‘Champions of adversity’: Houma area LHSAA championship teams honored after overcoming difficult school year

Javine Robinson took a moment to watch all of the LHSAA state championship winners from Terrebonne Parish being honored during a special presentation Sunday at the Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center in Houma.

The Ellender girls basketball coach said every team shared something in common after winning championships during a school year impacted by Hurricane Ida's arrival on Aug. 29. The Category 4 hurricane damaged school buildings, gyms, businesses and homes throughout the Houma area.

“We are all the champions of adversity,” said Robinson, who led Ellender to its sixth state girls basketball championship. “That’s what I’ve called every team that has won a state championship. It's a wonderful environment to be in. It was amazing to be on the same stage with all of them." 

The Terrebonne Parish government recognized all championship teams from the Houma area during the ceremony – Ellender girls basketball, South Terrebonne baseball as well as Vandebilt baseball, cross country and outdoor track. It also honored athletes who won individual championships, including South Terrebonne powerlifting and Houma Christian track. The Terrebonne Gators Special Olympics team also was recognized for winning a championship.

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Terrebonne councilman Steve Trosclair, who helped plan the event, said he wanted to celebrate athletic achievements. He originally planned to have a parade roll through the streets of Houma but it was canceled because of weather conditions.

Each championship team received a key to the parish, and each athlete walked across the main stage to receive a championship certificate.

Trosclair praised the athletes for dealing with adverse circumstances. Vandebilt started the school year holding classes at E.D. White in Thibodaux before moving back to its Houma campus in November. 

Ellender and South Terrebonne had serious damage to their school campuses that forced their students to attend afternoon classes at Terrebonne and H.L. Bourgeois this school year, which disrupted their normal daily schedules. They were forced to play all their games on the road and didn’t get home until late hours due to traveling.

“It was a great accomplishment for these kids to be able to fight through adversity," Trosclair said. "They’ve overcome a lot. A lot of them are homeless and some are school-less. It’s a testament to the type of students and people we have in Terrebonne Parish. They persevere. They overcome obstacles and they move on.”

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Terrebonne school board president Gregory Harding said the athletes gave hope to an area still rebuilding from the storm. 

“It’s great for the kids, but it’s also great for the community. It helped us out,” Harding said. “It gives us some type of normalcy to watch them win state championships.”

South Terrebonne coach Mike Barba, who led the Gators to their first state baseball championship, said he never imagined a school year with so many state championships, especially after recovering from a major hurricane. 

“It’s real nice with everything everybody went through this year,” Barba said. “Our kids showed great resiliency. I’m proud of this area for the way they pushed through such terrible times. It’s crazy how everything played out. On our end, we literally took it one day at a time. We had to crawl before you could walk and walk before you could run.

“A lot of area coaches felt the same way with all the situations we were in, and to have something like this is truly special and shows the resilience of this area.” 

Reach Chris Singleton at 985-857-2213 or chris.singleton@houmatoday.com and on Twitter @courierchris.