By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD — Robert Valdez is a confident man with a positive outlook. These things are readily apparent to anyone who spends even five minutes with the West St. John athletic director and head football coach.

But two years ago, a rare thing happened: that confidence was shaken. His Rams, a traditional Class 1A powerhouse, lost in the first round of the state playoffs to White Castle by a 12-0 score.

That White Castle went on to win the 1A state championship didn’t erase the pain of a disappointing early exit. Edgard is a place where people had grown accustomed to its Rams competing for championships, and for Valdez, then in just his third year on the job after succeeding legendary coach Laury Dupont, it brought critics out the woodwork.

And, for the first time in a long time, it allowed doubt into his mind.

“That was my lowest point,” mused Valdez. “I started having thoughts like, ‘Man, is this gonna happen? Am I the right guy to get this done?’”

It took little time for Valdez to be able to answer those questions loudly and proudly.

Only a year later, he led the Rams back into prominence. West St. John hit the ground running in 2011, surging into the Class 1A top 10 polls early, then to a district championship, and finally to the Superdome, where West St. John competed for a state crown before finishing as state runner-up.

Success had bred success. The number of scouts spending their time at team practices has spiked, and the programs signees have increased. The Rams just captured the New Orleans Saints 7-on-7 regional championship, ticketing them to compete for a national crown in Indianapolis later this year.

Valdez’s program is thriving.

“The mentality of our team changed,” Valdez said. “We became more family oriented. More together.”

Born in the Dominican Republic, Valdez and his family came to America when he was 9 years old.

At first, football wasn’t on the radar.

“The thought was that everyone in the Dominican Republic was good at baseball, so that’s what everyone thought I’d play. But I couldn’t hit a curve,” he said.

But when he reached junior high at Edna Karr, his soon-to-be football coach, Albert Ott, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“He told me that football is the only game in the world where you can beat someone up and not go to jail,” Valdez said with a laugh. “I was a bigger kid and that was exciting to me.”

It was there that Valdez developed a taste for football —and also for winning. His team never lost in junior high. He moved on to O. Perry Walker, where he found success both on and off the field. He earned his first leadership role, serving as student council president.

He went on to attend Southern University, where he was a four-year starter at center. During his stay the Jaguars won two Black College National Championships. Knee problems derailed thoughts of playing further.

After earning his degree, Valdez fulfilled a request to volunteer at Southern Lab, helping to coach the offensive line.

That’s when the coaching bug bit him.

“I’d say, ‘Wow, this is fun. Ya’ll get paid to do this?’” he said.

Valdez went on to coach as an assistant at Southern Lab, O. Perry Walker and Thibodaux before accepting his first head coaching job at West Thibodaux Middle School, where he led the team to its first parish championship in 12 years.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had in coaching,” he said. “I still keep in touch with a lot of those players.”

He moved on to join Larry Dauterive’s staff at East St. John before being hired for his first prep head coaching job at McKinley. He led what had been a two-team a season prior to within a victory of a district championship.

It put him on West St. John’s radar upon Dupont’s retirement.

Valdez, who lives in Gramercy, was excited about the prospect and interviewed for the position. A short time later, he was informed that he was the choice.

“I actually got a headache,” he said. “It was euphoric, a lot of emotion. It was sad to leave the kids at McKinley, but at the same time very exciting to get one of what I consider to be the best jobs in the state.

“You want to be somewhere where you’re expected to win. And West St. John’s one of those LSU, Florida State, Notre Dame type of jobs where you’ve just gotta win.”

Still, stepping in for a legend like Dupont, who won over 200 career games, is never easy. Valdez had a different vision for the Rams, an offensive blueprint more reliant on speed than Dupont’s power-based attack.

“People were used to one coach, one way. And it’s understandable, because they had success with it,” said Valdez. “I had to be careful to not go overboard with change.”

He shifted the Rams toward his blueprint, one he embraced largely because of necessity.

“I’d love to run at you for four quarters, throw eight to 10 times and impose my will,” said Valdez. “But we didn’t and don’t have the kind of depth on our lines to do it that way anymore. A lot of the bigger kids are playing tuba in the band these days and not getting out on the field … You have to evolve.”

But the Rams may harbor more skill position talent than ever.

“I felt like (in 2008) we had more speed than anyone outside of South Plaquemines. We needed to take advantage of that.”

It’s proved to be a winning gameplan for Valdez and the Rams, who’ll enter 2012 again as one of the state’s strongest state championship contenders.

That would inevitably lead to the types of moments that make coaching worthwhile.

“The greatest part for me is the look in a kid’s eye when they realize they’ve accomplished something,” said Valdez. “That look that just says, ‘I got it.’ It’s just an unexplainable feeling.”