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By Ron P. Coderre
This week’s RPC sporty shout out is sent along to Putnam resident Alex Caisse. The former basketball coach and athletic director at Tourtellotte Memorial High School, Caisse is enjoying retirement and spending more time each year in the sunshine of Florida.
Putnam High School quickly filled the chasm left by the sudden departure of Willie Bousquet as the Lady Clipper basketball coach by naming Mandy Hogan to assume the duty immediately. In naming Hogan the administration hired someone close to the program as she has served as Bousquet’s assistant for the past six years.
Hogan, who hails from Rhode Island where she played high school basketball, brings additional experience to the position as a college hoopster. She played two seasons at Mitchell College in New London and one season at Rhode Island College in Providence. In addition to the coaching position in Putnam, Hogan’s fulltime job is the physical education teacher at St. Joseph’s School in North Grosvenordale.
Although the Lady Clippers have played in the State Tournament for the last 10 seasons under Bousquet and finished 15-7 last season, the cupboard could be bare as Hogan begins practice for the upcoming season. Putnam lost its two best players from last season, Ashley Espinosa and Monica Phongsa to graduation. The unofficial census at Putnam has been reported as under 300 students, which means the numbers could be very meager this season.
Word around the sports mill is that Bousquet invited Hogan to join him at Woodstock as his assistant. Those close to the scene indicate that although the pair is very close, Hogan opted to try her hand as a head coach, an idea that she’s always thought she’d like to explore.
Baseball Convention Around The Corner
Baseball aficionados should mark their 2014 calendars for the weekend of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, January, 9, 10 and 11 as the Mohegan Sun will once again host the World Baseball Coaches Convention. The three-day event is an opportunity for high school, American Legion and youth league coaches to pick the minds of some of the top baseball people in the country. It’s also a chance for youngsters to meet some of the games stars, past and present.
Highlighting this year’s program is 2012 Cy Young Award winner and current ace of the Toronto Blue Jays staff R.A. Dickey. Joining Dickey as a headliner is Boston Red Sox World Series champions’ third base coach Brian Butterfield, a guy with a wealth of baseball knowledge garnered from his baseball family and his longevity around the game.
Also expected to be on hand is former East Lyme product and current member of the Boston Red Sox John McDonald. The popular McDonald will be available to discuss and demonstrate the nuances of infield play. Toronto Blue Jays outfielder and base running sensation Rajai Davis will talk base stealing and base running. Davis from New London and McDonald are both free agents at this time. It’s possible McDonald could be re-signed by the Sox and Davis could be with another team by Convention time.
The Convention will also feature numerous college coaches including Scott Stricklin, U of Georgia; Spanky McFarland, James Madison; Rob Cooper, Penn State; Phil Cundari, Seton Hall; Steve Trimper, Maine; Fred Corral, Georgia; and Jim Penders, UConn.
For more information, visit www.BaseballCoachesClinic.com or call 860 674-1500.
College Watch
A number of local athletes are currently members of college teams. In an effort to keep local fans posted on their progress RPC will run periodic updates on their status. If anyone has information on former local hoopsters feel free to send updates to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Last year at this time Dayshon “Scoochie” Smith was running the floor at Putnam Science Academy. A year later over the Thanksgiving Day holiday, Smith was running the floor for the University of Dayton Flyers in Maui, Hawaii, at the Maui Invitational and could be seen on ESPN and ESPN2. Smith and the Flyers finished third in the Hawaii tournament, upsetting 11th ranked Gonzaga in the opening game, losing by a single point to 18th ranked Baylor in the semifinals and dropping the University of California by 19 points in the consolation contest.
Smith saw considerable action off the bench for the Flyers and acquitted himself handsomely dishing out a number of assists, making key baskets and running the point for coach Archie Miller.
Quinnipiac University continues to roll behind the play of two former Marianapolis grads, Ike Azotam and Ousmane Drame. The Bobcats are 4-1 after besting the Maine Black Bears 102-61 in a lopsided victory. Azotam had 14 and Drame 17 points in the victory. Azotam is averaging 14.2 points and 10 rebounds a contest, while Drame is scoring 12 points per contest and leads the team in rebounding.
In the Maine game former Putnam Science Academy standout Shaun Lawton, a sophomore for the Black Bears had 11 points for 1-4 Maine.
In Massachusetts, Ashley Espinosa, the former Putnam High School standout, is the first player off the bench for the Lady Lancers. Espinosa had four points in a 69-60 victory over St. Joseph’s. WSU is 3-3 entering the month of December.
Remembering a World War II Hero
Lou Brissie died in Augusta, Ga., on Monday, November 25 at the age of 89. Who was Lou Brissie you might ask? Some folks may remember him as a baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletic and Cleveland Indians. Selected to the American League All Star team in 1949, he pitched three innings in the game played at Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn, NY.
More remarkably, Brissie was seriously injured in the Apennines in Northern Italy when his platoon was ambushed and a German shell exploded beside him, causing injuries to his right foot, right shoulder and shattering the shinbone of his left leg into more than 30 pieces. He begged surgeons not to amputate his leg so he could fulfill his dream of playing in the major leagues.
You can read more about Brissie in a book titled “The Corporal Was A Pitcher” by Ira Berklow. As a young man I saw a movie entitled (I believe) The Lou Brissie Story. As a young left-handed pitcher, I guess that’s why I had an interest in the left-handed Brissie. I also admired him because he was an American hero.
He’ll be remembered by the many veterans he visited in hospitals in his later life. His life is one of courage and the will to go on. Brissie is missed by RPC and I imagine by many who knew him or remember him.
From the Annals of Putnam
Sports History
November 1905: Killingly defeated Putnam in basketball 11-9. (Information contributed by Willie Zamagni)
RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: Blessings overflow and are unceasing. Be thankful for grace to overcome and forgive any transgressions.