NBA draft 2020: The Report Card

Aloha: Hawaii Skater Answers Call From Thibodaux Teen To Help Advocate For Skatepark

Parents and teens met with a skatepark founder to discuss how to advocate for one in their city.

Ten teens and seven adults gathered Thursday at the Lafourche Library Thibodaux Branch to meet with Travis Aucoin, a former Thibodaux resident who now lives in Hawaii and opened a skatepark there through a nonprofit.

It was the first meeting of the group, which goes by the name Thibodaux Skate Space. The group got to know one another, and Aucoin explained how to best advocate for a park, organize as a group, and more.

"Don't y'all find that there's no place for kids in Thibodaux, like teenagers, not kid kids?," 14-year-old Sebastien Pecanty said.

Parents in the room spoke of how there used to be a skating rink, bowling alley, movie theater and more. Now, they said, there's nothing for their teenage children.

"That really depresses me," Pecanty added.

The teens all skate within the city, either in parking lots or in the streets, like Canal Boulevard and Saint Mary Street. They said having a place to skate within the city would be nice, because if they want to use an actual park they have to drive to Houma, which takes more than half an hour, or to Golden Meadow, which takes longer.

Travis Aucoin, founder of Ocean View Skatepark Association, meets with Thibodaux residents and explains how to organize and advocate for a skatepark, Thursday, April 25. It was the first meeting of the Thibodaux Skate Space.

Landon Becnel, 17, and his friends gather at the Thibodaux Civic Center to play basketball on a regular basis, but all five of them would like a skate park in town for variety. They collectively go to Houma two to three times a week to use its skate park.

When the Houma skatepark closed down due to vandalism, Becnel contacted Aucoin and asked him how to set up a skatepark in Thibodaux. The Houma park has since reopened.

The adults, like the Rev. Jeremy Broussard of Calvary Baptist Church, said having a place for them to gather and skate would give them something to do, and having something to do avoids kids getting into trouble. Unlike a few of the other adults gathered, he said he wasn't likely to ever skate in it, but he said he supported it all the same.

"I think it's good for the community," Broussard said.

Aucoin grew up in Thibodaux and moved away in his 20s. Now 50, he founded the Ocean View Skatepark Association, which created a skatepark in Hawaii. During the meeting, he suggested looking at Houma and Golden Meadow's skateparks for guidance.

Travis Aucoin tells Thibodaux teens about old skateboarding stories at the Lafourche Parish Thibodaux Library, April 25. It was during a Thibodaux Skate Space meeting, where Aucoin met to tell the group how to advocate for a skatepark in their city.

He said Houma's is about 15,000 to 20,000 square feet, and has a larger population than Thibodaux. Because of this, he suggested about a 7,000 square foot space, with extra set aside to potentially grow later.

Aucoin had T-shirts made that he sold at the Y'all Stars roller derby event and raised $540 for the Thibodaux Skate Space group. He said there were groups like the Skate Park Project - formerly known as the Tony Hawk Foundation - that could help fund a project.

The entire park would have to be concrete to get funding from that source, but that also makes it easier to maintain, he said. He said establishing a friends-of-the-park group would help to keep it clean and remove graffiti and take some of the burden off the Rec District. Also, he said, video cameras and proper lighting would help to keep the area safe.

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Mayor Kevin Clement said he is in support of the park. It was an idea floated 13 years ago when he became Rec. Director for the city. The hard questions, he said, would be how to insure the park and how much it would cost to maintain the park. He said the group would need to persuade the City Council to support the project and, if they voted for it, he and the Rec. Director would discuss location. They've already had conversations with Aucoin and have a few locations in mind, but it's up to the Council to determine if the public supports the idea.

"I'm totally in favor of it," Clement said. "There's always a bang for your buck. Can you get your bang for the buck with building a skate park, and where is it going to be located?"

Becnel started a petition on Change.Org which can be found here: https://www.Change.Org/p/support-the-creation-of-a-skate-park-in-thibodaux. It has 951 signatures as of the time of this writing. The Thibodaux Skate Space group also has a Facebook page which can be found here: https://url.Us.M.Mimecastprotect.Com/s/jLhKCOYXNyhvGVqJOtE9Ly_?Domain=facebook.Com.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Thibodaux Skate Space holds first meeting to advocate for skatepark

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UH Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach Joins Long Beach State

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ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER / 2020

Hawaii associate head coach John Montgomery, middle, is seen with head coach Eran Ganot, right, during the first half of the NCAA Men's Basketball game against Long Beach State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Associate head coach John Montgomery is leaving the University of Hawaii men's basketball team to join Chris Acker's coaching staff at Long Beach State.

Montgomery, 40, joined the Rainbow Warriors in 2015, Eran Ganot's first season as head coach.

"I feel after nine years, it was time for a new challenge and to get closer to family," Montgomery said. "That was the ultimate deciding factor."

His sister, who is facing medical issues, and his parents live about an hour from the LBSU campus. His wife, Hannah, has relatives in Long Beach and San Diego.

"It's really hard to leave here," Montgomery said. "I love Hawaii. It'll always be my second home. I met my wife here. We have a daughter. This is a very special place. I've forever be indebted to Eran for the opportunity in the nine years. I've got nothing negative to say about Hawaii. It's all positive. Everything has been great. The people have been great. It's definitely going to be hard to leave."

Montgomery was the architect of the 'Bows' defense. He also worked with the post players, coordinated scouting and passing, monitored academics and admissions, and worked with the strength/conditioning staff.

Montgomery's grandfather, Jack Montgomery, was Long Beach State's first athletic director. His father, Mike Montgomery, played at Long Beach State. Mike Montgomery, who coached Stanford to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 18 years, was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Montgomery will reunite with Acker, who was a UH assistant coach for two seasons through 2017. Last month, Acker signed a five-year contract as successor to Dan Monson.

Hawaii's Ganot Receives Coaches Vs. Cancer Champion Award

Apr. 14—These are hectic times for Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot.

These are hectic times for Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot.

He is completing spring training, working on the Rainbow Warriors' 2024-25 schedule, rebuilding the roster, and dealing with sponsors to compete in an NIL-influenced college landscape. He also is part of a group of college coaches raising money and awareness to battle a menacing foe.

"We've got to crush cancer, " Ganot said. "There have been a lot of inroads made, but we can't rest on our laurels. There's more work to do. We cannot let up. It gets you even more motivated to help fight this fight."

At last week's Final Four weekend, Ganot was presented with the Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award by the American Cancer Society. Ganot has spearheaded an annual event that benefits the Honolulu Hope Lodge, where cancer patients—and their caregivers—stay for free while receiving treatment.

When Lon Kruger, chair of Coaches vs. Cancer, made the notification call, Ganot responded : "Did you make a mistake ?"

Ganot recalled giving them another chance to change their choice.

"Leading up to the festivities at the Final Four, I said, 'You guys can still correct this mistake if you like. Are you sure you don't want to rethink this, because it's such an honor ?'"

Of those conversations, Kruger said : "He's like that. He's very unassuming. It was a call that was easy to make because Eran has done such a good job with it. Not just other coaches, but people at the American Cancer Society really appreciate what he does."

When Ganot was hired as head coach in 2015, he reached out to Kruger, who was part of the Coaches vs. Cancer council. Kruger said Ganot wanted to use his "platform to advocate for others to get involved."

The first event was at Murphy's Bar &Grill and raised $8, 000. The next year, it was decided to tie the event with the Diamond Head Classic, a UH-hosted, eight-team basketball tournament during the holiday season in December. The pre-tournament event includes each head coach. "Every year, we get seven new coaches in addition to me, " Ganot said. "Coaches who were involved (with CVC ) have become more involved. Coaches who had not been involved become involved."

Since 2017, every event has been held at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort. The hotel donates the venue, food and beverages. "All the money stays in Hawaii, " said Sean Dee, Outrigger Hospitality's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. "It doesn't go to the mainland and circle back. It stays here."

Last year's event raised $55, 000. "Coach Ganot really understands how important this is, " said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, "and made it a priority that Hope Lodge has everything it needs, and to raise awareness about the importance of patient support while someone is undergoing cancer therapy."

Knudsen noted that many neighbor island and Guam residents travel to Oahu to receive therapy at advance-care centers. Hope Lodge provides housing for those patients and their caregivers during their therapy. Knudsen said there is a "safety and health perspective of staying at the Lodge, " particularly for immuno-compromised patients. Patients and caregivers also can share their experiences with others in different phases of treatment.

"Last year, we gave 8, 000 nights free of charge for cancer patients and their families, saving more than $1 million in lodging costs for people of Hawaii, " Knudsen said.

Coaches vs. Cancer, which is associated with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has raised more than $155 million nationally in more than 30 years, according to Kruger.

Kruger said Ganot was deserving of the award. "He's very passionate about doing everything he can to help fight cancer, " Kruger said.

Ganot, who credited the event's organizing committee, said the group welcomes sponsors and ideas for the eighth event in December.

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