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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. John "Johnny" Patout
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Home Phone: 225-614-8453 Johnny’s Living Memorial for Coach Bobby Banna’s Tribute is followed by an overview Johnny submitted earlier. His LM was submitted on 3/7/17 and was posted by Dr. Ed Dugas on that date. Bobby Banna’s Living Memorial, Johnny Patout – Baseball 1971-74 I had the honor and privilege of having Coach Banna as my high school football coach and again as my college baseball coach. I was a member of the USL baseball team from 1971 – 1974. His impact on me was immeasurable. To say I learned the value of hard work and discipline would be an enormous understatement. Coach Banna has said he was greatly influenced by Paul “Bear†Bryant. His philosophy was simple; the path to winning was through working harder than the competition, becoming tougher than the competition, never quitting, and never taking a slow step. (a “slow step†in Coach Banna’s world was unacceptable). Football practices at Catholic High School in New Iberia under Coach Banna were akin to “boot camp†and quite exhausting. Days that were declared “gut check†days were even more challenging. At times it felt like we could barely make it to the locker room when practice ended. There was even a time when we practiced immediately following a football game that we won, because he did not think we gave it our best effort. It was so very challenging that our teams were usually reduced to only 22 – 25 players, year in and year out. Those who could “stick it out†not only formed an elite and unified team, but feel an unbreakable bond even today – 5 decades later. Although we played against much larger high schools, with larger and faster players, we won on a regular basis. Most of the teams we played against operated under the platoon system, substituting players on a consistent basis. We did not have enough players to do much substituting. We typically had the same 11 players on the field for most of the entire game. Coach Banna’s insistence on hard work, dedication, and toughness was a winning formula even against bigger, faster and more talented teams. He insisted on “hard-nose†football from the start of the game to the very end; tackling harder than the other team, hustling more, and never taking a slow step. Under his leadership, we simply wore down the competition. Upon arriving at USL in the fall of 1970, having had no formal training (only playing summer baseball coached by volunteer parents), I quickly learned I had no idea about proper technique for a catcher; especially the proper technique for blocking a pitch thrown in the dirt. True to form, Coach Banna’s method of “shortening the learning curve†was based on hard work, which came in the form running steps at the old McNaspy Stadium near our practice field. During batting practice, each time a pitch got past me Coach instructed me to run across the baseball field in full catcher’s gear to the stadium to run steps. I quickly learned proper technique. During his tenure as the head baseball coach at USL, he established a winning attitude and a winning environment. Even though he had moved on to focus completely on football by the time the 1972 session came around, I strongly believe our conference championship that year is completely attributed to his efforts. I also believe he set the stage for the university’s baseball success in the decades to follow. I have often wondered why he offered me a scholarship to join the USL baseball team as he surely could have recruited more talented baseball players than myself. Whatever his reasons at the time, I am forever grateful. The life lessons instilled in me by Coach Banna have served me well my entire life. His insistence on always doing your best, on working harder than the other guy, and to never quit, have been invaluable. Over the 40 year span of time since my college years, I have consistently been aware of his positive influence. Outside of my parents, by far Coach Banna has been the most influential person in my life. Coach Banna was not simply striving to win ball games. Throughout my time playing football for him in high school and baseball in college, he was striving to teach the life lessons required for his players to become responsible and productive members of society – men of good character and sound integrity. Many of his former players can tell one anecdote after another about Coach Banna; how some of our baseball drills were actually football drills (no surprise to me), the number of stadium steps we had to run when we screwed up, etc. However, the only other story I’d like to share about Coach Banna had nothing to do with sports. A few years after I graduated, my Father suddenly passed away. While walking down the aisle of the church at the conclusion of the funeral service, I spotted Coach Banna sitting in one of the church pews. I had not seen or spoken to him since college, but he took the time and the effort to quietly be present during a difficult time. It is not possible to describe how much this meant to me during this difficult time in my life. Coach, you are beloved by many. I am grateful to have this opportunity to express how much you have impacted my life. My only regret is having taken so long to do so. * * * * Married to Sally Siakel. Johnny has 3 sons, 3 daughters, and 10 grand children.
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