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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Edwin Preis, Jr.
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Home Phone: 337-981 -0300 Edwin’s Fond Memories of Coach Blanco were submitted on March 30, 2021 and posted by Ed Dugas and followed by his LM for Coach Russ Faulkinberry. Approximately 55 years ago, I came to what was then USL to play football for the Ragin’ Cajuns. I grew up in a very small, poor community in extreme northeast Louisiana, and before coming to USL had never been south of Alexandria. I did not know a single person on the team or in Lafayette when I arrived. After a few months, Coach Blanco took me under his wings and began giving me life lessons that influenced my approximate 48 year career to date as an attorney. He instilled such traits as mental toughness, dealing with adversity, and the unwilling quest for perfection and winning with class. During the four year time period I was on the team, Coach Blanco pretty much operated behind the scenes, but was a significant and meaningful influence in always motivating all of us to do our very best, the right way. He was first my coach, then my mentor, and finally my lifelong friend. In fact, he was a groomsman in my wedding. I will always be eternally grateful for the positive influence he has had on my life in all respects. 2545185 * * * * * I played football at USL from 1965-1968. I was a four year letterman, played on the 1965 and 1968 GSC Championship teams, and was Co-captain of the 1968 team. I say this not to talk about myself, but to put my comments in context. Coach Faulkinberry was a mountain of a man, both in physical size and in character. Besides being a great coach, he considered himself an expert in treatment of injuries, psychology, and motivation. All of us who played for him agreed. He taught us the meaning of hard work, dedication, discipline, sacrifice and the way to deal with adversity. Many times, in conclusion to his pre-game speech, even sometimes at half-time, he would write on the blackboard: THOSE WHO STAY WILL BECOME WINNERS. And winners we were, largely because of him, both on the field and in life. When Jerry Burns was coach of the Minnesota Vikings, a reporter asked him one day at a press conference what was his principal job responsibility. In response thereto, Coach Burns replied that he was in charge of “Atmosphere.” Well, Coach Burns, you need to move over, because THE MASTER of establishing “Atmosphere” was Coach Russ He was a great motivator of men, who we all deeply respected. He simply had that knack of urging us to do the best we could, both on and off the field, and made us better than we were. He was especially proud of all of his players’ success and accomplishments in life. I can say, without hesitation, that any player who was on one of Coach Faulkinberry’s teams, whether they actually played on Saturday or not, would say that he had a profound effect on their development as a person, and later success in life. He was a great coach, mentor, and probably more importantly, a very loyal friend, who was never short on advice. We will all miss him dearly. Edwin Preis – Lafayette, Louisiana
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