Sheffer loves the kids, sports, and says he has many years left
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
It’s a Tuesday afternoon, five days after the Burlington High School varsity baseball team won the program’s first state championship.
Team manager David Sheffer wears a black Demons hat with an embroidered “B,” an orange dry-fit Demon baseball T-shirt and blue jeans.
It seems like everyone knows “Shafe,” as he’s affectionately called.
He talks with a few people at the Burlington Richter’s Marketplace, before heading to Beaumont Field in downtown, a second home to Sheffer and a couple hundred feet from his house.
Sheffer’s walk is distinct, as he labors with a slight limp.
The 5-foot-9 Sheffer, who will turn 60 in August, was born with polio, which he said affects his legs.
“It makes it harder to walk,” he said.
But walking isn’t an issue, as Sheffer’s dedication to kids is unprecedented, even on a hot, sunny summer afternoon with no school and no baseball.
“I got to get down to the field,” he said at Richter’s.
Shafe is in his 40th year as a Burlington High School team manager.
With humble beginnings with the track and field and wrestling squads, he has mostly stuck with football, boys basketball and baseball over the past 20 years.
After graduating BHS in 1976, Sheffer became a custodian for the Burlington Area School District and simultaneously volunteered as a team manager.
“I wanted to be around kids,” he said. “It’s always something I wanted to do. I never played sports, but I’ve always liked sports.”
Sheffer has lived on his own for the past 20 years, he said.
He said he grew up in Burlington and was raised by a foster family.
He said he never really knew his birth parents.
“They were there when I was born, but they’re not really a part of me anymore,” Sheffer said.
All for the kids
Sheffer treats high school students like family, and they return the favor.
“I love Cal,” he said Monday about Burlington shortstop Cal Tully. “He’s such a great kid. He has a great attitude.”
Sheffer exudes passion in everything he does, whether it’s a simple positive message before a player’s at-bat or preparing the little things before games.
While he provides motivation and overall assistance in the dugout during games, people don’t see the little things.
Before each game, Sheffer prepares the bases, turns on the scoreboard and gathers the bats from the clubhouse and sets them up in the Demon dugout.
He says it helps so the kids don’t have to worry about anything besides playing the game.
“Shafe came back on board in 2006 after a hiatus,” Burlington head coach Scott Staude said. “Dave does so many things behind the scenes that people have no idea. He gets all the equipment laid out. He gets everything ready, so when our kids get here, they have nothing to worry about.”
“It’s a lot to do in a short period of time. He helps us maximize our time. He’s an integral part of what we do.”
When the Demons won both the sectional and state titles, Sheffer was just one of the guys, joining in monkey piles – both times finding a safe spot on top.
He said he was elated when the Demons finally brought home the gold trophy.
“It felt really good. I never had a state champ in my life. It was better than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “It hasn’t worn off yet. I will feel this all my life.”
A special team
Four decades of watching games have given Sheffer plenty of ups and downs, with more cellar dwellers than conference champions. He said he’s seen it all, from selfish, “me-first” attitudes to in-fighting among teammates.
What made the 2016 Demons special was a core of talent and character that led the team through the obstacles.
“I kind of knew we were going to do it,” Sheffer said. “It’s a very special team, with special kids. Cal, Bryan (Sturdevant), (Aaron) Mutter, (Jacob) Lindemann, Aaron Sturdevant, those are the kids that took us where we wanted to be, not one time did they give up. Down 4-0 (in state title game), this team felt they could do it, and they did.”
Sheffer’s bond with all the teams he manages is unbreakable.
Just take a look at his social media presence.
A photo of Shafe holding the state championship trophy posted to the Burlington Standard Press Facebook page Monday night has reached 30,000 people and generated more than 700 likes, 100 shares and 25 comments.
Sheffer has touched the lives of generations of Demons, and his induction into the Burlington High School Wall of Fame in 2009 shows his impact on the school community.
“The kids treat me wonderful,” he said. “It (the championship) affects me more because I know I’ve been doing this for a long time. The kids have always loved me over the years.”
Sheffer added he wants to remain a team manager for “a long time,” and he’s not ready to walk away.
He said being around high school kids and helping them in “any way I can” is his life.
“I wouldn’t change anything about my life,” Sheffer said.
“I have a lot of people who love me.”
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