John Menard is new Berwick baseball coach

For the first time in about 15 years, there will be a new manager calling the shots in the Berwick High School dugout as Berwick High assistant coach John Menard has been selected to replace head coach Mike Thomas.
The move comes after Thomas resigned following this past season.
Menard takes over a program that finished the season 15-15.
While Berwick had a rough start to the season with a 5-12 mark prior to opening district play, the Panthers closed the season, winning 10 of their final 14 games. Included in that run was a 5-4 upset victory against then-Class 5A’s top-ranked team, Lafayette High and a win against then-Class 3A top five team, Erath, 6-3.
One of the losses, though, was a forfeit to E.D. White in a game against E.D. White that Berwick actually won on the field. The Panthers were forced to forfeit the game due to a violation of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s pitching rule.
Berwick, which entered the postseason as the No. 14 seed, was upset by No. 19 Jennings in the first round.
Menard, a Berwick alum who served as an assistant coach with a short absence for a season as assistant principal, said the opportunity to coach the Panthers is a “complete honor and privilege.” He said the job is something he has coveted for some time.
“Something that’s really close to my heart is the baseball program,” he said. “These (are) a great group of guys coming back. Ten seniors coming back, so look forward to being able to do some good things. We have a really good young group, too, so things look really good for the future.”
While this season was a tough one with a first round exit after having such high hopes following a surge midway through the season, Menard said getting past that first round is something the team needs to get over.
“We all believed that we were going to make a little run,” he said of last season. “That’s a hurdle that we need to overcome in getting out of the first round, but these guys, they (are) aware of that. They know that. They (are) focused, and they want it. They want to make a deeper run, so we’re looking forward to working on that this year.”
As for what he will bring to the program, Menard said somethings will be the same and others, different, which is natural with a new coach.
“Like anybody will tell you, you gotta have good pitching and defense,” he said. “Hitting is something that we’ve been hot and cold with, so we’ll focus a little bit more on our mechanics, and swinging and hitting the baseball, and seeing if we can be better at that aspect.”
Thomas said he was glad Principal Buffy Fegenbush was giving Menard the job.
“I think he’s going to do a good job,” Thomas said.
Thomas, who led the program for 14 years, beginning with the 2003 season, said he enjoyed his time at Berwick. However, he said during the season, he realized it was time for him to go.
“You can tell there’s something missing, and I just thought the time had come,” he said.
However, he said the move had nothing to do with his players.
“This was one of the better groups that I’ve had in the 14 years … coaching at Berwick, but all the other extra stuff that goes along with it was kind of getting to me and my stress level was through the roof,” he said.
He said the E.D. White incident didn’t have to do with his decision, it just simply caused more stress and caused him to become emotional because he said he doesn’t make mistakes like that.
“Believe it or not, my mind was made up before the E.D. White situation,” he said.
Thomas said he had spoken to Fegenbush earlier in the season, stating he thought it was time for a change.
“The last people that I want to hurt from this (are those) players. … Because the players meant a lot to me every year I coached at Berwick,” Thomas said. “The players were the most important thing to me, and this group’s got potential to do a lot of good stuff.”
Thomas said he won 253 games at Berwick, something he gives credit to his players and assistant coaches, too.
“But I’m hoping that we left the program in better shape … than we found it,” he said.
As for his future, Thomas didn’t rule out a return to coaching. However, he said he needed a break.