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CRIMSON SHIELD
THE ONLINE MAGAZINE OF BROTHER MARTIN HIGH SCHOOL |
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May 2011
Published Online September through May |
Coach Mark Wisniewski |
Mark Wisniewski ('81) was only a sophomore when his athletic career almost ended.
- "I had the worst injury on the 1979 football team, and I was a student trainer," says Mark.
- The freak accident occurred when he was catching an extra point on the stage behind the goal posts at the closed end of Tad Gormley Stadium. Mark caught his ankle on the edge of the stage and his knee on the 2' high chain fence around the stage. He fell over the side and was hanging off the stage held just by his knee. He was able to pull himself up and lie on the stage. When he opened his eyes, dozens of people surrounded him.
- "I was in surgery seven or eight hours. I tore all four ligaments, tendons, cartilage, muscle, and dislocated the knee. I was in a cast 16 weeks and on crutches 22 weeks."
- The damage was so severe that doctors feared he might not walk again. However, Bubba Porche, the trainer at Tulane, rehabbed Wiz so that he returned for Metro ball the following summer. Porche used Mark as an object of study at the Tulane Medical School.
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Wiz wrestled at Brother Martin in addition to playing baseball.
- He pitched for Coach Elmo Steinert, going 5-0 his junior year and 6-4 as a senior.
- Mark wrestled for Ray Charbonneau from 8th grade through graduation (except as a sophomore). As a senior, he finished third at state in the 132 lb class.
Mark continued his baseball career at Northeast Louisiana University (now Louisiana-Monroe).
- He pitched for four years for the Indians (as they were known then), mostly as a short reliever.
- When he started college, he had no thought of coaching. But before he finished, he worked part-time as an assistant baseball coach in Bastrop while also toiling on the midnight-5 AM shift at a food company.
Wiz returned to Brother Martin in 1990-1 as head wrestling coach and assistant baseball coach.
- The program had declined in the three years since Charbonneau's departure. "When I took over, there were only 28 wrestlers in the program. Six years later, we had over 100."
- The Crusaders finished second at state in his last year. This laid the foundation for the five state state championships from 1999-2003 under Robbie Dauterive and Kenny Spellman.
On the diamond, new head coach Barry Hebert put Wiz in charge of the pitchers .
- The high point came in 1996 with a state championship.
- Mark took over as head coach in 1997.
- Of his 15 Crusader teams, he most fondly remembers the 2003 team that lost in the state semifinals to eventual champion East Ascension and the recent teams that won several district championships as well as the State Legion Championship.
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Mark Wisniewski and Barry Hebert in 1992 |
Last year, Mark and his diamondmen hosted the first annual Crusader Miracle League Weekend.
- The Miracle League is a national organization dedicated to promoting the development of baseball fields for disabled youth.
- Children's Hospital and the Audubon Institute teamed up several years ago to bring the Miracle League to New Orleans.
- Last May, Wiz hosted a session of the spring season of the league. He and his players conducted a clinic for the 6-12 year olds, followed by another clinic for those over 12 and then a game for the latter group.
- With food and prizes donated, all proceeds were turned over to the League. But the Brother Martin students mentoring the children benefitted in ways that can't be measured financially.
- This year's event will take place Saturday, May 21. The only change in the schedule is that the clinic for the 6-12 year olds will be followed by a game for that group.
- Many children can play on their own, but some need help from their buddies.
Crusader Miracle League Weekend 2010
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