SPORTS TALK

With Michael Betteridge

Never Say Anything Bad About Someone

January is always the time of the year during which we reflect on the past year and prepare for the new year. We use the successes and failures of 2025 to shape our plan to increase the former and limit the latter. We take stock of our situation and attempt to objectively look in the mirror to become better people. We try to emulate the people in our lives who have inspired us. We try to “pay it forward” by inspiring others.

Recently, I had the honor of attending the late Coach Dave Miller’s “Celebration of Life.” I didn’t know Coach Miller very well, having only met him once. Coach Miller taught school and coached basketball for 13 years at Poolesville. He came to Walkersville, where he coached basketball for 23 years. He took over the basketball head coaching position at Frederick Community College for 25 years, retired, unretired, and became an assistant basketball coach at Shippensburg University. He won two state championships at Walkersville and was inducted into five Halls of Fame. That’s over 60 years of coaching. Now that’s a legacy!

As I sat in the back of the Walkersville Fire Hall, listening to those he had inspired at his memorial service, I heard one phrase over and over again. “He never had anything bad to say about anyone.” It hit me like a ton of bricks. No one would ever say that about me. I’m always complaining about people. I wondered how he did it. Was it the way he was raised, or was it a learned skill? How could I learn that skill? There are days when I feel like I am surrounded by nincompoops. If I discovered anything from Coach Miller’s service, I think it was that he saw the potential in everyone. His objective in life was to elevate that potential.

I thought about special people in my high school who had potential, and what they accomplished and why, and compared it to my life.

There was Pickles Smith, one of the most gifted athletes, ball players, and teammates I have ever known. Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the third round in 1971 out of Sherwood High School, Pickles played for five seasons until his career was shortened by an injury.

My classmate, John Yang, became a world-famous fashion designer. And everyone knows Randy Hofman, the award-winning Ocean City sand sculpture artist who has used his faith to design Biblical scenes on the beach since 1977. Randy, too, was a classmate.

What set them apart? Why did they excel? For Randy, it was when someone introduced him to Jesus. John Yang was mentored by the most famous fashion designers in the world. Pickles had Coach Caruso. Like Coach Miller, someone recognized their potential and invested.

I thought about this column and what an opportunity it has been to share local high school sports stories and players with you. I wondered if there was a way I could invest. Let’s give it a shot!

I’m putting my money down on Leah French! I’ll say it again. Leah French! I watched our Lady Cougars basketball team play Smithsburg a couple of weeks ago, and two players on the court caught my full attention: Claire Bono and Leah French. It was like I was looking at a time warp. Claire Bono, the senior, was everywhere. Leah French, the freshman, was too. Claire scored off balance. She rebounded over taller players. She stole the ball and went the length of the floor over three defenders to score. Leah French was a Claire Bono doppelganger. Leah was everywhere. Hustling, launching herself, churning and burning, all over the court. Digging and laying out for the ball, Leah never stopped. Another similarity is that they both have great coaches! Claire Bono has the perfect mentor, her dad, Smithsburg girls varsity head basketball coach Todd Bono. Leah French has an amazing mentor too: Coach Amy! Coach Amy teaches on the floor from buzzer to buzzer, running, jumping, shouting, and urging her players on. She shows the girls what energy really looks like.

Can you imagine what Leah French will look like in her senior year after four years under Coach Amy? We watched Brooke Williams as a freshman, now a superior basketball player and a senior who will play for Gardner Webb University next year on a basketball scholarship. We watched Taylor Smith make the same journey to a D1 University softball scholarship. Go to the 59:40 minute mark in the Catoctin/Smithsburg archived game video (fredcosports.com/scores) and watch Leah. She takes a court-length baseball pass like a wide receiver turns to the basket, nothing there, so she pivots and lets go with a no-look-behind-the-back bounce pass to teammate Olivia Hoyt. I’ve never seen a freshman play with that kind of skill, patience, and composure. Most freshmen would try to power it in. Leah drew the defender and fed her teammate.

And speaking of special student athletes, the quintessential Catoctin Lady Cougar made her appearance that night: Taylor Smith. She returned from her Christmas break at the University of Virginia to Catoctin to be honored for her achievements, especially as Maryland softball “Gatorade Player of the Year.” It was easy to see why Taylor is such a special athlete. Coach Jess Valentine and Coach Amy Entwistle stood by proudly as Taylor received her award. That’s two of the best coaches around!

These coaches who are invested in their student athletes all understand what it takes to build legacies, just like the late Coach Dave Miller.

“Never say anything bad about someone.” I think we can all learn something from this to apply to 2026.

winning Ocean City sand sculpture artist who has used his faith to design Biblical scenes on the beach since 1977. Randy, too, was a classmate.

I thought about this column and what an opportunity it has been to share local high school sports stories and players with you. I wondered if there was a way I could invest. Let’s give it a shot!

These coaches who are invested in their student athletes all understand what it takes to build legacies, just like the late Coach Dave Miller.

“Never say anything bad about someone.” I think we can all learn something from this to apply to 2026.

Taylor Smith was recognized at a recent Catoctin Girls Basketball Game for being the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year.