LARGO — There are ways to bench your best player.
Like, right before a meaningless game you can afford to lose.
Before a game with a patsy you don't need your star for anyway.
For a quarter, or maybe a half, just to send a message.
Or, you can do it the way Largo coach Rick Rodriguez did it Friday night — on the eve of a highly anticipated region semifinal before your biggest crowd of the year against arguably the best team in Tampa Bay.
It was the toughest call I've seen a coach make all year.
My initial reaction: by benching Myrick Gwyn, his best playmaker, Rodriguez ceded what little chance his team had to win Friday's Class 4A region semifinal to Armwood.
It made little difference in the outcome.
So let the debate begin — was it the right decision?
Should he have bought the excuses — a missed ride, a dead cell phone — and is he crazy to suggest a kid walks 5 miles to practice if he has no other way to get there? Heck, this isn't 1975 anymore. Or 1985. Heck, it's not even 1995 anymore.
Rodriguez, however, is certainly consistent, having already dismissed his starting quarterback this season for a second violation of the same rule.
He made another hard decision — even harder, since Gwyn was not replaceable — when the easy one would have been to bend his rule, which says that if you miss an hour of practice, you sit an hour on Friday.
Two hours? Sit two hours.
A three-hour practice, like Gwyn missed?
A whole game.
Some fans weren't thrilled, calling for Gwyn to be inserted once Armwood raced to 21-0 lead on the way to a 49-3 win, as if to ridiculously suggest that somehow would make a difference.
Rodriguez had to dismiss his starting quarterback for skipping a second practice a few weeks ago, so what choice did he have? What message would he have sent letting Gwyn play?
A bad one.
"I have freshmen on this team, young kids," he said. "They need to know that this is how we do it here. Everyone knows the rule."
This is how you build a program. This is how you build commitment to that program.
The list of coaches who would have done the same this week is a short one.
So what Rodriguez did matters.
What didn't matter, in retrospect, was whether Gwyn played. You're wasting your breath if you think Rodriguez killed his team's season, because he didn't.
Armwood did.
The Hawks were in their finest form. This was a team that has struggled at times this season, struggling to get past Sickles last week, and put it together against the Packers.
Unlike Largo, everyone showed up for practice this week.
"We had the best week," coach Sean Callahan said. "And this is what we got."
The offense was balanced and efficient.
The defensive line was dominant. Largo freshman quarterback Juwan Brown will be a good one, but he is only 14, and he was not ready for Theodore Jackson, Alton Bailey and David Tinsley.
On a few occasions when Largo managed to slow the wave of blue gobbling up its quarterback and running backs, guys like senior linebacker Coty Creech stepped up.
Making just his second start, he was the first one to sack Brown, and every time you looked at a pile of players, No. 52 was climbing out from the bottom of it.
That may be the biggest difference on the field between one of the best of Hillsborough County and one of the best of Pinellas County.
There's not a person Rodriguez could have suited up who would have changed any of that Friday night.
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Nowadays, kids are bombbarded with technology. I totally understand the reasoning for your actions coach. I agree with you decision and I support you standing by your word. Thats something the kid can think about and hopefully it will change him as a person and to be more responsible for his actions.
What better things are there to do other than be around your teammates and coaches the week of a HUGE game like this??? Football is the ultimate team sport where all 11 men have a job on each play. To miss a practice due to ??? Havent heard what the heck he had to do that overrode the importance of being at practice. The biggest mistake that could come from this is some people may actually support the player and turn on the coach. Good job coach.. and true that he would not have been the difference maker that would have won the game. Armwood is still Armwood.. HAVE RESPECT FOR YOUR TEAMMATES AND COACHES
Good for you coach,nobody likes a hard decision,but it takes a man to make one. Hopefully many will learn from your example.
Thanksgiving break, practice everyday, what ever happened to FAMILY before Football. Some rules should be suspended along with some coaches.
It's good to see the rules being applied this year, but the lack of Rodriguez enforcing these rules in the past could be the problem to this year. Consistency should have been applied from day one, not when you feel like it is appropriate. How many kids had missed practice the past years and didnt face any punishment??? That's a million dollar question!
I have a lot of faith in Rodriguez and Myrick, but I question this decision. Not because I know Myrick, but I believe in being fair and equal to all...
Great Season Largo! Now start getting ready for next year..
tite968
I just came from the other blog about this suspension and am finding a different tone in your voice. How about you show a little consistency. Before you said there should be flexibility and special conditions applied now you want equality. Which is it? Also, do you have any evidence of Coach not suspending his players before. I remember his first season at largo when their best player was a monster fullback/linebacker that was critical in beating us with a nifty punt fake. I started keeping track of him and found that he was suspended and eventually kicked off the team for discipline. Then Largo miraculously won the district without him. That is my piece of evidence that Coach Rod has been consistent from day 1. Where is yours that he has not, tite968? I played for Coach at Clearwater and if there is one thing I can say is that he is consistent. You know exactly what to expect from him day in and day out. More importantly he fights for every one of his players. When we needed anything (a ride, advice, etc) he gave it us. We all knew he would give us the shirt off his back or bleed for us if it was necessary. His first priority is create men with character that can succeed in life. You can measure his success not by his record, which is tremendous, but by all of his players that made it through his program that is grounded in discipline and respect. That is why he wins games, not because he plays the most talented or has the best schemes, but because he plays the kids that are willing to fight the hardest for their team and make the personal sacrifices for team victories. In the end, that is what I want for my son. I just hope hecklers like yourself do not run him out of town because you believe one talented person is more important than the team and the program. Let me ask you this, how many kids can say they are better men after they left your team? I know plenty that can say that about Coach Rod. Better yet, why dont you ask the player in question, Myrick, what he thinks about Coach? I would love for Coach to leave Largo and return to Clearwater. Just so we can go back to beating Largo into the ground like we did in the 90s.
Hey Coach, if you read these blogs, come back to Clearwater when Bostic retires. Unlike the inconsistent Largo fans, we appreciate all of the amazing work you did for the Tornadoes AND currently do for the Packers. We want to return to glory like the Packers did when you arrived there. Leave Largo and let tite968 take over. I want to see what he can do with the program.
Clearwater Alumni..Blogs are for opinions and mine have been stated. I also went to CHS and have a lot of respect for what Coach Rodriguez has been able to do at Largo, but I still question the decision.
I have the ability to be able to differentiate my personal feelings for someone and look at the question at hand. You seem to almost be biased and don't believe that Coach Rodriguez or any other coach that you played for can do wrong or make a bad decision.
tite968
Fair enough, I am biased. Coach Rod was the best coach I have ever had and I loved playing for him. My opinion, regardless of my bias, is coach made a hard decision not many would have the strength of character to make, and based on my experience with him and past actions in response to similar circumstances, he has never once showed any inconsistency. The kid learned a great lesson (actions have serious consequences and no one is above the law) which is going to make him a better, more reliable man.
To clarify to everyone who might read these posts, what is your opinion? I am confused based upon some excerpts from your posts in quotations below. Do you think that "Largo coaching is terrible" or do you have "faith in Rodriguez." Do you believe in being "fair and equal to all" or should people be "flexible to a certain degree" under special circumstances just because the "spotlight" is on them. A little consistency on your end would go a long way in people actually buying your BS.
Also, you say coaches alleged yet unsubstantiated inconsistency or "lack of Rodriguez enforcing these rules in the past could be the problem" that
lead to this incident. By that are you suggesting this player missed practice because he believed coach would not punish him the way he did? You know this player, are you saying he really a person of that sort of character to try to take advantage of his team when they need him the most?