Texan football offensive coordinator Dane Saucier received the first-ever Texas High School Coaches’ Association football regional assistant coach of the year in January. The award recognizes coaches for their exemplary achievements and contributions to their teams throughout the 2022 season. The award was sweeter as Saucier shared that award with long-time friend and Texan head coach Doug Warren who received the THSCA head coach award.
The successes of the season were recognized beyond the borders of our great state, though. Saucier was named the Texas recipient of the Frank Broyles Award — named for the former University of Arkansas head coach — recognizing the top high school assistant football coach in each of 30 participating states. The Broyles Award celebrates the vital relationship between head and assistant coaches. The distinction was initiated in 1996 as an annual honor for the best assistant coach in college football. In 2018, the selection committee added the creation of the High School Broyles Award.
As he did earlier in the year, Saucier demurred personal credit to the relationships and coaches — both mentors and current colleagues — including his father and those he grew up around in Llano.
“There’s no doubt my dad has been a big mentor to me. I grew up in the fieldhouse and around coaches, watching coaches coach, and was always on the field when I was young. I had guys along the way that I looked up to and I’ve just been able to be out there and around those guys and that was always pretty cool,” Saucier recollected. “I’ve been been around coaching for a long time. All of my uncles were coaches in different places across the state of Texas and Louisiana so coaching has been in our blood. From the time I graduated high school and went to college, I was gonna be a coach.”
Most coaches seek to attain head coaching positions or to leverage their experience to the college or professional ranks. Finding a coach serving as an assistant for 30 years is rare. The fact that Saucier has done so in Wimberley since the day after his college graduation at Stephen F. Austin University is unique to say the least.
“I think that as an assistant coach, you just want to get out there and work with kids. You don’t have to worry about other problems or the issues a head coach deals with. You can just coach,” stated Saucier. “That’s the great thing about being an assistant. You just get out there and worry about teaching kids.”
Saucier continued, “It’s an award given to me, but it reflects on all those different people that have had some sort of effect on my career. You know, it’s also a testament to what they were able to do as well. That said, I’m humbled to receive the award because there are just so many coaches out there. Just to be in the conversation is an honor. You want to thank those on the committee that put you in the conversation and then obviously to be selected is just such a humbling experience.”
Saucier coached offensive line for most of his years in Wimberley, stepping into the offensive coordinator role about five seasons ago. He enjoyed success as the head baseball coach until he accepted the reins of the golf program three years ago. As he shared his thankfulness for others that have gone before him and mentored him along the way, Coach Saucier gave some insights for those he coaches, works beside and mentors.
“We should just be a sponge and take in as much information as we can. Learn from the other guys that you work with and never feel like you know it all. To this day, 30 years into it, I’ve learned stuff from younger coaches as well as new things from older coaches. You never can learn too much. Our job as coaches is to work with those kids and give them something so that they can be successful.”
