Investing, playing hard a key blueprint for Rich Rodriguez
Rich Rodriguez knows the state of West Virginia well.
The Grant Town native grew up in the Mountain State and then walked on to the Mountaineers football team. He would then go on to coach his alma mater and now is back in the role for a second stint.
And one of the things that West Virginians value above all else is hard work. That’s in daily life or even on the football field and it’s important for Rodriguez that his football program embodies the values of the state.
While those in the stands might not always understand the X’s and O’s of the game, one thing is crystal clear to West Virginia fans who invest in watching the team play.
“You can tell guys are playing hard,” Rodriguez said.
After being hired in December, Rodriguez hasn’t spent too much time going back prior to his arrival but has talked to his team about some of the games he watched.
“I said we did not play as hard as we can play and there’s never an excuse for that. I don’t care if you’re home or on the road, ahead or behind, fourth quarter or first quarter, you’re going to play as hard as you can every snap or you won’t play. And we didn’t do that at times and that’s got to change immediately,” he said.
There also is a strong passion for the football program, and athletics in general at West Virginia, which means that there are plenty of emotions from the fan base. Rodriguez has felt that himself first when he joined the football program as a player and now as a head coach.
“Our fans cry when we win, they cry when they lose. It’s emotional, but it’s also personal to me,” he said.
So that means finding a way to connect that message to a roster that is largely composed of players from different areas of the country is critical. The focus is to make those players feel as if they’re invested, too.
“We have to make it feel like that’s their home. That they grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia or Grant Town, West Virginia or whatever the case may be, and it’s got to be important to them,” he said.
Creating that environment is more challenging now with all of the pitfalls available to student athletes and the focus on the individual over the team. But it can be accomplished.
“If you emphasize it. If you make it more about the team than the individual and that’s the biggest challenge we have now as coaches,” Rodriguez said.
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