Golden Meadow-Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo succeeds in rebranding
July 8, 2015
Breaking: Port of Terrebonne loses appeal in case
July 8, 2015
It took some patience, but Houma native Jerwaski Coleman has the job he’s longed for since he started coaching.
He’s finally a head coach at his alma mater Vandebilt Catholic.
Coleman was announced as the Lady Terriers’ women’s basketball coach this past week – one of many hires the school announced in the past few weeks.
A former basketball standout at the school, Coleman has been a multi-sport coach at Houma Junior High, Terrebonne High and most recently Vandebilt where he’s been an assistant football and basketball coach in recent years.
Coleman said his plans for the program’s future are well thought out, but simple. He wants to return his alma mater to prominence.
“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Coleman said. “It’s definitely going to take some work, but look, hard work is all that I know, man, so that part comes easy to me. We’ll be ready. It’s a blessing to be in this position, and I’m excited. Ever since I got into this, I wanted to be a head coach at Vandebilt.”
For Coleman, the journey has already begun to build the foundation of his team – one that he said will be laced with toughness, passion and a love for competition.
As a player at Vandebilt, Coleman was all of the above. He was never the biggest. Many times, he was actually the smallest. But he was a terror to opponents because of his heart, determination and will.
Coleman was a point guard for the Terriers for several successful seasons, earning many accolades along the way.
After attending college and graduating from Southern Miss, Coleman returned home and decided to translate that natural energy into other hoops stars.
At Houma Junior High School, Coleman’s teams routinely were at or near the top of the parish championship standings. While coaching at Terrebonne, the Lady Tigers were a perennial contender for the Bayou District Champion.
The key, Coleman said, is teaching that determination and will to others and instilling into them that if they work hard enough, they can always find success.
That’s what the new coach’s No. 1 job is at Vandebilt in his eyes – creating that work ethic and inner drive as the base of the foundation of his program.
“As a player, I was never really like big or anything, so I just had to rely on having heart and loving the game and just trying to make sure that nobody was out there working harder than I was,” Coleman said. “Passion is what I know. It’s how I’ve been able to survive and get by in basketball. So I just preach those things and put it into the players that I coached.
“Look, we may never have the five best players on the floor – at Terrebonne, it was the same way. But if we have five girls competing as hard as they can for their team, then we can get somewhere and do some damage.”
It’s not going to be easy.
Since Coach Kathy Luke’s departure following the 2012-13 season, the Vandebilt girls’ basketball program has had a change in fate. Under Luke, the Lady Terriers were annual contenders to win the Class 4A State Championship – regulars in the LHSAA Top 28 Tournament.
But since that time, Vandebilt has had three coaches in three seasons and has not won a playoff game since Luke’s departure.
The Lady Terriers went to the postseason this past year under coach Kiely Schork, who resigned after the season to chase an opportunity overseas. But they didn’t win a game, falling in the opening round of the Class 4A Playoffs.
The challenge of rebuilding will be made even more difficult because the best player on last year’s squad was a senior – Nicholls State University signee Cassidy Barrios.
Coleman said that Vandebilt will be young and inexperienced, but will get better as the year goes on.
“We have some girls who can play,” Coleman said. “We have to develop and keep getting better, but I like some of the talent that’s out here and some of the talent that we’ve seen.”
The road to get better will be pretty challenging, as well.
Coleman said that our area’s Class 4A district will be absolutely loaded from top-to-bottom, which will make every Tuesday and Friday night an adventure in the Bayou Region.
He said that he thought the district was challenging last season – as-is with the Lady Terriers, Ellender, Morgan City, South Terrebonne and Assumption grappling for positioning.
But in 2015-16, those teams will add South Lafourche to the mix – a program that won well more than 20 games this past season and brings back four of five starters and five of its top seven rotation players.
A difficult challenge awaits, but Coleman would have it no other way. He’s been the underdog overcoming the odds his entire career.
Why should that stop now?
“We’re ready to roll,” Coleman said. “I am so excited. I love this school, and I’m thankful for the opportunity. I’m ready to make the most of it and get us on the right track. We might not ever win ‘em all, but I promise you that we’re going to play with energy and passion.”
TERRIERS HIRE NEW DIAMOND COACHES
While Coleman settles into his new digs, the Vandebilt Catholic High School athletic department continues to churn to round out its coaching staffs for the 2015-16 athletic year.
This past week, the school announced that it has hired Gerald Cassard Jr. to be the school’s new baseball coach and Chrissy Picou Prevost to coach softball.
Both coaches will take over their posts with heavy ties to Vandebilt Catholic athletics.
Cassard will land with the Terriers with 17 years of experience as a baseball coach and program administrator at Vandebilt. Most of his coaching experience has come at the collegiate ranks.
Known by “Coach Gee”, Cassard’s hire will make him a full-time member of the school’s staff and also an assistant football coach at the school.
Cassard is an Ascension Catholic High School graduate who owns a bachelor’s degree from Nicholls. He said that he can’t wait to get the opportunity to work with the Terriers, who won the District Championship and reached the Class 4A State Playoffs this past season under former coach Corey Sullivan, who resigned after the season to pursue other opportunities around the area.
“I look forward to getting to work and leading this team as we strive for excellence both on and off the playing field,” Cassard said. “We will do our best to uphold the legacy of Terrier baseball.”
The team that Cassard takes over will be loaded with promise, as the Terriers reached the Swampland playoffs this summer – a mark that usually indicates that a team will have success in the upcoming spring varsity season.
While Cassard looks to take the Terriers forward, Prevost will look to push Vandebilt softball back to the top.
A native of Houma and an alumna of the school, Prevost’s history with Lady Terriers’ softball is rich and storied. She played for the program for four seasons under then-coach and current Vandebilt Athletic Director Margaret Johnson, serving as the starting catcher for Vandebilt’s 1999 State Championship-winning squad.
In the past eight years, Prevost was employed in human resources after earning a bachelor’s degree from Nicholls.
In a release issued by the school, Johnson applauds Prevost’s enthusiasm as a player and alumna of the school.
The AD said those traits, combined with a love for people will allow Prevost to take the Lady Terriers to Sulphur to compete for Class 4A State Championships.
“I am very honored to be a part of Vandebilt Catholic High School,” Prevost said. “I’m extremely excited about starting a new chapter in my life. Softball has always been special to me, and I look forward to sharing my passion with the athletes of Vandebilt.”
