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Mr. Paul Trosclair

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John Marcase, The Advertiser, Nov. 12, 2015

The Eunice Bobcats have begun preparations for Friday’s playoff opponent, Eleanor McMain.

For Paul Trosclair, this is nothing new. He is in his 21st season as Eunice’s head coach in a head coaching career that began with a four-year stay in Oakdale in the early 1990s. Most seasons have ended in the postseason, including two in the state championship game.

Eunice is where Trosclair’s coaching career began as an assistant and where he has won the majority of his 212 victories. But it was at Oakdale where he showed he could guide a team deep into the playoffs, leading the Warriors to the state quarterfinals.

One season, minutes after Oakdale posted a second-round victory at Kaplan when a botched PAT turned into the game-winning two-point conversion, he told me succinctly, “That was God’s gift to Oakdale.”

However, this is the first time he’s had to balance breaking down film, making practice schedules and conducting practice along with receiving chemotherapy.

In the summer of 2014, Trosclair was diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, multiple myeloma is a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. In the U.S., the lifetime risk of getting multiple myeloma is 1 in 143.

There is no cure for multiple myeloma, but it is treatable.

“It does give you a completely different perspective on life when you get sick,” said Trosclair last week.

Still, he went ahead and coached the 2014 season between treatments in Opelousas and Houston.

“You do what you’ve got to do,” said Trosclair. “I always said that as a coach, and I wasn’t going to be any different, sitting around the house.

“One of the decisions I made was to keep coaching. We got out there and went to work. As long as I’m not holding them back, that was the No. 1 priority.”

Shortly after the season ended, he underwent a stem cell transplant at M.D. Anderson, spending two months in Houston recovering.

The transplant was a success.

“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I achieved remission. I still have to go through some tests at M.D. Anderson. I didn’t know for sure. I fought through it last year with all the treatments. This year, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Indeed it has.

The Bobcats finished the regular season 9-1 and a perfect 5-0 in District 5-3A, earning the No. 2 seed in the 3A state playoffs that begin this week, rebounding from last year’s 4-6 campaign.

Trosclair did miss the first game of his 36-year coaching career last month when he spent six days in the hospital to remove a blood clot, believed to be caused by the medication he is taking.

“Currently, I’m on maintenance chemo,” he said. “It’s risky, but one that works. It’s ongoing. This year, there’ve been a couple of bumps in the road, but I’ve been able to recover from the stem cell. It took about six months. Our coaches picked up the slack. It’s a great group and we’ve been together for so long.”

Helping has been the performance of the Bobcats.

“We have a good group, good seniors,” said Trosclair. “It’s been a blessing. We feel good about this group.”

John Marcase is a former assistant managing editor and sports editor of The Town Talk in Alexandria.

Athletic Network Footnote by Ed Dugas.
Paul Trosclair was a Baseball player at USL from 1974-76.