The measure of a great coach is his ability to get the absolute best performance out of his players. When athletes are motivated to compete at a level above their best abilities, their coach is special.
Bob Hayes was by no means a common track coach. Any athlete who trained under him had a good dose of respect for his dedication and friendship. Coach Hayes had the ability to motivate athletes to perform at a very high level. He was successful at Lake Charles High and later on at the college level at McNeese. Wherever he coached, his levels of success were huge.
He was responsible for generating excitement for quality track and field. He was not shy about recruiting kids to participate in track and compete. His enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport were infectious. He was a student in the art of running, and responsible for developing speed and endurance in former clunkers.
Every Monday at Lake Charles High, we ran 330s (330 freakin’ yards!) for time. If you didn’t make your time, you ran another one. It was torture, and most sprinters dreaded Monday’s practice. If it rained all day, we were celebrating our good fortune. No track practice or the dreaded 330s. Or so we thought!
Coach Hayes piled us into his car, and we headed to the beach. He was excited and had been waiting for a good rainy day. He said the wet sand was perfect for conditioning.
We ran our 330s by Hayes’ stopwatch. And it was grueling, but effective. Now we prayed for sunny skies and no beach. However, we always suspected he gave us a break on the times on the beach.
Bob advanced to the college level and built powerhouse cross country and track and field programs at McNeese. He somehow signed future Olympian Fanahan McSweeny from Ireland. They had never met, and Fanahan was expecting to meet the black version of “Bullet Bob Hayes” when he stepped off the plane. These two composed a formidable team and accomplished great things.
Coach Hayes is in a better place now. He is gone, but never forgotten by the many athletes he positively affected for the rest of their lives. His work ethic was monumental, and it spilled over into his athletes. He pushed athletes to the limits, and made you want to succeed for his praise. God bless Coach Hayes.
Have mercy, we are over the summer hump. It is hotter than blazes, but the worst part is over.
Football and school have officially started, signaling a change of season. All we need is an early blast of cool air, and let the games begin. Football rules!
Please mark Aug. 22 on your calendar. The public is invIted and input is appreciated. The subject is the consideration of new rules affecting the transportation of cervid carcasses across state lines. The ban defines a cervid as an animal of the family cervidae, including, but not limited to, white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, fallow deer, axis deer, sika deer, red deer and reindeer.
The concern is wasting disease, which is fatal to the deer. It’s spread through deer to deer contact or through contact with urine, feces, saliva and body parts of infected deer or infectious materials in the soil.
This is no joke, and could adversely affect beaucoup businesses dependent on these animals. It is not likely the animals will observe state lines. Go figure! To view the full notice of intent, visit wlf.louisiana.gov/action-items. You can send your comments by writing to Johnathan Bordelon, LDWF Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 98000, Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9000 or to jbordelon@wlf.la.gov until 4:30 pm on August 22.
In the photo corner is Landon Hermann with a 7.5-ounce bass he caught recently at Big Cow Creek.
Landon Hermann with a 7.5-ounce bass he caught recently at Big Cow Creek.
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