
44 Years, One Alma Mater: Kim Guidry’s Unmatched Basketball Legacy
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Vermilion Catholic’s Kim Guidry – affectionately known as “Gidge” – had considered such a move for the last several years.
After 39 seasons on the bench, guiding the Lady Eagles basketball program, the 65-year-old Guidry had already taken the necessary steps in determining that her 40th season of coaching at the parochial school in Abbeville would be her last. She informed the school’s principal Dr. Stella Arabie of her intentions.
That left Guidry, who has been at the school for 44 years as a financial literacy teacher, athletic director, and 22 years as softball coach, with one very important group to address: her 2024-25 team which would carry the distinction of the being the final basketball team she’ll coach.
“The age, it’s catching up,” Guidry said of the Oct. 9 team meeting. “I don’t move as fast (she had hip replacement surgery in 2020), and the kids are too fast. I never imagined being here 44 years. It’s kind of gone by. It’s more of a career than a job. I think God was good to me and put me here at the right time.”
The team’s lone senior, guard Jenna Beth Hagle, recalled the preseason meeting when Guidry sent shock waves through the team’s locker room.
Guidry told her team that the cumulative effect of coaching both basketball and softball (she will also coach her 23rd softball team in the spring) had finally caught up. With her eligibility for social security, she’s going to complete the academic year in the classroom and work part-time next year.
“I was very sad because we all love her,” said Hagle, one of a myriad of sister tandems to have played for Guidry. “She’s like one of the best coaches in the world in my opinion. She’s lived for this forever. I’m sure it’s hard for her to go, although I’m sure she’s going to be relieved because I know we drive her crazy all of the time.”
Vermilion Catholic (10-3) has every intention of making Guidry’s final basketball season memorable. The Lady Eagles, ranked No. 12 in the latest LHSAA Division IV select power rankings, have a win over Class 5A Southside, went 2-1 in their own Yuletide Tournament and open District 6-1A play at Tuesday Westminster Christian Academy in Lafayette.
“I’m going to be so sad, even though we want to go as far as we can for her,” Hagle said. “That’s all we’ve been wishing for is to host a home game for the first playoff game, get her through and we’re working really hard for it.”
Selfless to the end, Guidry would love for her team to enjoy this season and have an extended stay in the playoffs.

Her refrain for her success remains familiar.
“I just get to drive the bus,” she said after her 900th career win last season. “I don’t get to play, I don’t get to shoot. I don’t get to do any of that. It’s just for them.”
With every milestone has come a deep gratitude for a long list of young ladies who did the right things and bought into a common goal of winning as a team.
“I’m hoping we win our first round which we haven’t done in four years,” Guidry said. “When you win your first round, you get your name on the banner in the gym. It gives them a part in the legacy to get on the wall.”
Breaking through and reaching gold
Guidry has established a program of excellence during her previous 39 seasons, one that will endure after her retirement from the game.
With a record of 926-322 (for a 74.1 winning percentage), Guidry began this season ranked 16th nationally according to MaxPreps.com among the nation’s winningest active coaches and second in Louisiana.
Her 900th win took place on Jan. 10 of last season – a 36-27 triumph over Covenant Christian – and was the latest landmark in a career that began in 1985 and took five years to reach 100 wins.
“These girls want to play hard for her,” said assistant coach Angela Gallet, who is in her 17th year as an assistant and played for Guidry. “To have a winning record would be great. To go far in the playoffs would be great for Gidge to have that one final time. These girls still play for her and give her their all because they love the game. They play because they want to be part of the team and now, they’ll be part of her legacy which is astounding.”
Guidry stands among the state’s giants in her field with Fairview’s Kyle Jinks having crossed the 1,000-win plateau in his 1,007th victory in December.
The state’s standard bearers are a couple of LHSAA Hall of Fame selections in Florien’s Dewain Strother (1,235 wins) followed by Southwood’s Steve McDowell (981), Winnsboro’s Carris Baker (972) and Jena’s ‘Jelly’ Pigott (900+).
Passion has played a role in Guidry’s longevity, but her programs have always had intangibles such as family atmospheres, discipline, and character.
The Lady Eagles have made nine trips to the state tournament, winning the school’s first state championship in 1999 followed by a second crown in 2013. They’ve also been state runners-up in ’15 and ’19 with five trips to the semifinals and eight to the quarterfinals.
VC has also been district champions 15 times.
“Sports, not just ours, teach you work ethic,” said Guidry, who guided the softball program to a state runner-up finish in 2017, five trips to the state tournament, and 18 playoff appearances. “You work hard, do what you’re supposed to do, and good things happen. Whether it’s basketball, in your class work, or the next level, that’s all important in life. How to succeed. You have to learn how to succeed. It doesn’t come easy.”
Getting started at her alma mater
Guidry didn’t play sports in high school. Her interest in athletics was captured by her cousin Brenda Mouton, whose talent in basketball and softball took her from then Mt. Carmel (later VC) to McNeese State. She later returned to VC and served as head coach for two seasons where her team made it to the state quarterfinals.
Guidry graduated from USL (now UL-Lafayette) with a degree in health and physical education and a minor in business but was still unsure of her path in life.
While coaching wasn’t necessarily a desired choice, Guidry interviewed at VC for an opening and was hired by then-principal Harold Suire.
The job?
Coaching the school’s tennis team and coordinating the cheerleaders, while an opening with the football team and girls’ basketball went to a male.
“It wasn’t exactly what I expected,” Guidry said. “But those kids are as close to me as my basketball and softball players.”
Guidry’s hiring coincided with the proliferation of Title IX; an equal rights amendment enacted by Congress in 1972. She was the lone female on the coaching staff and after the retirement of Earl Heintz, took over the girls’ basketball program without ever having played or coached the sport.
She took matters into her own hands, attending clinics and workshops, and watching games where one of her idols – former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt – was developing her own legacy in the game. Guidry also learned from counterparts Russell Menard and Chris Dupuy who had productive stints with the boys.
“The game was evolving to almost where the boy’s game is now,” Guidry said. “It was fast-paced with tempo and was physical. You had to run and go are otherwise get left behind.”
VC won three playoff games in the 1990-91 season to break through with its first trip to the state tournament. The Lady Eagles completed a 28-6 season with a 57-48 semifinal defeat to Oak Grove.
The program’s ascent came a year later after the graduation of Gallet and fellow teammate Michelle Guarino Judice who were cornerstones in the program that lost only twice their senior year.
“She trusted me to implement what she wanted,” said Gallet, the team’s point guard. “We thought the same way and still do today. We’ll sit on the bench and maybe say the same thing at the same time which is kind of funny.”
Judice said Guidry made players a priority and held them accountable.
“She always left it with the players, always celebrated the players,” she said. “There was never any ego or any credit taken on her part and it made us feel special as players. She would be the one to instill pride in us. We took that to another different level. We knew we had to walk a straight line, or if we didn’t, that cost us playing time.”
No compromise from her principles
Guidry had been portrayed as fair and not overbearing in the infancy stages of her career that’s now in its fourth decade.
Despite the gradual rise to among the more consistent programs in Class 1A (now Division IV), Guidry wasn’t held in the same regard by some of the parents of the players she coached.
There was a perception amongst those adults that she was too tough to play for, and that inhibited the team’s growth.
“Before we won state, there were moments where parents would come in and want me gone,” Guidry said. “They didn’t like the discipline or whatever the rules I had.”
Guidry never changed, but VC basketball certainly did.
They became playoff regulars and eventually reached the first of four state championship games.
The Lady Eagles’ 17-point victory (69-52) over Ringgold capped a 38-2 record and brought home the program’s first state title in 1999.
“The first one, I was in the stands after having a child,” Gallet said of ULM’s Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe. “(Standout players) Maisie Meaux (state MVP), Brooke Williams (Class 1A tournament MVP), and Nicole Faciane were an amazing group of talent. She used that group to inspire the ones coming after them to say you can do this too.”
Another player on that team, Mary Ellen Vincent, was the Vermilion Parish Tournament MVP during the regular season.
Gallet also took time to explain Guidry’s approach to players.
“It’s kind of like a parent,” she said. “Tough love, coddling, and love when needed and positivity as long as you met her expectations. If you didn’t, she would let you know in a private way. It was never to call people out or embarrass them when mistakes were made.
“It was to show you this is why we do this and the method to the madness,” she said. “She looks at the whole team, not just individuals. Her vision for the team – it didn’t have to be spoken – is that we all wanted to win as a team. We didn’t (1990 team) win a state championship despite having one of her best records.”
Striking gold twice
VC’s first state title took place a year after its first trip to the state tournament.
Winning it again, though, didn’t come soon enough for a rabid fan base that made the team’s home gym a decided advantage to play in.
The Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals in 2000 and 2005, finishing with records of 23-9 and 29-9, respectively, before returning to Monroe in 2013 for a matchup with West St. John in the state final.
That season’s highlight to that point had taken place earlier when VC defeated a Seimone Augustus-led Capitol High team in a tournament game at Opelousas Catholic. That team had the distinction of handing Augustus, an eventual Naismith Hall of Famer and three-time Olympic gold medalist, one of her seven losses in high school.
“We ran a 1-3-1 (zone),” Guidry said. “We always had someone picking her up and getting in her face.”
VC had something more substantial in store several months later in the state championship game. The Lady Eagles’ path to the game was dominated by comfortable double-digit margins, but the Rams were a force to deal with until the end.
VC (29-5) found itself tied at 52-all when Guidry called timeout with three seconds left. She wanted her team to try and shoot quickly, thus opening the door for an offensive rebound and putback.
The strategy worked out as drawn up. Three-time all-state selection Ashailee Brailey missed the initial shot when Kaylen Collins, the daughter of former VC standout Keeyada Robinson, put in the miss for the game-winning points.
“When we won it, it was a great feeling which was the first one for me,” Gallet said. “I remember as it got to the closing seconds, the other team had the ball last and shot from halfcourt. Someone took a picture of our hug and embrace (with Guidry) from the stands. She wanted it for me when I played, and it didn’t happen. Here I am going full circle, giving it back and experiencing it with her which was joyous.”
The Lady Eagles made two trips to the semifinals over the next six years, firmly establishing themselves on the statewide landscape.
VC wound up 29-5 following a 54-50 setback against North Central in 2015 and dropped a 48-33 decision to state-power Lafayette Christian Academy, 48-33, to complete its season 27-6.
LCA was also a stumbling block in VC’s playoff road with a win over the Lady Eagles in the 2020 quarterfinals – marking the program’s last appearance in the third round of the playoffs.
“I’ve stayed so proud of them,” said Judice, who returned to Abbeville after living and working in Baton Rouge. “When I lived away, I kept up with them, who was winning and who was on the team. I was just happy for them.”
The naming of Kim “Gidge” Guidry Gymnasium
The rise of VC’s program to the high-rent district in Class 1A basketball created interest from outside its borders in Abbeville.
While it was obvious to take notice of Guidry for her ultra-successful basketball program, others took notice of the job she was also doing as athletic director where the school was regarded for having an all-around athletic department where football and baseball were always constants.
When former North Vermilion principal Mike Guilbeaux retired from the public school system after 33 years and became the assistant principal at VC in 2010, a school that he already lived across the street from. That was followed by an 11-year stay as the school’s principal, further building on the admiration he already had for Guidry.
“I knew the kind of job from the outside that I saw she was doing,” Guilbeaux said. “It was very evident when I got there and saw the passion she had for athletics and her girls. A lot of people talked about what she did in basketball with the state championships, but she was also the softball coach and had tremendous programs along the way. When basketball ended she jumped right into softball. She gave a lot of herself and time to the school and community.”
Their working relationship deepened and Guilbeaux grew fond of the work Guidry handled on the school’s behalf as athletic director when the Louisiana High School Athletic Association conducted its annual eligibility checks.
Because of Guidry’s experience since her high school days of doing abstract work in the parish courthouse, she was accustomed to being organized and handling multiple documents, much like the process the LHSAA puts its member schools through to certify its athletes for participation.
VC passed with flying colors, creating a great rapport with the state’s governing body on high school athletics.

“When they (LHSAA) came,” Guilbeaux said, “they always said it was like a breath of fresh air. They didn’t have to dig. Kim had a lot of I’s to dot and T’s to cross, but it was very important to stay on top of things and I felt very comfortable having her in that position because she did a wonderful job.”
As someone born and raised in Abbeville, and giving back to her alma mater as both a teacher and coach, Guidry became a recognizable figure in the community.
In the 56-year history of the school which opened its doors in 1956, there had been two other people that had risen to iconic status – the late Father Donald Theriot and “Prof” Felix Frederick.
Theriot’s familiar beach chair, which he brought to sit in at home and away games, is still present at games, and the school honored Frederick after his death with the ‘Prof Felix Frederick Library and Media Center’.
Guilbeaux sought such a lasting commendation for Guidry who had given so much of herself to the school and generations of young women she molded.
Guilbeaux said the topic gained momentum after a conversation with then-school Chancellor Fr. William Blanda who was overseeing several projects at both VC and Mt. Carmel Elementary.
“He said Kim had done a great job,” Guilbeaux said. “He said we always wait to name things after somebody dies, why wouldn’t we consider naming the gym after Kim? We started talking with people who were big supporters of the school. They thought it was a great idea, and everybody thought very highly of Kim, and it came to fruition. I don’t know of anyone in the community that doesn’t know her or know about her and the job she’s done.”
Keeping the word of such an honor away from Guidry, who’s long had a read on the pulse of the school, would be a challenge. Making the occasion even more poignant was the attendance of both of her parents and twin brother Tim, a long-time supporter of his sister’s efforts that ranged from keeping the team’s scorebook to public address duties.
VC held a special presentation for Guidry on Nov. 19, 2013, and officially renamed its gymnasium the “Kim ‘Gidge’ Guidry Gymnasium” where a plaque remains on the wall in her honor.

“She said I know you had something to do with this,” Guilbeaux said of Guidry. “She said you could have asked me, and I would have told you no. I said that’s why I didn’t ask you.”
Guidry could do nothing but thank those responsible for the moment, one she never expected to ever be part of.
“It was an honor,” she said. “I didn’t know anything about it which is kind of hard because I pretty much know everything that goes on here.”
Gallet, like many of Guidry’s former players, was on hand for the renaming of the gym that she felt was appropriate, given the scope of Guidry’s impact on the school.
“It was an awkward thing for her to experience, but she was very humbled by it,” she said. “She takes pride in that. She definitely leaves a lasting legacy there.”
If ever there was a Mt. Rushmore for influential figures in VC/Mt. Carmel’s history, Guidry’s place would certainly be up for debate.
“Kim ranks right up in that category,” Guilbeaux said. “She’s thought of in that same type of way in what she’s done to help the school. She’s a good, genuine person that happened to fall in love with the school.”
Developing more than basketball players
Late-night film study defined Guidry’s approach to coaching in the earlier stages of her career. To try and give her players an edge on the court, she couldn’t watch enough film and if her team lacked in certain areas from the previous game, she stayed up replaying the game in her head and searched for answers.
“Now, I’ll watch film, take notes, and do what we need to do the next day at practice,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to succeed for them, not for me. I like to see them improve and be together. I like to see them care.”
Guidry’s been afforded the luxury of having approximately 90% of her roster land on the LHSAA’s All-Academic team. There’s rarely a shortage of bright players who have come through the program before heading off to college.
Above the team’s pursuit of championships, Guidry was an advocate of developing well-rounded people who graduated to become college graduates, develop stable business careers, and become the matriarchs of their respective families.
“The idea of sports lets you learn how to pull on the rope together for one common goal,” she said.
Surrounded throughout her career by outstanding long-time assistant coaches such as Larry Becker, Gallett, Ferne LeBlanc, and currently Hollie Nelms, another former player, Guidry fostered a program built with a family fabric that routinely had 20 players in uniform each game.
Guidry began coaching the sisters of former players and has now coached the daughters of former players.
Judice’s older daughter Whitney was a member of the program from 2016 to 2020, while her younger daughter, Sarah, is a sophomore on this year’s team. Both have played roles in the four-decades-long tradition the program has developed with Whitney a member of the ’17 team that was part of Guidry’s 800th game, and Sarah a part of the team ’23 team that was part of the 900th game.
“Just the loyalty is astounding and that’s tough to come by in this day and age,” said Judice, a pharmacist. “We’re forever grateful for what she’s given to the school, and she’s never taken any of the credit.”
Guidry’s mark of consistency was apparent when her 200th, 300th, and 400th wins all came three years apart before slowing down somewhat. The Lady Eagles needed four years to reach her 500th, 600th, and 800th wins, five to get to 700, and six for her latest plateau.
“It just goes,” Guidry said of the days in her career. “The only reason I knew (she was beginning her 40th basketball season) is because, at the end of every year, I write down who we played in the playoffs and how far we went. I went to that clipboard, pulled it out, and said Year 39. It’s not like it’s something in the back of my mind. I had to look it up. I don’t think about that. It’s not about me. It was the kids and some of them would go through a brick wall for you and that’s all you can ask.”
The challenge of keeping a competitive program
Guidry said she began giving players off the entire summer beginning in ’10, providing a respite after a grueling season and for those who may been involved in multiple sports.
But with the advent of new sports on campus for a school with 87 girls among an enrollment of 175, Guidry began to think about her future when her roster numbers began to dwindle.
The school attempted to capitalize on a surge in popularity with the addition of volleyball which had 30 girls out for its program last year, while soccer has featured 25 players in recent years.
Instead of having enough players to field varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams, as was the case in the heyday of the program, Guidry said with 10 players in the program, she’s had to eliminate junior varsity participation the past two seasons. A year after calling up a pair of eighth graders to conduct 10-player practices, Guidry’s relied on the addition of three seventh graders to conduct equitable 10-player workouts this season.
Another hurdle in the girls’ goal of having enough players to practice occurred five years ago when VC’s feeder school, Mt. Carmel, disbanded its basketball program for two years.
“Like I tell them, this is their high school years,” said Guidry, who said three or four of her current players play six sports. “If they want to put in the effort, we’ll make it work. I’m not a person of change. I have the same principles. We try to work with our personnel and make it fit. Everything is fundamental. If you do the fundamentals right, the rest of the game will come.”
Hagle, whose sister Ann Kate played from 2020-2023, was around the program from a young age and couldn’t wait to put on a VC uniform and play for Guidry. She remembered seeing Guidry working the clock at some of her middle school games and wondered if Guidry had taken notice of her play.
“I would go home and say, ‘Coach Gidge was here, you think she saw me play?’” she said. “I lived to see if she would come to watch our games. I always aspired to be one of her players because I knew how good she was and how much of an amazing coach she is. To be able to play all four years has been so much fun and such a gift for her to be my coach.”
That was the overriding sentiment amongst most players playing for Mt. Carmel with an eye on making the transition to VC where Guidry had formed one big family with a loyal alumni base of former players.
One of the most anticipated times for Guidry has become one of the program’s biggest staples – the Yuletide Tournament – which takes place after Christmas. It also signals that year’s annual alumni game where friendships are rekindled, and former players and Guidry catch up on their lives.
“There’s nothing better than to see them and you start talking about their families,” Guidry said. “You get to see what their lives are all about. You hope there was something you did that contributed to that. That’s better than any state title, to see how they’ve succeeded in life, how are their families and those that have chosen to send theirs (kids) back.”
The final chapter
When she attended the school, Gallet said the sight of Frederick and Guidry was commonplace each morning upon arrival.
Frederick was a recognizable figure as a speech and drama coach at the school, but his popularity grew when he was the person entrusted with opening the school each day. The responsibility was handed to Guidry after Frederick’s death on Oct. 19, 2008, one that she maintains to this day with a kind hello and warm smile.
“When you thought of VC, you thought of Prof and Gidge,” Gallet said. “She’s the constant of the whole school. People were saying when Prof died, who was going to open up the school? Gidge has been the one that’s done that.”
Guidry was a natural to serve as the school’s daily ambassador.
“I’m a morning person, I’m there at 6-6:30 every morning and I open it at 6:45 so when kids get here, it’s open for them,” she said. “I took it upon myself to be the first one here. Why not open the door? People get here with their hands full. I learn their names and put a name with a face.”
The final season of Guidry will also mark the farewell of Gallet and LeBlanc from the team’s bench, while Nelms is expected to remain a part of next year’s staff.
Gallet was once considered to be an heir apparent to Guidry, but durability got in the way and Guidry continued onward. Gallet, who wants to spend time with her grandchildren, has been involved with the program totaling 24 years with 20 of those in a coaching role from the freshman to varsity levels.
“I’m 52 and in a different phase of life with my grandkids,” Gallet said. “It would have been beautiful for me 8-10 years ago. Although she’ll never say it, Gidge is a legend.”
Guidry is hopeful her replacement will be a graduate of the school and help infuse the program with additional players. One thing she won’t do, though, is be a shadow in the coaching transition.
“Change is good,” she said. “The girls have asked me if I was going to come watch them play and coach from the stands and I told them no. Whoever’s the new coach can be in their realm. It’s their turn, not mine. If asked, I’ll be glad to share any knowledge. I don’t want to infringe on anybody else’s career. New blood is good.”
Judice shared a story of Guidry’s reputation involving her daughter Whitney, who now works in the office of LSU president William Tate. One day LSU’s national championship women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey was scheduled to visit the office where Whitney was assigned to greet Mulkey once she arrived.
The talkative Mulkey engaged Whitney in conversation. She introduced herself and made Mulkey aware that she had attended her basketball camp at Baylor University where she won three national championships before leaving for LSU four years ago.
When she mentioned that she played for Vermilion Catholic, Mulkey remembered Guidry who previously brought her teams to Louisiana Tech’s summer camp, including Whitney’s mother, where Mulkey was an assistant.
“Is she still there? Mulkey asked rhetorically of Guidry.
She will be for the next nine regular season games and for the length of VC’s stay in the playoffs.
The Lady Eagles face an eight-game district schedule beginning Tuesday, and host parish rival Erath on Feb. 12 in the regular-season finale, setting the stage for what’s expected to be the 37th playoff team in Guidry’s career.
“When she first told us we were all trying not to cry. We were all so sad,” Hagle said. “We said we were going to try to make this her best year yet. We’re working hard.”
Guilbeaux believes the team’s final home game – whether in the regular season or playoffs – will be touching for Guidry.
“I can foresee see anybody that knows that it’s the last game and can be there, will be there,” he said. “I can image a gym that will be packed of prior players and parents, and people, to see show their gratification for what she’s done and what she’s been able to do with their daughters.”
Before turning more of her attention to family, and time in the park with her beloved great nieces (ages 2 and 4), Guidry remains committed to her current team, instilling the same values that have remained in the program for four decades.
“We’re going to go out and play hard,” she said. “You do the best you can do, and I’ll do the best I can do, and together we can hopefully succeed. If not, the sun’s still going to come up.”