JOURNAL SPORTS
High school coaches are major influences on their players, and other students, too.
For this week’s Coaches’ Roundtable, we thought it would be interesting to see who were the biggest influences on our local head football coaches when they were in high school.
But we added a request: please try to cite somebody who made a big impression on you but was NOT your coach. A teacher, a principal, a staff member, even a best buddy or a girlfriend.
None of our coaches mentioned girlfriends. One wrote: “my wife is the only woman in my life that was ever of any significance. That’s my official answer, forever.” Smart man!
The answers reflected how classroom teachers and others of a generation ago are having significant impact today, on students and athletes who never met them.
Clint Walker, Plain Dealing – “Ron Festavan. He was the principal of Northwood and a great leader. He made sure I ‘toed the line.’ He is now the mayor of Vivian, I believe, and I always enjoy when I get to see him. He made sure I did things the ‘right way.’
“Also, Marilyn Beach, my English teacher. It was hard work and she kept things rigorous for us, but it instilled work ethic in the class that bled over to now. I hated English, but have come to enjoy some of it.”
Denny Duron, Evangel – “I attended Captain Shreve High School, and the most influential individual other than my coaching staff was an amazing English teacher by the name of Dr. Bridger. I couldn’t wait to get to her class every single day… she was a fascinating lecturer.”
Reynolds Moore, Benton – “At Carthage High School in Carthage, Miss., Mr. Burns taught several different social studies classes. He was one of those special teachers who allowed each one of us to be himself and listened to our questions. I learned a lot about life from him, and a lot of the way I teach reflects how he treated us.”
James Bradford Jr., Green Oaks – “I graduated from CE Byrd. Mrs. Vienne, my history teacher, made a huge impact. Being a former athlete, she understood how hard to push and motivate us. She had an incentive to treat us to dinner for top students. I worked hard to see if she was being for real. Made me feel it was OK to be a smart athlete.
“Also in the school administration, Mr. Crosby always kept it real. I went to his office one time as a freshman for a tardy. He never saw me again my entire high school career.”
Chase Thompson, North Caddo – “I went to Sarepta High School and North Webster High School. In no particular order … 1) Mr. Kerry Phillips — His English classes always came with unpredictable creativity and laughter.
2) Mr. Michael Corley — He was an elite educator and a prominent member of the Sarepta community. He was a great role model for professional excellence.
3) Mrs. Karen Applegate — Her class changed my opinion of math. She taught the class in a way that gave me confidence. Without her class, I probably would not have become a math teacher.
4) Mr. Drew (Sarepta janitor) — His enthusiasm and positive attitude permeated throughout the school. He was a friend to everyone who came through the doors at Sarepta High School.”
Mike Greene, Loyola – “I attended Jesuit (now Loyola) and played all three sports so I was around coaches 24-7, but the person other than coaches would have to be the English teacher. Sharon Duhon Smith. She was soooo tough on you in class. You better wear your uniform correctly, and you worked your behind off in there!
“It was nothing to stay an hour every day after school until you got your work done! I was throwing darts at her picture at home! Then when I got to college and was making A’s in literature and my other English classes, it hit me what she was doing!
“Any time you have a coach doing well in literature, someone worked overtime. What is even better is when I came back to coach, she was one of our biggest football supporters. She moved to Marshall (Texas) and is now retired.”
Austin Brown, Northwood – “My answer might be a little different. It’s my ninth-grade principal, Rick Mahaffey at Lawton High in Oklahoma.
“I did not know his impact until I became social media friends with him almost 20 years later and I saw how good of a man he is and how much pride he takes in my growth and maturity!
“Although I don’t remember much of the talks we had when I got called to his office, I do remember feeling like this is someone I should respect and listen to. Now I understand why. I hope to be that type of educator!”
Stephen Dennis, Huntington – “I’m Parkway HS, class of ’03. It’s hard to not include a coach, when Coach Jim Gatlin made such an impact in my life. I don’t know that I would be a coach today if not for him. He was literally the first person that told me I needed to be a coach, that I was pretending if I tried to do anything else!”
Gary Smith, Bossier – “I’m sorry, but I have to point out two of my coaches at Bossier High School, Jim Gatlin and Mitch Downey (now Bossier Schools superintendent). They had great influence on many.”
Stacy Ballew, Byrd – “I want to point to the older players on the 1993 Byrd football team. We had some good ones back then and they taught us all how to play. There was a bunch of good ones. That was the class that went 10-0. My last year to play was ’95 and they made a big difference for us.”
And since it’s Brotherton Bowl week, we finish with …
Coy Brotherton, Parkway – “I went to Haughton, and was lucky enough to have both my brother and dad as coaches at the school to look up to. I grew up in the coaching office and at school, so a lot of people made an impact on my life. One non-coach was Mrs. Renee Stewart, who was my best friend’s mom and treated me like her own son.”
Jason Brotherton (older brother), Haughton – “I went to Haughton and my coaches were the most influential people to me at that time. But I also had an English and drama teacher named Kelli Shaw who was influential to me because it seemed like she never had a bad day.
“She truly loved her job and always had a smile on her face. I eventually was able to work alongside her, call her a friend, and also see her become one of my daughter’s favorite teachers!”