Ashley Applegate
English 1021
Ms. Lei Lani
10 October 2007
Yvette Girouard is a lady who has accomplished outstanding things no other coach has been able to do. In her first season at LSU, Girouard was able to lead the Tigers to their first appearance in the the national competition for softball formally known as the Women’s College World Series, with a victory over her former school, UL-Lafayette, in the NCAA Regional Championship game. Her office sits on the fourth floor of the coaches building with an amazing view of the campus. She enjoys looking out her office window at seven am, observing the campus and the students that roam while sipping on her morning coffee. Her office has many trophies and plaques that show her accomplishments as a head coach at LSU and UL-Lafayette. Her office has an aroma of fresh pine saw and coffee that was brewed in the morning.
I began the interview by asking her basic questions regarding her job. Being a head coach at LSU is a fun job and is something that she enjoys to do. She has been a head coach for LSU for eight years now and she has loved every day of it. “My favorite part about my job is being able to come to work every day in shorts and a tee-shirt.” She goes on to say that it is comfortable and convenient. She benefits from her job because it keeps her young. Her basic responsibilities as a head coach are: scheduling, organizing, and planning both season and off season. Her basic duties for scheduling consist of approving regular season, arranging extra-season tournaments, and arranging the logistics
for all your travel. “This is done during the fall, but I work on it all year,” said Coach Girouard. “Organization is something I do at the beginning of the season every year.” This step includes assigning team managers, setting up a team budget, and managing inventory on things like; team apparel, uniforms, warm-ups, shoes, and team jackets. “I get lots of help from my assistant coaches Megan Smith and James Defeo. We split up this part to get things done more efficiently.” The season plans are something that is agreed upon with all of the coaches, but is ultimately up to Coach Girouard. She has to decide on the direction she wants to take her team, and what strategy approach and style she wants to use. The off season planning is the easiest part. She hosts camps for extra money for the tiger softball program, she assigns a summer workout program for her players, and schedules her annual awards ceremony.
As we continued, I began to ask her about how she affects the LSU softball program and the Baton Rouge community. She brushed back her brown-bobbed haircut and smiled with a spark in her eye which reflected her heart for her players. At this point I realized that my coach truly loves her job. Throughout her time being a head coach for the Lady Tigers, she has accomplished many great things. For instance, she was inducted into the National Fast pitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December of 2005. Another outstanding accomplishment that occurred following her induction to the Hall of Fame was that she became the sixth coach in NCAA history to earn 1,000 career victories. As a result of her outstanding efforts, the LSU softball team was rewarded a 3.5 to 5 million dollar softball stadium that was set to open in 2006, but postponed due to Hurricane Katrina until 2008. At this point she knew she was blessed with this
opportunity and said, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression, and our facility is our first impression.” Coach has affected the hearts of young girls in the Baton Rouge community. She hosts many camps throughout the year. “I enjoy doing these camps, because they allow me to give back to the community. Like my momma always taught me, you always leave something you used better than you found it.” She uses this motto every day. Building a new softball stadium for the Tigers was an honor, because she got to travel all around the nation picking out little things she liked and put them all together for her new stadium.
After we discussed her many accomplishments as a coach, I asked her about how Hurricane Katrina affected her and her team. With a sigh, she began to talk about how the atmosphere of LSU changed: “It affected me because I was in the middle of evacuation and triage area. Seeing firsthand the misery and devastation to people was just horrendous. Baton Rouge became New Orleans overnight and doubled its population. It was weird to walk around campus seeing rifles attached to the militaries hip at our school. It was just absurd.” She went on to explain that the inventory in the grocery stores was empty. Things like bread, milk, and water were scarce, because this catastrophe was unexpected. Next she began to explain how the storm affected the team. She said “the team and other student athletes tried to help out as much as possible, but it was just too depressing. Our locker room was a nursery for kids without parents for the entire semester and the LSU volleyball team was on the road all season. The PMAC was used as a hospital and Jamarcus Russel, who is now a pro football player had twenty people living in his house during this episode! This disaster made the team and me aware of how lucky we are.” She continued to talk about how the school and community drew closer.
One of her players on the team that year was affected directly. The player’s family had a house uphill in New Orleans. There house did not flood, but their electricity was out for a long period of time and the family was forced out of their house and relocated.
After hearing all of hard work and accomplishments, I knew that my coach was a very strong woman. She not only made an impact on me, but also all of her players and the young girls of the Baton Rouge Community. Playing a sport my whole life has taught me good characteristics like, responsibility, courage, endurance, and has given me the extra bit of juice to finish everything I start. I credit these morals to Coach, because with her she has made me become a better person and taught me the good things in life. Coach Girouard serves as my counselor. She leads me the right way before I even get the chance to stray away from my goals. She helps me set long-term goals and short-term goals that will help me succeed in softball and school. When I’m down she picks me up, when I’m cocky she knocks me down to make me better. She is like a mother to me; always making sure I am okay and healthy, reassuring that everything is going to be okay. At times I just want to pack up my bags and go home, but in the end I smile and shake my head and think to myself she always has her way to make things better.
English 1021
Ms. Lei Lani
10 October 2007
Yvette Girouard is a lady who has accomplished outstanding things no other coach has been able to do. In her first season at LSU, Girouard was able to lead the Tigers to their first appearance in the the national competition for softball formally known as the Women’s College World Series, with a victory over her former school, UL-Lafayette, in the NCAA Regional Championship game. Her office sits on the fourth floor of the coaches building with an amazing view of the campus. She enjoys looking out her office window at seven am, observing the campus and the students that roam while sipping on her morning coffee. Her office has many trophies and plaques that show her accomplishments as a head coach at LSU and UL-Lafayette. Her office has an aroma of fresh pine saw and coffee that was brewed in the morning.
I began the interview by asking her basic questions regarding her job. Being a head coach at LSU is a fun job and is something that she enjoys to do. She has been a head coach for LSU for eight years now and she has loved every day of it. “My favorite part about my job is being able to come to work every day in shorts and a tee-shirt.” She goes on to say that it is comfortable and convenient. She benefits from her job because it keeps her young. Her basic responsibilities as a head coach are: scheduling, organizing, and planning both season and off season. Her basic duties for scheduling consist of approving regular season, arranging extra-season tournaments, and arranging the logistics
for all your travel. “This is done during the fall, but I work on it all year,” said Coach Girouard. “Organization is something I do at the beginning of the season every year.” This step includes assigning team managers, setting up a team budget, and managing inventory on things like; team apparel, uniforms, warm-ups, shoes, and team jackets. “I get lots of help from my assistant coaches Megan Smith and James Defeo. We split up this part to get things done more efficiently.” The season plans are something that is agreed upon with all of the coaches, but is ultimately up to Coach Girouard. She has to decide on the direction she wants to take her team, and what strategy approach and style she wants to use. The off season planning is the easiest part. She hosts camps for extra money for the tiger softball program, she assigns a summer workout program for her players, and schedules her annual awards ceremony.
As we continued, I began to ask her about how she affects the LSU softball program and the Baton Rouge community. She brushed back her brown-bobbed haircut and smiled with a spark in her eye which reflected her heart for her players. At this point I realized that my coach truly loves her job. Throughout her time being a head coach for the Lady Tigers, she has accomplished many great things. For instance, she was inducted into the National Fast pitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in December of 2005. Another outstanding accomplishment that occurred following her induction to the Hall of Fame was that she became the sixth coach in NCAA history to earn 1,000 career victories. As a result of her outstanding efforts, the LSU softball team was rewarded a 3.5 to 5 million dollar softball stadium that was set to open in 2006, but postponed due to Hurricane Katrina until 2008. At this point she knew she was blessed with this
opportunity and said, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression, and our facility is our first impression.” Coach has affected the hearts of young girls in the Baton Rouge community. She hosts many camps throughout the year. “I enjoy doing these camps, because they allow me to give back to the community. Like my momma always taught me, you always leave something you used better than you found it.” She uses this motto every day. Building a new softball stadium for the Tigers was an honor, because she got to travel all around the nation picking out little things she liked and put them all together for her new stadium.
After we discussed her many accomplishments as a coach, I asked her about how Hurricane Katrina affected her and her team. With a sigh, she began to talk about how the atmosphere of LSU changed: “It affected me because I was in the middle of evacuation and triage area. Seeing firsthand the misery and devastation to people was just horrendous. Baton Rouge became New Orleans overnight and doubled its population. It was weird to walk around campus seeing rifles attached to the militaries hip at our school. It was just absurd.” She went on to explain that the inventory in the grocery stores was empty. Things like bread, milk, and water were scarce, because this catastrophe was unexpected. Next she began to explain how the storm affected the team. She said “the team and other student athletes tried to help out as much as possible, but it was just too depressing. Our locker room was a nursery for kids without parents for the entire semester and the LSU volleyball team was on the road all season. The PMAC was used as a hospital and Jamarcus Russel, who is now a pro football player had twenty people living in his house during this episode! This disaster made the team and me aware of how lucky we are.” She continued to talk about how the school and community drew closer.
One of her players on the team that year was affected directly. The player’s family had a house uphill in New Orleans. There house did not flood, but their electricity was out for a long period of time and the family was forced out of their house and relocated.
After hearing all of hard work and accomplishments, I knew that my coach was a very strong woman. She not only made an impact on me, but also all of her players and the young girls of the Baton Rouge Community. Playing a sport my whole life has taught me good characteristics like, responsibility, courage, endurance, and has given me the extra bit of juice to finish everything I start. I credit these morals to Coach, because with her she has made me become a better person and taught me the good things in life. Coach Girouard serves as my counselor. She leads me the right way before I even get the chance to stray away from my goals. She helps me set long-term goals and short-term goals that will help me succeed in softball and school. When I’m down she picks me up, when I’m cocky she knocks me down to make me better. She is like a mother to me; always making sure I am okay and healthy, reassuring that everything is going to be okay. At times I just want to pack up my bags and go home, but in the end I smile and shake my head and think to myself she always has her way to make things better.
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