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June 17, 2014
For the first time in two and a half decades, the Vandebilt Catholic softball team has a new head coach.
She comes to Houma already a known name in the area’s softball community – one of the best players in the history of the Nicholls State University softball program.
The Terriers announced this week that they hired John Curtis Christian Academy assistant coach Jessica Barksdale to be the team’s coach for the 2015 season.
Barksdale has been a coach with the Lady Patriots for the past six seasons. She also serves as an independent softball instructor who teaches the game’s fundamentals to youngsters in the sport.
As a player, Barksdale pitched for Nicholls from 2004-08, and was among the top pitchers in the history of the Colonels’ program, finishing her career among the school’s leaders in career strikeouts.
She will replace outgoing coach Margaret Johnson, who won several state championships in her 24 years with the team. Johnson retired as softball coach earlier this year so that she could focus on her job as the Terriers’ new athletic director.
For the Terriers, Barksdale’s hire comes after a month-and-a-half-long search for Johnson’s replacement – a process that ended after the team’s final game of the 2014 season on May 3.
After collecting applicants for the position, Vandebilt zeroed in on Barksdals and she was hired for the position last Tuesday, according to a release issued by the Terriers’ public relations staff.
As a coach, Barksdale helped John Curtis establish itself as a power of the past several seasons – a state power comparable to the Lady Terriers in the hierarchy of Louisiana prep softball.
In the 2014 season, the Lady Patriots finished with a 30-2 record and were the Class 3A State Champions.
They breezed through the playoffs, outscoring opponents by a margin of 42-6 in their five postseason games, including a 13-3 rout of Jena in the Championship Game.
As a player, Barksdale was dominant. She pitched for the Lady Patriots from 2001-04, cruising through the competition in the process. Because of her success, John Curtis retired Barksdale’s jersey at the completion of her career.
Barksdale then went to Nicholls where she pitched for four seasons and again found success. During her time in college, Barksdale was one of the top pitchers in the Southland Conference. For her combined efforts in high school and college, she was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame last year.
Barksdale will be inheriting a team that will have high expectations. The Lady Terriers went to the Class 4A State Championship match last season, falling to St. Thomas More.
