On The Sidelines

And Let There

Be . . . WHITE!

By Kim J. Harmon

A few years ago a bunch of guys walked in to the Newtown High School gym and pretty much tore everything up, laying down a brand new floor and then throwing up some new lights and yet all of these new accoutrements, oddly enough, came without the added blandishment of fresh paint on the walls or the ceiling.

Oh sure, the new lighting was a VAST improvement but the gym was still lit only slightly better than a second-level dungeon in a medieval castle (and since it was a VAST improvement, that will tell you how poorly lit the old gym was).

Well, this past summer (which still teases us with these too warm afternoons) a bunch of guys slapped a couple of fresh coats of white paint on the walls and over the ceiling and the whole place looks about as new as it has ever looked.

Athletic Director Gregg Simon tells us of one student, back on the first days of school, who opened the door of the gym, looked inside, and realized something had changed . . . only he couldn’t figure out what it was.

I like the new deal – a lot – but, then again, I am motivated by own self interests. It wasn’t easy taking pictures in the Newtown High gym and the only way I could was to use a short (85mm) lens and high speed (3,200 ASA) film. It worked for plays right in front of me, but for stuff happened near half court it just didn’t work out.

But I couldn’t use my zoom (75-210mm) because it was too slow, even with 3,200 ASA film.

I was stuck.

Last Friday, though, while sitting on the floor with my Canon and new 75-310mm lens (also slow, like my old lens) I found I was able to operate fairly well and not have to wait for stuff happening right in front of me.

Now – if someone can just take care of those low-hanging heating/air conditioning ducts.

+ + +

The weather sites on the Internet would have had us believe that there was a serious threat of rain on Friday, but it turned out to be a beautiful night – a beautiful night to watch the boys’ soccer team whip Brookfield, 7-0.

There was a nice crowd there, too, with the concession stand open and the new scoreboard in full operation.

Mr Simon was particularly pleased – especially since the volleyball team had completed a 3-0 sweep of Stratford right before the opening kick and the field hockey team was on its way back from Weston with a 2-0 win.

Then again, Mr Simon is an easy one to please. As he has had said many times since taking over the AD job at Newtown High, everything is perfect as long as the skies are clear and the referees show up on time.

But everything is not always so perfect.

Picture Tuesday afternoon, for example - the National_Weather Service has been saying there is a 100% chance of precipitation with heavy rains and possible thunderstorms all afternoon.

Yet, inexplicably, it doesn’t rain. Some surprise, the weather service is wrong. It’s cloudy, alright, but no droplets anywhere.

Until 1:55 pm.

Just when school lets out.

But it’s a brief squall._It stops. And Mr Simon has to make a decision whether or not to call the girls’ and boys’ soccer games for that afternoon. The girls are playing at the Stadium and Mr Simon is worried about the field getting torn up during a rainstorm.

He makes the call. No soccer.

But then it doesn’t rain for almost two hours.

Jeez.

Imagine thinking for two hours (or having people tell you for two hours)_that you jumped the gun and could have let the game go on.

I’d hate that.

But Mr Simon was, in the end, right.

See, the field hockey team was on its way out the door right after school, so there was almost no way to stop that game from happening down in New Milford. In fact, except for a couple squalls, the game went along smoothly until late in the second half when the predicted downpour finally happened.

At 1-1, the game had to be suspended. The referees were hoping to wait the rain out and even though it slowed for a few moments, it picked up steam.

It was clear there was no waiting anything out. By National Federation rules, the game ends in a 1-1 tie. Maybe the ‘Hawks could have won - and maybe they would have lost - but, thanks to the rain, we’ll never know.

See - the AD_was right.

+ + +

Watching the finals of the Sunday Slo-Pitch Softball League I have come to the conclusion that playing a 9 am game at Dickinson Park is not unlike playing an April baseball game at some outdoor field in Minnesota.

It’s inhuman.

On a sunny morning, it is nearly impossible for the outfielders to do their job. At least six times in the first two innings fly balls that should have been outs were either mishandled, lost, or otherwise dropped harmlessly to the ground for doubles and triples.

Man, that’s tough work out there.