Coach of Champions: Ricky Suprean and the Slidell Steel

by Shawna Windom

Perhaps the only thing that could surpass a coach’s exhilaration about his team’s setting a 40-consecutive-win record is for that same coach to break his own record, 21 years later, with a 54-game winning streak—and a national championship.

Ricky Suprean began coaching when his sons Christian and Cory played for the St. John of the Cross 7 and 8-year-old baseball team in the Slidell Bantam Baseball Association. Within the first two years, the team set a record of 40 consecutive wins in 1986-1987.

As far as is known, no local winning streak has exceeded this record—until now.

With Ricky leading the way, the Slidell Steel 10-year-old Biddy Basketball team has broken the St. John of the Cross team’s record, won the 2008 National Biddy Championship and hopes to add to its two-year, 55-game winning streak next season.

To support his youngest son, Cai, in basketball, Ricky picked up the whistle and volunteered to serve as the Steel’s head coach.
Son Cory is now an assistant coach for the team that shattered the record he helped set in 1987. Sharing coaching duties with Ricky and Cory are Paul Augustin, Chris Jean and Hugh Pell.
Team mother Lisa Semere and camerawoman Lynn Suprean round out the Slidell Steel team.

Cai feels that the extra support from his family makes the game that much better. “I love having my dad and brother as my coaches,” he says. While they may be a little harder on him than on the other players, Cai believes this has helped him accomplish more than he would have otherwise.

Brother Cory says, “This experience is just unbelievable,” adding that coaching is another level of the game for him. “You can’t even put into words how amazing these kids are and how each one brings so much to the team. Any one of them could be the top player on another team.”

Leading the way in the Steel’s shutout season was 6-foot-tall point guard Jordan Cornish, who was named Mr. Junior Biddy Basketball and is the No. 1 Biddy player in the country. Other priceless Slidell Steel players are Daniel Augustin, William Claiborne, Ashon Cook, Tré Dolan, Logan Jean, Samuel Mansfield, Matthew Thomas, Philip Semere, Jordan Smith and Christopher Vickers.

Tré values the immense support of his teammates and coaches. “If you work together as a team, everything you want can get accomplished,” he says. “Coach Ricky taught me how to be a team player, how to work with others and has helped me with my attitude.”

“God has just blessed me with some great players,” says Ricky. “I keep pinching myself trying to wake myself up. It is all like a dream. Just when I think things can’t any better they do just that.”