'It's been quite a ride;' The legacy of Pete Boudreaux
BATON ROUGE - For the last 51 years, Catholic High track head coach Pete Boudreaux has been a pioneer and a staple of Grizzly pride.
"Man I coached 12 years, we never even had a track," smiled Boudreaux. "We were running around on dirt and tires on the ground."
Decades later, the end of an era has arrived. After thousands of made memories, the time has come to pass the baton and step down.
"Yep, that's it man," Boudreaux said without hesitation. "It's been quit a ride. It's been exciting. Probably about two years ago, I said, 'I'm not cutting corners,' but I don't get around like I used too."
For more than 50 years, Coach Boudreaux set the standard for how to be a coach. He built the foundation of Catholic High track. More importantly, he's been a model coach, who's a person before a teacher.
"I try to shake the hand of every guy that comes to practice everyday," Boudreaux said.
That type of impact has left a strong mark on all his former players and students.
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"God, when you look back and you hear from guys graduated in 1969, 1975, 1979, 1989 and into the 90's, and they still want to talk to coach, man it's just so gratifying," smiled Boudreaux. "I guess what that tells you is you must of made a little bit of a difference."
Over the course of his 51-year career at CHS, Boudreaux has led his teams to 18 state cross country championships, 14 state indoor track titles, and 18 state outdoor track championships – an amazing grand total of 50 state championships.
"Success, that was never even a goal, you were just hoping to make a difference."
When it's all said and done, Boudreaux will have a chance to ride of into the sunset. And if he hopes one thing, he hopes his legacy will be defined like this.