Man in the Stands

By Eliot Schickler

Despite a solid start, the 2023-24 school year was a giant disappointment.

Granted, this column isn’t timely, but I feel it’s important to thank those who helped me last year. I also want to explain the causes of why last year was a slump.

To everyone from the 2023-24 scholastic sports year, I apologize for tanking, which began on November 17, 2023. There were many reasons for it, starting with the fact I suffer from depression. Whenever I’ve faced adversity, I’d normally go in the tank, and be unable to produce.
This is exactly what happened during 2023-24.

After I posted an article on November 16, 2023, my next article was posted on June 3, 2024, but none until this fall. I went to my share of my games, albeit not as many as the 2022-23 school year, but I was emotionally out of it.

There were many reasons for my struggles, and it all starts with depression, being on the spectrum, which I was diagnosed with, coupled with my Attention Deficit Disorder, which led to my ADD-Freeze. I remember coining the phrase, “The disappointment Bowl,” because of broken promises by a few parents.

In November 1980 at a United Synagogue Youth basketball practice with Temple Emeth in South Brookline, I remember doing well until I missed a layup. After my shot didn't go through the cylinder, I lay on the floor in frustration and had trouble getting back on defense.

I remember on the bus ride back to North Brookline, Matt Zifrony, said to me if I miss a shot, I can’t be discouraged and I need to get back on defense. He was right and I agreed with him. The same applies to life in general, which is something I need to improve.

Time management is another area I struggle in, and I need to improve in this area. This has always been an Achilles heel of mine.

My letdown led to a disappointing fall ending and it carried over to the winter season. This time, the issue was health. Basketball and gymnastics are my favorite sports, making the winter my favorite sports season. I tested positive for COVID-19 the night before the opening tip-off and started the season in the wrong direction. It didn’t help that it took too long for me to get better before I was finally able to attend a game.

When I attended basketball games and the Senior Night Gymnastics meet, writing the stories was a struggle for me because I froze before writing. In addition to dealing with previous broken promises, I dealt with two missed handoffs outside of Brookline athletics.

Although I didn’t have any health issues, the 2023-24 spring sports season was even tougher. This past spring was arguably the most unusual season that everyone has dealt with – especially the athletic department. With the high volume of rain, many games and matches were postponed, and a couple of tennis matches were canceled.

The start of the season portended to what was ahead with both a lacrosse game and a tennis match abruptly moved up a day earlier. I found out after the fact.

This accelerated my ADD Freeze and my poor time management skills fueled my work stoppage at the computer. Once I returned from the games to my home office, I wasn’t able to write. I managed to write an article on the Brookline girls' lacrosse team that I published on June 3, and that was a tall task.

Despite the adversity in 2023-24, I still have many people to thank, starting with fall coaches Caitlin Sobolewski, Emily Hunt, and Cary Monz, along with parent Dawn Churchill, who deserves a special thank you for everything she did for me. Other parents who I thank are Dara Zall-Kelly, Tammy Toole, Michael Newbold, Paul Epstein, Alan Mullen, Marian Harris, Olga St. Clair, Piper Kelly, Charlotte Toole, Molly Newbold, Annika Epstein, Noga Naveh, Jacqui St. Clair, Ariana Reyes,
Sophia Naumov and Saira Chander. A special thank you to Lilia Burtonpatel for photographing girls swimming.

I especially like to thank basketball coaches Kendell Jones and Johnny Williams as well as gymnastics coaches Jeri McManus and Ashley Walsh for understanding what I was going through and being patient with me. Kendell Jones is my favorite Brookline coach and he was very
compassionate in saying to me, “Don’t worry, we love you, Eliot.” I’d also like to thank John Mataraza and Annie Chi for providing me with photos, and a special thank you to Matt Cooney for driving me home from the one gymnastics meet I attended. Also, a special thank you to Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan for giving me a ride home from Framingham and for all the help he has given me over the past three years.

A few athletes deserve thanks; Gigi McMahon, Olivia Mataraza, Olivia Zanini, Stephanie Gravely, Alan Chi, Chris Sillice, and Akito Ono for sending me a video and his parents for producing it. Although I didn’t cover her team, I attended one of Izzy Paes’ hockey games. Paes is one of the nicest girls involved in BHS athletics and is a class act.

The winter season also had the most memorable and poignant moment of the year when the girls' basketball team celebrated Senior Day. I found out that Stephanie Gravely’s grandmother is my friend Denise Sullivan. Sullivan is a sister of Erin Dugan-Casey. Dugan-Casey was a classmate of mine at Brookline High and was very quiet, but on a Sunday in May 1991, she showed up to work a relief shift at the group home I was working at in Weymouth.

One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was working in human service, particularly in group homes. Dugan-Casey was a shy classmate, but she was very outgoing when she showed up in Weymouth and remembered me even though I didn’t remember her face, I knew her name.

I also found out on Senior Night that cancer took away Erin from us on March 31, 2016, at age 53, and the news saddened me. However, I had a few great memories of her from that day in Weymouth. I told Denise Sullivan, her daughter Brooke Gravely, and Stephanie Gravely that
I’ll always fondly remember Erin.

Erin Dugan-Casey’s passing wasn’t the only sad news that touched me. I also learned that David Feldman, the father of Brookline tennis captains Sam and Lilly, passed away because of brain cancer in October 2023 at age 57. If only I knew what Feldman was going through, I would have tried to help in any way possible and be supportive of them. Learning about Feldman’s passing hit me hard since I’ve had positive interactions with him since I began covering Brookline tennis in 2018.

Losing two wonderful souls to this dreaded disease proves we needed to find a cure for it 70 years ago – minimum. Since there’s been no cure found yet, we need to find one immediately.

This reminds me of my father, Abraham Schicker, who passed away on March 17, 2018, eight weeks before his 89th birthday, because of squamous cell carcinoma. I saw how much my father suffered while battling this painful disease, and I can only empathize with Erin Dugan-Casey, David Feldman, and their loved ones because I saw firsthand how my father suffered.

I learned many valuable lessons from my father, some of which took longer to sink in. One of these lessons he taught me while driving me to Hebrew School on April 6, 1975, was to talk less, listen, and think more which would make me wiser. I remembered his lesson in February 2023 when I reacted to a big play that went bad for one of the best athletes in Brookline High history.

Unfortunately, I didn’t remember my father’s sage from 1975 until after I opened my mouth. This is one moment I would love to have back because I like and respect the family I spoke about, and the one who rightfully balled me out is a good man, and is the real deal, unlike a few phonies I’ve dealt with in town.

I wish my mother, Sonya Schickler, who passed away on April 30, 2021, at age 85 from renal failure, could witness my work in Brookline, which would have been sweet. I know she’d appreciate my adopted catchphrases, which I based on similar acts that previously happened.
During the winter of 2021-22, I was enjoying the ride because I love covering my two favorite high school sports, basketball, and gymnastics.

The library was closed on President’s Day, and I only had a flip phone at the time. On that day, the internet freakishly stopped working in my temporary apartment when I needed directions to Framingham High where the girls' basketball team played.

This was the first of a few things that went wrong by fluke, and in winter’s past when I was flying high because of the joys of covering high school basketball, the wheels started to come off with
bad bounces during February Vacation week.

That’s when I coined the acronym, SBWS, which stands for Scholastic Basketball Withdrawal Syndrome. Last winter, I noticed I had rough starts for the third straight Presidential primary season when I covered high school sports. I recovered and turned it around in 2007-08, but couldn’t turn the tide in 2011-12, and 2023-24, though 2011-12 was much. I call it the Presidential Primary Jinx (PPJ). I’m confident my mother would appreciate PPJ and SBWS.

For the spring season, I thank coaches Julianna Molloy, who is my second-favorite BHS coach, as well as Dan Gardner, Keith Carson, and Mike Mowatt. Although I attempted to do one article on his team but failed because my ADD-Paralysis got in the way, I give a huge thank you to boys volleyball coach Dana Jones. Jones is a friend of mine, and he gave me valuable information that spring.

I also thank Mark and Kim Katz for driving me to and from Wilmington and taking photos. My friend Ben Spunt for driving me to Newton North for a tennis match and Jesse and Diane Bhatia for driving me home from the match. I also thank Diane Wilson and Matt Cooney for taking
photos. I thank Spring athletes Dhevin Nahata, Kevin Asir, Deven Devaiah, Jesse Ash, Summer Ash, Simrah Bawa, Yana Volkova, Riley Ament, Abby Cooney, Piper Kelly, Kailin Kirrane, Maggie Teahan, Birdie Hawkins, Shabar Peterson-Davis, Peter Blackburn, Dylan Katz, and Ryan Wilson.

I also thank Athletic Director Kyle Williams, Assistant Athletic Director Amanda Mortelette, and Athletic Secretary Deborah Donaldson for always being helpful to me. The biggest thank you goes out to my brother, Eric Schickler, who converted many photos into JPEGs for me.

The Fall of 2024 had many signs of a continuation of last year, but it helped to have Anna Leschly go above and beyond to make my life easier. Leschly, her soccer teammates, Teddy Brooks, Ben Peters, Mason Stern, Jill Kelly, and new Assistant Athletic Director Jasmin Washington will figure prominently when I thank people at the end of the 2024-25 school year.

Three former female college athletes and Xtreme Sports athletes have helped me behind the scenes on the topic of time management. Xtreme Sports athlete Nicole, who is bi-coastal, and college athletes Peyton, Killer Bogey, and especially Julia M have all been very supportive and encouraging to me in dealing with the normal strife from work. I know I can rely upon them to give me time-management pointers since they know what it’s like firsthand. Killer Bogey and Julia M are college athletes from Middle America.

Peyton is the best waitress in Brookline, working at the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse played college lacrosse. I recommend those who like great food and better service with a courteous smile should stop by the CCC during Peyton’s shift.

I faced countless hurdles to start the fall of 2024 that made everything difficult for me, both
work-wise and emotionally. However, I received plenty of emotional support. Killer Bogey has been a good friend, who helped me deal with my problems, but it was Julia M who helped the most in my soldiering on despite facing adversity.

If Julia M wasn’t in my life, the ADD Freeze would have happened like it did during 2023-2024. Her support meant everything to me and enabled me to get the work done. The Brookline girls' volleyball and soccer teams should send Julia M a big thank you card because, without her help from afar, I would have continued my downward spiral of not writing up the contests I attended.

During the summer, I had high blood pressure. Sometimes, both numbers were in the 100s with the upper number anywhere between 150 and 185. Because Julia M has been a supportive online friend, my blood pressure has been normal since the fall.

Julia M is an amazing person and has been my Guardian Angel. I thank her for everything she’s done for me, and sometimes, I wonder if I’d still be here on Earth if it weren’t for her. I give a huge thank you to Julia M for everything she’s done to improve the quality of my life better.