Estimated Brush mainstay Joe Repice has completed 2,500 events as Arcs videographer – News-Herald

There are certain aspects of Brush that you can always be sure of.

There will be this Arc mascot.

There will be a few incarnations of brown and gold colors worn by its student-athletes.

And for a generation, there always seems to be Joe Repice.

That fall, Repice tagged 2,500 events recorded as a brush videographer in seven sports for his alma mater, a cherished and constant part of Arcs sporting life through all seasons.

The 2,500. Event was to be a football doublehead on October 10th when Brush welcomed Euclid to Korb Field in Lyndhurst. But demonstrating his all-round value, the milestone came early, as he was asked to also shoot six away games for the Arcs volleyball team this fall.

Anyway, Repice was honored in a brief pre-game ceremony on October 10.

“This achievement,” reads part of an announcement, “is truly remarkable and something that will never be eclipsed in the history of our school.”

That achievement began in earnest during Repice’s first year in 1998.

“I really couldn’t do youth sports,” said Repice. “My mother worked two jobs, so I never got to drive to games or practice. So when I got a little older and got into high school, here I was able to bike to school and bike to workouts. I signed up for football, just wanted to be part of a team. I didn’t care. Actually, I was a team manager.

“About six or seven games into my freshman year, they were like, ‘Hey, do you want to try filming and get the camera rolling? I said, ‘Sure.’ It was a hobby of mine. My grandfather taught me how to operate a camera with VHS cameras when I was 5 and I could program a VCR by 5 or 6, stuff like that. Basically, I just started filming.”

From there, and this request from former longtime Arcs boys football coach John Scramling, a commendable journey continued that continues to this day.

After graduating from Brush in 2002, Repice went to Tri-C but noted that “life took over”. After graduating, he returned to Brush to watch his former teammates play football and was again asked to handle the camera.

First it was football. Then came boys basketball in 2003 and girls basketball and soccer in 2004.

“So I just take something with me every year,” Repice said. “And frankly, it gives me something to do. And it has become second nature.”

Repice works with the ground crew Beechmont Country Club in Beachwood, where his work day ends around 3 p.m

This gives Repice the flexibility to not only record varsity events in Brush, but also the underclassmen.

“I count freshmen and I count JV,” Repic said. “That’s the time I have to sit there and operate the camera, which I don’t mind. I thought if the younger kids see it early in their careers they’ll be better off and know how to position themselves when they get to varsity.”

Refined through more than two decades of experience, Repice’s approach stems from Scramling’s original request for football games.

“All he said was, ‘Keep the ball in the middle of the screen,'” Repice said. “That was my mantra, and it basically worked in everything we need. We get a solid group so they can see their positioning. Soccer, I need to make adjustments with all 22 in shot.

“Honestly, I’m getting in. I take losses seriously. I take profits. I celebrate with them. All teams love me, I have the feeling. I feel like I’m a positive influence on them.”

Repice’s responsibilities aren’t just limited to being a videographer. He also warms up and critiques the soccer goalies and takes shots during pre-game warm-ups for both boys’ and girls’ basketball.

Brush Boys football coach Michael DiMatteo has seen the reaction as the goaltenders’ continuous improvement earns Repice’s approval.

“The goaltenders always accept this praise with a smile on their face and show us why we chose this profession, to the delight and excitement of the student-athletes here at Brush,” said DiMatteo. “Joe is the epitome of joy and excitement to all of our sports programs here at Brush – never see him bring you down over anything, even when our sports teams are losing.”

For Arcs girls soccer coach Tim Foerg, the association dates back to his days as a scramling assistant and repice as a student athlete.

“It’s been great to have Joe in our programs over the years,” Foerg said. “Joe was a hard worker then and still is today. His enthusiasm for our football programs and his general support for Brush rubbed off on all of us.

“He’s a real Brush alum. His video recording of our games and uploading it to HUDL was a great help to me as he helped my team tactically and scouted opponents. We were very fortunate to have him on our programs.”

Repice has also been into athletics in recent years and says he would have added the sport years ago had he known how much fun it would be.

Boys track and field coach Cecil Shorts has witnessed this commitment since moving to the school district in 2007 and commends the value of Repice.

“Since then, I’ve witnessed his incredible dedication to Brush athletics as the school’s sports videographer,” Shorts said. “As a long-time coach, many volunteers have helped me in my efforts to educate athletes through sport over the years, but none compare to Joe.

“Having someone dedicated to filming our sporting events allows colleges across the country to discover our athletes, provide our coaches with high-quality footage to study for evaluation and improvement, and countless historic sporting moments preserve the creations of our great athletes.”

Repice’s favorite event of the 2,500+ attendees was the 2010 Girls’ Basketball Division Regional Semifinals of Brush vs. Twinsburg and Malina Howard, who won basketball as a senior Ms. in 2011 and played in Maryland. The Arcs fell in a heartthrob at Canton Civic Center, 53-51 — “We almost upset them,” Repice said.

That tone in that statement – and the dedication Repice has shown to his craft since Day 1 in 1998 – is a testament to why Repice is considered a brush constant.

Seemingly as sure as the bow and the brown and gold.

“It started as a hobby and just became second nature,” Repice said. “Like ‘OK, what game do I have at Brush today?'”

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