Brock Bourgeois has good reason to be excited about the LHSAA state track and field meet.
It’s the first time all season the Hahnville junior will compete against someone other than himself.
“It’s kind of aggravating, but it’s a numbers thing,” Bourgeois said. “You try to beat your last PR.”
The 16-year-old doesn’t shy away from a challenge.
Bourgeois has cerebral palsy, and he’s been a para-ambulatory athlete since Hahnville Coach John Lambert talked to Bourgeois in a physical education class. He’ll compete in the discus, javelin, shot put and 100 meters for the second straight year at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium on Friday.
“It never is a crutch for him,” said Lambert, of Bourgeois’ neurological condition, which affects his muscle tone and coordination more on his left side than his right. “He’s just another kid.”
Bourgeois only needed to participate in last week’s Region III meet to qualify for state, but he hasn’t missed a meet all season. He said he attends every meet to “get better.”
He competes for two other reasons, too.
“I want to inspire,” said Bourgeois, who finished second in the discus, third in the shot put and fourth in the 100 meters and javelin at state last season. “There are people paralyzed and born with disabilities where they can’t do this at all. I’ve been blessed enough that I can do it.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Is it hard?’, but I don’t know what normal is. This is normal to me. I’ve never quit anything.”
The other reason is even more important to Bourgeois.
“The No. 1 reason is for my mom,” Bourgeois said. “She passed away last January (2013). She always liked to see me do what other people told me I couldn’t. She always pushed me to go farther than even I thought I could do.”
Bourgeois’ mom, Tammy, died when a blood clot traveled to her lungs after a routine surgery. Bourgeois was only 15 years old when she died.
“Track and field was a distraction,” said Bourgeois, who looks at pictures of his mom before every meet.
His mother’s death only brought Bourgeois and Lambert closer together. Lambert lost his own mother in November of last year.
One text message reminds Lambert how special Bourgeois is.
“He said, ‘I guess this makes us brothers Coach’,” Lambert said of the November text message. “I always loved him, but from that day on, I knew what’s in his heart is as awesome as what’s on the outside.
“To lose your mom at my age is one thing. To lose your mom at his age, is another thing.”
Growing up, Bourgeois played baseball and competed in the GUMBO (games uniting mind and body) Games, an annual track and field meet for children with physical and visual disabilities.
Bourgeois wanted a bigger challenge, and got it when he joined Hahnville’s track and field team. He’s grown stronger through Hahnville’s athletic weightlifting class. Even though he doesn’t score for Hahnville, he’s still very much part of the team.
Senior long-distance standouts Beau and Bryce Robinson, who helped the Tigers finish second at the regional meet, are driving to Baton Rouge on Friday to see Bourgeois compete.
The identical twins said Bourgeois always cracks jokes and stays upbeat.
“We do warm-ups together, and he had to borrow my spikes for the 100 meters for two meets because he forget his,” Beau Robinson said. “We wear the same size.”
Said Bryce Robinson: “He motivates himself all the time. When he runs the 100 meters, everyone in the stands is rooting for him, even people from other teams.”
Bourgeois’ favorite event is the javelin, which he threw 71 feet, 10 inches at last week’s regional meet. He also threw the discus 60 feet, 9 inches at the same meet.
He admits the 100 meters is his toughest event, but he tweaks the starting blocks, so his power comes from his right foot instead of his left foot.
Expectations are high for Bourgeois on Friday. He wouldn’t want it any other way.
“He has the opportunity to win state in a couple of events,” Lambert said. “That’s what I’m hoping for because at Hahnville when you win it, they put your name on the banner of the event you won. I want Brock Bourgeois’ name up there.”
So does everyone else.
“He’s the most positive person I’ve met in my entire life,” Beau Robinson said. “Everybody loves being around him. He teaches me to be happy with life no matter the circumstances.”