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Neighborhood report

He's the sergeant of the Sharks

Even as he serves his country in Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Noel Hike continues to be one of the biggest motivators of his two sons' football team, the Riverview High Sharks.

By BRYAN BURNS
Published October 21, 2005

RIVERVIEW - Forgive brothers David and Matt Hike, the starting quarterback and center for the Riverview High School football team, if they seem preoccupied.

In addition to the normal anxieties facing a high school athlete - getting a passing grade on today's exam, picking up a blitzing linebacker - the Hike brothers also have the safety of their father on their mind.

The boys' father, Sgt. Noel Hike, is serving in Afghanistan with the Army.

Sgt. Hike was deployed more than seven months ago as part of Task Force Scorpion, and, according to David, his unit is in charge of shipping out supplies to soldiers, giving aid to the Afghani people and helping to rebuild schools and houses.

In support of Sgt. Hike, the team wears a Scorpion sticker on their helmets.

"I'm so proud of him right now," David said. "I know it's being selfish to want him back, but what he's doing over there is helping a bunch of people."

Before his deployment to Afghanistan, Sgt. Hike was the special teams coordinator for the Sharks. He was also one of the team's biggest motivators, a role he continues to play even as he serves his country thousands of miles away.

He downloads each week's game film on his laptop, in part to teach his battalion about Sharks football and to offer his commentary about the team's performance.

"He calls and tells me I'm throwing off my back foot, or he wants to know what I was thinking on a certain play," David said. "From Afghanistan, he's still coaching me and I appreciate that."

His father also sends the team tapes every week, David said. "It motivates us big time," David said. "It gets us hyped up."

The tapes, usually only a minute or two in length, focus on the week's upcoming opponent and what the Sharks need to do to win.

"Every week, he's in a different place," Sharks Head Coach Dan O'Regan said. "One week he's on patrol. The next week he's in a city. Another week he's on a mountaintop. Last week, he showed us a bunch of captured Russian bazookas left over from the '79 invasion. ... I don't know what's coming next, but I'm sure he's going to fire something before too long. The kids will love that."

Any break in communication can create a lot of concern back home, however.

Earlier this month, a magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck northern Pakistan as well as parts of India and Afghanistan, killing more than 18,000 people. For a couple of tense days, David and Matt had not heard from their father and had no idea if he was okay.

Relief for the brothers came, finally, a week ago Monday.

"He called to tell us he was alright," David said. "(The earthquake) registered a 5.4 in his area. It did some damage, but he's fine and so are the camps that he's in."

O'Regan, the coach, acknowledged it's hard to focus on football when a good friend is in constant danger.

"Every time you see something like (the earthquake), you want to pick up the phone," O'Regan said. "We have a ton of former students that are serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan, so every time you open up a paper, the first thing that comes to mind are the people that you know."

[Last modified October 20, 2005, 10:29:05]