"As a kid, I was always doing something. I’d shoot baskets or play football. I was always outside. My parents had a rule, I had to come in when the light went on on the (lamp) post."

Guidry played football, basketball, baseball and competed in track and field at Breaux Bridge High School, then signed with the Ragin’ Cajuns in football in 1989 with the understanding that he would also be able to throw the javelin.

It was a win-win equation for both Guidry and the Cajuns. He lettered in football as a strong safety in 1990-91-92-93 and helped lead the Cajuns to an 8-3 record and the Big West Conference title in 1993.
In track and field, Guidry had an even bigger impact. His 235-9 throw won the American South Conference meet in 1991 and remains the UL school record. His 232-6 is the Sun Belt Conference mark. He was a three-time conference javelin champion in the American South and Sun Belt.

It was a career that earned Guidry inclusion in the Ragin’ Cajun Lettermen Club Hall of Fame.
"The big thing I remember about football at UL was winning the Big West championship in 1993," Guidry said. "We had a whole different attitude that year. We weren’t sitting back on defense. We were attacking. Guys were coming from everywhere."

"I was recruited as an athlete. It took me a while to learn to play defense in college, to learn coverages and zones. I wish I could have gone back and known those things about defense when I was a quarterback in high school."

"My senior year, we started blitzing more. You had to be able to cover. It was strictly man-to-man. The quarterback can’t just throw at his leisure. Orlando Thomas was our free safety, and he led the nation in interceptions. That’s what the defense was designed to do."

Since the Cajuns had suffered through a 2-9 finish in 1992, the 1993 campaign was a breath of fresh air. Fellow Breaux Bridge native (and Teurlings Catholic product) Jake Delhomme quarterbacked that UL team as a freshman.

"Growing up, I knew his family," Guidry said. "I dated his cousin in high school. I knew he was a competitor. He was the difference for us that year. The whole offense shifted. We made quite a run."
Those Cajuns didn’t get to play in a bowl game, though, something that still rankles Guidry. "We got knocked out by some tiebreaker," Guidry said. "And, we were good. We would have won a bowl game."

The Cajuns had greater success in track and field under coach Charles Lancon, who successfully lobbied football coach Nelson Stokley to let him use football players on his squad.

"We turned the corner under coach Lancon, and it didn’t take very long," Guidry said. "Half the field (event) guys were from football, guys who had won meets in high school. Lancon knew that to win a title you had to have the numbers, and coach Stokley understood that."

That strategy paid off in numerous conference titles for the Cajun squads. "Lancon was an exceptional individual, a father-type figure to a lot of the athletes," Guidry said of Lancon, who died of a heart attack in 2002. "I was lucky. I came from a good family, and had role models coming out of the woodwork. Some weren’t as lucky."

Success didn’t come overnight for Guidry, though. He literally had to grow into the role of star. "When I started high school," Guidry said, "I weighed 108 pounds." I remember coach (Mike) Mowad saying, ‘Let’s get you on this scale, son.’ Then when he saw what I weighed, he took me in the weight room and said, ‘Let’s get started right now.’

"By the time I graduated, I weighed 185 pounds. It always helps. As you get size and strength, your distance increases. You had to work hard to get where you were at. It wasn’t given to you. There were some good lessons learned."

"I distinctly remember that he was quite small," said Mowad, still the BBHS head football coach and athletic director. "He couldn¹t lift the weight of the (45 lb.) bar. But he became a hell of a javelin thrower, quarterback and safety for us."

"The thing that stood out about Rocky was his willingness to put in the extra effort, in the weight room, on the field and on the track. He believed in what he could do. He wasn¹t satisfied just with what he could do in high school. He set goals and wanted to make it at the next level. Success goes through the weight room, getting in there and working day after day. That’s my measuring stick. If you work hard there, it flows over."

Guidry quarterbacked BBHS to a 25-10 record as a starter, then doubled up at safety when needed as a senior. He pitched in baseball and soon excelled in the javelin under current UL assistant track and field coach Pat Arceneaux.

"We knew he was a good athlete at Breaux Bridge," Arceneaux said. "He came after my son, Troy, who threw 175 as a freshman. Rocky was in that same neighborhood. We thought he could be really special."

"I thought he might be close to a full scholarship in track, but he chose the combo deal (football and track) at UL and it worked out for him. I thinkhe could have been a multi-event athlete (decathlon) in track."

"I threw 150 as a freshman, and placed at a lot of meets," Guidry said. "As a sophomore, I started throwing 190 and was winning every meet. Then, when I started throwing 210, 212, I started getting letters. At the time, only 13 states threw the javelin (in high school). If you were decent, you could get a partial scholarship. It was a blessing to work with coach Arceneaux. He really helped me with my
technique. When you have that, you can apply your ability."

Guidry agreed that his two collegiate sports had a distinctly different fan base. The football Cajuns played before more than 100,000 fans at the University of Tennessee, while track and field usually doesn’t draw attention until conference meets unless it was at the famed Drake Relays. Either way, his work ethic paved the way to success.

"Football is a team sport," Guidry said. "Track is a lot more individual. You’re on your own. You set your own goals. A lot of it is on you. For me, I was always trying to get better. Sometimes, there’s not the motivation like there is in football. A lot of times you’re by yourself. You¹ve got to have that desire. I was always competitive. It fit."

Those who coached him know about Guidry’s desire to excel. "Rocky was a phenomenal player to coach," Mowad said. "I don¹t think he ever said more than two words, but he absorbed everything you said. He was a great leader on the field, and the other kids looked up to him and respected
him. His growth spurt coincided with his work ethic. I wish I had more like him."

"Rocky is a great kid," Arceneaux said. "He’s always been exemplary, and he has continued to help us here at UL. He’s the kind of kid all coaches dream of working with."

The above story is a copyrighted enterprise by Bruce Brown, February 12, 2010.

Information below was provided by the Athletic Network, Ed Dugas, Coordinator.

President Savoie (L) and Tom Carroll (R) introduce Steve Spinella, Becky McMurtry, Rocky Guidry, and Jennifer Heno Marsh, the 2009 Ragin’ Cajuns Lettermen Club Hall of Fame inductees at half time of the Homecoming game vs. FAU, October 24, 2009.

Click here to view Rocky’s Athletic Network Profile, which includes information provided by Rocky, the Hall of Fame News Announcement, and his Hall of Fame nomination letter by Marty Cannon   http://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=55&profID=11237

Click here to view the 1992 Track & Field Team http://athleticnetwork.net/picpopup.php?piclibID=6201

Click here to view the 1991 Football Team http://athleticnetwork.net/picpopup.php?piclibID=6165