Colonels feel the love behind first base

Any team with a 9-39 record needs an uncompromising support group to get through a tough season.

Nicholls baseball team has such a group just beyond the first base line at every home game.

From that direction, the aroma of grilled meat, boiled seafood, or seasoned stews drifts around Ray E. Didier Field before and during games.

The cause of this olfactory delight is the Coaches Committee, a Colonels booster club that cooks post-game meals not only for the home team, but the opposition as well.

It is probably is the most unique support group in college athletics.

“We’ve been told by the coaches that they haven’t seen this at any other program,” said Paul Falgout, current president the Coaches Committee, “and they have coached at many schools before they came here.”

The group cooks for the teams so that players and coaches do not have to spend their own money on meals after games. Their generosity has the added benefit of enticing non-conference teams to schedule a game or weekend series in Thibodaux.

“I appreciate everything they do for our program,” said Colonels head coach Chip Durham. “They’re not just fair-weather fans. They are loyal guys; they are with us through thick and thin.”

The Coaches Committee has been around off-and-on for about a decade before being rejuvenated three years ago, according to Mitch Thompson, a founding member and former club president.

In the beginning, the club consisted primarily or two or three people cooking hot dogs.

“Now, we grill chicken, ribeye steaks sometimes, pork loins, boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp,” said Thompson, a Houma native and salesperson for Pipe Distributors Inc.

The club is supported by member fees and fundraising. Anyone can join by contributing at one of various levels of membership, from $100 to $600. Members receive free Nicholls and Coaches Committee apparel, but those who join at $300 or more also get 25 flex tickets for any home baseball game.

“All the money we collect from our dues, goes to supplement coach Durham’s athletic budget,” said Thompson. “He uses the money to buy other equipment, uniforms, etc. So it’s a good cause.”

Chip Durham runs the finances of the Coaches Committee and does fundraising to help pay for the food cooked during games so it doesn’t come out of members’ pockets.

Before the season, Falgout and others decided to try something new and reached out to the community for donations. He was amazed by the response he got.

“Within two weeks we had the whole season covered just by soliciting and asking for money,” he said. “One of the biggest answers I’ve gotten is ‘I’ve been waiting for somebody to ask me.’ People in the community have said ‘All you got to do is ask.'”

Some businesses have sponsored entire weekends, and the club also received new larger barbecue pits courtesy of a local company, which wishes to remain anonymous. The gift has improved the menu and efficiency of meals prepared by the Coaches Committee.

“The big thing is cooking for 60 people,” said Falgout. “Before [we got] these pits, we would have to cook three or four times, which is not really feasible to do on a regular basis. But now, we can throw 60 leg quarters on and we’ll grill more chicken now that we got the pits.”

They also cook lots of jambalayas and stews. Doug Swanner of Bubba’s II, has been very generous donating and cooking jambalaya three or four times this year according to Thompson.

When Durham heard the idea of soliciting donations from businesses from Falgout, he was initially concerned about upsetting Nicholls’ corporate sponsors. However, they have been some the Coaches Committee’s best contributors.

“Ironically, some of those corporate sponsors came to us and said, ‘We’d like to do this,'” Falgout explained.

Even people who have no direct connection to Nicholls or the local community have found their way under the cooking tent.

Three years ago David Trahan, a resident of Lake Charles, wandered from the stands to the pits and has been a two-year member of Coaches Committee.

“I go to as many Nicholls sporting events as I can, and this is the most fun group of supporters I have ever been around,” said Trahan, who works in Gibson.

Despite having nearly 300 dues-paying members, it is rare that Thompson or Falgout are not at Didier Field fixing meals.

“I have two youger sons, so I can’t make every weekend,” said Falgout, a four-year member who works at E S & H Consulting Services Inc. of Houma. “As president, I can make a phone call say ‘I can’t make it Saturday. Can you cook.’ ‘No problem!'”

“Usually on a weeknight game, we don’t have a lot of time,” said Thompson, whose younger son Patrick is a senior on the team (his older son Ben played for the Colonels from 1998-2001). “We all work and we get here late. But even then, they get hot dogs, hamburgers, all they can eat. You can’t beat that.”

The informal structure and equitable sharing of responsibilities among club members has build a lot of camaraderie and a festive atmosphere to be around. Even in a season as bad as this one for Colonels baseball.

“In the lean years, you really need dedicated support system,” said Falgout. “When the wins start coming, there’s going to be a lot of fans out here. Most of our Coaches Committee members are here regardless of the record. “

To join Coaches Committee, log onto geauxcolonels.com or and click on the “Join the Baseball Coaches Committee” link or call (985) 448-4808.

Current Coaches Committee president Paul Falgout pours Worcestershire sauce over chicken quarters that will be the main course of this afternoon’s meal. * Photo by KEYON JEFF