Catholic High of New Iberia volleyball coach Gary Westcott never has been one to shy away from a challenge.
So it comes as no surprise Westcott has balanced being a husband, father, parole officer and warden at Iberia Parish Jail and the Panthers volleyball coach over the past seven years.
Now Westcott is set to take on his most difficult challenge yet after being appointed on Aug. 29 the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, which is a position in the governor's cabinet.
“This isn’t a position where you can just put anyone in there,” said Westcott, who was a parole officer for 29 years before retiring and becoming the warden in Iberia Parish for 3½ years. “I’ve worked my whole career in this industry. I’m excited about the opportunity, and I’m happy the governor has the trust in me to put me in this position.”
Westcott, who was named to the position in February, wasn’t expecting to move to the top spot until 2025. But James Leblanc, who had held the position for 16 years, resigned because of medical reasons.
“After talking to people who are so hungry for change, I just felt like I had to step up into the position,” Westcott said. “I had to challenge myself again.”
Westcott oversees all eight state prisons, which have nearly 5,000 employees.
“This is going to be extremely challenging,” Westcott said. “This is by far the biggest and toughest challenge of my life. But I never back down from a challenge, and I couldn’t do any of this without my wife of 28 years. She is so supportive of me.”
Westcott, who is in his eighth season as the Panthers coach, led Catholic High to the Division III semifinals last year. Despite the significant increase in responsibilities, Westcott has every intention of continuing as coach of the Panthers.
“I really love and enjoy coaching volleyball,” said Westcott, who has led the Panthers to a 6-0 record to start the season. “I still plan on coaching. I’m still committed to the girls and the volleyball program. I may not be there early for practice like I used to be, or I may show up right at the start of a match, but I’m going to be there.”
In his career with the Panthers, Westcott has an overall record of 191-99. While he doesn’t know how long he will coach beyond this season, getting his 200th career victory is important to him.
“My goal was that I wanted to stay coaching at Catholic-N.I. for 10 years, and I want to get 200 victories,” he said. “I want to do it (coach) for as long as I can do it. As long as I’m still able to relate to the girls and I’m still a benefit to the program, I want to continue to coach.
“I’m committed and after this season I will evaluate things and see how it went.”
Westcott doesn’t want to think about next year because he is focused on this season. And rightfully so, as the Panthers have a strong team. Led by Reese Molbert, Saniya Raheem, Anna Kate Minvielle and Madison Broussard, the Panthers return all but one person from last year’s team.
“We definitely have high hopes for this season,” said Westcott, whose Panthers will play at E.D. White at 6 p.m. Tuesday. “These girls have been talking about winning state since they were in sixth grade. It’s going to be a very fun year.”