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Rich Rodriguez has standards that must be met.
Travis Trickett understands this all too well considering he served as a student assistant under him during his first tenure from 2003-06.
But it’s not just a talking point. Rodriguez lives it and demands it from not only his players but everybody associated with his program.
And it’s a standard that Rodriguez is relentless with when it comes to trying to achieve.
Culture and toughness are buzz words for all head coaches when they take over a program, but for Rodriguez the evidence has been tangible over the years. It shows up in the way that the Mountaineers practice and in games with a relentless effort.
“You can see it and grade it and watch it on tape. And so to me, that is, everyone talks about but not everybody lives it 24-7, 365,” Trickett said.
It’s a mentality that was certainly in place under Rodriguez during his first tenure as the Mountaineers were known as one of the most physical teams on the schedule.
It’s something that all of the former players under Rodriguez have taken great pride in and combine that with his success and it’s no surprise he was the candidate that they wanted to see get the job.
“Because they know they can look back now and know what that experience did for them as human beings, as men. And they want that for our guys coming up and that's what they're going to get,” Trickett said.
It’s an approach where Rodriguez wants to demand better on a daily basis and clearly that isn’t the way that every coach handles the role. But it’s about individual attention and coaching to try to develop the team concept as a whole.
The adjustment is often difficult at first but it’s about trying to find a way to show players that although they might believe they are trying their best there could be more.
“They think they’re trying their best and they don’t know what their best is. And we’ve got to push them to make sure they realize you got another layer to you you can get to,” Trickett said.
It’s not about talking, it’s about playing and Rodriguez has gone as far to try to avoid most clips of his previous stops and instead focused on examples with his current team to reinforce the concept.
It boils down to either having toughness or it needs to be forged. That occurs through pressure and heat and the goal is to push players to reach their potential.
“So the ones that we identify have it, we push as far as we can, make sure they, and we use them as an example, put them on a pedestal. And show this is what we're looking for,” Trickett said. ‘And the ones that don't have it, we're forging right now.”
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