The Vandebilt Catholic Terriers earned a 3-1 win over South Lafourche on Thursday night, continuing a strong season that will again put the team into the Division II State Playoffs.
As I sit back and reflect on the game and my experience before, during and after the game, I have just one clear message: Success does not happen by accident. The Vandebilt baseball program is a class program – on and off the field.
The Terriers have talent. There’s no question. They have a lineup full of talented, patient hitters and a pitching staff with quality arms. Coach Chad Menard has done an excellent job since taking over the program and his entire coaching staff does a great job working with and developing the kids. Last year, Vandebilt won the State Championship. The Terriers returned just 1 starter off that team. This year, the team is right back in position to make another run and it’s because of the work of the coaching staff and the diligence of the players that that’s possible.
But my motivation to write this column today is far, far greater than wins and losses. Vandebilt has invested in its baseball program and they do all of the little things necessary to field a winning team.
The Terriers have an absolutely beautiful field – easily one of, if not the top park, that we travel to each year. The program also has a wonderful support staff that work hard to make game days feel special. Coach Hal is an unsung hero for that. He and his press box crew do an outstanding job to create a college-like atmosphere with the walk-up music, high-level PA work and everything else. It is the gold standard for our area. It just is.
Let’s get back to those facilities now. In addition to the gorgeous park, the Terriers have a state-of-the-art baseball complex that is second to none in our area. The Terriers have covered batting cages to ensure that they can get work every day – even when it rains. They have a massive, gorgeous locker room that looks like a college locker room with each kid having a locker with his own nameplate and lots of room for meetings and/or for the players to feel at home during the season.
Add it all up and it’s just a winning equation – it’s no wonder, nor coincidence why this team is annually in contention.
Kudos to those Terriers. They have it rolling. And it’s rolling because of the investment that they have put into that program.