Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 43

NW Fort Lauderdale NewsSun-Sentinel, Friday, April 17, 1987 21 SPORTS Carberg earned her stripes as scout i ovi i i A 5 IP' I 4 ir i- f' illilllill running back, you graded him on his strength and quickness, his strong points and weak points. You watched how he did running inside and outside. "And then you made a decision about somebody. Sometimes you stuck your neck out and sometimes you made mistakes." Calvin Nicholas, who retired from the Jets this year after more than 24 years with the team, was proud of his daughter's accomplishments. She wasn't afraid to reach for her dreams.

At Ohio State, she walked up to Woody Hayes in a cafeteria and introduced herself. He ended up giving her special permission to attend closed and open practices. "What she accomplished was unrelated to me," said Calvin Nicholas. "She was always a people-oriented person and was outgoing. She was a good athlete and coach and had a gift for recognizing talent.

"She wasn't the kind of person who would say what people wanted her to say. Once she sized up a player, she didn't hedge and change her mind if people didn't agree. She also wanted to know what kind of person he was. I think Mike Holo-vak had something to do with that." She woiked under director of player personnels Homer Eding-ton, Mike Holovak and Mike Hickey from 1974 to 1980. They all made an impression, but Holovak stood out.

After the 1977 season, Carbtrg had the souting carpet pulled out from under her. Management de- See CARBERG, page 23 the Jets chose him in the second round of the 1979 draft The Jets staff was coaching in the 1979 Senior Bowl. Camp had opened and they were short one defensive lineman due to an injury. They called Carberg back in New York looking for a replacement. She made some calls to prospective recruits.

Gastineau stood out. There was something about his attitude that impressed her in a lengthy telephone call. She recommended him over other more highly touted prospects. He showed great strength and quickness during the week and turned himself into a top Jets' draft choice, and he is now the NFL's quintessential defensive end. Carberg's climb into scouting came in several small steps.

In 1974, she graduated from Ohio State University and was ready to take a teachingcoaching position at a high school when Jets' coach Charlie Winner approached her at a party at her father's house. He invited her to join the Jets in a secretary-receptionist-assistant kind of position at their new complex in Hempstead, N.Y. She began answering phones and filing papers. After awhile, she was given a chance to grade a few films. Her work was good, her attention to detail impressive.

Soon, General Manager Al Ward wanted to see what she could do out in the field. In late 1976 and early 1977, she visited universities to watch practices and games and to grade more film. She traveled to bowl games. "It was a detailed grading system," Carberg said. "If he was a By RANDALL MELL Staff Writer CORAL SPRINGS She grew up playing tennis with George Sauer.

Gerry Philbin and Emerson Boozer used to come to her Long Island home for dinner parties. She knew Joe Namath, but her schoolgirl crush was targeted toward Bake Turner. Connie Carberg wasn't an ordinary New York Jets fan. Back in the Jets' glory years, the late 1960s, she was known as Connie Nicholas, the daughter of Dr. Calvin Nicholas, Jets team internist, and the niece of James Nicholas, Jets team orthopedist She was a teen-ager, but she knew more about the Jets than most Jets.

She took a special interest in every college football player who became a Jet, or even might become a Jet As a bright-eyed, athletically talented 15-year-old, she used to evaluate college prospects on her own. She would rate players and hold mock drafts with her older brother, Chris. Carberg didn't realize it then, but she was building useful skills. Ten years later, she would become the National Football League's first woman scout In 1976-77, Carberg traveled around the country evaluating college football players for the New York Jets. From 1977 to 1980, she was a Jets personnel assistant.

She played a small but significant part in bringing the Jets a little-known defensive lineman from East Central University in Oklahoma. Back in 1978, Mark Gastineau was projected as an eighth-round draft pick. With some help from Carberg, onshiD on ADril 26. Marts' team wore down its opponents with its physical style. "They're very aggressive," Marts said.

"Sometimes other coaches get a little upset because they think our girls are too rough, but all the contact is legal. They're just very physical players." Marts' team is made up of players from last year's CSSA Under 16 state champions and Under 19 state runners-up. They are 13-0-2 this year. "The bench is as strong as the players on the field," Marts said. "We're never hurt by a substitution and that's a key to our success." Kathy Fitzgerald and Amy Bar-bera scored three goals in the regional to lead Coral Springs.

Angie Mobley and Kim Marts each scored twice. BASEBALL Boys who won't be 19 years old before Aug. 1 can register to play baseball for the Margate American Legion at 7 p.m. April 22 at the Oriole Field Clubhouse in Margate. Statt photoROBERT AZMITIA Connie Carberg was the NFL's 3 Coral Springs girls' soccer teams first woman scout.

"We waited an hour and played a second game against a team that hadn't played at au," koss saw. "And the Dunedin game was a tough one." Jennifer Hudlett and Jennifer Eaton scored for Coral Springs in the Dunedin victory. Paula Gordon and Randi Ross scored for Ross in the Jupiter tie. Largo, Plantation and Coral Springs also earned semifinal berths. Pairings in that division will be announced later.

Ross' team is 18-0-3 this year. "We're very hopeful," Ross said about the prospects of a state title. "This is a team with a lot of depth. You can't mention one name without mentioning all 14. They're a team.

That's the key to their success." Coach Bill Marts' Under 19 team defeated Azalia 5-0, Melbourne 4-0 and Palm Beach Football Club 6-1 to earn a semifinal berth. His girls will play Seminole April 25 at Cocoa Beach with the winner playing the Miami Lakes-Tampa Black- watch winner for the state cnampi- State Cup In the T-Ball Division, Ravon Taylor hit his team's first home run of the season to spark the Lauderdale Lakes Tigers to a 30-3 drubbing of Hoffman's. The victory improved the Tigers to 9-2, a iSilf game behind division-leading Gary Enterprises. The Crystal Clear Glass A's defeated the Mighty Molars 35-14 to tie the Tigers for second place with a 9 2 record. Margo Miller had four doubles and a single to highlight the A's effort.

Chris Zibrin contributed four hits, including a home run. In the Midget Division, the Crystal Gear Glass Cardinals dumped SYAC No. 8 9-1. Eric Crompton and Jimmy Gargiuto teamed up to toss a one-hitter for the winners. Matt Yon added a key two-run doublg In the Juvenile Division, Ryan Perry pounded out a double with two RBI to lead the Westbrook Rascals in a 12-2 victory against D.E.

Britt Persons with information for this column should call Randall Mell at 493-6404. still alive in For more information, call 974- 2650. The Heinz Paving Yankees improved to 10-0 by topping previously undefeated SYAC No. 10 8-7 in the Quad Cities Khoury League's Atom Division. Brad Taylor and Adam Good-stein had three hits to pace the Yankees.

Billy Sneed added a home run. Sneed and Glenn Ray Jr. combined to strike out 14 batters. In another game last week, Ray, Taylor and Sneed combined to no-hit the Thomas Hess Pirates in an 1 1-1 victory. Ray and Taylor hit home runs.

John Mildern hit a grand slam and Dahren Allen hit a three-run home run to help the Pompano Beach Marine Center A's top the West Broward Optimists 22-4. Michael Brady's home run ignited the Astros' offense in an 18-11 victory against McDonald's. Jevon Masculina struck out nine batters to lead Mr. Bill's Beverage to a 7-5 victory against SYAC No. 11.

Walter Ross' girls know how to win pressure-packed games. The nu-cleus of his Coral Springs Under 16 team has won four State Cud RANDALL champion- lim shlPs- McLL weekend, mmmm they'll be going after their fifth. Ross' team was one of three Coral Springs Soccer Association girls' teams to advance into State Cup final-four games. Coral Springs Under 12, Under 16 and Under 19 teams survived regional competition last weekend and will make bids for state titles April 25-26 at Cocoa Beach. Five other CSSA teams were eliminated in regional action last weekend.

Ross' Under 16 girls defeated Dunedin 2-0, rested one hour and then tied Jupiter 2-2 to earn a final-four berth..