Nicholls’ senior Bourgeois uses family to create athletic success

Growing up with a twin sister is hard for some children. Standing out and creating an identity is sometimes a struggle and sibling rivalry is pretty much inevitable.

But don’t tell that to Nicholls State track athlete Leslie Bourgeois, who said she uses her twin sister and her whole family for support – the support she said enables her to be the Southland Conference’s best javelin thrower this season.

“We’re not that type of family,” she said. “We were always competitive, but still supportive. I wouldn’t be here without them. No way.”

The entire Bourgeois clan was bitten by the so-called “sports-bug” as children.

Leslie Bourgeois’ father, Eddie, played golf at Nicholls State and her mother, Janel, is a big sports fan – a recipe Leslie said led to a pretty active childhood.

“My parents helped, and we, as kids, took an initiative, too,” she said. “We were always outside, and we just were always interested in athletics.”

As she progressed through school, Leslie and her twin sister, Emily, joined their older sister, Frannie, on the various playing fields at Central Lafourche High School.

The trio played volleyball, softball and soccer together and were a force to be reckoned with in the Tri-parish area.

“That was such a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” said Leslie. “I wouldn’t change it at all. Being able to play with my sisters was just awesome. Those were some special times.”

For some, playing alongside family is a difficult thing to do. And Leslie said there were definitely tense times among the sisters, but togetherness always prevailed.

“It was always pretty competitive, especially between Emily and I,” Leslie said. “But we knew the sports that we excelled in. I knew Emily was better than me at volleyball. In soccer and softball, we played different positions, so it wasn’t as competitive … But we definitely competed and our teammates didn’t like that sometimes, but that’s just how it goes.”

With success comes collegiate interest and Leslie signed with Nicholls during her senior season on a softball scholarship, while Frannie and Emily moved on to LSU.

When she signed, Leslie agreed not to play any other sports during her senior season at Central Lafourche.

But sitting on the sidelines while her twin grinded her gears during the volleyball season was not something Leslie could easily do.

“I went to the first game, and I was almost crying watching them play without me,” she said. “So I went to the athletic director and the coach to ask if I could play and they said I could, which was a big relief to me, because I couldn’t have sat out that whole year.”

At Nicholls, Bourgeois originally intended to throw the javelin while staying on the softball team.

Track was a sport she picked up later in her high school career, and she said she still was interested in it while in college.

But after having a record-breaking freshman season, where she shattered the school record almost every meet, softball had to give way to track.

“I think she realized pretty early that her best opportunity to perform at a high level in a sport was track,” said Nicholls track coach Scott Williamson. “I have no doubt that she could have probably been an All-Conference performer on softball, but she has been more than that here with us.”

In her now five seasons with the team (she redshirted one year due to injury), she has won three Southland Conference champions, claiming her third on May 14 with a 150-foot throw.

She has also qualified for the national meet, finishing with a 22nd-place throw last year.

“She’s sort of been the cornerstone of our program,” Williamson. “She’s always one of the first ones here, and she’s usually one of the people still doing things at the end when the others are heading home. That’s just the way she approaches things.”

This year appears to be no different and Leslie is riding high in her final season with the conference championship under her belt and also a 156-foot throw to win the Cole-Lancoln Twilight meet.

With her career soon to come to a close, the senior said it still hasn’t sunk in yet that her competitive career may be nearing its end, and throwing beyond the college level is still an option.

“I’m going to still be in school next year completing my Master’s,” she said. “And I can still compete if I want to, just not on the college level, so I have to sit down and think about that.”

Regardless of the decision, Bourgeois will serve as an assistant coach for the track team next year – a profession she plans to pursue when she is done competing.

And Williamson said he sees no reason why Bourgeois won’t be able to be as successful of a coach as she has been a thrower.

“She’s a perfectionist,” he said. “That’s a huge advantage she has. Whatever it is she’s trying to do, she’ll be great at it. She won’t stop until she is.”

Leslie Bourgeois is a 2010 graduate of NSU with a degree in health and physical eduation. She plans to pursue her Master’s in the same field. Bourgeois is a 3-time Southland Confernence Champion in the javelin. * File photo / Tri-Parish Times