Coach Jack Hebert, RIP

Coach Hebert, who passed on peacefully at age 82, was an institution at Jesuit High School.

What I will remember most about Coach Hebert was that he was the best damn Geometry teacher in the entire city of New Orleans. And I'd put him up against any high school geometry teacher in the country.

He was an old-fashioned teacher. He was strict and he believed in the value of memorization. In Geometry, where knowlege of postulates and theorems is the bread and butter currency of the field, memorization is a worthwhile endeavor. And Coach Hebert drilled this stuff into our heads. I remember for the first time absorbing the purity and beauty of mathematics in Coach Hebert's honors geometry class.

The other thing I remember about Coach Hebert was his dedication to sports. He was a great coach and an avid fan. Long after his retirement, Coach Hebert could be found at Jesuit Baseball games regularly with his scorecard and stats book. I often wondered whether he enjoyed scoring baseball games more because he loved the geometry of tracing the diamond and the algebra of calculating batting averages and earned run averages, or because he simply loved the game itself. I suspect it was a combination of both.

He was a good man who had a significant impact on many young lives. He will be missed. Rest in peace, Coach Hebert.