Hard decision

In a very heartbreaking decision, Ville Platte Junior High head football coach Ezekiel Thomas stepped down after 14 years of service to the school and the student/athletes who he served.
What made the decision even tougher was the fact that Thomas was well liked by his players and former players. Even though Thomas was not well known outside of Ville Platte or the Junior High football community, he was an important part of the overall football program, teaching the skills of football and life to hundreds of young men who ran through his domain.
“The decision to give up the head coaching job was a very hard one to make,” stated Thomas. “When you pour your heart and soul into something, you hate to leave it behind. But, I just felt it was time for me to step down and let someone else take over. I prayed over this decision a lot. It is heartbreaking in a way, but it is what I thought was best for me right now.”
About five years before Thomas took over the junior high program in 2005, he and long time assistant Lee Clark coached in the youth league that was in place at the time. The league, which was made up of several teams slowly dissolved into one team, the Little Dogs, with Thomas in charge of that particular team.
Thomas and Clark found themselves having to play teams outside of Ville Platte. Still, the two continued to coach the young players even though it meant sacrificing a ton of their time.
“We joined a league with Kinder, Basile, Oakdale, and teams around that area,” said Thomas. “We even took the team to Baton Rouge to compete. Most of the times, the other teams were bigger than us, but we went out and competed.”
In 2005, Thomas was asked to take over the junior high football program and the first call he made was to Clark.
“I wanted to get someone to work with me that I trusted,” commented Thomas. “Coach Clark is my right hand man. I could not have done the things that I have done with the program if it were not for him. He really has been a good friend for a long time now.”
When asked if he considered taking over the program after Thomas announced he was stepping down, Clark was very adamant about his answer.
“No. I didn’t even think twice about it,” stated Clark emphatically.
“I told him that whatever his decision was, I was going to back him all the way,” Clark elaborated. “I told him that if he stepped down, that would be my final ride too. As long as he stayed the head coach, I would be there for him. But, once he gave it up, I decided to give it up also.”
Thomas, a 1994 Eunice High graduate, fell in love with the game of football after playing under legendary head coach Ernest Bourque. After moving to Ville Platte to help open up a branch of the family mortuary business, Thomas took that love and put it to use helping coach the youth of the town and Ville Platte High.
In the time Thomas has spent as the head coach of the junior high, the one memory that sticks out to him is a loss to Crowley.
“To me the greatest moment of coaching came when we lost to Crowley 6-0 with two seconds left in the game,” said Thomas. “The reason I say that it because we played as hard as we could and gave a bigger team all they could handle. It showed the character that we as coaches were trying to instill in them everyday. I was so proud of them even though we did not come out on top.”
That says a lot, especially coming from a man that spent 14 years shaping young lives!