Lady Tarpons still rolling, despite youth
December 25, 2018
Colonels name Lord assistant track, XC coach
December 25, 2018
I can’t believe that this is our last issue of the 2018 calendar year.
Where in the heck has all of this year gone?
Ready or not, 2019 is here next week with the New Year holiday, which sends us head-first into the meat and potatoes of the winter sports seasons and then the spring sports seasons — all leading up to the fall when we do it all over again.
The past year was epic and amazing. We will recap the top moments next week in our Top 10 issue. But for now, let me look forward to the future and tell you 5 things I’d love to see in the world of local athletics.
Heck, I won’t be greedy. I’d be willing to take even just 3-4 of the 5, if I’d have to.
No. 1 – I want to see my friend Kathy Luke win a State Championship — again – Coach Kathy Luke got a raw deal at Vandebilt Catholic. We won’t rehash all of those details again. We’ve done it too many times now and everyone who wants to have an opinion about the situation has already formed it. But I’ll say this — the Lady Terriers have not been the same since Luke left and all of the programs that she’s been to saw immediate progress once she took the reigns. I admit my bias toward this topic. Coach Luke is a good friend of mine. Professionally, I can’t let those biases creep into my work. But in my column, I am free to state my opinion and I’m not ashamed to say that I hope Houma Christian wins the State Championship this spring. Those kids came up just a little short last season, but I believe their hard work, determination and elite-level coaching will help them get back to that level and exceed their runner-up finish.
No. 2 – The ENTIRE area gets field turf for football – I have been the biggest advocate for field turf within the local sports media in this area. I have shouted for it from the top of my lungs for what feels like my entire career here — so much so that coaches in both Lafourche and Terrebonne have thanked me for helping champion the cause in our pages. Lafourche Parish has its fields. Terrebonne’s fields are on the way. Now, I’d like to see it go all the way with Vandebilt Catholic and Houma Christian making moves to secure the surface. Whether that happens or not — there’s no doubt that progress has been made. It’s a relief to know that in 2018, our young men and women will be competing on a more fair and safer surface. It’s also a relief for local coaches to know that their schedules are secure and games will not have to be moved or rescheduled because of rain, wet fields and the whole nine yards.
No. 3 – High school wrestling to come to the Houma-Thibodaux area – Terrebonne Parish athletic programs are exploring whether or not to bring wrestling to the athletic slate locally. Me, personally, I know nothing about wrestling, but I think that it’d be great for our area. High school athletics are building blocks for local student-athletes to be part of a team and learn how to compete, while also learn life lessons that they will carry into adulthood. Any opportunity for more kids to be involved in athletics is a great thing and I think bringing wrestling to the area would be a worthwhile investment. Heck, we have some big, strong, mean kids in this area. I think we’d compete favorably. And I’m sure it’d be fun for Deno Theriot and I to get photos of a new sport that neither of us has been able to shoot.
No. 4 – LHSAA either expands its split or does away with it completely – I am a strong advocate for the split that we have in Louisiana high school athletics. Others disagree with that opinion and that’s OK. But I think there is some common ground here and folks can agree with this. If we are to have a split, it should be for ALL sports and not just some sports. If not, I think the entire concept is unfair and we should bring the entire association back together. Volleyball and soccer are a good example of why I feel this way. Private schools dominate those two sports — owning almost a monopoly on state championships over the past several seasons. That’s not right. Why should public schools in football, basketball and baseball get their own opportunities for their own state titles, but other sports get left by the wayside? To me, it’s simple. If the LHSAA would just enforce its own rules (and not selectively), there would be no reason for separation. But they don’t, so the current model is what’s best while we wait for rule makers to see the trees from the middle of the forrest. But it should be concrete and for all sports — not just some. To show favoritism like we do now just isn’t right.
No. 5 – Sports betting gets legalized in Louisiana – OK, so this is a selfish one. I hope lawmakers follow Mississippi’s lead (how embarrassing to be behind Mississippi on something) and enact legislation that legalizes sports betting in Louisiana. Talking off the record to a couple lawmakers at the state level, I think this is coming and will actually be a reality at the next session. There are too many positives and far too few negatives for us to not explore this. The people spoke. In the midterms, every, single parish voted yes to the fantasy football prop on the ballot. Listen to the people, lawmakers. It’s time to get with the times and let us have what we want. It’s literally free money — at a time when our state so desperately could use free money.
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