Though no longer with us. these special people will always have a very special “resonance” with me and their roles in mentoring, molding, and demanding the best always.
Dr. Charles A. Kelly (DDS, University of Maryland Dental School; BS, MS, William & Mary). My paternal grandfather, namesake, and I was his first-born grandchild. Fondest Memory: Every September, I got to skip school and go to Memorial Stadium on 33rd St. in Baltimore to see a 3 or 4 game series Orioles vs. New York Yankees.
Trent Serini, my high school coach. Ranked 20th all-time wins amongst all Virginia HS Football Coaches despite entire career at Div “A” (smallest) schools. Coach Serini attended Oklahoma State from NYC. He became a graduate assistant and for 10 years an Assistant Coach to Oklahoma State’s legendary Coach Hank Iba–including the 1945-1946 back-to-back NCAA Basketball Championship teams.
Know what you are doing, prepare to excel, and let the game come to you. Be ready when it does.
i’d love to tell you my memory of the greatest coach i’ve ever known. the night he served me ice cream in his kitchen. for a black boy, in Onancock in 76, that was rare.