Lyons: Former Comets coach moves to spectator

Published 12:01 am Saturday, January 7, 2017

Don Fernandez spent the better part of 18 years coaching basketball players in the River Parishes.

Although he is a Riverside Academy graduate and former athlete there, he put in most of those years at his former arch-rival, St. Charles Catholic.

There, he served as a teacher, athletic director, dean of students, alumni director, development director and basketball coach.

He gave that up years ago when a nice job opportunity came along, which allowed him to spend more time with his kids and not work so many weekends.

Don is now the general manager at Townsend Homes, which some people know as a home-builder and others know as the sponsor of the St. Charles Catholic American Legion baseball team.

“I push papers,” Don said. “I don’t build anything.”

Don’s still a dad, though, and lately he has found himself back inside the St. Charles Catholic gymnasium.

This time it’s not as a coach but as a spectator and fan.

Don’s daughter Mallory Fernandez is a sometime starter on the Comets’ girls basketball team.

His oldest son, Jonah, is a senior member of the boys team. And if you know Don at all, you will have absolutely no trouble picking Jonah out on the court.

Not only is he the spitting image of his dad with dark hair and dark eyes and a little bit of meat spread out over his 5-foot-8 frame, Don says he plays like him too.

“I guess I was kind of similar,” Don said.

“I liked passing the ball and being unselfish. He’d rather have an ESPN highlight film of nothing but assists than score 25 points. He’s very unselfish.”

Jonah’s road to the St. Charles roster took a rather circuitous route.

He went to Riverside Academy for a bit, then to East St. John High for his freshman and sophomore years.

Last year he decided he wanted to go to St. Charles, which meant he would have to sit out a season.

“He practiced and played an intra squad game, but that was it,” Don said.

“I tried to keep him upbeat. I told him, ‘Nobody is going to blame you if you say this is not for me.’ There were times he could have quit. I would tell him, ‘You’re going to get a chance to play next year.’

“But he also could have gone through four years of high school without ever playing a varsity game.”

Thankfully, that isn’t the case.

Jonah is getting varsity time and even started Tuesday night’s 76-47 win over Ascension Catholic.

Don knows how rough a road his son has travelled. Keep in mind, Don played baseball for his own dad, Tommy Fernandez, at Riverside.

He played basketball as a freshman and sophomore, then quit his junior year.

“I decided the coach wasn’t playing me enough so I quit,” he says with a chuckle.

“I guess we are alike.”

Don says he does occasionally get wistful watching his kids play, but not because he’s no longer the coach.

“The coach player thing is there,” he said.

“But I spent all those years at St. Charles trying to build the place into a special place that our kids could go to school. I’ve got as much emotion about that as anything else.”

Lori Lyons is sports editor at L’OBSERVATEUR. She can be reached at 985-652-9545 or lori.lyons@lobservateur.com.