Cape Gazette's Fredman the Great

SLAUGHTER HOUSE FIVE - If you’re a literary person you’ll recognize the title of a Kurt Vonnegut book. I only know because it was made into a movie. Last week, on the sports fields of Cape Henlopen, crazy things were happening. In a 48-hour period the girl’s lacrosse team posted slaughter rule victories over Caesar Rodney and St. Mark’s. Last Tuesday both the softball and baseball teams won shortened 10-0 slaughter rule victories over visiting Seaford. And the boys track team defeated previously undefeated Lake Forest 107-44 on the new blue and gold track. The Cape girls also secured a 40-point victory. These wins all happened on Cape’s home fields.

So what is going on? Where is the competition, or is the Cape athletic program just that awesome? It’s a little of both as Cape teams can’t worry about how good somebody else “ain’t,” while at the same time there are several Viking spring teams that are no worse than the top five in the state.

This surge in top-flight talent is a clear sign that kids are buying into excellence, thanks to parents, teachers and coaches, but mainly because of self motivation. It’s just not cool to be a nonproductive burnout anymore. I see it all over the place, and some of my best friends are nonproductive burnouts, but I can only speak for myself.

You don’t need these stupid state tests to realize the way to improve the productivity of our school-aged kids is to simply pay attention and listen to them. Coaches I see out there right now are doing an incredible job getting these athletes to perform to their potential.

BRISCO BOYS - I have a hard time keeping them straight, but like I tell young Henry when I see him in the hallway with his aerodynamic and stylish haircut, “If you’re going to wear your hair like that you had better be fast.”

Henry won the open 400 against Lake Forest throttling down for an easy 56-second victory. Tony Brisco won the 100 meters in 11.2, Isaiah Brisco the high jump at 5-8 and Robert Brisco the triple jump in 36-5. There were also Briscos scattered about winning relay teams. The late Henry Brisco, father to the boys, was a standout, three-sport athlete for Cape in the early 1970s, and teamed with running back Henry White for one of the most explosive backfields in the history of Delaware football.

MANCHESTER BRISCO - None of this Brisco athletic stuff ever happens if not for a phone call in the early 1970s from Manchester Brisco to Cape track coach Tom Hickman. Manchester had moved his family over to Baltimore where he believed there were better opportunities. Soon after settling in a person was shot in the neighborhood. Manchester called coach Hickman and told him he made a mistake.

Coach Hickman went to Cape Superintendent Frank Mercer and asked “the iron pipe” if he could find a job for Mr. Brisco so he could bring his family back to Cape. Mercer ran the show and he could look intimidating, but underneath he was really a good guy in an old school sort of way.

“Bring him back,” Mercer said. “I have a custodian’s job for him.”

Manchester Brisco became a 30-year employee for Cape working many of those years at the high school.

A finer gentleman God has never put on this earth. And let’s give credit to Michelle “Willis” Brisco and her extended family who have done such a great job raising these young men.

DISCUS CIRCLE - I wanted to see some of my students throw the discus last Tuesday, and even after coaching track for 10 years, I was unable to find the new throwing section until the event was over. Back when I coached we threw it into a crowd of people, but now there are all these safety concerns so it’s moved to a remote location. Ryan Pollard tossed the third best throw in the state this year with a 127-foot launch.

PSYCHO - Back around 1983, one of my discus throwers was affectionately known as Psycho by his peers and most teachers. You know, Psycho, but not in a bad way. I remember Psycho checking into the discus event at Lake Forest which was being officiated by an English teacher who needed beer money. The gentleman asked for names as he recorded the event’s participants.

“Psycho. Just put down Psycho.”

“I see, and how do you spell that, Mr. Psycho?”

“S-I-C-O Psycho,” Psycho said.

PURPLE PSYCHO - According to career military man and three-sport 1988 Cape grad Marcus Hall, this same Psycho was awarded a purple heart while serving with the United States army in Somalia in downtown Mogadishu. According to the Marcus report, Psycho was hanging his head out the window of a traveling deuce and a half screaming. “Go ahead and get some food you skinny, bulb-headed somebodies“ when a bystander hit Psycho in the head with a piece of rotten fruit causing an eye injury.

TROPHY CASE - Cape’s trophy case is a nightmare and I’m as guilty as anyone for letting good history get away.

The Cape track team will be at the Keith Burgess Invitational this Saturday. I ain’t bragging, I’m just saying that when that statewide meet was started my boys teams won it at least the first three years, maybe four. There are trophies, but once you’ve seen one cheap gold plated runner you’ve pretty much seen them all. Names are what is needed not trophies. Most championship trophies are the same way. I envision an interactive computer where you can click on the trophy icon and up pops a roster of players. Why study history if you can’t recreate your own?

SNIPPETS - There is a new Cape Cheerleading website at leaguelineup.com/capecheer. Go and check it out and sign the guest book if there is one.

There is no good leaked information on the person who would be Cape athletic director. Mostly what I’ve run into are coaches who have bragged about not applying. You just don’t get a warm feeling when a job is posted with two pages of qualifications and disqualifications along with just too many job responsibilities along with an attitude, ”Go ahead and apply. See if we care!”

Personally I’m just hitting the road with my official Cape Henlopen laminated card that reads, ”Go on now, git! “