Kaplan High's new basketball coach has traveled from Pecan Island to North Carolina

KAPLAN - Terence McCutcheon remembers the first time driving down La. 82, heading towards Pecan Island to see it for the first time. He saw marsh, plenty of alligators and then he began to worry about how the Pecan Island residents would accept him or not.
That was close to 15 years ago, and since that first trip occurred around the year 2000, McCutcheon, who is from Mobile, Al, has been to Pecan Island many more times.
The reason why a person from Mobile would visit Pecan Island was because he was dating a resident of the Island.
McCutcheon began dating Heidi Broussard, who was attending Nicholls State at the same time McCutcheon was.
Broussard was on scholarship to play basketball for Nicholls, as was, McCutcheon.
The two dated, fell in love, married and now have a family.
Today they call Youngsville home.
For a few years, McCutcheon has been chasing the coaching dream. He has coached in the junior college ranks. In 2013 he was hired as the assistant men’s basketball coach at Newberry College in South Carolina. Before that, he was the athletic director and the head basketball coach at J.S. Clark Leadership Academy in Opelousas for two years.
He has also coached women on the college level at Caldwell Community College in North Carolina. He also spent time as an assistant coach at North Carolina’s Brevard College (Division II) in 2011 and at LSU-Eunice, where the Bengals went to the NJCAA Regional Semifinal in 2006.
Prior to that, he coached at Oak Hill High School in Hineston, La. for two years.
Over the last 10 years, his coaching career has taken him to three states (Louisiana, South Carolina and North Carolina). Now, he is ready to slow down and be with his family, which is why he accepted the head boys basketball coaching job at Kaplan High School.
He was hired over the summer.
“I decided I wanted to come down and be with my family,” said McCutcheon. “I started looking for a job in the area. I saw there was an opening at Kaplan. I was familiar with Kaplan because Heidi’s two sisters played there. It felt like home. I applied for it. I did not know what the results of it would be. God took care of me. He got me here. I am happy.”
His team began the year 0-2 but then beat Delcambre in the first round of the parish tournament to get a win. Kaplan met Abbeville last night in the semifinal round of tournament.
“There is a difference between coaching high school and college,” he said. “The athletes are different. In college you recruit the players who you want. In high school, you can’t. In high school, your players have more passion. They are playing for love of the game. They are diving for the ball knowing they are not going to get a college scholarship. There is so much passion here. I like it.”
Heidi’s family no longer lives in Pecan Island. Because of the storm surge from Hurricane Rita 10 years ago, Heidi’s parents eventually moved to Lafayette.
So, now when he ventures to Pecan Island, it’s to visit friends of the Broussard family, or it’s for recreation.
Looking back, 15 years ago, the first trip turned out to be worth it.