In the Presence of.............

Greatness, Part 2. Take out your time machines and go way back to the early eighties...on a

warm Spring day in April out on the practice field at Tulane University upon completion of their Spring Game a group of coaches in attendance at the Tulane Coaching Clinic head through a line for some boiled crawfish and beer. I sauntered over toward some chairs to sit down and participate in devouring the crawdads and knocking back a brew or two. It just so happens that I ended sitting next to two of the legends of football in St. Tammany. Coach Jack Salter and Coach Sid Theriot, still a young coach, full of vim and vigor (or b. s. some would say) I poked fun at the two "statesman" coaches with a query..."Tell coaches which one of you invented the huddle?"... obviously referring to and making fun of their age. It was my good fortune that they both gave a hearty laugh and needled one another as to who it might actually be.



Truth be told, I was blessed that day to be in the presence of greatness...the greatness of these two gentlemen coaches. I have previously chronicled Coach Jack Salter's place in Covington history, St. Tammany history, and Lousiana coaching history. He is among the greats.



Today though I had the opportunity to interview Coach Sid Theriot of Mandeville High School.

This man started the program at MHS in 1967. He did so from literally scratch. The School Board had hired the right man as he had some prior experience in building a program (Houma Junior High). What the school board didn't know and would over the years find out is that they got not only a Coach, but, a teacher (one student claimed that Coach Theriot was the only teacher that could teach me Math), a father figure, a mentor, a family man and much more.



Here are some of the things his former players said about him:

"He instilled a work ethic and discipline in every one of us"

"We game him our all, because we respected him,

"