by Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek baseball has a long tradition of excellence on the diamond.
The Cougars won state titles in 2000 and 2014 and were a staple in the Class A postseason for decades. That is until recently.
Veteran north Louisiana high school baseball coach Chad Yates knew he had a rebuilding job to do when he took the head coaching position at Cedar Creek last summer.
And he knew it wouldn’t be easy.
In just his first year at the helm of the Cougars program, Yates is steadily trying to change a culture and build a program that will eventually lead the school back to the state championship picture.
One thing is for certain when talking to Creek players, Yates is making a difference.
“He is a winner,” said senior Ladd Thompson. “He is going to come out here every day and he is going to be the first one here and the last one to leave. He is going to win at whatever he does, whether that is cleaning up the clubhouse or working out with us in the weight room. He is over there bench pressing the house with us.”
“We are way more of a family now,” said senior Blake Wade. “In year’s past we have always been hard on each other. When things didn’t go well in year’s past we would get down on each other and the energy was low. I think this year the energy is way better. We keep each other up.”
The Cougars currently sit at 12-17 and are No. 17 in the most recent Select School Division IV power ratings. The top 20 will qualify for the state playoffs which are just a few weeks away.
Yates said he has been happy with the effort given by his squad, even in losses.
“These guys have competed,” said Yates. “I keep preaching to them ‘How to Win Awareness’, the old Skip Bertman HWA. When you are playing as much baseball as we are … we are playing good competition in my eyes … they are learning that having a plan with every inning is so important. It’s not a lack of physical skills with this group. They have physical skills. It’s a mental makeup that we continue to preach.”
The Cougars record could be a little misleading. Yates didn’t shy away from competition in his first year in Ruston and the Cougars have played toe-to-toe with some higher classification teams. Last week Creek defeated 5A Benton 8-7 in the first game of a DH, earning power points that helped move the team up a few spots in the power ratings. On Sunday, they topped 5A Captain Shreve 2-1.
The team has started to make plays to win big games.
“We need that one hit to get us over the hump,” said Thompson last week following a loss to Ouachita. “I feel like if we can get that one hit that changes our record by four to five games.”
Thompson was true to his word, hitting a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning in the victory over Benton, a program that has four DI signees.
According to Yates the Cougars aren’t lacking talent.
“We are a really good team when you line us up,” said Yates. “I’ve seen enough baseball in the Ark-La-Tex area. I try to let them know that. They see it but at the end … I don’t know if we are pressing because they haven’t won much in the past two years … I think we are trying to get over the hump. We have guys who are so capable.”
Fight also hasn’t been an issue for Creek this year as evidence by the Cougars 8-7 win over Vermillion Catholic on February 24. Down 7-1 entering the final half inning, Cedar Creek rallied for seven runs and the come-from-behind victory.
“It seems like we are never out of it,” said Wade. “A few weeks ago we are down six runs against Vermillion Catholic, and we came back and scored seven runs in the seventh inning to win it. It’s just a lot different then in years past.”
This year’s roster is an interesting mix of experience and youth. The Cougars boast six seniors, but the rest of the roster is littered with underclassemen who are getting invaluable experience.
“It’s a young team,” said Yates. “We do have six seniors but everybody outside of that are young guys who have not played a lot of baseball. A lot of them are used to playing the spring season and then they pack it in until next season. We started with a summer program this past summer and got a lot of good reps in there.
“They work hard, but they are finding out by playing this caliber of competition day in and day out of what that level looks like. More is required. More outside of our practices. More outside of our games. That’s what we preach every day.”
True freshmen Kade Luker and Brett Bell, sophomores Connor Yates and Gavin Hall and eighth graders Eli Slocum and Cason Floyd are just some of the young players that have seen significant playing time this year, something that will pay dividends in the coming years.
“They have a bright future,” said Thompson. “The sky is the limit. They are getting a lot of time and are getting a lot of experience. For them it’s to get that experience, but to calm down and realize it’s just high school baseball at the end of the day.”
“I think Coach Yates will make this one of the top tier programs in Class A,” said Wade. “I feel like he one of the best coaches there is. If he keeps preaching what he is preaching to us, the future is bright. You have guys like (Kade) Luker and Brett (Bell). Those are two starters who are true freshmen and they are great players.”
As the regular season comes to a close over the next few weeks, Cedar Creek continues to position itself for the postseason. And despite losing 11 of its past 15 games, Yates said the goal continues to be the same.
“It’s tough right now,” said Yates. “We are trying to make a playoff push. It’s a matter of continuing to show them what good baseball is and what they have to do. Our job is to continue to push them every day. They think they are giving great effort every day, but they don’t quite understand what it takes. We are trying to get every ounce out of them.”
