Lumberton Raider Nation and Coach Babin

[robanadana]

I had an interesting conversation with a Raider fan about Coach Chris Babin recently where he expressed his dismay with him and was more impressed with Larry Haynes. Now, if you could see through my computer you would see my "REALLY" face. So Raider fans, let me tell you a little story. We hired a young coach and the very first year he was at Vidor, he took us to the playoffs. The second coming, we wanted to say. Sound familiar? However, after that initial year, it was 9 years before we made the playoffs again. We had some successful years but I believe the average over that span to be in the 3 - 7 range. A lot of people wanted his head. Now, most of us wouldn't trade Jeff Mathews for any coach in the area. You have a good, young coach who is from Lumberton and cares about the team. It takes time to build a program; years...especially if you have limited talent. We had the revolving coach thing centuries ago when I was in school. New coach every year = zero wins. IH 10 - Vidor / Lumberton 0. Stick with this coach and he'll get you there. It takes time, hard work and a little heartache. Mostly, it requires faith from the community because it is a community effort.  

[fido]

Let me say this, Hardin deserves Larry Haynes. Lumberton will forever be better with Babin. I challenge anyone to show me a program that Larry Haynes has built.

[WOSgrad]

8 minutes ago, fido said:

Let me say this, Hardin deserves Larry Haynes. Lumberton will forever be better with Babin. I challenge anyone to show me a program that Larry Haynes has built.

I don't think Robadana's post was meant as a condemnation of Coach Haynes, who is a good coach and got Hardin closer to the playoffs than anyone has in a while.

I think he is dismayed...as am I....;about the negativity Babin has received in Lumberton every since he was named the head coach there.  By reading some of the posts and hearing some of the comments about Coach Babin in relation to Coach Haynes, you wouldn't think he just replaced Haynes.......you'd think he murdered him!

[Bigdog]

Sounds like to me that some people didn't like the hire to begin with and are venting now.

[The Icon]

1 hour ago, fido said:

Let me say this, Hardin deserves Larry Haynes. Lumberton will forever be better with Babin. I challenge anyone to show me a program that Larry Haynes has built.

Be careful - I've seen people massacred for being critical of Haynes

[Hagar]

I guess this coaching appraisal is relative.  Seeing several posters criticizing BF, recently, mind boggles me.  Even seen one critical of Coach Riordan at Crosby.  Both of them have good records, so I guess the fans have raised the bar.  Few schools will get a coach like Newton and WOS.  I like coach Matthews.  Somewhat for his record, but primarily because he teaches the kids more than just football.  Not familiar with coach Babin or Haynes, but like Matthews at Vidor, whoever coaches at Lumberton has their work cut out for them.  Schools with winning traditions will always have that advantage. 

[AthleticSupporter - Jock]

4 hours ago, bigdog said:

Sounds like to me that some people didn't like the hire to begin with and are venting now.

Some didn't like the hire and that's ok. Some don't like that we are run-heavy and that's ok. Some don't like to work their tail off and that is NOT ok.   But it's all getting sorted out. Hard work is not for everyone. But neither is winning. 

[footballiifeandbasketball]

Coach babin cares about this community, these kids, and these programs!! He's the hardest worker I've ever been around!!! Lumberton should be glad they have a great coach but more importantly a great man to teach these kids life lessons and develop these athletes to become successful after  high school!!! We have our Jeff Matthews at Lumberton now let's  support him!!!! 

[L-Train11]

Babin is the best thing that's happened to us since Coach Credeur, and honestly imo the best thing that could have happened.

And that statement is coming from first hand experience of his coaching style, his attitude, and his passion for the kids and the game.

People who complain either don't know coach Babin, or little johnny got ran too hard and now their feelings are hurt....

[prepballfan]

4 hours ago, REBgp said:

I guess this coaching appraisal is relative.  Seeing several posters criticizing BF, recently, mind boggles me.  Even seen one critical of Coach Riordan at Crosby.  Both of them have good records, so I guess the fans have raised the bar.  Few schools will get a coach like Newton and WOS.  I like coach Matthews.  Somewhat for his record, but primarily because he teaches the kids more than just football.  Not familiar with coach Babin or Haynes, but like Matthews at Vidor, whoever coaches at Lumberton has their work cut out for them.  Schools with winning traditions will always have that advantage. 

I can honestly say that I live in a very political place when it comes to football. Part of that maybe the volume of Indian fans. The more fans you have naturally you will have more detractors. The other side to that coin is the fact that our former coach was so well loved in this community. He was not just a coach but sort of a icon after 1999. He was very similar to what Jeff is to Vidor now. Babin is like Duboise in BC in the way that he cares about Lumberton. Lumberton is decently successful at the junior league levels and some in Junior High. translating that to wins at the varisty level will require a change of the way the students in high school look at football. We have a kid who moved into PNG from Lumberton this year and he ended up living next door to me. When the season began he asked if he could catch a game with me. His words"to see what this PNG Football is all about." 2 games later he had a Purple shirt and was blown away. He said that the way PNG treats football and the way Lumberton looks at it is to very different things. The spirit of the school is not the same. This will help get kiddos to turn out if they can change this. Please understand this is not a shot at Lumberton yet and observation from an outsider with an insiders help. I absolutley think Lumberton has made a great choice in Babin. He will change the way football is looked at given the time to do it. Until then he will not have the participation to help find consistant winning ways. Lumberton has the kids to compete week in and week out once they start playing. We need Lumberton and all the teams to be better in our district to be able to compete at the highest levels of high school football. Tha last time PNG went to state we had 3 top ten teams in our district at one time. THAT WAS NO ACCIDENT> when you compete at that level you win big.

[Hagar]

1 hour ago, prepballfan said:

I can honestly say that I live in a very political place when it comes to football. Part of that maybe the volume of Indian fans. The more fans you have naturally you will have more detractors. The other side to that coin is the fact that our former coach was so well loved in this community. He was not just a coach but sort of a icon after 1999. He was very similar to what Jeff is to Vidor now. Babin is like Duboise in BC in the way that he cares about Lumberton. Lumberton is decently successful at the junior league levels and some in Junior High. translating that to wins at the varisty level will require a change of the way the students in high school look at football. We have a kid who moved into PNG from Lumberton this year and he ended up living next door to me. When the season began he asked if he could catch a game with me. His words"to see what this PNG Football is all about." 2 games later he had a Purple shirt and was blown away. He said that the way PNG treats football and the way Lumberton looks at it is to very different things. The spirit of the school is not the same. This will help get kiddos to turn out if they can change this. Please understand this is not a shot at Lumberton yet and observation from an outsider with an insiders help. I absolutley think Lumberton has made a great choice in Babin. He will change the way football is looked at given the time to do it. Until then he will not have the participation to help find consistant winning ways. Lumberton has the kids to compete week in and week out once they start playing. We need Lumberton and all the teams to be better in our district to be able to compete at the highest levels of high school football. Tha last time PNG went to state we had 3 top ten teams in our district at one time. THAT WAS NO ACCIDENT> when you compete at that level you win big.

And that epiphany the young man had, Imo, was coming face to face with the Tradition at PNG.  Can't say enough about it and the difference it makes.  Any coach coming to a school with it, has a lot of positives to start with.  A school without it will require a lot more work and patience.  Hats off to all our coaches!

[robanadana]

I started this thread not as a shot at Haynes but more about the utter dismay I have over the bad press about hiring Babin. I honestly believe that if Lumberton stays with this coach good things will happen in time. The philosophy has to start in little league and go all the way up and takes a few years to develop. It hurts playing in such a tradition rich district as ours but in time you'll get your victories. If Babin becomes what Mathews is to Vidor you'll all be pleased and maybe the Lumberton / Vidor rivalry will outclass MCM.

[raideroldtimer]

Robanadana hit on the one thing that matters, you've GOT to leave a coach in long enough to build a program. Babins' first year he inherited a team that Coach Haynes had built up. Haynes' first year he inherited a team from Creduer. The cycle just keeps going on and on because some of these players parents whine because their Johnny didn't get enough playing time, one thing leads to another and then you have the school board making an idiotic decision to fire the coach to keep their buddy happy. If you look at other sports and activities in Lumberton and in other schools you see success. Why? They have stability in their leadership. L-Town is fantastic on the soccer field boys and girls, the band great (long time leader retired and it was taken over by his assistant), cheerleaders great, Raiderettes always one of the best around, and the one thing they have in common is continuity in who teaches them. Until our school board can stand up to the parents and say NO WE ARE DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE ENTIRE SCHOOL! We will always struggle. With a little luck maybe, just maybe they'll let Babin alone long enough to put us on a winning track. Haynes is a great coach and should still be here if you ask me, he'd have done the same thing as Babin last year because he built that team. Now Babin has the reigns so let him do what he was hired to do. By the way, the reason Haynes was hired was he was one of the winning-est coaches Lumberton has ever had.

[RaiderGirl2010]

The one thing I can't stand about Babin is his wife and kids were on the sidelines all season. His daughters were in the middle of the players talking and laughing with them during games. The first season they weren't on the sideline but were this year. Just something about that upsets me 

[Stattrax]

Having dealt with the STJFL in the forming years, I know first hand what Lumberton football is about.. It starts at the lower levels and continues all the way up to varsity... It's a mentality.. The Raiders need to change that from bottom to top.. People laugh at the abuse BF and LN get when losing, for that matter even, Riordon... But it only makes everyone better... Coaches, kids, fans, etc... It's not about facilities, it's about mentality.. WOS is your prime example.. They have a mentality. A SWAG... When a team loses, you see angry fans from these towns, that resonates to players and coaches.... No punch thrown, but when Lumberton loses, you see a moral victory... It's a we are all winners mentality.... When that changes, possibly, the program will change... I don't know the tradition side, however it does appear a lot of kids transfer for one reason or another.... If Babin is well liked in the community, I would stick with him.. See if he can build a program.. As Rob said, Lumberton is not loaded with talent, so a playoff appearance now and again should be good... With PAM, PNG, Central, and Nederland, it will be tough to get in the 4 spots yearly... But when it happens build on it.. Vidor runs the slot or wing, becuse that's the best system to run when your not loaded with athletes. So start that mentality with Lumberton... Hard nosed... I root for Vidor because regardless of their record, they are going to give 110% and I can respect that... So in conclusion, build on what you have and make it better.... It takes a special guy, like. Mathews to stick it out year after year in a non successful situation. So if Babin is willing to do it, I would embrace it... Trust me Vidor goes through a lot of losing, but every once in a while that magical season comes around and it's very special to the community and the program.. They embrace it and the kids feed of it....

[AthleticSupporter - Jock]

8 hours ago, raideroldtimer said:

Robanadana hit on the one thing that matters, you've GOT to leave a coach in long enough to build a program. Babins' first year he inherited a team that Coach Haynes had built up. Haynes' first year he inherited a team from Creduer. The cycle just keeps going on and on because some of these players parents whine because their Johnny didn't get enough playing time, one thing leads to another and then you have the school board making an idiotic decision to fire the coach to keep their buddy happy. If you look at other sports and activities in Lumberton and in other schools you see success. Why? They have stability in their leadership. L-Town is fantastic on the soccer field boys and girls, the band great (long time leader retired and it was taken over by his assistant), cheerleaders great, Raiderettes always one of the best around, and the one thing they have in common is continuity in who teaches them. Until our school board can stand up to the parents and say NO WE ARE DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR THE ENTIRE SCHOOL! We will always struggle. With a little luck maybe, just maybe they'll let Babin alone long enough to put us on a winning track. Haynes is a great coach and should still be here if you ask me, he'd have done the same thing as Babin last year because he built that team. Now Babin has the reigns so let him do what he was hired to do. By the way, the reason Haynes was hired was he was one of the winning-est coaches Lumberton has ever had.

I agree with a lot of what you said. But saying Babin inherited a team that Haynes built up?  You mean like not preparing, practicing and trying to win against PNG, Central and Nederland because those games are "not winnable" and he didn't want to get key players hurt? If that is building a team up, then No Thank You.  I'll just stop there because I'd hate for this to turn into a Haynes bashing thread. 

[Raiders94]

I do think Babin is the right guy for Lumberton. Some of the other coaches on his staff, not so much. But all in all if the kids don't believe in in the coaches that's where it starts falling a part. Also the players have to come together as a team ( jell ) if that don't happen then they will not play as a team or as one. Coach Babin can't make that happen, that is up to the players. JMO 

[camsdad]

On 11/24/2016 at 5:57 AM, RaiderGirl2010 said:

The one thing I can't stand about Babin is his wife and kids were on the sidelines all season. His daughters were in the middle of the players talking and laughing with them during games. The first season they weren't on the sideline but were this year. Just something about that upsets me 

Is there a rule against this?

[Raider24]

It has been hard raising a football family in Lumberton.  My wife and I didn't think about a schools athletic program when we decided to move here 20 years ago. My oldest just finished his junior season this year which was his 2nd on Varsity. We had opportunities to move him to other school districts and we thought a lot about it. PNG, Nederland, WOS, etc! We thought a lot about it. Not because of the coaching, but because of the community and the make up of the town. Football just is not one of the big priorities and it does not fit my families personality. It's not what we experienced growing up in Beaumont. However, if we had moved and went somewhere else, what would we as parents be teaching our kids? I have coached in middle school, high school, and now I coach my youngest in the STJFL. We decided to stay here and stick it out and do what we can to teach our kids life lessons and be apart of a change that will hopefully carry over to when my 5th grader steps on the field to rep the Raiders on Friday nights. I know Babin and what he is trying to accomplish in a tough situation. I know he has the boys working harder than I've seen any group work in the last 4-5 years! With that you will lose some kids who don't want to put in the work, and hopefully you will gain some who really want to play the game. It is a numbers game! It is not an overnight fix! The mentality has to change! Work ethic has to change! They must "do work"! Compete! I don't always agree with every call they make, and no one ever will! But I do know that Babin is full of fire, energy, and that he has a desire to turn this thing around. My son and I talk about football all the time. We travel every weekend to watch games. Been to the last 3 PNG games and will be there tonight to watch his buddies play CS. He loves playing for Coach Babin! He will not hear complaints from me about his coach. If I do complain about the coaching with my son, then I become part of the problem! Gotta be part of the solution, not the problem!! 

[RaiderGirl2010]

37 minutes ago, camsdad said:

Is there a rule against this?

Idk but when the 2 girls are in high school they shouldn't be on the sideline joking around with the players

[WOSgrad]

35 minutes ago, RaiderGirl2010 said:

Idk but when the 2 girls are in high school they shouldn't be on the sideline joking around with the players

So no cheerleaders or female trainers either?

[L-Train11]

I've seen several instances of coaches kids being on the sidelines... doesn't bother me a bit.

[robanadana]

There are children on the Vidor sidelines at all times...including Jeff's wife. High school football is a family event and should be treated as such. One of the few places left you can let your kids run around like comanches and feel safe about it. If Lumberton gives Babin 10 years, they'll win. He was / is on my short list if Jeff were to ever leave and I got off of suicide watch.

[robanadana]

On 11/24/2016 at 9:49 AM, Stattrax said:

Having dealt with the STJFL in the forming years, I know first hand what Lumberton football is about.. It starts at the lower levels and continues all the way up to varsity... It's a mentality.. The Raiders need to change that from bottom to top.. People laugh at the abuse BF and LN get when losing, for that matter even, Riordon... But it only makes everyone better... Coaches, kids, fans, etc... It's not about facilities, it's about mentality.. WOS is your prime example.. They have a mentality. A SWAG... When a team loses, you see angry fans from these towns, that resonates to players and coaches.... No punch thrown, but when Lumberton loses, you see a moral victory... It's a we are all winners mentality.... When that changes, possibly, the program will change... I don't know the tradition side, however it does appear a lot of kids transfer for one reason or another.... If Babin is well liked in the community, I would stick with him.. See if he can build a program.. As Rob said, Lumberton is not loaded with talent, so a playoff appearance now and again should be good... With PAM, PNG, Central, and Nederland, it will be tough to get in the 4 spots yearly... But when it happens build on it.. Vidor runs the slot or wing, becuse that's the best system to run when your not loaded with athletes. So start that mentality with Lumberton... Hard nosed... I root for Vidor because regardless of their record, they are going to give 110% and I can respect that... So in conclusion, build on what you have and make it better.... It takes a special guy, like. Mathews to stick it out year after year in a non successful situation. So if Babin is willing to do it, I would embrace it... Trust me Vidor goes through a lot of losing, but every once in a while that magical season comes around and it's very special to the community and the program.. They embrace it and the kids feed of it....

Slowly but surely Stattrax, that tradition is building in Vidor. Those playoff appearances are coming more frequently. I believe had Jeff not lost most of his coaching staff to hirings from other schools after the 2012 football season, we would have seen the playoffs sooner. Like PNG, we have a lot of other good traditions to build on such as our homecoming which is second to none. The streets and businesses in Vidor fly the Jolly Roger with pride now. I'm really happy about the path we're on. BTW, PAM will only be in the district one more year...they'll be 5A Div.1 on the next realignment IMO. You can include us in those playoffs talks...I like what we having coming up the next few years.

[AthleticSupporter - Jock]

4 hours ago, Raider24 said:

It has been hard raising a football family in Lumberton.  My wife and I didn't think about a schools athletic program when we decided to move here 20 years ago. My oldest just finished his junior season this year which was his 2nd on Varsity. We had opportunities to move him to other school districts and we thought a lot about it. PNG, Nederland, WOS, etc! We thought a lot about it. Not because of the coaching, but because of the community and the make up of the town. Football just is not one of the big priorities and it does not fit my families personality. It's not what we experienced growing up in Beaumont. However, if we had moved and went somewhere else, what would we as parents be teaching our kids? I have coached in middle school, high school, and now I coach my youngest in the STJFL. We decided to stay here and stick it out and do what we can to teach our kids life lessons and be apart of a change that will hopefully carry over to when my 5th grader steps on the field to rep the Raiders on Friday nights. I know Babin and what he is trying to accomplish in a tough situation. I know he has the boys working harder than I've seen any group work in the last 4-5 years! With that you will lose some kids who don't want to put in the work, and hopefully you will gain some who really want to play the game. It is a numbers game! It is not an overnight fix! The mentality has to change! Work ethic has to change! They must "do work"! Compete! I don't always agree with every call they make, and no one ever will! But I do know that Babin is full of fire, energy, and that he has a desire to turn this thing around. My son and I talk about football all the time. We travel every weekend to watch games. Been to the last 3 PNG games and will be there tonight to watch his buddies play CS. He loves playing for Coach Babin! He will not hear complaints from me about his coach. If I do complain about the coaching with my son, then I become part of the problem! Gotta be part of the solution, not the problem!! 

Best post I've read in a long time. I agree 100% with everything. Need more to come to this way of thinking. Eventually, we'll get there.