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Most of the time, you guys get the facts here and little else.
I give you scores. I give you stats. I tell you what happened in a game/event without bias and I leave room for you to create opinions of your own based on those nuggets that I put out there.
This time, I am not doing that.
This time, I am giving you my thoughts, my opinions and how I feel about a topic.
So let’s talk. Grab a cup of coffee, sit down and give me 5 minutes of your time.
Let’s have a conversation about Vandebilt Catholic softball.
This past weekend, the Terriers won the Division II Select State Championship, pushing past all comers and beating St. Charles in the State Championship Game.
It was Vandebilt’s second-straight title and the school’s 16th. I have seen a handful of those 16 in my career and they have all been terrific.
As I was loading up my car and driving home, I got a message on my phone from a casual softball fan. He said exactly this. “Wow Vandebilt. Unreal. What makes them so good compared to the rest?”
Well, I decided I will publicly answer that text message in this column.
What makes Vandebilt softball unique is they are a first-class program. I get it. That’s vague. So you’re now asking what does it mean to be a first class program?
Let me explain.
The Vandebilt softball team lacks for nothing. If you make a list of all of the things that a program needs to be successful, they have it all. They ooze of swagger. Notice what I said there: swagger. Not overconfidence. Not arrogance. They have swagger. They take the field expecting to have success. They take the field knowing that if they do their collective jobs, the score on the scoreboard will take care of itself 99 times out of 100.
They can have that confidence, because they have players. Goodness, is the Vandebilt roster talented. One-through-nine, the Terriers’ lineup is loaded. They have players who can slug.They have players who can get on base. They have players who can put the ball in play, execute and do all of the little things needed to move runners. They are like a machine. Sure, sometimes the machine makes mistakes. They’re kids. But they are truly a joy to watch. If I had that kind of talent, I would have swagger, too.
Oh, and they have elite coaching, too.
James Spearman is the Terriers’ head coach. It is his first season as the head coach replacing Jeremy Duplantis, who had the team before and who also did an amazing job. On his staff are Brianna Aguillard and Margaret Johnson. Yes, THAT Margaret Johnson. The same coach who was a multi-time championship-winning head softball coach for the Terriers who is a Hall of Famer.
The Terriers staff has fun with the players. It was apparent during my weekend in Sulphur. But they were able to be loose and have that fun because of the HOURS and MONTHS of productive work that they put in to get to that point which allowed the process to be in place and the journey to be smooth. To have decades of experience on your coaching staff like Vandebilt is a luxury and a blessing that so few have. But the Terriers have it and it shows. They are so well coached. Their staff is so poised. There is nothing that they can have happen to them in a game that those coaches have not seen before.
And it shows. In the Semifinals, Buckeye tied the game at 1. Vandebilt didn’t blink. In the finals, St. Charles reversed a 2-0 deficit into a 3-run inning and a 3-2 lead. Again, the Terriers did not blink. Decades of experience. That matters. Coaching matters.
So when you add it all up, you have a recipe for a winning gumbo: one that has won the State Title 16 times … and counting.
Because guess what?
The Terriers do not have a senior on their roster. Not one.
Guess what? There’s a very real chance that this time next year, we will be doing this all over again for a third-straight time.
We tip our caps to you, ladies, coaches and supporters.
To get to this point has taken time, but you have EARNED it.
You are the standard in the state of Louisiana – the program everyone is trying to replicate.
Enjoy it. Relish it.
Your program is one of one in our state. And it’s a pleasure to watch each year.