FROM THE PRESS BOX: A COACHING LEGEND PASSES, AND 'LET THEM PLAY' (2020-08-19)
The Valley lost a coaching legend earlier this week in Hall-of-Famer Jim McCloe.
A Waverly grad, McCloe went on wrestle at SUNY Delhi, where he won a NJCAA national championship. He finished off his collegiate career at East Carolina, where he won a conference title at 134 pounds as a senior.
He returned to his alma mater in the early "˜70s, and became an institution as a wrestling coach there until his retirement more than three decades later.
McCloe racked up 465 dual wins, and coached the Wolverines to a pair of dual-meet state championships. He coached 14 Section IV title teams, 40 Section IV individual champions, and seven New York state champions. His 1987 team (11th) and '88 team (22nd) were both nationally-ranked, and featured a trio of eventual state champions in Tom Kingston, Doug Shaffer, and Shawn Welch.
McCloe was eventually inducted into the Section IV Hall of Fame, Junior College National Hall of Fame, and the New York Chapter of the National Hall of Fame.
I first met Coach McCloe as a freshman in high school. I had him in the classroom, and as a JV football coach.
In the classroom, he kept thing interesting and fun, and was a top-not educator.
As a football coach, his teams were definitely in shape. He worked us hard, but at the end of nearly every practice there was a fun football drill that took our minds off what we had just endured.
I didn't wrestle, but many of my friends did. To a man, they revered Coach McCloe.
I've always said the best coaches are the one who can inspire their athletes to run through walls for them. The wrestlers on "McCloe's Mat Machine" would do just that.
He had faith in his wrestlers, and they had the ultimate faith in him.
More importantly, the majority of his wrestlers went on to be successful in life, and most give a great deal of credit to Coach McCloe.
He will long be remembered as one of the best wrestling coaches to ever grace the mat in Section IV, and New York State.
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"Let Them Play."
It's become the 2020 rallying cry for supporters of youth sports, high school sports, and even college athletics.
Many collegiate conferences around the country have already canceled all sporting events until Jan. 1, with an eye on play fall sports in the spring.
At this point, fall sports in Pennsylvania and New York are still on, but both have already been delayed.
I've been critical of the PIAA in the past, but I'll give them kudos for their approach this fall.
My biggest criticism on the handling of the Covid-19 is how quick entities have been to pull the trigger on cancelling seasons.
PIAA pushed the start of the fall season back two weeks, and may still have to cancel the fall season at some point, but they're doing everything they can to get their athletes back in action.
In New York, NYSPHSAA pushed back the start of the fall season to Sept. 21, but we won't have to wait that long to know if they'll be able to play. Governor Andrew Cuomo said he will rule on whether there will be fall sports in New York within the next week.
I would like to think, since we're a month away from the proposed start date, that Governor Cuomo will say he's in favor of the Sept. 21 start date, but considering the way he's handled everything else, I don't see any sports in the Empire State until Jan. 1 at the earliest.
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One shining light this summer was Waverly Little League having a season, bringing a bit of normal back to the lives of the kids and families. I give all involved a lengthy tip of the cap.
I said when I launched Valley Sports Report I would cover high school and youth sports between the lines, but once it moved outside the lines, I had no interest.
I really don't know too much about the controversy that ended the season. All I'll say is they should have played the final game.
I know it's probably too late, but what better lesson to teach the kids - that grown adults can settle their differences like grown adults should, so kids can play a kids game.
