Former Eunice High School coach Paul Trosclair was honored in a statement by Alderman Chad Andrepont who played for and coached with Trosclair.
Andrepont, who is serving his first term on the Board of Aldermen, presented Trosclair’s wife, Irma, a certificate in recognition of his achievements.
Irma Trosclair served as a elmentary school principal in Eunice and is now Lafayette Parish’s superintendent of schools.
Trosclair announced his retirement in June after a 40-year career that included 30 years in Eunice.
Andrepont, who is a high school science teacher and coach, noted it is not easy to coach because of the time away from family in thanking Trosclair’s family for their role in his successful career.
Trosclair’s teams had 247 victories under his guidance, “which placed near the top of all-time high school coaches here in the state of Louisiana. He was part of close to 20 district championships.”
Eunice High teams made state finalist appearances in 1997, 1998 and 2018 when the Bobcats won the state championship
“All of that adds up to a future hall of famer. As soon as he is put forth I have no doubt in my mind he is going to be in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame,” Andrepont said a the July 14 city meeting.
“But as impressive as all of those numbers are, and they are quite impressive, as good as pretty much anybody who has ever done it in the state of Louisiana, to me the most important numbers are the thousands of young men and women that he had a positive impact throughout his career, me being one of them,” he said.
“I can honestly say that outside out of my family, coach Trosclair is one of the most important influences on my life. I wouldn’t be sitting up here right now as a coach, a teacher or a councilman, being a leader of people if was not for the way I saw him lead. He has allowed me to be where I am today,” he said.
“I’m just one story. There are thousands of stories just like me. I’m not the exception, We can go on and on and on about all the things that he has done. We don’t have time in this one meeting to talk about everything that he has done for the city of Eunice, the community of Eunice, the young people here in this city,” he said.
Trosclair, 64, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer and began chemotherapy treatments for in 2014. He continued coaching until his announcement in June.
Irma Trosclair said, “I can say ‘yes,’ coach dedicated his life to kids and coaching and to the community of Eunice. But as much as he has given the community, this community has given to him.”
