We were the black sheep team. In researching the When the Game Stands Tall true story, we discovered that Bob Ladouceur began coaching at De La Salle High School in Concord, California in 1979 when he was 24. Group problem-solving is a skill you will use your whole life. When he began to rage, a defensive coach would tell him to go talk to coach Bob Ladouceur, who would be on the other practice field, working with the offense. But, as in the movie, winning was never simply an end itself. You may opt-out by. The story of Coach Lad and the Concord, California, De La Salle Spartans is one of the greatest leadership stories ever told because it gets to the heart of building a winning team in sports and. Bob Ladouceur is the winningest coach in California high school football history, with a record of 399-25-3. There was clearly something very special and miraculous going on with this guy Bob Ladouceur, says Zelon. He is also a Regular Member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. Check out this video about Ladouceur's legacy at De La Salle: Part of HuffPost News. Foodie-menities are the new Airbnb 'it' factor, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). I'm as proud of this team as any I've ever coached.". bob ladouceur. "I know it's going to put me out there, in a way, and I'm not crazy about that," he said. E-mail: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald. In fact, some of the greatest coaches in football history got their starts coaching in high school, including Browns and Bengals founder Paul Brown. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. The film is an adaptation of the 2003 book of the same name by Neil Hayes, published by North Atlantic Books. In 1979, as a 25 year old, first year head coach, Bob Ladouceur was stepping into a program . Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. A great coach knows how to execute game winning plays, but inspiration is often about the intangibles beyond Xs and Os. Danny Ladouceur admitted it was jarring to watch at first. Here are three valuable team-building lessons based on the longest winning streak in sports history. Similarly, the relationship between Coach Lad and Danny is not developed nor represented well in the movie. I don't want to start on the 10-yard line." - Coach Ladouceur's wife Bev played by Laura Dern "People ask me what it's like to never lose. The filmmakers and Ladouceur's close friends thought that it was a good story to tell, so why not let it be told. The 10 greatest moments of Maya Moore's career, Expectations vs production: Disappointing fantasy hockey picks, Andr's five thoughts: Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Jokic and more, Waiver wire pickups: Look to Walker Kessler and Harrison Barnes. Sign up for 6 Free IssuesTry us out with a free trial subscription. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 66 years old? A film about his life was released on August 22, 2014. ", According to Scott Hugo, who still speaks in the present tense, The team always comes first, and part of being a Spartan is proving to your teammates and your coaches that you can be depended on. gave to his players the day before their ", The longest winning streak in football history, dubbed "The Streak", began on September 11, 1992 with a 34-14 season-opening win over Merced High School. Despite eating healthy, exercising frequently, and avoiding alcohol, Ladouceur, unbeknownst to his players, had been a closet smoker. National championships (11): The De La Salle Spartans, including coach Justin Alumbaugh, run onto the field after defeating Folsom during their CIF NorCal Division 1-AA regional championship game at Folsom High School in. Those shared and sustained sacrifices before and during the season, battling through adversity and savoring our accomplishments, praying before games and participating in Mass together, all collectively served as a lesson of how to be truly successful in life. He began coaching the De La Salle High Spartans in Concord, California in 1979, when he was 25 years old. In his eulogy in a black Protestant church, Caviezel says, People ask me what its like to never lose. It made us closer. "I remember being pretty terrified and (his dad) not wanting to go to the hospital," he said. By continuing to use this website, you agree to UniCourts General Disclaimer, Terms of Service, I second-guessed my play calls. convincing Ladouceur that the movie was a Cancellation and Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, and I grew significantly after high school, but when you combine a smaller stature with an absence of speed, thats a pretty good prescription for cheering more from the sideline than competing on the field. He [has] to coach me my senior year and watch me play in college and see me get married and raise a family. Danny Ladouceur recently found a 2004 De La Salle-Concord football highlight disc in a friend's Xbox that he was about to sell. For 15 years he wrote a popular sports humor column called "Top of the Sixth" (later re-titled "Open Season"). "He was so capable and smart,". High school is about teaching and the joy of the game." BY MIKE KEPKA/THE CHRONICLE, BOBLADOUCERa-C-23AUG02-MN-MK --- De La Salle football coach, Bob Ladoucer knows the how to put together a winning combination. They were calm and composed.". Danny Ladouceur, Michael Ladouceur, Jennifer Ladouceur. Terrance was killed in a shooting after driving to a house to give a friend a ride home on August 12, 2004. Defensive coach Terry Coach Lad used a stunningly effective motivational technique he called commitment cards.. He sees leadership as a cerebral rather than emotional quality. Terrance's father Landrin and grandmother Bevelyn, who had raised him as her own, rushed to the scene. His team hasn't lost a game in ten years. Assistant coach Terry Eidson believes this scene was inspired by an event that took place during a trip to Hawaii for a road game in 2002. A weekly version of the column was nationally syndicated in as many as 50 daily newspapers. The story of the streak under That is why he earns such lifelong loyalty and admiration, says Hugo. He took over a team that had never enjoyed a winning season since the school's founding in 1965 and turned it into a perennial winner. They laughed, and tossed it in the dumpster without a moment's hesitation. They give fiery pregame speeches, scream at players over blown assignments, prepare practice schedules down to the minute and, whatever the level, keep an eye out for their next job. During one team meeting Hayes heard Coach Lad tell the players, Im focused one hundred percent on you guys as a team. It wasn't so much his wins, which were remarkable of course, that got to me. Our kids aren't fighting for wins. Twenty times they finished undefeated. "More often, we've had teams that have really grown. UniCourt uses cookies to improve your online experience, for more information please see our Privacy Policy. It was the ability he had to get these kids to commit to each other so strongly, even when things looked like they were going south, that was so powerful.. grace books grace books. It happened during halftime of a game when his team played poorly. I was too engrossed in my own thoughts and fears. Coach Bob Ladouceur and Assistant Coach The reviews by players, coaches and alumni are positive. ", He was talking about team spirit, not execution. on the similar reserved demeanor that he There was a very nice moment Monday night when the team that represented Rhode Island -- and all of the Northeast -- lost in the Little League World Series to a team from Chicago. It was fun to watch. He began coaching the De La Salle High Spartans in Concord, California in 1979, when he was 25 years old. On 06/27/2012 ROBERT E LADOUCEUR filed a Family - Marriage Dissolution/Divorce lawsuit against BEVERLY A LADOUCEUR. NOTICE OF ENTRY OF JUDGMENT ON/FOR DISSOLUTION FILED WITH PROOF OF MAILING, STIPULATION AND WAIVER OF FINAL DECLARATION OF DISCLOSURE. However, the Long Beach Poly game took place in 2001, not 2004 like in the movie, and it was a junior named Maurice Drew who performed the somersault into the end zone, not the movie's fictional senior Chris Ryan. Matthew and Kim welcomed their daughter in September 2020. . merely outcomes. Ladouceur, who turns 60 in July, said he felt the same way. Bob Ladouceur, the man behind one of the greatest high school football dynasties in American history, the man who ESPN once deemed "the greatest prep football coache of all time," has stepped down as head coach of De Le Salle's football program in Concord, Calif. Over the 34 years Ladouceur led the team, the De La Salle Spartans had 399 wins with 20 undefeated seasons and countless local, state and national championships. Or from seeing a player make a block and marveling over how much improvement he had made. Especially when his first football scene shows him fumbling after getting crushed by a Bellevue (Wash.) defender, who returned the football for a touchdown. In addition to coaching at De La Salle, Ladouceur also served as a religious studies teacher at the school. In a word, I loved the brotherhood in Christ that we shared, a brotherhood that has endured with some of my teammates to my present age of 52, despite living most of my professional life outside of Michigan. "I've never witnessed anyone hitting their kid in the parking lot," said Assistant Coach Terry Eidson. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. A devout Catholic, he was studying theology at St. Mary's and helping a friend coach at Monte Vista-Danville when he got the De La Salle job at age 24. field. "I am very excited to have Matty Evans join our Dartmouth men's "I When Hayes first appeared on campus to write about the program, he noticed that very few trophies or visible reminders of the streak adorned the campus. -ESPN. In a somewhat secular society that has tried to remove faith from schools and related school activities, including football, Bob Ladouceur believes the opposite. Tom is the author of The Biblical Roots of the Mass, What Did Jesus Do? Bob Ladouceur was born on 3 July, 1954 in Detroit, MI. He just knew he wanted to work with kids. That's the job of a leader, to try to improve someone else's skill set.". SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. What do I have to do' " to get the team ready? People look at it and say, 'Hey, that's an anomaly or that's strange.' June 5th, 2020 - what are the roy grace books all about the first roy grace book dead simple was released in 2005 by pan macmillan the tagline read four bodies one suspect no trace the first case for August 22, 2014 by Affirm Films/Sony Pictures. The film is an adaptation of the 2003 book of the same name by Neil Hayes, published by North Atlantic Books. E-mail: mstephens@maxpreps.com Twitter: @MitchMashMax. That's not to say he didn't enjoy coaching, but the enjoyment didn't come from smashing another highly rated opponent. His .934 winning percentage is a record among coaches with 200 or more wins. Wednesday night at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Ladouceur and his close friend will both be inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, along with Olympic gold medal sprinter Jim Hines, former Giants owner Bob Lurie and Sharks great Owen Nolan. In a poetic manner that took the praise off himself, something that he always stressed to his players, De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur retired after achieving 399 wins. He doesn't see God's work in touchdowns or victories. And how does he impart the Catholic faith to his players, instead of the more generic brand of Christianity that we see in the movie? 1 talent provider. Yes. I'm real proud of our kids and I'm proud of what we've done, so I was kinda, 'Okay, I'll bite my lip and let it go.'" "When does faith and anything not come together? What happens on the sports field "is not that important.". Ranking the fights at UFC 283: Will Moreno and Figueiredo deliver again? View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Sign-up for E-NewsletterGet Register Updates sent daily or weeklyto your inbox. The film tells the true-to-life Bob Ladouceur is now a major motion picture based on the book, When The Game Stands Tall. (In process, the acting talents of Caviezel and Dern are underutilized.). As a reporter, I rely on UniCourt to keep on top of the latest filings and developments on cases involving celebrities and corporations. "The violence isn't what attracts me to it. But like all true tales turned Hollywood - see initial reactions to "Money Ball" and "Friday Night Lights" - liberties were taken to jam a book that detailed 25 years of De La Salle football into a 115-minute movie. She was right. In 34 seasons, his Spartans won 399 games, the most in California history, lost 25 and tied three for a winning percentage of 93.4%, the highest among any prep coach in the country. Bob married Lissa Ladouceur on January 3, 2015. on wins and losses, being that they are You are part of a team and We policed ourselves. This is a carousel. 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