End Of An Era: Sam Houston’s Rene Fontenot Concluding 33-Year Career with Final Playoff Appearance

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Rene Fontenot thinks she’ll simply fade to black, enjoy life with her husband Anthony and her new job with the Lake Charles Police Jury in complete anonymity. 

After 33 years of teaching and coaching volleyball at Sam Houston High School, there’s very little chance of that happening. 

“We’ve talked about when I finish and people say, ‘Where did that white-haired lady go’,” said Fontenot, who’s been married for 33 years and a mother of three. “People won’t remember my name, but they’ll remember who Sam Houston is and that team or program. That’s what we’re after. Ultimately to have no regrets and enable the success of the unit and then we all win. We all get to be happy.”

Putting into perspective what Fontenot’s meant to Sam Houston High and the Lake Charles-area volleyball community may be difficult for her to fully comprehend, but the Lady Broncos are losing more than a coach at the completion of the 2024 season.

They’re losing a special person who only shows up so often to influence generations of students in the classroom and athletes on the floor. 

Fontenot’s retirement marks the end of an era of Sam Houston volleyball. The No. 2 Lady Broncos (36-6) enter state playoff action Wednesday at 5 pm against No. 31 Dave Thibodeaux in a Division II matchup.

“I’ve been a player or a coach for 45 years,” said Fontenot, who played volleyball in high school at Berwick High before signing and playing with McNeese State. “I’m ready to be a fan, to just walk into a gym to just support the Broncos, other southwest Louisiana schools, McNeese, and enjoy the game.”

Fontenot looks forward to adding to her already impressive record of 818-427 with a lengthy postseason stay.

Sam Houston, ranked No. 23 in the VSN/GeauxPreps’ Power Rankings, would love nothing more than a Hollywood ending for its beloved coach. The Lady Broncos have enjoyed the ninth 30-plus win season under Fontenot have two state runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2008 and remain optimistic of delivering their first state championship in Fontenot’s final season.

“The goal is to be playing on Nov. 16 (state championship match at the Cajundome) and to fine-tune some things to get us there,” Fontenot said. “That is the goal. Why not us? That’s what we keep saying and no regrets. Hopefully, our mental game is where it needs to be because that was what was lacking last year (in quarterfinal loss) against Slidell.”

Developing from the Ground Up

Fontenot (formerly Tholen) made her mark as a player at both Berwick High and then McNeese, a region she would never leave again.

Fontenot led the Cowgirls in kills (314), hitting percentage (.267), and aces (89), and earned honorable mention All-Southland Conference honors in 1990. When she finished her career, she was 10th in career solo blocks (65) but her career proved difficult for a program that went 32-102 during that span.

Fontenot graduated from McNeese in December of ’90 which included completing her student teaching at Sam Houston alongside the school’s lone female coach, Anne Guidry, who underwent treatment for cancer in an ongoing battle she defeated three times.

Six months later the school called and offered Fontenot a full-time position coaching the volleyball team which was previously under the direction of the boys’ basketball coach.

“I was going to a middle school in special education,” she said. “There were no P.E. or coaching jobs available. I thought I would have to wait another year. Sam Houston created this position where I’ve ultimately stayed all of this time.”

For someone used to playing the game at a high level, Fontenot’s first foray into coaching was sobering. In one of her first workouts, she had a player that attempted to block with one hand. 

Sam Houston went 7-3 and reached the first round of the playoffs in her initial season. The Lady Broncos have never experienced a losing season or failed to make the playoffs under Fontenot.

“She has made me believe in myself more,” Sam Houston senior libero Salem Arceneaux. “She knows I’m capable. She knows that I have the qualities and skills to be the best libero. She puts faith in me and she’s a great coach.”

Fontenot also realized a deeper problem facing Lake Charles volleyball. The area severely lagged behind regions such as Acadiana, Baton Rouge, Northshore, and New Orleans for supremacy on the high school stage. 

She knew of one way to try and close that sizeable gap and that was to begin creating opportunities for talented players to play club volleyball, which could be both expensive and a significant time commitment. 

“They had never been exposed to competitive volleyball,” Fontenot said. “I started talking about club, and what that would mean for them to develop and travel. It had only kind of been in this area. From tryouts to the playoffs, it would never be enough without kids playing club ball. In our area, we’re still behind, but it’s getting better.”

Fontenot dove into the club scene, becoming the director of the Cajun League Club where her own daughter Madison played and attended McNeese on a volleyball scholarship. 

Part of her vision and growth in the Lake Charles area has come from a boon in the beach volleyball community, a program McNeese has added.

“Our kids, for the highly competitive teams, you have to go outside of Lake Charles,” she said. “They’re on the road for 9-10 months a year. That’s such a huge commitment. We’ve had a number of kids at different schools that have made that commitment and that’s the luxury that I’ve enjoyed. They know the game better.”

Moving Sam Houston to the Forefront 

Sam Houston reached the state quarterfinals in Fontenot’s second year and has remained a staple in Division II throughout the course of her career.

The Lady Broncos have enjoyed 22 seasons of 20-plus win seasons and nine 30-plus win seasons, including this season which could surpass Fontenot’s most successful team in 1999 went 39-6 and lost to Assumption in the state championship match.

“To see the sport grow in this area has been amazing and there’s a lot of good coaches in the area,” Fontenot said. 

If the Lake Charles area had a Mt. Rushmore for volleyball, Fontenot would certainly be on it.

Fontenot counts Guidry, who died Feb. 17, 2017, from complications from a fall, among a faithful group of coaches that took time to offer advice and develop friendships during her formative years in the coaching profession.

Her former coach at McNeese State, Lee McBride, is also among an impactful collection of coaches that also includes Lake Charles-area counterparts Julie Mancuso of Sulphur and Carolyn Fusilier of Barbe.

There was also a strong faction of male football coaches such as Charles Vicknair, Nolan Viator, and Tom Couste who had all made their mark in the Lake Charles area and were great examples for Fontenot to follow.

“All these men, I was tethered to,” Fontenot said. “I married a former McNeese football player who also coached. To me, that was a brotherhood that I was a part of, and I learned from them as much as the other female coaches.”

Sam Houston became a mainstay on the Division II scene between 1999-04 with five trips in six years to at least the quarterfinal round or better. That was tipped off by a state runner-up showing in ’99 followed by a trip to the quarterfinals and three semifinal appearances in four years.

That show of consistency for a public school in a sport dominated by private schools (all five state titles in 2023 were won by private schools) has been a testament to Fontenot’s vision for her program and volleyball in the Lake Charles area.

“It’s like the chip on my shoulder trying to get deeper into the playoffs and advance as a public school,” Fontenot said.  “There’s a lot of hurdles along the way. It’s really just part of the process. Just the development of what Lake Charles (volleyball) looks like now. Later in my career, it’s been about embracing beach (volleyball) and being an advocate for kids to train at a local facility.

“I definitely did not see that as the vision,” Fontenot said of her long-time career. “At first, this (area’s level of volleyball) has got to be better. I had a lot of older coaches that were great mentors to me, not just volleyball, but in coaching that really poured into me. From administrators to the other coaches to the school board members. Those things in today’s day get lost in the shuffle. That’s part of growing your area or a new program. It takes a lot.”

The Making of Another Special Season

The graduation of eight seniors from last year’s 35-win team that played in the state quarterfinals would have created enough angst for some to expect the program to slide somewhat this season.

Fontenot was not in that number.

“These returning kids, who had been in the lineup for the last couple of years, were going to be able to compete as well or better than last year’s team,” she said. “That was my expectation. I’m not sure if it was the girls initially. They’re thinking we’re rebuilding. They in fact have done really well since early summer practices.”

Sam Houston won its first 10 matches of the season including a pair of tournaments at Assumption and Dutchtown.

The Lady Broncos were pushed to limit in the season opener, fending off St. Louis in five sets, before reeling off nine victories that encompassed winning 21 straight sets. They were stopped by Division III stalwart, St. Michael the Archangel of Baton Rouge, in the final of the Dutchtown event.

Fontenot pushed her team out of its comfort zone with tournaments at Ruston and Covenant Christian before returning home to host its own event. They made one final trip to Baton Rouge High’s tournament where they went 5-0 with a sweep of Barbe in the final.

“That’s part of the plan each year to get our kids out there,” Fontenot said. “For the exposure, the different styles and for their exposure. We have a number of them that will be going on to play collegiate ball and the recruiting process is partly a concern. It’s not just our opponents. It’s officials getting to know us, getting to know the girls. It’s better the more relationships they forge out there in the state the better for them as a player and as a program.

“It was a make or break and it’s nearly broken them because it has been so much,” Fontenot said. “I don’t know how anybody caps out (46 matches) and plays all of their matches. We really needed some downtime to recover. It’s a great learning curve and one we needed to learn. It had been several weeks since we’d seen such a tough opponent.” 

Two of Fontenot’s more indelible career moments took place over a two-day span in early October.

Sam Houston carried a 17-2 record into an Oct. 3 home match with St. Louis. The Lady Broncos dispatched the Saints in three games and celebrated Fontenot’s 800th career victory afterward.

“Without my husband adding up the wins, I would have never known I was getting close to 800,” Fontenot said. “That was nice.”

With congratulations coming from different directions and an array of different platforms, Fontenot took the praise in stride, already pointing toward the team’s next outing – a five-match tournament at Covenant Christian in Houma.

“I saw the different posts from other people,” she said. “I’ve always thought I’m only as good as my next game, I’m only as good as next year. Nobody cares what we did last year. You have to seize the moment. Just live in the day and have no regrets which I kind of adopted in college when I went from a winning to a losing team. I didn’t know how to lose or cope with a losing record. I’ve been very fortunate.”

Acknowledgments and warm gestures of her 800th career victory continue to pour in for Fontenot from her Lake Charles-area counterparts. The Lake Charles Officials Association also presented her with a cross necklace with an amethyst stone. 

But none of that could have prepared Fontenot for what she would be on the receiving end of in the Covenant Christian tournament. 

Sam Houston had completed its pregame warm-ups in its third match of the tournament against Archbishop Chappelle of Metairie.

When referees motioned for both teams to run through their pregame handshakes at the net, every player from Chappelle continued around the net and toward Sam Houston’s bench toward Fontenot.

All 15 of the players and the team’s coach, Jodee Pulizzano, handed Fontenot single roses which added up to a bouquet. 

Following an exchange with Pulizzano, Fontenot gathered herself, headed back to her bench, and addressed her which went on to a 25-21, 25-15 victory and wound up 4-1 in the event.

“Jodee’s a special person,” Fontenot said. “She’s been on the other side of the net from college on. She and I have coached against each other. I had no idea they were doing that. If I had said much to her in that exchange other than I love you, I would have been a blubbering idiot. She just walked away.

“That was one of the sweetest things that have ever happened to me,” Fontenot said. “As a coach, you don’t get a whole lot of thank you(s). You don’t get a whole lot of, ‘Hey I appreciate you’. To have that so public was humbling, to say the least.”

Winding Down a Career

Sam Houston’s lost only three times in October and won 11 of its final 12 games in the regular season that ended with a three-game sweep of Iowa on senior night. 

A year after graduating eight seniors from her second-winning team, Fontenot has constructed another successful team that leads the state with 36 wins. The Lady Broncos could become Fontenot’s most successful team ever by reaching the state semifinals.

But why stop there, she believes.

“This whole season, my last everything has been a celebration,” said Fontenot, whose daughter Madison has been part of her staff. “I’ve had my last senior night. We’re trying to have as many celebratory moments and wins as we can possibly get our hands on.”

Two of the team’s three seniors have committed to McNeese State in setter Bailey Foolkes and middle hitter Ava Henry. Salem Arceneaux is the team’s libero.

The Lady Broncos also have a pair of standout junior outside hitters in Abigail Fontenot and Lainey Johnson, and fellow junior Aubrey Portie, an outside hitter/middle hitter, has already attracted some Division I scholarship offers. Chaslyn Landry and exchange student Sofia Occhipinti – two more juniors – hold key roles in the team’s success.

The next chapter in Fontenot’s life is one she’s worked part-time for the past seven years. 

Much like her pursuit as a teacher and coach, the next phase of Fontenot’s life will be similar. She wants to be an asset to people, putting a grant from the Red Cross to good use in order to reduce the area’s drowning rates by improving aquatics safety and swim capabilities at affordable rates.

Fontenot’s final day of work at Sam Houston is Dec. 20 – 34 days after what she hopes will be a triumphant conclusion to her career with a Division II state volleyball championship.

Fontenot, who has taught special education, English, and physical education, took preemptive measures along the way and began removing items that had adorned the desk and walls in her office. 

Keepsakes such as Coach of the Year plaques have been given to her special education students, but she plans to hang onto things involving her players such as pictures, hand-written notes, and gifts.

She’ll also leave behind more than three decades’ worth of blood, sweat, and tears – and memories – when she exits the building for the final time.

“I think career coaches are adrenaline junkies and I’m going to miss that adrenaline rush,” Fontenot said. “I’m going to miss being called coach Fontenot. Those things I’ll miss and getting close to kids and watching them evolve. The wear and tear of a 75-80 work week, that’s at the forefront (of her retirement). 

“At the end of the day, I’m just Rene,” Fontenot said. “They want me to be mom, counselor, academic advisor, and a volleyball coach. … all of those hats. But that’s part of the joy of the job. There will be the thrill of the game and that adrenaline ride … I’m going to miss that.”