Saltair’s Lorne LaFleur and Westholme’s Mike Rochon have long been household names around Cowichan Valley baseball fields.
They’re also well-known throughout the province and beyond, stemming from their many years of coaching at various levels.
LaFleur and Rochon are the recipients of the 2022-23 Albin & Georgina Falt Memorial Coaches’ Recognition Award. The award was started in 2013 by Don and Theresa Bodger in memory of Theresa’s parents to honour those coaches who sometimes don’t receive the credit they deserve, especially those like LaFleur and Rochon who have donated their time so generously over a long period of time.
“Obviously, it’s certainly special to get thought of for contributing to any sports, but particularly the sport we’ve been involved in,” said LaFleur. “I find myself in good company. You’ve got to take a little pride in that.”
“I just think it’s nice to get some recognition for the volunteer services we’ve done over the years,” said Rochon. “It’s very kind and I appreciate getting this award.”
Both men started out coaching their own kids in baseball, but devoted themselves long after to help foster the development of countless players.
Looking back on all the years, there are so many highlights for LaFleur, who turns 61 on Sept. 16, and Rochon, 57, it’s hard to begin to put everything in perspective. Suffice it to say they had a great time and are proud of the accomplishments of their players and teams.
LaFleur started like many parents, coaching his own son Jeff and following him through the ranks.
He coached with Dean Eaton on the Mid-Island Canadians Premier team and then with both Eaton and Rochon for a while before having to step away in 2005 after being diagnosed with leukemia.
LaFleur returned with a Bantam house team and picked up where he left off in 2007. “I did a whole bunch of different things,” he indicated.
LaFleur became an integral part of the Cowichan Valley Mustangs program, beginning in 2008 and continuing for many years at the Bantam AAA and Midget AAA levels where he joined forces again with Rochon for a few seasons.
LaFleur’s forays into other provincial baseball coaching opportunities were numerous. That included a silver medal with Team B.C. at the nationals for Midget AAA Selects in Quebec City in 2012.
In 2014, “I did a Team B.C. for Northwest Futures in Washington state,” LaFleur indicated. “We’re the only (B.C.) team to this day to win that championship.”
He said that B.C. team was all Bantams, mostly 15-year-olds, going against players who were a year older.
Among his other credits, “I did a Minnesota Twins junior scout team in Arizona for the Langley Blaze,” LaFleur pointed out.
Two different times to the B.C. Summer Games featured a silver medal in 2016. LaFleur also contributed to Baseball BC camps and training programs several times.
He also teamed up with Trevor Bull on a Cowichan Valley Mustangs team that won the provincial Bantam AA championship and went to the Western Canadian tournament. “I worked with him for a couple of years,” LaFleur noted.
With COVID, “everything went south,” he noted, in the fall of 2020 and “since then I basically retired from it.”
Rochon coached all three of his own kids and had some great experiences with them and afterwards.
One of the highlights came in the early stages in 2002 when a local team of nine 11- and 12-year-old kids was picked to play in the Peewee Tier 2 provincials and caught everyone off-guard by winning the championship. It was one of four provincial championships eventually etched on Rochon’s resume.
Coaching diligence paid off with that Peewee team that went into White Rock and “the sun lined up with the moon,” Rochon indicated. After losing a couple of games in the round robin, the players “got the ball rolling a bit,” he said. “We started getting better and better.”
The semifinal resulted in a 3-2 win over undefeated Castlegar and the team capped it off with a 6-4 win over Castlegar in the final rematch.
“It was such a freak thing,” said Rochon. “We shouldn’t have won.
“Then I kind of kept the career going. Lorne was a good mentor – to pick his brain.”
Rochon thought he was done after coaching his kids through baseball, but Dave Eaton urged him to keep going. Rochon took his advice.
“It was a lot easier not coaching my own kid,” he confided.
Rochon got the whole Cowichan Valley Mustangs program going and had success alongside Mike McKinlay in Midget AAA.
“Our program became stronger and stronger,” said Rochon. “We started practicing 11 months of the year.”
One season the team went right to Thanksgiving, practicing 90 times and playing 60 games. The kids loved it.
“It’s a passion,” said Rochon. “We did it because we loved it.”
Being part of the coaching staff for a provincial championship Chemainus Bantam team in 2015 was savoured by Rochon during the later years.
He paid tribute to one of his other right-hand men over the years, Len Windsor, who died in a motorcycle accident in Chemainus on July 12. “He was a prince of a man,” said Rochon. “He had a very positive attitude.”
Besides each other, both Rochon and LaFleur valued the input from many coaches they worked with and against.
“I did spend quite a bit of time trying to learn from some of the different coaches,” said LaFleur.
“Dave Wallace of the Parksville Royals was a mentor of mine,” noted Rochon.
It wasn’t necessarily just about kids making it in baseball, LaFleur said, but just seeing them playing and enjoying the experience.
However, “a lot of the kids we coached ended up playing collegiate ball,” LaFleur pointed out.
Of all the kids he coached, LaFleur regards Jace Hamm as the best natural hitter he ever saw.
Numerous parents expressed their appreciation to LaFleur and Rochon following a Facebook post about the awards.
“These two men played a huge role in my son’s life during his baseball years,” wrote Kylie Melnick. “Congratulations and thank you for all you have done over the years.”
“Congratulations guys, coaching against other teams they were always fair, sportsmanlike and willing to help all the kids get ahead,” pointed out Don Ehrman. “Well deserved.”
“Huge congratulations and even bigger shout outs of appreciation and thanks for your contribution to the lives of young people,” commented Dana Leik. “Coaching provides an opportunity to teach and mentor sport but, more important, life. You have contributed to much more than you can imagine in the development of great people.”
The feeling was mutual on the part of so many others.
Previous recipients of the award for their coaching prowess in a variety of sports include: Brad & Alanna Skene (2013); Lorne Winship (2014); Nick Zuback (2015); Doug (Opie) Williams (2016-17); Shannon McKinlay (nee Knott) (2017-18); Sheron Chrysler (2018-19); Glen Martin (2019-20); Bob Linde (2020-21) and Leanne Sirup (nee Wilkinson) (2021-22).
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