|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
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. Ronald "Big Cheese" Gunner
Home:
Work:
Home Phone: 337-789-1614 I am currently coaching football at Comeaux High in Lafayette. I began my coaching career at Crowley High in 1996. I was on the staff of Lewis Cook, he was also our offensive coordinator at USL from 92-95. When he went back to coach at his old school, he hired me and we went to the state title game in 1996. I also got married to the former Catrina Randle that Christmas Eve of ’96. The biggest accomplishment is a gift that everyone can receive…on July 27, 2000, I gave my life to Jesus Christ and life became so good for us. Catrina and I had a great 2004-05 as we sold our house and built another and had our first child (Samara Gabrielle), on 6-9-05. I stayed at CHS for three years and went to Comeaux in 1999. They were 3-27 in the previous 3 years. We pretty much turned the program into a playoff contender and in the 2005 season, we won a share of the district 2-5 title. WE WERE BACK TO BACK CONFERENCE CO-CHAMPIONS IN FOOTBALL AND I WAS VOTED PERMANENT TEAM CAPTAIN. I SERVED AS A STUDENT COACH DURING THE 95 SEASON. – – – – – – – – – – – – Football: First and 10 with Comeaux assistant coach Ronald Gunner (Cajun Football Player 1990-95) Kevin Foote Ronald Gunner has been on both sides of the game. As a high school player, he helped win an historic district championship at Franklin High. 1. Have you ever felt like a failure as a coach when you lost a game or felt like you did your job when you lost a game? “Yes. Coach (Lewis) Cook always told us to play with all our hearts and leave everything out on the field. If I told my kids every possible situation and we just get outexecuted by a better football team, I’m OK with whatever happens. But if our kids face situations that I haven’t prepared them for, then I feel very badly that I didn’t do my job. In the end, it’s all about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and know that you did the best you could.” “For me personally, it’s about trying to do the right thing all the time. But it’s also more than that, it’s doing it to the point where that’s who you are. Not just when people are watching, but all the time. I talk to the kids about not sacrificing what you believe for the fast dollar. You’re not going to see my name in the arrest records, because I don’t live that way. I try to be a living example for them.” 3. Can you fail as a coach even though you win on the field? “Absolutely. We went to the Dome at Crowley High and there are three kids who I haven’t seen since that game. They never showed up to school again. It makes you wonder why I didn’t make a difference in that kid’s life. Even since I’ve been here at Comeaux, I can think of situations where we won a game and lost a kid. You wonder what you could have done.” 4. How defeating is that as a coach, even when you win? “Very much so. We won 27 games in the few years I was at Crowley High, but a lot of those kids I write to are sometimes in jail.” 5. Can it be actually more difficult to coach talented kids? “There are so many examples where that’s the case. Kids get to the point where they know who they are. They know they’re studs. It’s a bad situation if you get to the point where one kid knows he’s going to receive better treatment because of how good he is. It’s much easier to coach the total package kid who is good, but tries to do the right thing. 6. Is it hard to watch UL’s football program struggle as an ex-player? “I feel for those guys. I went over there during the summer and saw those guys working out on their own. It’s not like they don’t care. After you lose that first game and people outside the program start talking, you finally get to the point where you realize that they’re not out there doing all the hard work like the players and the coaches. At the end of the day, the only people who care about us is us. You want to win so badly and prove that you really aren’t as bad a team as people think.” 7. Who were your biggest influences on you as a coach? “When I first started playing high school ball at Franklin High, it was Harrison Pierre. He was the first black head coach at Franklin High. He wouldn’t let race, socio-economic status to be an excuse. He taught us that you control your own destiny. I’m still living off those things I learned in high school. Then Coach Cook was my All-Star coach (in 1990) and later moved to UL when I was there. He was the same way as Coach Pierre. He didn’t believe in making excuses. You get what you put into it.” 8. How different are things now from when you played? “It’s changed a lot, especially here. At Franklin High, we were drawing from such a big area and we defended our home turf. There are so many schools of choice in this parish. There are kids from all over at our school. If you’re a kid from Broussard going to Carencro High, I don’t think you’re going to be as willing to leave it all out on the field for Carencro High when you don’t even live there.” 9. How did you get the nickname ‘Big Cheese’? “From Coach Pierre. I would always be smiling, even when I wasn’t happy. He would say, ‘Stop cheesing for the camera.’ He was so hard on me that I couldn’t help but be humble. I made All-State my junior year and the first thing he told me was that he didn’t think I deserved it. Then after my senior year, he told me that I was one of the best he’s ever coached. At that point, I understood.” 10. Do you have aspirations of being a head coach? “That’s something I’ve been planning for since I got out of college. I’ve had two opportunities to pursue, but it wasn’t the right time. Comeaux’s such a good place to be, it’ll have to be a great situation for me to leave now.” Daily Advertiser, October 3, 2007 – – – – – – – – – – Former Football Player’s Words: “Anything Can Happen” September 20, 2006 – Bruce Brown Most of what Ronald Gunner said in the locker room last Friday night will stay there, but he might want to bottle that speech for future use. “We were all thinking the same thing,” Gunner said after Tuesday’s practice. “I was just the one who ended up saying it. It was a collective coaching effort. “There were some people in there who said some things that didn’t sound like our team. Some people were asking whether we were going to run the clock in the second half, and I said, ‘No way in the world.’ Coach Brian Langlinais and his staff discovered that the Spartans had enough starch to complete one of the biggest rallies in school history, and perhaps point the way to another playoff season. “It just proves, once again, that it’s not over til it’s over,” Gunner said. “We learned how not to quit. It’s not going to guarantee that we win every game the rest of the year, but it showed us that if you don’t give up anything can happen.” It’s not surprising that the Spartans reacted well to Gunner’s appeal to their pride. The former Franklin High star and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun lineman has the kind of sincerity athletes respond to, the kind that’s plentiful on Langlinais’ staff. By focusing on details during the week, Spartan coaches hopes their team can handle big issues when the lights go on on Friday. “It starts on Monday,” Gunner said. “We expect the players to be properly dressed. I’m a stickler for Old School. If you don’t do the little things, why are you going to do the big things? It sounds like lip service, but you have to discipline yourself to do the right things. “Some guys answered the call on Friday. We scored 21 points in the third quarter, and turned it over on downs another time. And everything was perfect the way the game ended. It was a perfect snap, perfect hold, perfect kick – on the last play of the game.” Gunner learned his attention to detail at Franklin High as a 9th grader playing his first year of football under Harrison Pierre. “We had speed in Franklin,” Gunner said, “but, really, discipline was the one thing we had going for us. I was just raised up doing what I was supposed to do.” Gunner did that well enough to leave FHS with the nickname “Big Cheese” – both for his imposing size and his status in town – and his work ethic helped him become a fixture as both a guard and tackle for the Cajuns from 1992-94. In fact, Gunner’s coaching career got an early start at UL as he tutored Cecilia product Anthony Clement into an NFL talent. “I always thought I’d play at the next level,” Gunner said. “I had as my understudy Anthony Clement, who was 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds. I looked at that and said, ‘Lord, have mercy.’ “I wasn’t faster than everyone else, or stronger. I wasn’t the prototype tackle, like Willie Roaf. But when it was time to bring it, no one worked harder than I did. You always had to put The Cheese in there, because on game night I know what it takes.” The Spartans open District 2-5A play against parish rival Lafayette High on Friday, and Gunner knows what to expect. “You don’t have to get the kids up for this one,” he said. “We may play them Friday night, then see them on Saturday at the mall. We know everybody on their coaching staff, and we know they’ll have them ready.” Gunner also added that, if the Spartans are trailing 35-7 at halftime this week, someone else can handle the halftime speech. (Athletic Network Footnote: Ronald Gunner is a former Ragin’ Cajun Football player and coach. His profile makes for interesting reading). Originally published September 20, 2006 – – – – – – – – Area coaches enjoying UL-McNeese State week Area coaches enjoying UL-McNeese State week High school coaches are no doubt focused primarily on the job at hand Thursday or Friday night. With Lake Charles only 70 miles from Lafayette, most coaching staffs in this area have at least one representative of one or both schools. Few, though, are looking more forward to Saturday’s 6 p.m. meeting than at Comeaux High. Assistant coach Ronald Gunner played on the offensive line at UL from 1992-94. Comeaux basketball coach Rob Melanson graduated at McNeese in 1992 out of Lacassine. With that kind of passion, you can imagine the good-natured trash talking taking place at Comeaux this week in preparation for Saturday. “At first, it wasn’t a big deal to me,” Gunner said. “By the time I was there, we weren’t playing McNeese any more. We were worried about Tech and Tulane, so I don’t know a lot about McNeese. “But I walked into work one day and there’s a ‘Go to Hell, USL’ sign on my desk and Coach Melanson is talking trash. I said, ‘Y’all better make sure you score before you talk all that trash.’ I mean we’re talking about Lake Charles. I didn’t know if they played at a stadium in Westlake or what.” Needless to say, the two have a little friendly wager going. The loser has to wear the shirt of the winner at school for all to see. “If I have to wear that ugly blue, I’m going to feel bad,” Gunner said. “Like I said, the only thing I know about McNeese is that they play at Westlake’s stadium and they stole their logo from Wyoming.” “The problem is that McNeese doesn’t make a shirt big enough for Gunner,” Melanson laughed. Comeaux head coach Brian Langlinais said he’s staying out of the crossfire, but enjoys the excitement the game has brought. “I think it’s great,” he said. “We’re enjoying it. We’re all going to be there.” It’s a bit uncomfortable for many other coaches. Lafayette High’s Mark Barousse played at McNeese, but has five former Mighty Lion players on the Cajuns. Carencro coach Lance Guidry also played at McNeese after growing up in Welsh, but now coaches a lot closer to UL. “I’m trying to stay out of it as much as I can,” Guidry said. “For me, it’s weird. I’m not from here. For guys like Mac (Barousse) and Mark (Barousse) who are from here and went to McNeese, they’ve been outcasts for a long time.” Published in the Daily Advertiser, September 12, 2007.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
