Tageants continue to leave legacy in Franklinton

BY CHRIS KINKAID THE DAILY NEWS

Jeff Tageant and Toni Tageant along with their two children Evan Tageant and Clay Tageant have left their mark in Franklinton for plenty of years.

Jeff’s dad was hired in 1966 to coach baseball and football. The family is originally from Natchez, Miss. and moved around some during his early coaching years. When he died in 1972, his widow Jewel had six children in school from grade one to freshman in college. She didn’t want to uproot them and made the decision to stay in Franklinton.

Toni’s family has lived in Washington Parish, specifically the Plainview area, for over 150 years. She grew up there and attended Franklinton schools which is where we met. All four graduated from Franklinton High School. Jeff is the class of 1982, Toni graduated in 1983, Evan is a 2009 graduate and Clay graduated in 2011.

“Franklinton is home,” Toni and Jeff said. “It is a constant in our life. Nothing much changes but that is how we like it. It is a place where you know your neighbors and when you are sick you get put on every prayer list in town. It is quiet on Sundays except for churchgoers and by 8 p.m. everything is closed and put away for the night. It still has huge followings on football Fridays and of course the best fair ever invented. There is still a yard picked each month as Yard of the Month, people work in their flower beds, and you can’t get out of the grocery store without running into several people you know who want to catch up. It is unique in its smallness and tradition. There’s not a lot of action so lots of young people leave but if you look closely, many come back to raise their families. For us it has been a place where we taught 35 years ago and now have taught the child of that original student and in some cases the grandchild. These bonds are strong and we have never felt we could get that anywhere else.”

All four are or have been teachers and Jeff and the children also coach.

Jeff teaches health education and driver’s education and has spent 37 years as a teacher, the last 36 years as the school’s head baseball coach and also coached football for 12 years.

“I am the youngest of six kids. Five of us are teachers and one is a preacher,” Jeff said about why he got into teaching. “Plus my mom and dad were teachers. It was the ‘family business’ and it never occurred to me to do anything else. It has been the best job ever and I have never gotten up and dreaded going to work.”

Jeff said that he has taught many subjects and said the one that he had the most satisfaction with was driver’s education.

“I enjoyed seeing young people gain confidence every time they got behind the wheel,” Jeff said on his most rewarding moment of teaching. “I have always enjoyed, while lecturing, when I introduce a subject that peaks interest in the students and all would like to discuss it and give their experiences or opinions.”

Toni, who retired two years ago, taught English for 34 years.

“I have always had the philosophy that teachers are born, not made,” Toni said when asked why she got into teaching. “I guess I always knew I would be a teacher. It is super frustrating and stressful but one of the most rewarding careers one can have. I wanted to have the same hours and holidays as my kids and that was always a blessing.”

Toni said there have been many rewarding moments in teaching.

“Teaching my children was rewarding and then mentoring them in their own classroom was rewarding as well,” Toni said. “I guess in general it was always rewarding when they came back from college and told me ‘you had me prepared.’ I taught 12th grade for many years. Sometimes, they thought I was just exaggerating about the next steps in life and often they resented me. Chris Briggs, who played football at USM and SELU and some professionally, came to see me after his freshman year at USM. He brought me a gift from the Aloha Bowl and said, ‘I just wanted to tell you - you were right; about everything.’ I didn’t get any satisfaction from his statement but instead felt validated. He recognized that I truly wanted the best for my students.”

Clay teaches history. He started at Varnado in 2016 and then transferred to Franklinton in the fall of 2017. On the coaching side, Clay coached at Varnado and led them to the quarterfinals and was the Coach of the Year. He is an assistant at Franklinton and is the head cross country coach at the school He also coaches the Louisiana Knights travel ball team.

Evan teaches history. He started teaching at Kentwood High School in Fall 2015; he then taught for two years at Northshore Charter School in Bogalusa; four years at Franklinton Junior High and now in his second year at Belle Chasse High School. On the coaching side, Evan started the baseball program at Kentwood, coached baseball and basketball at Franklinton Junior High, was the hitting coach at Franklinton High School and is currently Belle Chasse’s head baseball coach. He is also a coach for the Louisiana Knight travel ball team. Besides classroom teaching, Jeff, Clay and Evan are also baseball coaches. As of April 10, Jeff has a record of 561-313-2.

Jeff coached his children at Franklinton. Coaching Evan and Clay were some of the most enjoyable years in my career,” Jeff said. “They both had a tremendous drive to be great players. We spent many hours before and after practice in the batting cage and on the field working on their skills. It was really some of the best years of my career. We had moments when I had to discipline them, but as with all my players I was trying to nurture good men and not just prove a point. Both have great “baseball minds” and can see the big picture. That helped them as players but has really helped them as coaches. Our father/son bond grew stronger and we speak every day. It was a blessing.”

Evan and Clay both talked about playing for their father.

Evan said he learned everything about coach- ing from his dad.

“He taught me patience, pride in what I am doing, how to communicate with parents and kids and most importantly to hold my temper in check as much as possible,” Evan said. “At the end of the day, I am dealing with teenagers who are still growing and maturing. Dad has always said to help them learn the game and then they will learn to love it. Just being around him and listening has made me a better coach. I call my dad on my way home from practice every day. It’s about a 20-minute commute from Belle Chasse to my home so we have time to cover a lot of ground. His advice is always exactly what I need to hear. He validates me or he tells me what I should consider changing. He supports me and encourages me, and I am sure my wife is thankful that by the time I walk in the door, my worries about practice or a game are not at the fore-front of my mind and I can enjoy being with her. Clay and I are blessed with wives who understand the importance of our career and who are at almost all the games to cheer us on. My dad has never won a state championship and Clay and I may never either. However, his level of play from his teams are state championship stuff. He is most definitely my brother’s and my champion.”

Clay said that he agrees that simply hanging out with his father is a learning experience everyday.

“For the past 10 years or so, other coaches in the state and former players have begun referring to him as ‘The Legend,’” Clay said. “He is a legend. He built a field from nothing and has so much pride in keeping it nicer than most of the fields I played on in college. He has also taken teams without a lot of talent and turned them into playoff contenders. This is a gift that I have tried my best to emulate. He has also had some of the most talented kids I have ever seen play the game who went on to be drafted or become All Americans. He treated those kids like all the rest. There was never special treatment because they were on a team. His expectations of them were the same as those of his worst player. I

Berklee Alsobrooks, Emily Tageant and Mason Bowman; second row: Lisa Thomas, Fallon Tageant, Meghan Alsobrooks, Evan Tageant, Katelyn Tageant, Clay Tageant, Jeff Tageant and Toni Tageant; third row: Pam Tageant, Connor Tageant, and Tim Tageant. SEE TAGEANTS, PAGE 31

TAGEANTS: Jeff, Toni, Evan, Clay are or have been a teacher

feel like that is something I will need and use as I move forward in my coaching career. He has also taught me to put my wife and daughter first. It is how he has treated my mom. He always has her chair in her spot and keeps her up on schedules and opponents. That has made her feel like part of the team as well. Also, at some point practice needs to end and I need to go home to my family. I think my dad has taught me to prioritize what is most important in life as well as my practice plans and the way I approach a game. I think Evan and I agree that Dad has taught us that being a winner is nice, but it is being able to look in the mirror each day and know I have done my absolute very best with my team.” Toni got to watch her kids play for her husband.

“I am unashamedly the most proud wife and mother in the world,” Toni said. “Seeing them together has always made my heart full. Jeff started coaching the boys when they were five. They never played in the same age group so each year he rotated. The best years were when the boys were in high school and played for their dad. For two years all three were on the field together. Sometimes it was awesome, but the boys caught the wrath of their coach often and he had to be coach and not dad. He instilled in them such a work ethic and desire to be the best. It has been evident in everything they have done in life from little league to college baseball but also in their education, choosing a career, a mate and now Clay as a parent. When they coached together the opinions were strong and sometimes it made life at the dinner table difficult. But ultimately, they are each other’s biggest fans yet biggest critics. Before there was a laundry facility at the field, I used to listen to them when they came in through the laundry room at home. If the lid on the machine was slammed shut, I knew it had been a rough practice. If they left it open for Dad’s practice clothes, I knew all was well. When they were in college and playing, they called their dad every night around 6 p.m. when they were headed home from practice. Jeff would look at me and give me a thumbs up or down so I would know how their day went. They have a fierce love for one another and that came from their time as teammates and coaches. For sure they have each other’s backs and are so proud of one another.” When Jeff took over, they played at Doc’s Diamond on 13th and Parker Streets in Franklinton.

“Once the bond issue was passed to build a new football stadium, plans were made to build a new baseball field at One Demon Circle. No funding was allocated for the construction of a new baseball field so we had to do extensive fundraising. Toni wrote a grant with Baseball Tomorrow for all the fencing and some players’ parents and I put in the irrigation and laid sod on the infield,” Jeff said. “I had learned a lot about grass at the old field so I was able to have a playing surface ready by the next spring. We started that season with dugouts, port-a-potties, a Coke trailer for concession, and mud everywhere. The kids got dressed in the dugouts and in their cars. But the grass was green and thick which was all we really needed. Mowing the field has always been one of my favorite things to do. I guess I can see my progress as I go. I love to stripe the field for special games. I have always required my players to perform field maintenance. Some parents haven’t liked it, but it provides a form of discipline and instills pride. Still, there is lots to do: keep the warning track clear from weeds, keep the lines edged, weed eat the stadium, keep the dirt in good shape, spray for weeds and the list goes on and on. I will say that I have solved a lot of problems while mowing or weed eating and it’s just me and my headphones. It means so much to hear other coaches, players, and fans remark about the field and how good it looks. My infielders are pretty spoiled. There are not very many bad hops at Demon Diamond so when they go to other fields to play, they realize how good they have it at home. I have to say Demon Diamond is a showplace and I am proud of my part in that.”

Besides baseball and teaching, Toni is involved with the Washington Parish Free Fair.

“I have always been involved with the fair in some capacity: selling in T-shirt booth; Mile Branch volunteer; membership ticket sales at the stage and booth; In 2017 Regina Meyerchick asked me to serve as co-chair on the Publicity Committee,” Toni said. “She is a gifted photographer but needed a ‘writer’ for articles, etc. Then I was asked in 2019 to become the chairman of the Fair History Committee which goes hand in hand with the articles I write for the papers. As a committee chair, I attend the monthly meetings and work year-round on articles and publicity for other events held at the fairgrounds. I am also on the Mile Branch Spelling Bee Committee and have been on the stage committee as well. I am now also involved with the Hospitality Committee under the leadership of Pam Pierce. Most of what she does happens prior to the fair so I am looking forward to working with her and that committee. The baseball team parks cars during the fair for a fundraiser so I find I have lots of extra time to volunteer the actual week of the fair. But now that I am a Nanna I have cut back so I can enjoy taking my granddaughter to the fair and seeing it through her eyes. But, when you live two blocks from the fairgrounds, you can always find somewhere to pitch in and help.