Vandebilt players honoring fallen former teammate with special cleats

The Vandebilt Catholic baseball team has high hopes to again make it to Sulphur and to again win the Division II Select State Championship Game.

No matter where the journey takes the Terriers, many of the boys on the field will have an angel with them every step of the way – literally, every step.

Roman Robichaux would have been a senior at Vandebilt in the Class of 2025. The local boy died tragically in 2022 at the age of 15.

A member of the Vandebilt baseball team, Roman’s spirit lives on. Senior infielder Seth Hebert worked with Stadium Custom Kicks out of Florida to design special cleats to honor Roman. Stadium Custom Kicks has also made some slick cleats for members of the LSU baseball team who want to honor Riley John’s Blue Boot Foundation.

The cleats got green-lighted by Vandebilt, and several members of the team rallied around the idea, purchased the custom design and are wearing them throughout the season to honor their teammate.

Hebert said to honor Robichaux is an honor, and he is blessed to have him with him throughout his senior season.

“I enjoyed working with Alex with Stadium Custom Kicks in the design of the cleats, he was patient and understood we wanted to get this right to properly represent Roman,” Hebert said. “I feel honored to play alongside my teammates that are wearing these cleats this year for Roman during our Senior year. He was part of our class and we miss him. I know he is looking down on us with a big smile.”

The boys wore the cleats for the first time earlier this season in a game against New Iberia. Awaiting them were Roman’s family, his parents Ryan and Simone and sister Ivy.

They expressed their gratitude to the boys to keep Roman’s memory alive and his spot on the team in tact in what would have been his senior season.

Terriers coach Chad Menard said he would not have it any other way, saying that Roman was an amazing child, and he would have been a huge part of what the Terriers are doing. He said that Roman’s impact is bigger than baseball and he could only hope that his players live each day the way that Roman did. Friends and family remember the young boy as a fun-loving, free-spirited and God-loving boy who always had the right thing to say to a friend and who always knew how to bring out the best in those around him.

“He lived the right way,” Menard said earlier this season. “You look at the impact that he had in his short time on earth and you can see that he was a kid who had such a passion and a love for life, but also just a passion and a love for those around him and for those who he came in contact with daily. We are honored to keep his memory alive. He was such a terrific kid.”

The Terriers are one of the best teams in the State in Division II Select and are a favorite to make it to Sulphur.