By Brooks Kubena Updated 9:18 am, Thursday, July 7, 2016
Longtime Port Neches-Groves volleyball coach Barbara Comeaux will be inducted into the Texas Girls Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Thursday during the group’s annual banquet in Arlington.
The Port Arthur native has coached PN-G since 1971 and her 1,179 victory tally is the state volleyball record.
Her teams, known as the Rock-a-noos, won the UIL 4A State Championships in 1972, 1979 and 1981 and were state runners-up in 1980.
“I’m very humbled about it,” said Comeaux, who is a 1964 alum of Thomas Jefferson High School.
“I’ve been very lucky to work with this great school district and to have surrounded myself with good coaches, good athletes and the parents who have supported our program. I do it because I love it. Else, I wouldn’t have stayed in it as long as I have.”
Comeaux graduated from Lamar University with a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a master’s degree in 1974. She began her career in 1970 as a physical education teacher at Beaumont French High School and left for PN-G a year later.
In the 45 seasons she has coached, Comeaux’s teams have made the playoffs 42 times and won 29 District Championships. The TGCA called Comeaux in February to notify her of her induction.
“I told them, ‘Well, I thought you had to be dead or retired for a long time,'” Comeaux said. “They said, ‘Obviously you’re alive and it doesn’t look like you’ll ever retire.'”
Comeaux has already been inducted into two halls (Lamar University’s Cardinal Hall of Fame, 2000; Southeast Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor, 2012), which causes her to reflect as her Rock-a-noos prepare for the upcoming season.
“I look at the banners, and I think of all the bus rides,” Comeaux said. “The memories, they feel great. And I’m looking forward to this season. That’s what keeps me going: the people, the challenge, to see these kids improve.”
Comeaux will be inducted along with Cameron Yoe’s Linda Richter and Brownsboro’s Fred Griffin.
“I’m in a good place, and I’ve been in a good place,” Comeaux said. “But I’ve gotten back so many rewards than I’ve given.”
