No more facemasks for Trent Dilfer
News item: San Francisco 49ers back-up quarterback Trent Dilfer retiring after 13 years in NFL.
The first time I saw Trent Dilfer he was in an Aptos Little League uniform, playing the field in a batting helmet that had - appropriately enough - a football facemask.
Young Trent had injured his jaw, as I recall, and the facemask was preventing it from further injury.
As the sports editor in Watsonville, I followed Dilfer's progress from gangly Little Leaguer to confident quarterback of the Aptos High Mariners.
The offensive coordinator of the Mariners was a Catholic priest and he tutored Trent on everything from taking the snap to press relations. I'm sure I did the first full-length interview of the fledgling prospect when he was a sophomore. And I'm sure he didn't stick his foot in his mouth and graciously complimented his offensive linemen, as the good Father insisted.
I also coached Trent one year - and coached against him another year - in the Aptos Youth Basketball Association. He was in junior high school at the time.
As his coach, I don't think I taught him much ... maybe a little defense.
By the time Trent had emerged as a star college quarterback, I was working in Victorville. One Saturday I was watching the highlights and it was mentioned that "Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer threw for three touchdowns." I knew there wasn't more than one Trent Dilfer, so it had to be him.
Although I had done virtually nothing to mold his athletic career, it was still cool to watch Trent get drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and eventually lead the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl title.
My heart also ached for him during his stint with the Seattle Seahawks when Trent's 5-year-old son, Trevin, died of a heart ailment. Here is what a poster on a Seahawks' blog said regarding that difficult period.
"Yeah, the greatest moment of the 2004 season was when (Dilfer) threw that TD pass in the preseason and pointed to the sky for his son Trevin...I don't think any of us had a dry eye in the stadium after that."
My source up in Santa Cruz tells me Trent may now have a chance to coach at Cal, a school that recruited him to play tight end as a prep.
If Trent winds up there, I'm sure he will teach the Golden Bears more than I taught him in youth basketball. Let's hope so, anyway.
- John Murphy
berdooman@aol.com
909-633-4829
www.insidesocal.com/sb/prepdog
Hey, PD, let's put a name to that Catholic priest. It's Father Ron Shirley. He's not coaching this coming season but he is still doing quarterback camps in the area. That is, when he's not throwing a football during his sermon in Mass. (Poor lady parishoner, she never saw the ball coming until it hit her in the face.)
DD
Ah yes, Father Ron Shirley ... I could not recall his name. He is the best offensive coordinator/priest in the Monterey Bay Area. But what's this ... he tossed a football during a sermon and hit some lady in the grill? That's a joke, right? Was it a tight spiral?