Seniors, farewell

A shout out to those who make SportsNet possible

What an incredibly successful school year for the Tri-parish’s high schools athletic programs.

We had multiple state championship teams and even more individual state champions.

We’ve seen success from our Class-B school and our 3A, 4A and 5A schools.

And at times, we’ve seen production from both freshmen and seniors alike.

It was truly a great school year indeed.

But it’s the seniors I’d like to spend this time talking about today. All I really have to say is one thing: thank you!

Thanks for dedicating yourselves to your sports, what is in some cases upward of 10 to 15 years.

Without that dedication, your programs wouldn’t be nearly as successful, and we wouldn’t have nearly as many things to talk about inside of this newspaper and in our community.

Thanks for giving up your time, energy, blood, sweat and tears to your respective sports each year.

Thanks for not giving up when there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Thanks for hanging in there when the temperature reached 100 degrees, and there were still five suicides left to run.

You’re going to better for it in the long run.

I’d also like to thank you all for being good, positive role models.

Success doesn’t happen in a day, and it’s the good examples you all set that allowed you and your teammates to enjoy the successes you have had in the past year.

It’s that same example that will allow your underclassmen teammates to shoulder the load next year to enable the success you achieved to happen again.

Thank you to Terrebonne’s Sierra Lyons for being gifted in not one, not two, but three sports.

It was an honor sitting in the last row of bleachers and detailing what happened as another record was set or another All-State title was earned.

Thanks to Thibodaux’s Trovon Reed for juking and jiving your way all the way to Auburn University. As an LSU grad, I’ll never see eye-to-eye with you on your collegiate choice, but it was a pleasure watching you play and we’ll be cheering every Saturday (except when you play LSU). You earned it, buddy.

South Lafourche’s Rusty Borne, thanks for scoring more than 20 touchdowns in football and then having one of the most successful track and field seasons in our area’s history. That’s not too shabby for a kid who didn’t pick up track until his junior year of high school.

I’ll miss the mumbling of amazement from those in the crowd as you jumped well past the competition in the long and triple jump this year.

And Vandebilt Catholic’s Theresa Plaisance – thanks for being a force on the block for the Lady Terriers this year. And most importantly, best of luck at LSU in your athletic and academic endeavors. The WNBA certainly appears to be in your future – if you choose to go that route.

Thank you all for allowing me to come into your gyms or go to your playing fields each Tuesday and Friday night. I appreciate the hospitality shown each visit.

Every place I’ve been, you’ve treated me warmly and receptively, and it’s not often a South Lafourche graduate can say that when he walks into an athletic event in this area.

Forget the All-State and All-American performers for a second. Thanks to the average Joe’s. The senior sixth man on the basketball team, the senior backup first baseman on the baseball and softball teams – all of whom get forgotten frequently, but are a vital part of the team’s success. Even if your biggest, most significant accomplishment was waving a towel on the bench, thank you for being a good teammate. You made a difference and were noticed by my eyes and the eyes of others in the area.

Special thanks also goes to parents. You’ve raised fine young men and women, and without your countless miles logged on the road, hundreds of loads of laundry and uncanny support of our teams, nothing that happened in the past school year would be possible.

For every soccer mom who’s stirred a gallon of Kool-Aid, or for every mother or father who brags at work about how many points, rebounds or home runs your son or daughter had, thank you.

So thanks to our Tri-parish senior student athletes for phenomenal careers.

It truly has been a pleasure detailing your triumphs and heartbreaks throughout the year and I certainly hope I did a fair job in your eyes in both circumstances.

Best of luck in your future endeavors, and we’ll never forget the incredibly high bar the Class of 2010 has set.

You underclassmen have incredibly big shoes to fill. But I have no doubts you guys can get the job done.

You always do.