RRod - Boys to Michigan Men

Submitted by FormerWolv on
It always irks me when people yell and scream for a coaches head while only acknowledging what the coach is not doing. Wins and losses are important, but is a piece of a much larger picture. RRod has been through a hell of a time ever since he was introduced as head coach. He hasn't had the best W-L record, and a tussle with the NCAA, which wasn't as "major" as once thought. Also, people may point at his transfers and kicking people off the team, as another negative. There is no doubt in my mind that RRod recruits a different type of student-athlete and at first I was appalled, but after today I completely hold the opposite view.

Today I was told about a class in which students from the Starr Commonwealth (http://www.starr.org/) visited. For those who don't know, Starr is a boarding school for at-risk teens who have been arrested, or violated their parole, for various offenses such as breaking and entering, assault, but most are in for petty drug possession, or dealing. A vast majority of these students are from inner-city Detroit. Now, this program is a real eye-opener after hearing the student talk about the kids who visited, and how they were not un-human (like the common perception is), but actually almost all of them are just "lost." The class they visited had a good number of football players in it, and to my surprise, the football players were described as the most vocal and challenging towards the Starr students. The players were Denard, Vincent Smith, Brandon Herron, Roy Roundtree, Isaiah Bell, Richard Ash, Devin Gardener, and Fitz Toussaint. These players not only relayed their life stories story to the Starr students, but how they came from almost identical circumstances like the students from Starr. The difference was they avoided the gangs, drugs, and bad decisions the students from Starr fell into. This is where I credit RRod with one of his greatest aspects: the willingness to take a chance on someone.

If you knew where Vincent Smith, Denard, or any other of the football players listed above came from, and didn't know they what their star rating was, most of you would run like hell, clumping them in with the stereotypical gang-banger image that has corrupted their community. The difference is that you see them as a running back, quarterback, etc. and welcome them with open arms. This could not of happened without RRod taking a chance on these kids. Not all have worked out (i.e. Austin White), but I'd bet my life on it that them coming to Umich and blooming under RRod has changed their life for the better in ways beyond football. RRod did not treat these kids as "athlete-students" or just another player, he treats them like a father treats his son. His players respect him, love him, and see him as a role model that so many of his players lacked when they were growing up. Eventually as his players graduate, have real jobs and families of their own, they will use what they learned from RRod, and serve as role models back in their hometown, which is a vital piece to breaking the vicious cycle that thrives in too many communities today. These men will have a greater and more important effect on the lives children who idolize them, and their communities, than what they ever could do on the football field. Because all in all football is a GAME, too many people act like its life-or-death and its really just sad. I don't want a coach who puts up 12-0 seasons and doesn't give two shits about his players. I want a coach who outputs Michigan Men who are successful both on and off the field.

RRod has had some bumps in his path, but it takes a special person to recruit boys and output men that symbolize what a Michigan Man embodies. The wins will come. We have improved every year, and soon we will reach our former dominance on the football field. RRod is the right coach for Michigan, and I have no doubt he will one day be crowned a true Michigan Man.
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El Jefe

December 9th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^

I find this pretty amusing.  Have you ever saw these guys' facebook or myspace pages???  All of the Pahokee boys wearing red and throwing up Blood signs, but that is a positive impact on what Rodriguez is doing with the club, what a freaking joke.   

Everyone outside of this blog cannot stand Rodriguez and the only reason he came to Michigan was that all mighty dollar.  He knew he wasn't going to ever get a NFL job and only came to Michigan because he thought he going to get handfulls of 4 and 5 star kids like Urban did at Florida.   He got greedy and karma bit him in the ass.

Rich Rod will NEVER be a Michigan Man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od9WBQLAs4k

Joined: 11/16/2010

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Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^

I am now a healthy, productive transvestitie turning tricks on the Diag and going to UM Law School, at Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the United States or Muricaka.  In Ann Arbor.

 

See you tonight Geauz Blue!

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^

at wut i don't know.

i just wish RR would give me a chance...just once chance...take a chance on me....plz.....i don't want to end up as a power crazed thread mod on some niche sports blag

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 2:19 PM ^

wut happened to your face?

 

did Rich Rod do that to you? 

 

I am sure Starr Commonwealth can be fixin yer jib.

TAKE A SIDE!

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

Don

December 9th, 2010 at 2:19 PM ^

was the stage name briefly used by Brian Jones during a stint as a solo blues musician before becoming one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148387

Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 3:07 PM ^

had an opposite impact on the participating kids.

 

you are a stupid head

 

and my name has nothing to do with Brian Jones, but that is a nice try.

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

Don

December 9th, 2010 at 2:40 PM ^

Via Wikipedia:

"Scared Straight! is a 1978 documentary directed by Arnold Shapiro. Narrated by Peter Falk, the subject of the documentary is a group of cocky teenaged juvenile delinquents and the attempts to make them end their criminal ways by introducing them to actual convicts. Filmed at Rahway State Prison, a group of inmates known as the "lifers" berate, scream at, and terrify the young hoodlums and attempt to "scare them straight" (hence the film's title) by showing an ugly, harsh presentation of the realities of prison life.

The documentary was shown on television in the late 1970s. It was aired uncensored and marked the first time that the word "fuck" was broadcast on many networks. The cast includes a drug dealer and counterfeit document manufacturer from Westchester County (Mikie C), a gang member from Jersey City (Jerome Watts), an arsonist and bomb builder from Bridgeport (Jon Shipiro), the son of a Mafia informant (Carlo Gallo), and a 17-year-old chop shop parts dealer and car thief from the Bronx (Jesus Rodriguez). At film's end, the teenagers say that they have decided that they don't want to end up in jail. The film ends with a "roll call" of the teens, revealing that most were "scared straight", though a few were said to have reoffended."

(Wikipedia goes on to state that none of the Scared Straight kids in the first two documentaries were ever convicted of felonies, and that the recidivism rate was 10% or below. However, a number of states subsequently initiated their own SS programs, and researchers have cast doubt on the effectiveness of those programs.)

SS isn't really a relevant comparison here, since it doesn't sound to me like the UM players were there to "berate, scream at, and terrify" the Starr kids. Whether it will change the lives of any of the kids at Starr, we won't know that for a long time, but it's damn worth the visit. I would also bet it's a valuable experience for the UM players to see "there but for fortune go I."

 

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148387

Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 3:01 PM ^

"A fair percentage of the incarcerated of any age in any state have untreated/undertreated mental health issues. 

Not to make sense of elno's screeds, because he'd certainly hate that, I think he's taking exception to a somewhat romanticized portrayal of the residents of Starr Community."

 

THIS! 

 

OC is NEVER wrong, and always right.

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

Elno Lewis

December 9th, 2010 at 3:18 PM ^

are the worstest.

 I mean, they are fun to chase around with your car and all, but after that they get boring and whiny.

Joined: 12/05/2008

MGoPoints: 2320

jb5O4

December 9th, 2010 at 4:21 PM ^

Not to diminish the great things the team does off the field, most programs do things like that. Michigan would be doing great things for the community, in particular Motts, regardless of who the coach is.

Joined: 08/14/2008

MGoPoints: 751

El Jeffe

December 9th, 2010 at 6:02 PM ^

Did some comments get deleted? Because I honestly have no idea what is going on in this thread.

Elno and Geaux seem to be arguing about something, but I can't tell what it's about. Does anyone have an Elno to English dictionary?

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 27329

jmblue

December 9th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^

This is a nice post and all, but honestly, could it not be applied to most football coaches out there?  It's not like RR is out there in Pahokee recruiting by himself.  A whole lot of programs want those guys.  (BTW, Denard's from Deerfield Beach, which is much more middle-class.) I give him credit for the way he's carried himself and how he treats his players, but at the end of the day, that's what I'd expect from any Michigan coach. 

Joined: 11/07/2008

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