#LiftforLatta: Denham Springs’ Addie Latta remembered for strength, warm smile
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
When it was time for Adelia “Addie” Latta to get her driver’s license, she exhibited a servant’s heart.
The 16-year-old had already gone through all of the driving requirements for her license when Latta completed the necessary paperwork that included whether she wanted to become an organ donor.
Latta anxiously filled in the blank in the affirmative.
“Do you know what this entails?” Latta’s mother, Crystal Falgout, asked. “Mom, ‘this is what I want to do.’”
In the grueling days that elapsed after Latta’s recent passing, following a 27-day stay in ICU because of injuries suffered in a car accident, Denham Springs’ eighth-year strength and condition coach Joe Ryan reflected on the compassion Latta showed at such a tender age.
After three years of coaching her in the school’s weight-lifting program, where she had become a leader, Ryan wasn’t surprised by the actions she took at such a young age, the kind that would benefit others in the case of peril.
“That’s going to save lives,” he said. “To think this kid made that decision at that age; this is what I’m going to do if anything ever happens, is above and beyond. Winning is great, and everyone wants to win. Something like that, as a parent and coach, you know you’re doing something right.
“We’re doing something where these kids are actually listening to what we’re saying,” he said. “They understand the bigger picture. We want to see them be successful in life and contributing members. There’s no bigger way than you just saved more lives than what you expected to save.”
Ryan received a text on November 29 from Falgout that Latta’s objective had been reached. A match through the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) had been found, ensuring that total strangers would benefit from Latta’s generosity.
“That kid made that decision on her own,” Ryan said. “For a kid to have that kind of wherewithal. … I would love to meet those people (recipients) one day.”
In the final tribute to Latta’s legacy, the staff at Our Lady of the Lake conducted an ‘Honor Walk’ through the hospital on Dec. 1. They were joined by close to 100 people, including Ryan and 30 members from the Denham Springs powerlifting team and the school’s athletic director Brett Beard, for an emotional walk where Latta was at the fore of their thoughts.
Once the group reached the front door and proceeded outside, a staff member hung a ‘Donate Life Flag’ next to an adjoining American flag. The blue and green swirl, with Donate/Life centered amid a white background, represents a circle of life and is raised anytime a monetary donation is made toward organ donation at a hospital.
Latta will be remembered as a vibrant young woman capable of filling up a room with her infectious personality and radiant smile, during an evening billed as “Remembering Addie” on Monday at 5 to 7 p.m. at Live Oak Church in Watson.
“She’s so special,” said Denham Springs senior Kate Leonard, a friend and teammate of Latta. “She’s the only one that will be like her.”
“When she walked in a room, you rarely didn’t see a smile on her face,” Ryan said. “She was always smiling. It didn’t matter where you stood in life on the social scale. She was friends with everyone.”
Latta was involved in cheer during middle school in her hometown of Albany, also located in Livingston Parish, before transferring to Denham Springs for her freshman year. She wanted to try something new and thought power lifting was a suitable choice.
“She had no knowledge of the weight room,” Ryan said.
Because she was ineligible for varsity competition, Latta was a novice when it came to form and technique.
“I remember her starting with the bar and wooden training plates on each side,” Ryan said. “Lifting for the first time wasn’t easy.”
Latta had one prerequisite, and that she was naturally strong. She also had to make the transition from a small rural school in Albany to the state’s biggest school in Denham Springs, forging friendships and understanding the team’s culture when it came to lifting weights.
“We had to have those conversations in the beginning,” Ryan said of becoming the small fish in a big pond. “This is how you do things, this is how you carry yourself, this is how you act, this is how it is to be part of a team. At the beginning, it was getting lost. It’s the big school with the big lights. I had conversations with her mom and her. Her mom wanted her to do this the whole time.”
Latta made every workout and supported her teammates during competitions. The Lady Jackets had excellent role models to emulate, such as eventual two-time state champion Raygan Bosco.
Ryan said Bosco was a great mentor for Latta because of her early encounter with failure. It didn’t define Bosco; it only motivated her to become stronger and a tough-minded competitor who not only was a multi-time state champion but also signed with Southeastern Louisiana.
“In her first meet, she bombed out,” Ryan said of Bosco. “She was a state champion for two years. Her (Latta’s) drive came from wanting to be like her.”
When Latta began lifting for Denham Springs as a sophomore, it was common to see Bosco at meets as an observer and later as a judge.
“She kind of found her niche,” Ryan said. “She was pretty danged good. She was going to be really good.”
Latta advanced to the state meet in her first season, finishing 10th at the 220-pound division with a total of 820 pounds.
“We taught her how to lift from the ground up,” Ryan said. “She had a lot of her success. She was naturally strong. A lot of it was a drive, and she was blessed with natural talent. She was just starting to figure it out this past year. She’s thinking she could turn this into something truly special.”
Leonard, who will lift at either 165 or 181 pounds this fall, recalled meeting Latta for the first time in 2022, giving her a glimpse into Latta’s personality.
Latta was dressed as a male barbecue cook, shirt stuffed to fill out the shoulders, and running around with a spatula at a Halloween gathering.
“That showed me who she was,” she said. “She was always laughing all the time. She was hilarious.”
Latta’s comedic zingers were at the heart of her daily meetings with Beard.
Their relationship was built through more than athletics; it was the laughter they shared with each of Latta’s ‘dad jokes’ that brought a smile to the face of Beard, a former college and NFL defensive lineman.
“He would ask her what was her joke that day,” Ryan said of Beard. “It’s not often you see the athletic director of the biggest school in the state to go support someone.”
Ryan credited the competitive nature of the program for helping serve as a catalyst for Latta’s progress. During her freshman year, the Lady Jackets had a group of seniors that wound up with Top 5 finishes at state during their careers.
The number of seniors waned in Latta’s first two seasons from three and one, respectively, but other program staples, such as work ethic and positive attitudes, were always present. The size of this year’s team ballooned to 35 overall, with 12 seniors.
Ryan also pointed toward the efforts of former assistant coach Raegan Willis, now at University High, for pouring into Latta’s development. Willis was a three-time state champion at Central before joining Ryan’s staff.
“She showed her the ropes,” he said. “For a bigger lifter, just her technique, squat stance, how to bench and deadlift, a lot came from her.”
Latta also learned about leadership, and at the beginning of last season, called a team meeting to make certain everyone was on the same page.
“That’s kind of when we knew she’s got some potential to take this thing and run with it,” Ryan said. “I preached we had to have better leaders. It can’t be a selfish thing. It has to be all for us. Individual success for a team goal.”
Leonard said Latta did that once again after the team’s regional performance last season, reminding each member of their potential and trying to instill confidence in each of them.
“She was so encouraging to everybody,” she said. “Anything you did, no matter how big or small, she was there. She was yelling for you. Anytime she saw something she could correct, she was going to sit there until you figured it out.”
Focus was another of the characteristics that defined Latta.
Every lifter has their own ritual and manner of motivation before each lift, and Latta was no different. Whatever the genre, headphones sat atop her head to get her mind and body right for the challenge ahead.
“She had her headphones on, and when you looked over, she was waiting and bopping her head to some music,” Leonard said. “She’s trying to lift with her headphones on, and we’d have to pull them off of her.”
Latta, lifting in the super heavyweight division in 2024, made improvements in all three of her lifts throughout the season, setting the stage for the postseason.
She enjoyed a solid regional but remained shy of her personal best on the squat, anxiously awaiting the state meet.
Latta increased her overall finish three spots to seventh, putting together a showing of 905 pounds that included a personal best of a 425-pound squat, enabling her to receive the team’s ‘PR Chain’ – akin to football’s ‘Turnover Chain’ that commemorates key or milestone moments.
The Lady Jackets wound up tied for 19th as a team.
The sport of powerlifting has increased for both boys and girls throughout the state, and under Ryan, it’s become an almost year-round pursuit at Denham Springs.
For the Jackets and Lady Jackets, the start of a new season begins in June, working out three days a week with one-hour sessions.
Ryan had a favorite moment of Latta deadlifting 275 pounds, a technically sound lift he posted on social media that drew a tremendous response. On one of the team’s final heavy lift workouts, Latta, who had a best squat of 435 last season, squatted 286 pounds six times.
“You could see the force she was bringing from working out this summer, getting ready for the season,” he said. “It got a ton of people from all over. It looked great. People were talking about how impressive it was. It’s cool to see their hard work come to fruition. They get kudos from people that aren’t in the building all of the time; they don’t see all of the things they do each day. She worked her butt off every day.”
Denham Springs High is in the midst of completing a two-story fieldhouse adjacent to its new football stadium. The new structure will be complete with a state-of-the-art weight room and brand-new weights, so in order for the current Butch Wax Fieldhouse to have similar equipment, Ryan devised a fundraiser dubbed ‘Lift-a-Palooza’ where 350+ lifters from the school’s 12 sports would lift in the football stadium on 15 platforms this summer.
With free admission and food trucks, along with autographs and posters given out, a packed house showed up to cheer. There were 262 personal records established, and better yet, $12,620 was raised for the new weights that will match those in the new fieldhouse.
Ryan can still see Latta deadlifting, raising her attempt with a patent smile for the crowd.
Based on her development, Ryan projected Latta to contend for podium honors at this year’s state championships, where she would be considered one of the state’s top three lifters in her weight category.
He used the example of former lifter Tory Durost to drive home his point, illustrating the advancement from her sophomore year to a state championship the following season.
Ryan felt Latta was on such a trajectory this season.
“She would have had a chance to do some special things,” he said.
Latta, a terrific student involved in Advanced Placement classes, had also taken a keen interest in Denham Springs’ Reach Club. The acronym, which stands for Respect Everyone and Create Harmony, was another example of Latta’s kindness toward others.
The extra-curricular organization strives to bridge diversity on campus and promote inclusion according to its Facebook mission statement.
Leonard said Latta was in her element, working with special needs students where she brought a smile to their faces during Halloween, or taking time to play games.
“She really loved to do that with those students,” she said. “She was very involved with those kids and loved it.”
If Latta didn’t have a smile on her face, it was a dead giveaway of the kind of day she was having, Ryan said.
“She lit up rooms,” he said. “She wore her emotions. You knew if it was a bad day, and there were rarely any of those. She never met a stranger, regardless of gender or race. It didn’t matter.”
Leonard recalled a conversation with Latta when the two received their ACT scores. When Latta questioned her success, Leonard reminded her of the accomplishment after taking the college placement test for the first time.
“She said she got a 25 and thought she had done so bad,” she said. “I told her that it was good for the first time and that you’re so smart.”
Denham Springs had its largest team ever with 35 members and biggest number of seniors with 12.
The start of school meant the team would still lift three days a week during their athletic P.E. hour, building on its gains from the summer with the start of the season still three months away.
Equipment such as practice attire was already in place, and Ryan had recently secured banners for each of his seniors to display during home meets. The season officially began on Nov. 23.
However, the thrill and expectation of the 2025-26 season came to a sobering halt when news had spread that Latta had been involved in an auto accident and was rushed to the ICU in the early morning of Nov. 3.
More than three weeks in the ICU was a testament to Latta’s strength and fight, along with the support and outpouring from the school and community.
“Even in the state she was in, her personality shined through,” Ryan said.
A close-knit team drew closer out of concern for their teammate.
Latta’s family produced pink wristbands, with a thousand being handed out at Denham Springs High.
The message: Even The Strongest Need Lifting. Lift Addie in Prayer: Isaiah 41:10.
Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard joined parish leaders at the Livingston Parish School Board and administration from Denham Springs High in issuing prayers for Latta’s complete recovery.
“We gave the family privacy,” Ryan said. “You’re hoping for all intents and purposes for a miracle to happen.”
The powerlifting team’s mantra of #LiftforLatta grew in strength, and there was a moment of silence in Latta’s honor before the Nov. 21 Division I non-select regional football playoff, where Denham Springs hosted Zachary.
The Walk of Honor, a tribute to Latta’s decision to become an organ donor the previous year, drew a melting pot of admirers that ranged from her teammates and coaches to teachers, families, and residents of Denham Springs.
Ryan’s heart, already torn up by the death of a third student or athlete (Tanner Ernest and Remy Hidalgo) during his time at Denham Springs, had begun slowly broaching the subject of what the upcoming season may look like without Latta.
The Lady Jackets, who were scheduled to begin competition on Dec. 17, may enter 10 competitors in a meet the 11th spot remaining open in honor of Latta, he said.
“She’s involved in everything we do; her family’s very much involved,” he said. “We want them to show up to meets and at the end-of-the-year banquet. We haven’t talked much yet as a team.
“I’m leaving it up to the seniors,” Ryan said. “If they’re not ready, I’m on board with what they want. This is their team. I’m just here. I’m guiding them where they need to go. If they’re not ready, then we’re not ready as a team.”
Leonard felt Latta’s presence would impact this year’s team.
“I think it will make us stronger because we’re going to remember her all the time,” she said. “We’re going to remember what she did and how she did things. We’re going to try that going forward and try to do everything she did for us.