VP Rotary Club welcomes recent guests

BY: HEATHER
BOGARD
Lifestyles Editor

October 6, Meeting
Members of the Ville Platte Rotary Club anxiously awaited the surprise mystery guest speaker for the October 6, meeting. Following the opening of the meeting, Dr. Joey Soileau introduced his guest speaker, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette head baseball coach Tony Robichaux. He gave a brief history of his playing and coaching career. In addition to coaching at ULL, he also played for the school. He also played for and coached at McNeese State University. He gave a breakdown of the college baseball system, noting there are 16 regional playoff sites with four teams each for a total of 64 teams with 16 winners. Eight teams go on to the super regional and then eight winners go on to the national championship in Omaha, Nebraska.
Robichaux stated it is very tough and teams want the teams they play against to do well because the better their opponents do, they do that much better. He added that the lower number, the higher chance they have for a bid to regionals.
He then stated that a draft is held every June, and all high school and junior college freshmen and sophomores are eligible to be a part of it. Once a player is enrolled at a school, they remain with the team until their junior year or the age of 21. In order to keep them for their senior year, the player must be redrafted. The draftees are paid a signing bonus and receive the first half 90 days after signing with the team and the other half the following April. Robichaux admitted the draft process is difficult because it is hard to get the players in school for August after they are drafted in June. He warned of the dangers of players blowing through their signing bonus too quickly because it doesn’t go as far as they think.
Robichaux also advises players to at least get through their junior year of college before moving on to the pros because they will be more mature and better prepared for the culture change in the pros. He also said that pro baseball is 48 percent foreign players today so many teams have interpreters in the dugouts.
October 13, Meeting
Steven Williams with Union Tank was the guest speaker for the October 13, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. He is retired from the Air Force and is a strong believer in their values. He emphasized how the Air Force took a country boy and gave him an education, saying “You get out of it what you put into it.” As a member of the Air Force ROTC, one receives training in the leadership program while in school. If selected, they receive four years tuition all covered for college. They then must serve four years active duty and three years reserve. He added that if you join the Air Force and then go to school, you must serve two years after you graduate. He shared that nearly every military base has an education office for assistance in getting started and navigating your education while serving. Williams said the post 9-11 GI Bill helps those serving after 9-11 and the benefits are based on length of service. For example, if you serve a full four-year tour, full college and living expenses are covered. He said the military encourages and values education and this is a tremendous program and opportunity to improve and advance your education while serving in the military, and anyone interested can speak with their high school’s guidance counselor for assistance in signing up.