Football: Millbrook LB baffles with name, ability (09-29-06)
By Tommy Keeler Jr. (Daily Staff Writer)
WINCHESTER — Skip Stump knew how much potential the kid everyone called "Kamikaze" would have when he reached high school.
Then a Frederick County recreation league football coach, Stump saw something special in 9-year-old Butch Kaczmarzewski.
"We knew he'd be a sticker just because of his desire, his determination," Stump said earlier this week. "He makes the players around him better."
Seven years later, Stump is again coaching Kaczmarzewski — this time at Millbrook. Under first-year coach Reed Prosser, Stump is the linebackers coach. Before the season, Stump and Kaczmarzewski got reacquainted by fishing together.
"Coach Stump taught me a lot in Little League," Kaczmarzewski said. "We talked about a lot of things."
Their relationship is unique; Stump was the only coach Kaczmarzewski had for a long time. He didn't play on a middle school team because he was homeschooled until high school.
Making the transition to Millbrook wasn't too bad because Kaczmarzewski already knew some of the other students.
"I know some kids that were homeschooled that didn't have any social life and it was tough for them," he said. "I had a lot of friends in the neighborhood that did go to school. Once I got to school, they helped introduce me to people.
"I love being around people. Being homeschooled was all right, but after a while I got sick of it."
It probably didn't help Kaczmarzewski that his name is hard to pronounce and to spell. He said many of his teachers try to avoid saying or spelling his name; even Prosser misspelled it on his locker on the first day of practice this year.
"I think it bothers my parents when people spell it wrong or say it wrong; I'm just used to it," KAZ-muh-jess-key said. "It took me awhile to learn how to spell it."
Sports — particularly football — has helped him fit in. During his freshman year, he was a back-up linebacker still getting used to the speed of the game.
Everything changed last year when Kaczmarzewski earned a starting spot. The Pioneers' 3-5-3 defense meant he was going to get a lot of tackles.
"The next thing I knew, I was getting like 10 to 12 tackles a game," he said. "Then I found out I was the leading tackler in the area. The coaches were like, 'I told you so.'
"It was great because I got a lot of respect from older guys, like Andy Headley from Handley. To make all-district and all-region teams with guys like that is amazing."
He finished with 159 tackles — 15 more than any other player in the area. Given that success, there was bound to be added pressure entering this season.
He started the year on the wrong foot. Kaczmarzewski agreed to play on Millbrook's summer league basketball team, a decision he would come to regret.
"It was the championship game against Handley and they told me they were short-handed," he said. "I didn't think I'd get to play, so I figured, 'Why not?'
"The guy playing ahead of me was ejected, so I had to go in and play. I went up for a ball and the guy in front of me came down on my foot. I hyper-extended my leg."
An MRI showed he had torn cartilage in his right knee, meaning he would need surgery. With football practice about to open, it was not the news Kaczmarzewski wanted to hear.
When the Pioneers' first game rolled around, he felt like he was ready to play, but Prosser wanted him to take an extra week to heal.
"I didn't understand it at first," Kaczmarzewski said. "They told me they didn't need me for that game; they needed me to heal. Now, I get it. It was real hard sitting out, but I understand why they were playing it safe."
He came back the following week against Spotswood and recorded eight tackles. In the Pioneers' third game, Kaczmarzewski intercepted two passes and returned one 44 yards for a touchdown against Dominion.
Game after game, he grabs everyone's attention with hard hits and his aggressive play.
"The guys are always playing music before the game to get fired up," Kaczmarzewski said. "They'll come up to me and say, 'Butch, you're going to have a big game tonight.' That just gets me fired up and motivates me."
Entering tonight's game against James Wood, the Pioneers stand 3-0 for the first time in the school's four-year history. Under Prosser, the team has prospered on both sides of the ball.
The Colonels (3-0), though, are Millbrook's toughest test so far. James Wood spoiled Millbrook's homecoming with an 18-14 victory last season.
"This is a big game," Kaczmarzewski said. "I sit in class and think about it — because I have nothing better to do. I get nervous thinking about it. This is going to be the biggest game of our season."
