{"id":4547,"date":"2016-01-21T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=4547"},"modified":"2016-01-22T10:48:18","modified_gmt":"2016-01-22T16:48:18","slug":"kenneth-skip-pickle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2016\/01\/21\/kenneth-skip-pickle\/","title":{"rendered":"KENNETH \u201cSKIP\u201d PICKLE 2015 CHARLES VICKNAIR ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER SPONSORED BY LAGNIAPPE MAGAZINE"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Coach, Teacher, Role Model <\/strong><\/p>\n

By Karla Wall<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"pickle<\/a>There\u2019s probably little need to familiarize readers with Kinder High School\u2019s football program and its amazing success over the last few years.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the team beat Many High School to become the first from SWLA to win a state championship in 14 years. Head coach Bret Fuselier and his team have since come to know the Mercedes Benz Superdome well. After winning that 2013 crown, they returned to the Dome in 2014, this time to lose to Many. Just a few weeks ago, the team returned to New Orleans for its third run at a state championship, and earned its second state title, defeating Mangham High School.<\/p>\n

Terms like \u201cperennial powerhouse\u201d are being tossed around.<\/p>\n

\"Pickle<\/a><\/p>\n

Pickle with his family: Back row, from left, son Austin, son Jordan, Pickle.
Front row, from left: wife Laurie, daughter Grace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A large part of that success has been the work of the team\u2019s offensive coordinator, Kenneth \u201cSkip\u201d Pickle, who\u2019s been with Kinder since 1995. And his work with the team has earned Pickle the 2015 Charles Vicknair SWLA Assistant Coach of the Year Award.<\/p>\n

The award is presented each year in honor of longtime SWLA coach Charles Vicknair. When Vicknair, who had coached in some capacity at nearly every high school in SWLA during his long career, passed away in 2008, it was estimated that some 32 assistant coaches who\u2019d worked under him had gone on to become head coaches.<\/p>\n

The list of head coaches who\u2019ve won the American Press SWLA Coach of the Year Award after serving as an assistant under Vicknair reads like a SWLA football Who\u2019s Who list: Jimmy Shaver. Max Caldarera. Russ Sutherland. Mike Johns.<\/p>\n

And Vicknair won two of those awards himself \u2014 in 1978 and 1980, as head coach at Barbe.<\/p>\n

That list also includes former McNeese head coach Matt Viator, who served as assistant coach under Vicknair at Sam Houston High School during his early career. Viator won the award in 1997 and 1998 as head coach at Sulphur.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad was a coach\u2019s coach,\u201d says Vicknair\u2019s son, Charles \u201cVic\u201d Vicknair.<\/p>\n

The Vicknair assistant coach award is given to honor that legacy of preparing young coaches to run a high school program.<\/p>\n

Fuselier says Pickle is more than deserving of the prestigious award, and is the type of assistant coach the award is designed to honor.<\/p>\n

\"Pickle<\/a><\/p>\n

Pickle and Kinder head coach Bret Fuselier celebrate another state championship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working with (Pickle) for three years, since I became head coach at Kinder,\u201d says Fuselier. \u201cAnd he\u2019s been a major part of our team\u2019s success. Our offense over the last three years has been great at executing, and has been consistent year in and year out. We\u2019re one of the top offenses in the 2A division, and that\u2019s due to Coach Pickle\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pickle not only brings a wealth of football knowledge to the team, says Fuselier, but, more importantly, has the rare ability to impart that knowledge in a way that makes it easy for his players to understand.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Coach Pickle) is good at teaching his players,\u201d says Fuselier. \u201cThe kids really respect him. He has a good rapport with (the players); he\u2019s good with the kids, and he relates very well with them. They listen to him, not just about football, but about everything. He teaches them not only football, but life lessons, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"vicknair<\/a><\/p>\n

2015 Charles Vicknair Award Runner-Ups<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Pickle is not only well respected in the football program, says Fuselier. He\u2019s also well regarded in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s active in the church and in the community,\u201d says Fuselier. \u201cHe\u2019s just a good family man, a good person and a good role model.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pickle has been coaching in the area for 25 years now. An athlete from an early age, he played high school football under coach Dutton Wall in Welsh. Upon graduation from Welsh, he began his studies at McNeese in business, but, he says, \u201cmy heart kept bringing me back to athletics.\u201d He decided an education degree and a coaching career was for him.<\/p>\n

He started his coaching career in East Beauregard High School as an assistant, moving on to serve at Oberlin High School. He came to Kinder in 1995, and has served as not only an assistant football coach, but as head softball coach.<\/p>\n

He says that he hasn\u2019t regretted the decision for a moment. \u201c(Coaching) does get hard,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are long hours. But it\u2019s worth it. The rewards are great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rewards such as being a pivotal part of a team that\u2019s experienced so much success, for instance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur success over the last few years has been amazing,\u201d Pickle says. \u201cThis is my 21st<\/sup> year in Kinder, and I never thought I\u2019d be a part of something like this. As a player, and as a coach, you wonder if you\u2019ll ever get a chance to play in the Superdome in the finals. It\u2019s been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pickle says he\u2019s humbled and honored to receive the award, and he gives credit first to his family for \u201cputting up with the long hours,\u201d and, of course, the coaches he\u2019s worked with, especially Coach Fuselier and the coaching staff at Kinder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just do my job,\u201d he says. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d get such an honor. Coach Vicknair was an extremely influential coach in this area. It\u2019s a humbling experience, and it\u2019s a wonderful way to cap off an exciting year.\u201d<\/p>\n

About The Charles Vicknair Award<\/b><\/p>\n

The Charles Vicknair asst. coach award honors longtime SWLA coach Charles Vicknair. Often called a \u201ccoach\u2019s coach,\u201d Vicknair coached at six area high schools during his 50-year career. Known as much for teaching up-and-coming coaches as he was for heading \"VICKNAIR<\/a>up winning football teams, Vicknair helped some of the area\u2019s winningest coaches get their start; Jimmy Shaver, Max Calderara, Mike Johns, Russ Sutherland and Matt Viator and many others all served as assistants under Vicknair early in their careers. So it\u2019s only fitting that the award honoring the area\u2019s best assistant coaches bears his name.<\/p>\n

To commemorate the award, Josh Guillory, owner of Custom Iron by Josh in Westlake and a former player under Vicknair at Westlake, created the one-of-a-kind iron trophy pictured here. For more information, visit www.coachvicknair.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Coach, Teacher, Role Model By Karla Wall There\u2019s probably little need to familiarize readers with Kinder High School\u2019s football program and its amazing success over the last few years. In 2013, the team beat Many High School to become the first from SWLA to win a state championship in 14 years. Head coach Bret [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4548,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,51,993],"yoast_head":"\nKENNETH \u201cSKIP\u201d PICKLE 2015 CHARLES VICKNAIR ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER SPONSORED BY LAGNIAPPE MAGAZINE - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2016\/01\/21\/kenneth-skip-pickle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KENNETH \u201cSKIP\u201d PICKLE 2015 CHARLES VICKNAIR ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER SPONSORED BY LAGNIAPPE MAGAZINE - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Coach, Teacher, Role Model By Karla Wall There\u2019s probably little need to familiarize readers with Kinder High School\u2019s football program and its amazing success over the last few years. 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