Unsung local hero deserves due

In every community, there are unsung heroes – folks who do remarkable things without a spotlight or attention on their labors.

Today, I want to highlight one of those people and give him the press that he deserves. He doesn’t know that I’m doing this column today. When he opens his paper today and finds out, he’ll immediately call and tell me that the focus should have been on the kids and not on himself. That’s just the type of guy that this person is. He’s selfless and not interested in glory. His satisfaction and fulfillment comes from helping out others.

But this guy’s hard work and dedication has gone uncovered for long enough, and it’s time to give some credit where it’s due.

See, I live in south Lafourche. I am a native of Cut Off. I make the 40-minute commute every weekday from my bayou to Houma’s bayou. To me, it’s really a total non-factor because our communities are pretty similar in that they’re both filled with selfless individuals who’d do anything to help others flourish and shine. It’s not like going from one place to the next. It’s more like going from one side of town to the next. It’s the same community, but with just a different name and the same great people.

One of those guys is a fella’ named Greg Curole.

Curole is a guy that’s a lot like myself, which is probably why we always hit it off so well. He’s cool, calm and even tempered. He’s friendly, self-motivated and a guy that likes to get things done – in a hurry, when possible.

But more important than those things, Curole is a basketball nut. He’d be the first to admit that he doesn’t know it all, but he does know his share – enough to have a wealth of knowledge that is among the best in our area. As a basketball coach, Curole is fundamentally savvy and a savant of the game. He was the head coach of the girls’ basketball team at South Lafourche High School for a time, enjoying success while there. Curole has also studied from some of the best basketball minds in the area, taking plays from the playbooks of Houma native Kathy Luke and Tarpons’ men’s basketball coach Brian Callais.

Now out of the high school coaching scene, Curole has shifted his focus and is working with kids of all ages in our community.

That project is the reason for my column this week.

Last Thursday, I walked into the Cut Off Youth Center to go and visit with a few friends who were doing some work at the facility.

COYC is hands-down one of the most special places in my community. It’s really a place that is unlike any other in this area. It’s a place where so, so many people of all ages are able to do a wide array of activities like basketball, dancing, boxing, swimming and even fencing.

Well, on this day, Curole was at the COYC gym and was getting himself ready to work. Every Thursday, he hosts something called the Drill’em Basketball Camp, which trains young men and women who are learning the fundamentals of the sport.

Camps and other basketball-related events are pretty common in this area during this time of the year, but Curole’s Drill’em camp is different.

For starters, it’s free. Curole said he’s not in this to make a buck, he’s focused on the kids. He doesn’t require parents to pay him anything for his services – the only thing he needs is children to come to the gym ready to work.

And that they do – in abundance.

Those big numbers are the second unique thing about the camp – its sheer size.

Each week, the crowd varies, but it’s always several dozen. A couple Thursdays ago when Drill’em had its first session of the year, a total of 130 kids turned out for the instruction.

Photos do it no justice. I wasn’t there in person, but those who were say that it was beautiful – a source of pride for everyone involved with both COYC and Curole.

But the last thing that’s so special about the Drill’em camp is the number of people who make it happen. Curole is the captain steering the ship, but he has a lot of help. Each session, he has a lot of counselors who help work the various stations and make sure that everything goes off without a hitch.

As I stood in the gym last Thursday, I couldn’t help but smile, because of the image of those children thinking about that camp 10 years from now and looking back on how awesome it was.

Curole and his team are making memories, and they’re doing it just out of the goodness of their hearts and in an effort to see the sport of basketball grow locally.

That’s not something that you see everywhere in the world.

But we have it here, and for that we’re blessed.

Guys like Coach Curole often get overlooked and rarely get the credit they deserve.

That’s by choice. They always deflect the praise to the kids for their hard work and dedication.

But today, I just wanted it to be known, Coach, that we all appreciate all of the amazing things that you do.

Keep up the good work.