Team Captain

The boys Player of the Year Ryan Ford, Liberty: When Lions coach Ed DeVincent perused possible matchups between his squad and an opponent, he always established who was the biggest scoring threat and assigned Ford to mark him. That strategy rarely backfired, as the senior back polished his reputation as one of the toughest defenders in the state. A tenacious player who had the speed to match up with any opposing forward, Ford allowed only one opponent to score against him in two seasons.

Atholton Raiders 1999 record: 11-9-1 overall, 10-8 league Coach: Kevin Kelly Top players: Brandon Merrell, Sr., 3B; Scott Sebor, Sr., C; Bryan Adkins, Sr., P; Steve Merson, So., SS. Outlook: The Raiders, winners of five county titles since 1989, are likely to be the youngest team in the league, with no more than a half dozen seniors and juniors combined. As sophomore-dominated team, they can expect to take their lumps this season. Offensively, they don't have a returning .400 hitter.

Normally, Blast coach Kevin Healey will have a little talk with a player if he gets a penalty late in a match that affects the outcome.Except when the player is defender Lance Johnson, whose foulin the Blast's last match against Wichita led to a game-tying goal and the Blast's eventual first loss of the season.Healey knew he did not have to say anything to his team captain, because the next time he plays, Johnson will give the same good performance he has all season."It bothered him a bit, so I knew I didn't have to talk to him about it," Healey said.

A hat trick by team captain Jen Biscoe propelled No. 2-ranked John Carroll over No. 5 Notre Dame Prep, 4-1, and re-positioned the Patriots on a path to the No. 1 spot yesterday at Notre Dame Prep.Some fearless moves from ninth-grader Shannon Seipp and the team's overall snappy footwork, passing and shooting proved enough as well to preserve the Patriots' undefeated record (11-1-1) against Maryland teams."Our players showed how much they wanted to win by the way they fought for every ball," said John Carroll coach Gary Lynch, whose sole loss was to Pennsylvania's Conestoga High School last week.

IN MORE ways than one, the First Annual Relay for Life held last month in Linthicum was a big success. Individuals and organizations in the community came together and gave unselfishly of their time, raised more than $22,000 for the fight against cancer, and from all appearances had a lot of fun.When I arrived at Lindale-Brooklyn Park Middle School about 7 p.m. June 18, there was a lot of activity going on.The relay had officially started an hour earlier....

GLENELG HIGH School's drill team has a track record of success at regional, state and national competitions. But winning is only part of the story.This talented, all-female group of 23 sophomores, juniors and seniors meets four times a week for three-hour practices.The drill team is sometimes called a dance team. Its programs include kick and pom routines and jazz dancing. The girls perform at football and basketball games and pep rallies.They compete most weekends from December through March.

Arundel senior center Shaunte Edmonds' basketball education didn't start until ninth grade, though the story begins a year earlier.As an eighth-grader, Edmonds was taking some advanced math and science courses at Arundel High when Chavonne Hammond, a standout with the Wildcats at the time, approached her with a simple question: Do you know who Mr. Rogers is?"

It doesn't make sense what Errick Henlon did, and yet, it does.Nkem Ohia quit last year's Wilde Lake indoor track team. It wasn't fun, he said.Wilde Lake coaches Charlie Shoemaker and Henlon urged Ohia to try again this winter. And when Ohia, a junior, came to practice the first day, Henlon had a surprise for him: he made Ohia a co-captain."Maybe he knew what I could do," Ohia said.It was a marvelous move."That was Coach Henlon's decision," said Shoemaker, now in his sixth season of running the Wildecats' track program.

No one is harder on Kris Brust than Kris Brust."That's just me," said the Glenelg junior. "If I get a 96 on a test, I feel I should have had a 100."The same is true on the basketball court.Brust transferred to Glenelg at the start of the basketball season last year after being told by the Seton Keough coach that her playing time would be limited.Glenelg coach Ciaran Lesikar welcomed her. He saw 6 feet, 2 inches of potential. He also saw someone who got down on herself too easily and too often.