Corbin to take over as Terrebonne coach

Terrebonne High School has hired one-time THS assistant baseball coach Jason Corbin as its new head baseball coach.

Corbin replaces John Gatlin, who resigned Aug. 5 after injuring his left knee.

“I respect the job Coach Gatlin did here,” Corbin said. “It’s going to be tough following in his footsteps, but this is a big opportunity for me.”

Previously, Corbin was an assistant, then head baseball coach at Ellender Memorial High School from 1999 to 2004. He guided the Patriots to the 4A playoffs in 2003.

Corbin then moved to the assistant coach position at Terrebonne under Gatlin in 2005. He was head coach for one season at East St. John in 2006, leading the Wildcats to the first round of the 5A playoffs.

“After Coach Gatlin told me he was resigning, I contacted (THS Athletic Director) Joe Clement, and everything fell into place,” Corbin said.

Gatlin’s overall record was 68-63 in five seasons at Terrebonne. The Tigers made the first round of the 5A playoffs in 2006 after posting a 21-7 record.

The Tigers went 10-20 last season,and failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

Corbin said he knows many of the team’s players from his previous stint and has a good rapport with them. He also believes there is plenty of depth at the pitching position.

“Most of the team were sophomores last year,” Corbin said. “Coach Gatlin did an exceptional job coaching them, so I’m walking into a good situation.”

The key to success next season, the coach said, is to get his team playing more cohesively.

He spent the past year as a stringer covering local high school baseball and softball games for a Houma-based newspaper.

Although Corbin admits it will be difficult, he hopes that outside perspective can help be a better coach for the Tigers.

“Instead of concentrating on one player, I was able to take in the whole game,” he explained. “It helps because being away from the game has made me hungry to coach again. I also have a pretty good idea what teams are bringing to the table next year.”

The 35-year-old Schriever native and 1990 H.L. Bourgeois graduate is currently teaching math and English at the Andrew Price Alternative School.

Corbin was toying with the idea of going into school administration after leaving East St. John. However, his heart was always in coaching, he said.

“Anyone who has ever coached and enjoyed it, it becomes a part of who you are,” he said. “When this became available, I figured it was a shot I had to take.”