De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football coach Bob Ladouceur told Comcast SportsNet reporter Dan Dibley last week that he was going to call it quits at the end of this season.
Or next season.
File photo by Dennis LeeBob Ladouceur, De La Salle
It's the "or next season" add-on that tells me it won't be either.
Ladouceur, 58, is beat this time of year. Who isn't? He's obviously accomplished everything a high school coach can and cares little about reaching 400 wins - he's 397-25-3 - or 500 or 600.
He's in it to mold the young folks, and as long as his coaching and administrative responsibilities continue to shrink, he'll recharge to coach at least a few more years. Selfishly, I hope he stays. If he goes, good for him. He along with his staff have influenced the way to coach high school football forever: Keep the game simple, strive for greatness and teach from the inside out.
There's much more to it, but those are the basics. If you want to read more, see this expose he wrote to his 1998 football team called "
What is a Spartan?" Better yet, go buy the Neil Hayes book entitled "
When the Game Stands Tall" or something more condensed,
read here.
The core of the De La Salle staff has been in place for about 15 years and Ladouceur has been the head coach since 1979. Defensive coordinator Terry Eidson joined three years later. That staff and continuity is a major reason the Spartans have accomplished what they have — six mythical national titles, a national record 151-game win streak and a current 235-game unbeaten streak against Northern California opponents.
Ladouceur's replacement, whenever that occurs, appears to be
offensive line coach Justin Alumbaugh, who played for the Spartans in the
early 1990s.
De La Salle (13-0) is No. 10 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings and play
Folsom (14-0) in the CIF State North Regional Football Championship Open Bowl Game. If victorious, it will go for its fourth straight California Open Bowl title.