Trosclair Steps Onto The HOF Stage
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Former Eunice High head coach Paul Trosclair, whose career in sports began in Opelousas, is one of 10 former standout high school coaches and players who were inducted last week into the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Trosclair, who retired from active coaching several years ago, was supported by a large number of former and current St. Landry Parish coaches that attended the event held at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom in Baton Rouge.
Also attending were Trosclair family members that included his four sons, wife Irma Trosclair and daughters-in-law.
At Eunice Trosclair won a state Class III non-select football championship in 2018, after his Bobcats teams reached the semifinals in 1997 and 1998.
Attending the induction from St. Landry Parish were former Opelousas High head coaches Mike Ortego, Mickey Guidry and Larry Dauterieve, Mac Barousse who coached at OHS and Carencro, former Port Barre head coach Donnie Perron, former parish athletic director and Melville High head coach Jimmy Prados and ex-Opelousas High assistant coaches David Aymond and Billy Myers.
Current Eunice High head coach Andre Vige and former Eunice High assistant and Oakdale head coach Durell Peloquin also attended.
Trosclair became the 12th St. Landry Parish head coach or athlete that has been selected to the high school hall of fame since its inception in 1979.
Two of the coaches, Faize Mahfouz and Joe Nagata, were also head football coaches at Eunice High.
Other parish inductees include Olympic gold medal winner Rodney Milburn, former Opelousas High head coach – athletic director and major league baseball executive Mel Didier, former parish athletic director John E. Bradley, Sr., Opelousas Catholic head coach and athletic director Mickey Mills, Port Barre athletic director William “Bill” Duplechain, Perron and Dauterive.
L.J. Raymond, Johnny Buck and Al Tregle, who coached briefly at Opelousas Catholic, are also in the coaches Hall of Fame.
Aymond, who coached baseball at Opelousas High before becoming head coach at Abbeville and in Texas for nearly 30 years, was inducted into the Texas Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022.
Induction Comments
Trosclair told the large audience that his life has always orbited around athletics.
“I always loved all athletics and I loved to compete. I began coaching and I fell in love with it,” said Trosclair, whose Eunice teams won 208 games along with 27 playoff appearances.
At Eunice Trosclair, who assisted Johnny Bourque at the school, also coached a variety of EHS sports that included softball, baseball and track.
In Opelousas, Trosclair quarterbacked the high school team under Guidry and played baseball there under Aymond, who also coached Trosclair on the Opelousas Warriors’ American Legion team during the early 1970’s.
Trosclair worked as an assistant under Aymond at Abbeville High and coached baseball and football under Ortego, who was also the Opelousas High athletic director.
Ortego said that he has always been impressed with Trosclair’s leadership abilities and decision making which included hiring assistant coaches with character.
Aymond said that it was obvious that Trosclair possessed unique characteristics that are important in athletics.
“I coached him in baseball and you could see back then he was something special, just by the way (Trosclair) handled himself. He’s a people person and he’s going to give you that inspiration.
“Paul was also a good athlete, who’s a better coach and a good family man,” Aymond said.
Trosclair said during an interview that he’s always considered coaching as a service profession.
“What you do with these athletes is a service in a lot of ways. In athletics a lot of good things have happened for me. I am very appreciative of my family and all the players. It’s been exciting and I’ve come to realize how important coaching really is,” Trosclair said.
