Bay Port competing for Coach LaBlonde
Bigger. Faster. Stronger.
Jim LaBlonde always emphasized those words with his athletes to make sure they maximize each day to get better.
The words are printed on the back of the Bay Port track and field team’s warm-up shirts.
Words, however, can’t describe how much LaBlonde is missed.
Each race, handoff, throw, vault and jump the Bay Port track and field team has made this season has been for LaBlonde, whose sudden passing on March 31 shook everyone who knew the beloved teacher and coach.
“It’s hard to explain,” Bay Port girls track and field coach Vic Murphy said. “He’s the first guy that would say get back to work because he’s that kind of guy.”
LaBlonde was the kind of guy who loved working with student-athletes and didn’t think twice about going out of his way to help those that wanted to put the work in to get better.
“He didn’t care if you were JV or varsity,” Bay Port junior Sam Plumb said. “He celebrated with you at the high, but he was the same with you when you were at a low.”
The Bay Port boys track and field team repeated as the Fox River Classic Conference champion this year.
The Pirates celebrated a fifth conference title in six years by picking up LaBlonde’s oldest child, Easton, and having the 11-year-old boy hoist the plaque high into the air.
“It was awesome that we were able to bring him down to Sheboygan and he got to hold the plaque,” Bay Port boys track and field coach Andy Nuthals said. “Obviously, it’s so tough for his wife and his three kids. Anything we can do as a team to try and help them is the goal.”
LaBlonde met his wife, Dana, at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he competed in track and field before starting his career as a teacher and coach in De Pere.
Bay Port is sending a contingent of competitors to the state track and field meet this year in La Crosse, which was the site of one of LaBlonde’s highlights as a coach when the Pirates won the 2015 WIAA Division 1 state championship.
LaBlonde’s coaching helped Ryan Powers medal and break the school’s sprint records on that team. He also coached Jenna Long, who won state medals and broke school records in the girls sprints.
His coaching in track always provided a regular influx of speed for the football team, which has won 27 straight Fox River Classic Conference games.
But more important than championship and records is the positive impact LaBlonde made on the thousands of student-athletes he dedicated his time to.
“He treated every kid the same, whether you’re a JV sprinter or you’re the varsity No. 1 guy,” Murphy said. “Kids respected that. He was a hard worker. He never asked to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself.”
The Ironwood, Mich., native stills holds the 100- and 200-meter dash records at Luther L. Wright High School, where he was a standout three-sport athlete and inductee into the school’s sports hall of fame.
The estimated 3,000 people who attended his funeral were evidence of the numerous connections he made in several communities.
“The connections were everywhere,” Murphy said. “It was a great tribute to him.”
There are plans for LaBlonde to be honored on Sept. 20 when the Bay Port football team hosts De Pere.
Team Apparel printed the shirts the Bay Port track and field team had made for LaBlonde at no cost with all the proceeds going to a memorial fund for his family.
“Bigger. Faster. Stronger. That was his thing,” Murphy said.
“The summer program and morning program. He believed it, and he coached it. He loved kids. He is the right kind of person that should be in education and coaching. He was great.”