Playbook of life

PINE PRAIRIE — If a person is lucky enough in life, there is a single person that teaches them the lessons that mold and shape them for the rest of their existence on Earth. These lessons not only permeate their everyday lives but are embedded in their professional lives as well.
For Pine Prairie head football coach Yves Prince, not only did he have one single person to guide him into adulthood, but he was one of the fortunate ones that were surrounded by several people that made him the man he is today.
It all started with his parents. Prince was born to a sharecropper in rural St. Landry Parish and learned early on what hard work and discipline was all about.
“Being a sharecropper’s son, we were constantly doing something,” said Prince. “We were taught from an early age that school was very important. We could not just run the streets. We went to school and once we got off of the bus, we were in the fields working or we were feeding the animals. Other than that, we could play sports, but we were never idle.”
Prince comes from a large family of 13 children and saw the hard work and dedication that his parents produced to make sure their needs were met. Born and raised Catholic, Prince’s parents insisted that he get a Catholic education. For this reason Prince went to school at Holy Ghost and eventually Opelousas Catholic, with the help of the Catholic Diocese.
“My mom and dad made sure we got a religious education,” stated Prince. “My parents were parents. They demanded that we had respect for the teachers and the nuns at school. We had good teachers and coaches there. My parents knew the value of a good education and passed that on to us at an early age. I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to get a religious education.”
It was at Opelousas Catholic that Prince fell in love with the game of football. As an eighth grader, Prince donned the pads for the first time and that started a passion for the game that continues today. It was also at Opelousas Catholic that Prince came in contact with another heavy influence in his life, his head coach Mickey Mills.
“Coach Mills was a great coach and a great man,” said Prince. “He knew how to treat his players and actually was one of the main reasons why I got into coaching. In fact he gave me my first coaching job. I still use a lot of his coaching techniques today.”
As a freshman, Prince saw time on special teams but did not break through as a starter until his sophomore year because of the number of players Opelousas Catholic had at the time. During his days at the school, the football program was very successful and never had a losing season. Prince played tight end and defensive end, eventually playing both ways his junior and senior season.
“We had good size for a high school football team,” commented Prince. “It was so competitive at practice. When you stepped out of the dressing room, you did not have any friends. We really went after each other and I think that is why we were able to win all of those games including the state championship in 1974.”
Prince was recruited by Northwestern State and was pushed hard by Mills to attend that university. But, there was an internal drive for Prince to go somewhere else. This drive got him to a place that introduced him to a man that would become one of the biggest influences in his life, legendary head coach Eddie Robinson.
“Coach Mills really wanted me to go to Northwestern,” said Prince. “But, when I was young I was able to watch Grambling on television on Sunday mornings when they would play back the game from the day before. And, I always said I wanted to go to Grambling and play for Coach Eddie Robinson. That was always my dream.”
Prince went on a visit to Grambling and fell in love with the campus and the atmosphere. It was a dream come true for the future Panther head coach.
“I took a bus up to Ruston and then got a cab to Grambling to visit the campus,” said Prince. “I stayed over for the weekend and met with Coach Robinson and fell in love with the place.”
Prince’s initial year at Grambling did not turn out like he would have wanted. In fact Prince’s tenure at Grambling may have ended if not for the words that his mother spoke to him on the phone before the semester ended.
“I thought I was better than some of the other players ahead of me on the depth chart,” recalled Prince. “But, I received a red-shirt and I was very disappointed. In fact I thought about not going back. My mom asked me what I was going to do next if I did not return. She was very adamant that I was not going to walk the street and that I had to get a job.
“She gave me the best advice I could have gotten,” Prince continued. “She told me to find a church and pray. So I began going to church and praying. Coach Robinson came to the room and told me he knew I wanted to leave. He told me he wanted to me to stay. That is when I knew I needed to be there.”
The very next year Prince worked his way into the starting line-up and stayed there for the remainder of his career. The young man from a small community now had the world in his hands, getting to play in places like Japan and Yankee Stadium. While at Grambling, Prince made All-Conference, All-American and was drafted by the Houston Oilers, something that Robinson told Prince would happen.
“Coach Robinson called me in and told me if I stayed I would make All-Conference, All-American and get drafted,” said Prince. “And all of that came true. What more can you ask for?”
Prince made it to the Oiler’s camp and stayed on until the second round of cuts. When he got cut, Prince remembered something that Robinson had told him that finally rang true.
“Coach Robinson had always told us that if you do not get a degree, life will slap you in the face,” stated Prince. “When I got cut, I could see all of those other guys that were cut crying their eyes out. And then it hit me, this was life slapping them in the face because they had not done what was needed in college. They had nothing to fall back on.”
Prince traveled back home and began working offshore. But a conversation with his former high school coach got him in the profession he has know now for over 30 years, coaching. Mills talked Prince into helping him at his alma mater and the rest is history.
Since then Prince has coached at several schools, including North Central, Northwest and here at Pine Prairie. Regardless of where he has gone, Prince still carries those same life lessons that Robinson instilled in him at Grambling.
“Some of the things that Coach Robinson taught us then are still true today,” commented Prince. “Being disciplined and respectful are so important, even today. I still try to preach to the kids those two things. We had to wear a tie to every away game at Grambling and we do that here. It teaches the players about trying to show the right attitude and approach to the game.”
“Also, Coach Robinson was a teacher,” Prince continued. “He would demonstrate how he wanted things done and I still do that at practice. I just wish that when he had finished coaching they would have given him some type of front office job. The man put Grambling on the map and made me the person I am today.”
Prince knows how fortunate he was to have support throughout his life. He tries to honor that every day. And, if you were ever to speak to him, you would definitely be able to see and feel those influences project from his soul.