Double duty

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.

It was about 2:30 Wednesday afternoon when Durango High School's assistant girls basketball coach began rounding up the team's equipment, putting away basketballs and water bottles and generally helping to herd the Lady Trailblazers out of Centennial High School's gym.

"See, I'm a good assistant coach," said Al LaRocque with a smile, knowing the irony in his duties.

To say that LaRocque, head boys coach at Durango for 11 years, is stretching himself would be an understatement.

"Last week at the Sierra Vista Tournament, I coached four games in a row, both boys and girls," LaRocque said. "It's the first time I've coached four games in a row. It's a little tiring. When winter break's over, I'll need a break."

Wednesday was almost as bad. As soon as he was done assembling the Lady Blazers' equipment following their 67-54 win against Las Vegas High at Centennial, he had to travel to Harney Middle School on Frenchman's Mountain to coach the Blazer boys against Palos Verdes (Calif.) at 4:40 p.m. After that game, it was off to the Thomas and Mack Center for the LaRocques, to watch UNLV play Texas Pan-American with his daughters.

It's the two LaRocque girls -- senior Lindy and sophomore Ally -- who have Al pushing himself so much. Al served as both the boys and girls head coach in the offseason, before a friend of a friend recommended current girls' head coach John Bartleson, who took over the program a week before this season began.

"I'm doing something I really enjoy -- watching my daughters play," Al LaRocque said, "and it's a pretty good seat."

In fact, LaRocque tries to keep a hands-off approach to his daughters' play. Bartleson came to Durango from Utah State University, where he was a women's assistant for two years after serving in the same capacity at Cal State Fullerton.

It shows, as Bartleson will yell, gyrate and plead his girls to get into position and play smart -- particularly the LaRocque girls, who play a big part in the Trailblazers' system.

"Having his two daughters is huge," Bartleson said. "That's his main interest in it, watching his daughters play. Lindy is a great player, and Ally does a great job, too."

Coaching the girls has brought a contrasting style to LaRocque -- a more traditional, fundamental style of play that he's been very open in saying can be more fun than coaching boys, who tend to be more interested in individual performance.

"I think he enjoys coaching the girls better because we listen," Ally LaRocque said. "Boys don't."

In fact, coaching the girls may provide a little bit of sanity for the veteran local coach, whose roots in Las Vegas go back to the 1970s. During the regular season, girls and boys games are generally scheduled at the same site and only twice a week.

Earlier this month, Al LaRocque talked about how much he enjoys being a part of the girls' program, saying a friend told him how much he'd enjoy coaching the girls.

"He said you're going to love coaching the girls, because coaching girls now is like coaching guys was in the '70s," he said. "There's a lot to say for that. What happened in the '70s, the kids listened to you, it wasn't all about their parents, the And-1 tapes, fights in the NBA, it wasn't about all that. It was about learning basketball and doing your best."

Lindy LaRocque said that her father's love for basketball hasn't faded despite the demanding winter schedule.

"You'd think that it would, but he's watching college games in the morning when we wake up, it's basketball nonstop," Lindy said. "It's fun. It's not something we have to do, it's just something we enjoy doing. It's normal."

Al LaRocque said that despite the hectic schedule, he keeps having fun.

"It's a whirlwind but it's been a ball ... a 24-hour whirlwind," he said. "But it's 100 times better than I ever dreamed it could be."