Bev's Blog

Joan says…

From Sunday

August 16, 2009

Back in August, my brother-in-law sent us and article about a coach from Chicago who is taking the head football job at South Lafourche High School.  Who would have thought there would be two Illinois coaches in Cajun country?

We had attended the Delcambre Shrimp Festival that same weekend, and Craig went on and on about the shrimp we ate.  For several hours we sat in and out of the sun, watching shrimp boats in the bayou and two volunteer fire departments hosing each other down in a competition…I’m still not sure what the rules were.   We listened to a great blend of Cajun music, Zydeco, and New Orleans style Blues.  Of course a person needs a little nourishment in all that time.  So after Craig had a big shrimp po-boy, shrimp tacos, shrimp sauce piquante, stuffed shrimp, and a couple of cold drinks, we went home and slept for two hours (I quit after the po-boy).

Anyway, we are living the life, and that South Lafourche coach doesn’t stand a chance.  Craig already has the title: “Da Chicago Cajun Coach.”

Well, our losing streak ended!  After losing 11 games in a row from the end of 2007 through 2008, we defeated a very good Westminster team 27-26.  Although I have coached over 400 games, no game is the same – and Thursday night’s game fit that mold – wild and unpredictable.

With 10 minutes left in the 4^th quarter, we were winning 27 – 6!  However, I was still nervous because we had been scrambling since the end of the 1^st Quarter with severe cramping with as many as 7 to 8 starters on the sideline during the game.  Wow!  As a head coach, I have never before sent DB’s in to play TE, RB, etc., without them knowing what to do at that position.  We prevailed though with a missed XP by Westminister with only 30 seconds left in the game.  After the onside kick failed for Westminister, the celebration started.

This week we play a larger school, Hamilton Christian, from Lake Charles.  Hopefully, we will not cramp up.  Bananas, pickle juice, water by the ton will help…I think?

Lake Charles is about 1½ hours away from VC.  The last time I was in Lake Charles was 1995.  I went down to give the eulogy for a former athlete from our school, Kamiakin, at this old but beautiful Catholic church.  The service was like a scene from a Pat Conroy novel or maybe more like James Lee Burke’s novels – the first half was in French, second half in English.  The congregation was mixed with every color of mankind and every age group.

The player’s name was Ronnie Griffith.  He died battling to the end with brain cancer.  He was my angel.  Ronnie was a devout Christian and he knew I was a “LUKEWARM” Christian.  He arranged for me to give the eulogy so maybe it would sink something into my heart and soul.  It did!  To this day, I still do not know what I said nor did I when I flew back to Washington.  However, I did know that God was in my life and I better get busy to know him like I should.  Ronnie introduced me to God!  This weekend, I will get to visit Ronnie’s grave.  He and I will get to talk with God’s permission.

By: Craig Beverlin

If someone had told me that two years ago I would be writing a blog in 2009, I would say, “What is a blog?” I still don’t know what a blog is, but I and my wife are going to fill you in on football, our life at VC, and food – Cajun style! For you people who know me real well, this “blogging” will be an opportunity for me to stay in touch with the many friends we have known from our travels in Washington state, Illinois, and Louisiana. For others, this blog will fill you in on VC football.

Later, my wife will write about a journal we kept during our 2500 mile trip to Louisiana. Most of you will be bored but we must include this journal so our four grown daughters will be satisfied. Summer conditioning started July 6 – MTWTh @ 7AM – 8:30AM and 6-7 PM daily. The VC fooballers were punctual, hard-working, and a pleasure to coach. Each day we had a character word and a discussion about that character trait. Also, our 5-8th graders from 8:45AM – 9:45 AM mirrored our older athletes to the letter. Maybe in addition to many positive things, what I enjoyed the most about “the South” was the “yes sir” or “no sir.” I heard 3 swear words in 5 weeks. Could have been more but they had to be whispering! Ha!

Our little kids camp held in late July (3rd – 8th) was beyond any expectation we had – 51 kids came and some were driving 30 miles one way!

School and football practices started Aug. 10. Super! Super! Super! A wonderful school to teach in, Faculty really cares and football players worked hard.

Legacy night, Aug. 14, was implemented for the 1st time. What a hit! Auditorium was packed  (est. 290) with parents, grandparents, siblings, ex-players, etc. I had to fight tears because it was so emotional to me on how much this school community cares and how winning some football games can heal some wounds. The Legacy dance was a hit with a parents-only dance in the gym with Cajun food and cold drinks. Joan and I danced 4-5 times – it felt good to be romantic and be teen-age silly. Ha! Kudos to Cheryl Landry for her idea on the dance. Cheryl represents what so many parents are like at VC – service, service, and more service without any fanfare.

Finally, we are getting closer to our 1st game.  Aug 21 we scrimmage a team at Morgan City. Then 2 weeks later we play our home opener. I cannot wait – this will be my 41st year of coaching and I still haven’t grown up. Also, I still can’t change a tire.