Bob Ladouceur

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Bob Ladouceur
Biographical details
Born (1954-07-03) July 3, 1954 (age 71)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Playing career
1972 Utah
1974–1975 San Jose State
Position Running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1978–1979 Danville (CA) Monte Vista HS (assistant)
1979–2012 Concord (CA) De La Salle HS
Head coaching record
Overall399–25–3

Robert Eugene Ladouceur (born July 3, 1954) is a retired American football coach. He was best known for being the head coach for the De La Salle High School football team in Concord, California.

Contents

Early life

Ladouceur played for the Utah Utes football team in 1972 and for the San Jose State Spartans football team for 2 seasons in 1974-1975. Ladouceur graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1977. Ladouceur received a Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary doctorate) from SJSU in 2015. [1]

Career

Prior to his coaching career, Ladouceur was a Probation officer. In 1978, Ladouceur began his high school coaching career as an assistant coach at Monte Vista High School. [2] One year later, Ladouceur became the head coach at De La Salle High Spartans football team. He took over a program that never had a winning season since the school's establishment in 1965. His first season as head coach resulted in their first winning season. His second season resulted in their first appearance in the California Prep Football State Rankings and began De La Salle's evolution into a perennial champion. From 1992 to 2004, he guided the team to 12 consecutive undefeated seasons, setting a national winning streak record for high school football of 151 consecutive wins—a record in US amateur sports exceeded only by the 159-game winning streak of Passaic High School in men's basketball and the 459 match win streak of Brandon High School in men's wrestling. [3] Ladouceur was enshrined to the National High School Hall of Fame in 2001. His team topped the USA Today rankings five times and he is a three-time coach of the year. He retired on January 4, 2013 with a career record of 399–25–3. [4] His .934 winning percentage is a record among coaches with 200 or more wins. Ladouceur is the all-time winningest coach in California high school football and has led the De La Salle program to numerous championships. De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur retired in January 2013 after winning his last Open Division state championship in December 2012.

When the Game Stands Tall

A film about his life called When the Game Stands Tall was released on August 22, 2014. The film, which stars Jim Caviezel as Coach Bob Ladouceur, Laura Dern as Bev Ladouceur, Michael Chiklis as assistant coach Terry Eidson, and Alexander Ludwig as running back Chris Ryan, is about the record-setting 151-game 1992–2003 high school football winning streak by De La Salle High School of Concord, California. The film is an adaptation of the 2003 book of the same name by Neil Hayes and published by North Atlantic Books.

Personal life

Bob married Lissa Ladouceur on January 3, 2015.

Championships and record

SeasonTeamWinLossTieNotes
1979 De La Salle 630
1980De La Salle820
1981De La Salle720
1982De La Salle1200 NCS 2A champions
1983De La Salle821
1984De La Salle1110 NCS 2A champions
1985De La Salle1200 NCS 2A champions
1986De La Salle1200 NCS 3A champions
1987De La Salle1110
1988De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions
1989De La Salle1120 NCS 3A champions
1990De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions
1991De La Salle1210
1992De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions; win streak begins with season-opening victory over Merced
1993De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions
1994De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions
1995De La Salle1300 NCS 3A champions
1996De La Salle1200 NCS 4A champions
1997De La Salle1200 NCS 4A champions
1998De La Salle1200 NCS 4A champions
1999De La Salle1200 NCS 4A champions
2000De La Salle1300 NCS 4A champions
2001De La Salle1200 NCS 4A champions
2002De La Salle1300 NCS 4A champions
2003De La Salle1300 NCS 4A champions
2004De La Salle832 NCS 4A champions; win streak ends at 151 games with season-opening loss to Bellevue (WA)
2005De La Salle1120 NCS 4A champions
2006De La Salle1310 NCS 4A champions; lost to Canyon (Santa Clarita) in CIF Div. 1 Bowl, 13-27
2007De La Salle1300 NCS 4A champions; defeated Centennial (Corona) in CIF Div. 1 Bowl, 37-31
2008De La Salle1220 NCS Div. 1 champions; lost to Centennial (Corona) in CIF Div. 1 Bowl, 16-21
2009De La Salle1320 NCS Div. 1 champions; defeated Crenshaw in CIF Open Division Bowl, 28-14
2010De La Salle1400 NCS Div. 1 champions; defeated Servite in CIF Open Division Bowl, 48-8
2011De La Salle1310 NCS Div. 1 champions; defeated Westlake in CIF Open Division Bowl, 35-0
2012De La Salle1500 NCS Div. 1 champions; defeated Centennial (Corona) in CIF Open Division Bowl, 48-28
TOTAL34 seasons3992530.934 winning percentage, 28 North Coast Section championships, 5 CIF Bowl championships

References

  1. ↑ Noguchi, Sharon (May 23, 2015). "Pelosi gives commencement speech for San Jose State grads". The Mercury News . Archived from the original on April 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ Nevius, C.W. (August 26, 2002). "CHRONICLE PROFILE / Bob Ladouceur / Sweat and spirituality -- a winning combo / De La Salle football coach's philosophy drives school's 125-game streak". SFGate . Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Massive win streak finally falls on wrestling mat - USATODAY.com". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. January 6, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Bob Ladouceur finishes 399-25-3". ESPN. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
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