By Kyle Roberts
Life finds ways to humble us all.
Sometimes it’s external forces; sometimes it’s entirely out of our control; sometimes it’s our own poor decisions.
But when we face a reckoning within ourselves, we’re left with a choice of who we really want to be. Do we allow our mistake to define us, or do we own our past as a way to help others?
Ruston head coach Jerrod Baugh was faced with his own reckoning nearly 10 years ago. And just before his return to coaching and in his darkest hours following his arrest for a DUI and ultimate dismissal from Gladewater High School, he discovered what really mattered was the passionate care for his players and setting as many of them up for a future success, regardless of whether it was on the football field or in the real world.
“I guess the good and the bad thing about a coach is you are in contact with a lot of people and you have a chance to affect a lot of people,” Baugh said. “You are either affecting them in a good way or a bad way. I don’t think mine was completely bad, but I don’t think it was as good as it could have been.
“With all of that stuff, I decided at that point that I needed to figure out how to pass all of these experiences along to the kids. Hopefully I can curve somebody from making some of the same mistakes that I’ve made. I’m willing to share some of the other mistakes that I’ve made in my life. I think that is one of the things that people fail to want to do. They want to coach kids and they want to point out kids’ flaws, but they are never willing to share some instances where (they) can tell you all about not doing this right or that right.”
Though there was no doubt Baugh was an up-and-coming coach within the East Texas high school ranks and destined for glory in one of the South’s greatest states for football, he’s quick to clarify that prior to January of 2014, he was still taking care of his team. Players were getting rides home from practice, mentorship — you name it.
But once he realized he had another shot to lead a team again, the internal focus shifted from taking pretty good care of his kids into the new core motivation: the development of young men as football players and academics for now, and into the future as productive members of society, whatever their goals were.
So he openly shares his story with his staff and players as a means to make them better, and in the sincere hopes that they will not make the same mistakes he’s made in the past.
“I think a lot of coaches try to project themselves as always being a person that is right and never makes a mistake,” Baugh said. “I think that resonates through our kids. Whenever I tell them something, I think they absolutely know that I absolutely think that is the right thing to do. Otherwise, I tell them another way. I’ve prided myself in making sure that I’m always being honest with the kids.
“I think when you are willing to share some of the things that have happened to you, I think kids take that and they really believe you. They trust you. When you are able to trust who it is you are spending time with the bond that you (form) is just that much greater.”
Listening to Baugh talk how much he cares about his players is captivating. In multiple interviews since he has been at the helm of Ruston’s Bearcat football program, he’s never wavered from that. It appears authentic.
But still — what is it like on the other side of Baugh? Is it all coach-speak, something society has grown accustomed and numbed to over the years, or is it a real genuine driver for the new state champion head coach?
Can it possibly be real?
For former Ruston High head coach Brad Laird, he knew from day one how genuine Baugh was with the kids. In fact, it was a driving factor for getting him to 900 Bearcat Drive nine years ago as an assistant coach.
“Capital L-O-V-E for his players,” Laird said. “There are a lot of good coaches out there as far as X’s and O’s. And you can get anybody up on the white board to draw up the best offense, defense or special teams. Jerrod can do that; he’s good at that. But it’s his love for his players– that’s what makes him so good.”
Lincoln Parish School Board Superintendent Ricky Durrett was Ruston’s principal at the time when Jerrod being considered as an assistant; ultimately, Durrett was the one who approved the final hire. It took him no time to realize how much Baugh meant to his players and vice versa.
“Jerrod just believes in those kids and does things for them,” Durrett said. “I have had parents get mad about things, and then I talk to those same kids, and they are like, ‘No. I love Coach Baugh.’ I don’t know how you explain that to people. I think Jerrod wants what is best for every single one of them. It may not be playing every down, or even playing in a game. But I do think he cares and wants to give them a chance to be successful in life.
“He is a hard-working individual who believes in pushing kids and getting them to be the best they can be, even when sometimes they don’t believe they can do something. But they love him and care for him even though he pushes them hard and expects a lot from them.”
Current Ruston High principal Dan Gressett was a freshman football coach when Baugh was hired on Laird’s staff and saw immediately how much of an impact he’d have on this historic program.
“It was obvious to me from the start that he had a special talent for relating to the kids and how the kids gravitated towards him,” Gressett said. “The things that he does for kids; people have no idea about. He makes sure they have everything they need, no matter what. He’s not going to be flashy about it or brag on himself. It’s pretty remarkable.”
How about some of the dads of these young men? What would they say?
Bearcat alum Hunter Smith, father of sophomore fullback Lander Smith, has no doubts about the motivation from Baugh.
“Probably the best thing for me as a dad is knowing that Coach Baugh (and his entire staff) genuinely care about Lander (and all his teammates) as a young man and how he goes about his business,” Hunter Smith said. “The accountability and the expectations Coach Baugh has for his players, staff and program as a whole are what sets him apart.
“There are a lot of people who talk about accountability and doing the right thing, but I believe Coach Baugh’s record of acting on accountability and doing the right thing, are some of his greatest attributes.”
George Guidry’s son Geordan just finished his tenure on the field as a Bearcat and recently signed to further his academic and playing career at Tulane. George echoes the same sentiments as Smith as a dad watching his son flourish under Baugh’s leadership.
“It’s been a joy,” George Guidry said. “I can honestly tell you for the four years my son has been in high school at Ruston High, I have not questioned one move Coach Baugh has made because not only are they being set up for football, but he’s giving them the recipe for life.
“He coaches them hard, and he has their best interest at heart. There have been things that Geordan can talk to Coach Baugh about that I’ll never know, because he looks at his coach as his dad away from home. He has a respect for him like no other. It’s just a joy to watch the work that (Coach Baugh) puts in with the kids.”
Hunter Smith said he appreciates that Baugh is honest about his past mistakes, but he does not allow it to shape his perception on his son’s relationship with his head coach.
“Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to it initially,” Hunter Smith said. “Coach Baugh has humbly shared his past struggles as a man with his players, his staff, me personally, and the public. He doesn’t hide from his past. He embraces it head on and uses it as a teaching tool to help young men become better humans, better fathers, better husbands.
“That approach is irreplaceable to me. That approach aligns with how Coach Baugh coaches his teams: don’t run from struggles and adversity, meet them head on and keep fighting.”
George Guidry agreed, even admitting that it takes a lot to earn his trust.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” George Guidry said. “We learn from them. I judge him by what I have seen him do as an individual with these kids. I’ve been around a lot of coaches. He sets a high standard for these young men going forward in the future.”
Hunter Smith sees that standard in real tangible ways with Lander and how he is led on the football field.
“Lander knows where he stands,” Hunter Smith said. “Coach Baugh and his staff spend more time around our kids than most parents do on a daily basis. To have a man who puts doing the right thing, hard work and being a great teammate above winning is the type of leadership that has fostered a championship program. My family has a long history with Ruston High football, and we are grateful for Coach Baugh and his staff’s leadership now, in the past and in the future.”
All of that culminated on the night of December 9 in the postgame press conference following the Bearcats first state title since 1990. On the dais, Baugh was able to hear firsthand from junior Josh Brantley and senior Jadon Mayfield what he meant to them.
“I appreciate you, Coach,” Mayfield said that night. “It’s been a long four years. I appreciate you for everything you did, on and off the field. You’ve made me a better person, and I’ll never, ever forget it. I just really appreciate you, and I love you.”
Brantley, fresh off winning the night’s outstanding player award, didn’t mince words.
“I really appreciate the way you trust me with the offense,” Brantley said. “You’ve had an impact on my life. You’re always there for us, and if we need something, we can ask you. I really want to thank you and tell you how much I appreciate you.”
The words from the players weighed heavy with emotion. Words from young men who achieved their greatest dream as high school athletes: state champions on the gridiron for a community that had not seen a football title in over three decades.
But they were also words from young men who had been molded for years by a man who took the right path after his biggest mistake.
“Listening to Jadon and Josh say the things that they said about me, well that way bypasses winning a state championship,” Baugh said. “That lets me know that I have impacted them in a really positive way and taught them some things that may help them down the line. If you are able to do that for some kids when they are really impressionable, then that’s better than a state championship for me.”
It’s why Baugh’s past transgressions shouldn’t be hidden, and why he brings them directly into the light with his players.
Because the true change in Baugh’s heart and motive has led to nearly a decade of success for young Bearcats that has rippled into a united and supportive community.
And that trend looks to only continue forward from here.
