is never a reason to boo officials, who no doubt have a most difficult job. However, varsity officials are professionals and are paid a very good salary (a varsity boys' or girls' basketball official makes between $90 and $100 dollars a game). It should not be too much to expect that officials be competent at what they do. Many times this is not the case as veteran (older) officials are often given the best assignments because of longevity of service. Ability is often not considered, as can be evidenced by the many elderly officials who do girls' varsity soccer games with knee braces on and never move more than 15 to 20 yards on either side of midfield. Again, I am all in favor of giving officials a break, but officials and referees are professionals and should reach (and maintain) a certain level of competence to remain officials. To that end, I must say that I have been most impressed with the abilities of our area's wrestling officials, whom I believe are the best group of officials in any high school sport……….One of the great joys of coaching is watching your young athletes grow up and become valuable members of society. As the Ellenville wrestling coach, I had the pleasure of coaching many outstanding young men like James Olonko, who wrestled in the late 80s and early 90s. James's younger brother Michael was also a wrestler for the Blue Devils. Today, Michael Olonko is now an outstanding New York State Trooper. It's funny how things come full circle sometimes. Young athletes, especially, often try their best to please their coach by working hard in practice, keeping their grades up, and staying out of trouble. Over the course of the last couple of years I have been "taken to task" a few times by members of the New York State Troopers for what could be described as "driving deficiencies." These deficiencies resulted in the issuance of tickets that requested the honor of my presence at local courts. In my first appearance I was somewhat embarrassed when Trooper Olonko walked into court and found out that "perhaps" I had forgotten to secure my seat belt while driving. I made a conscious effort to remind myself to follow all vehicle and traffic laws in the future. So you can imagine my utter dismay when I noticed Trooper Olonko at court recently after I had been issued another ticket for "allegedly" driving without my seat belt on. When my name was called I approached the bench and noticed Trooper Olonko shaking his head in disbelief. I only saw him for a moment because like that young athlete who seeks the coach's approval and then commits an error in judgment, I felt as though I had let my former wrestler down. My eyes sank and I stared at the floor, unable to look Trooper Olonko in the eyes. Perhaps it was karma, but the judge decided I should reimburse the local municipality $150 for the errors of my ways. Some would argue that the $150 I had to forfeit is the reason I now always fasten my seatbelt, but the truth of the matter is that, like any good coach, I would never want to disappoint my athletes. So you can bet that the very next time I see Trooper Mike Olonko that I will shake his hand and thank him — AFTER I unfasten my seat belt of course! Until next time…

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