Badon Looking to Succeed with Young Team

by Mallory Kennedy

September 28, 2009 - Tommy Badon, a Louisiana native, has been the Westminster Christian Academy Head Football Coach for six years. Originally from Lafayette, Coach Badon attended high school at Teurlings Catholic where he played Lineman and Kicker. After Graduating in 1977, he attended UL-Lafayette where he was the Kicker for the Ragin’ Cajun’s. Badon then went on to coach football at Teurlings Catholic, Lafayette High, Blinn Junior College and ULL where he was the Track and Field Coach. Now Badon is currently the Athletic Director and Head Football Coach for the Westminster Crusaders in Opelousas. With overall speed and conditioning as their strength, Badon and his young team are looking to win a District Championship and make a Play-off run.

MK: What would you like football fans to know about your 2009 team?
TB: We are extremely young with only four seniors. We will have to depend on a great deal of freshmen and sophomores this year, and upperclassmen who have not played much on Friday nights.

MK: What was your off season program like this year?
TB: We had a good year. Players worked very hard to get better. Good participation with great effort. I was pleased overall with how things went.

MK: What are you looking forward to this season?
TB: The challenge of producing a winner out of the youngest team I have ever coached at any level.

MK: How does this season differ from others?
TB: Certainly, we have never gone into a season with this number of upperclassmen. We just don’t have many players with game night experience. That said, we need to find players who want to play high school football now, because we don’t have the luxury to “groom” them for later.

MK: Who are your top players that you will be looking to on Friday nights?
TB: Brandon Porche, Right Tackle. He is a two-year starter. He needs to improve aggressiveness, but has the ability to be a great run blocker. Chris Laborde, Wide Receiver, He has great hands, and has a knack for getting open. Wesley Bellard, freshman, and two-year starter (started as eighth grader). He has a chance to be the best player the school has ever produced if he continues to improve. Aggressive player, strong, and has a nose for the football.

MK: Do you have a player that has emerged as the team leader?
TB: Addison King, right guard. He is one of the few players with some experience. He is making an effort to lead by example, and has tried to be the player we need to teach the younger players what it takes to win on Friday nights.

MK: What brings you back to the game year after year?
TB: The desire to make a difference in young men’s lives, and the challenge coaching offers me to honor God in what I do. Coaches have a rare impact to make a difference in young people’s lives, and I take that seriously. It really is more than just a job.

MK: What do you enjoy most about football?
TB: The physicality of the game, and the opportunity to match wills with other coaches and teams. It’s a great game to teach life’s lessons, because it really is the ultimate team sport.

MK: How do you get through the stress of the season?
TB: I try to remember what I’m here for. It’s not all about winning, though I do feel strongly that teaching kids the principles it takes to be a winner are important. I have to make every attempt to stay balanced in my life, though it is very difficult during the season, because of the time it takes to prepare, and the mental aspects of running a program, teaching and being the AD.

MK: Do you have a coaching idol?
TB: I think Louie Cook at Notre Dame is one of the best high school football coaches around. I admire his professionalism, and his consistency. My former boss at UL-Lafayette, Charles Lancon, was probably my biggest coaching mentor. He was a true gentlemen, a great husband, a good coach and a better man. He died in 2002 and I really miss his influence.

MK: What is the best advice you were ever given and want to pass along to young players?
TB: My dad’s a WWII vet. He showed me by example that there are no shortcuts in life. Best advice: “There are no shortcuts to success. Nothing comes free in life. Someone has to pay a price for any worthwhile goal. The more worthwhile the goal, the bigger price to pay. The only way to pay the price is through hard work, and dedication to a common cause.”