District title first step to rebuild St. John baseball. Laurent says

St. John Baseball Coach Stephen Laurent

It meant the Eagles had to look past the team and not dwell on an opponent’s record.

“I emphasized that we had to go out every day and play to the best of our ability as a team,” Laurent said. “It took a while, and I told them it would not happen overnight.”

For Laurent, it has been more than the standard approach of wins and losses.

He knew his team needed confidence before they could compete against the larger schools.

“We went straight to the gauntlet, find our team identity and give some guys their first start on the mound so they could get those butterflies out,” Laurent said.

He now gets calls from other coaches, who have one question for him. They want to know how he managed to turn around the Eagle baseball program his first year at St. John.

It was not a complex issue.

“We simply out there with the goal to compete and grow,” Laurent said. “I’ve had seniors who have been the heartbeat of the team, and they really stepped up, which also strengthened their leadership.”

It’s all been about execution and creating a sense of urgency.

The team also had to put the losses behind them and look ahead.

“Whether we win or lose, we must learn from it,” he said. “Our objective this season has been to play the game, learn from it and move on.”

Some of the players have said the win against Ascension Catholic gave the Eagles the sense of confidence they needed, but it’s not one win or one team that helps a program turn the corner, Laurent said.

“I’ve had to teach our players they should go into a game expecting to lose,” he said, “The goal has been to go out and play team-baseball — and that’s where our success has come from.”

Now that he has crossed the threshold to get into the Eagle program — literally and figuratively — Laurent intends to make this year’s success merely the starting point for the future of the program.

He wants to establish a feeder program and bring players in by eight grade to learn what is expected from the St. John baseball program.

Even as coach, he does not see himself as the catalyst for the program’s current or future success.

“I tell our players about them,” he said. “Right now, they have a chance to change everything.”

This article originally appeared on Plaquemine Post South: St. John crosses threshold with victory against Ascension Catholic