LOREAUVILLE – Emotions recently got the better of Roger Hamilton Jr.

The Loreauville High assistant girls basketball coach said he had tears in his eyes as he watched the final seconds tick away in the Lady Tigers’ first district win since 2020.

“It was rewarding for our seniors,” Hamilton said.

It’s rewarding for Hamilton, too. As a district judge, he is on call 24/7, but Hamilton has made time over the years to volunteer as a coach in football, soccer, baseball, softball and basketball.

“It gives me an opportunity to interact with the players,” he said. “For them as young adults, it’s not just playing the game, it’s about building character. It builds strong adults.”

Hamilton got his start as a volunteer coach when he daughter, Regan, was playing youth soccer. A stint as her basketball coach in a youth league at City Park followed. When Catholic High needed a middle school girls basketball coach, he stepped up and spent several years there.

LHS coach Jamar Lewis can be credited for bringing Hamilton to the school. During a presentation Hamilton made to Lewis’ civics class, a student was prompted to ask why he didn’t coach at Loreauville.

Hamilton met with LHS athletic director Terry Martin after that, and the rest is history.

LHS player Gianni Peltier was a little skeptical with Hamilton having previously coached at a rival school.

“At first, I thought it might be an issue,” Peltier said, “but it’s been a great learning experience. He has helped build our confidence. Throughout the year, we’ve grown a lot.”

The program hadn’t won a game in years before Hamilton and head coach Emily Broussard took the reins. They got into the win column a couple of times last year. This season, the Lady Tigers not only won their first district game in four years, their four wins are the most since 2018, and the season isn’t over.

“It was rough trying to meet benchmarks,” Hamilton said of last season, “but the girls endured the year. It was a learning year for a lot of them. This year, we’ve accomplished more. We’re trying to build on that, not only with the girls progressing on the court, but maturing as student-athletes.”

Though there have been close calls, Hamilton has never missed a game. Back when he was a practicing attorney, he arrived back in the Teche Area just in time for the first pitch of a softball game when a hearing in New Orleans ran behind schedule.

He returned from a conference and got to the gym for the fourth quarter of a basketball game. Hamilton rides the bus with the team to away games.

“It’s one of those things where the girls depend on me like I depend on them,” he said. “I stress being on time and being there for the team to them. If I’m not there or I’m late, it’s like their coach isn’t living up to his part of the bargain.”

Loreauville didn’t field a middle school girls basketball team this year. Seventh-graders Kyla Polk and Alexis Polk are two of the top players for the varsity team, and Hamilton has found their progression to be especially rewarding.

“He’s a good coach,” LHS player Princess Provost said. “He pushes us to get better by encouraging us.

Hamilton has long-standing family ties to Loreauville High. His father taught at the school. Coincidentally, that was when Jeff Landry’s mother, Edna, got the Lady Tigers’ girls basketball program started.

“God places you where he wants you in life,” Hamilton said. “Coaching basketball at Loreauville is where he wants me to be right now.”