Bob Ladouceur

Robert Eugene "Bob" Ladouceur (born July 3, 1954) is a retired American football coach. He began coaching the De La Salle High Spartans in Concord, California in 1979, when he was 25 years old. He took over a program that had never enjoyed 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 matched 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.^[1] Ladouceur was enshrined to the National High School Hall of Fame in 2001. His team has 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.^[2] 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. A film about his life was released on August 22, 2014. When the Game Stands Tall is a 2014 sports drama film. 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, published by North Atlantic Books. De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur retired in January 2013 after winning his last Open Division state championship in December 2012. Bob married Lissa Ladouceur on January 3, 2015.

Championships

National Championships (11): 1994 (ESPN), 1998 (USA Today), 1999 (National Sports News Service), 2000 (USA Today), 2001 (USA Today), 2002 (USA Today), 2003 (USA Today) Calpreps 2009,2010,2011,2012

California State Championships (18): 1985, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

CIF North Coast Section championships (28): 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

East Bay League championships (4): 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Bay Valley League championships (10): 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997

Golden Bay League championships (2): 1986, 1987

Catholic League championships (3): 1982, 1983, 1984

Notable players and assistant coaches

• T. J. Ward, defensive back for Denver Broncos
• Jackie Bates, defensive back for Kansas City Chiefs
• Maurice Jones-Drew, running back for Oakland Raiders
• Kevin Simon, linebacker for Washington Redskins
• Matt Gutierrez, quarterback with Omaha Nighthawks
• D. J. Williams, outside linebacker with Chicago Bears
• Doug Brien, placekicker with San Francisco 49ers
• David Loverne, guard with New York Jets
• Derek Landri, defensive tackle formerly with Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Steve Alexakos, assistant line coach (1991–1994), guard for Denver Broncos and New York Giants
• Amani Toomer, wide receiver formerly for the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs
• Aaron Taylor, offensive guard formerly for the Green Bay Packers
• Demetrius Williams, wide receiver for Baltimore Ravens

References

External links

• Legends of HS football: Bob Ladouceur
• Abend, Harold (2008-09-26). "No secrets to De La Salle's success". ESPN.com.