The first words out of Ohio coach Aaron Rodgers’ mouth after being named to the position in December clarified that he is not, in fact, the Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback.
The joke’s reception consisted of a few nervous laughs, being that the man at the podium was still an unknown face to many.
More than three months later, Rodgers walked off the pitch chatting with players and greeting an assistant director of media relations as if he had been in Athens for years.
“(The transition) has been good,” Rodgers said. “I think the girls have really adjusted well and their attitudes have been fantastic.”
Rodgers, who preparing for his first season as a head coach, has mastered transitions throughout his coaching career. He has held assistant coach positions at North Texas, South Alabama, Alabama, Florida and, most recently, Kentucky.
Ohio finished eighth in the Mid-American Conference last year and won only three out of ten conference games. Rodgers sees the need to implement a new, more aggressive playing style than the Bobcats had under the direction of former coach Stacy Strauss, who left the program after heading it for 13 seasons.
“We want to put (the other team) under defensive pressure,” Rodgers said. “When we have the ball we want to maintain possession. That puts them under pressure. We just don’t want to smash the ball down the field.”
Although he didn’t ask his team for input when he first introduced himself, the Bobcats agree with his new system.
“Last year we played more defensive and this year it is more offense,” said Holly Harris, sophomore forward for the team. “If you’re a more defensive team, you’re not going to score goals.”
Last year the Bobcats scored only 17 goals in 19 games.
Senior midfielder Maggie Murnane already sees a difference in practice pace when compared to last season.
“We are more focused on not slacking so much anymore,” she said. “We are trying to train in a mentality to not finish eighth and not be satisfied with eighth and expect to go past that and win a championship.”
While Rodgers may be able to change the Bobcats’ playing style next season, he won’t be able to undertake changes in the recruiting style that would fit to his tactical system until the 2014 season.
“The 2013 class is already wrapped up and they were only a month away from signing when I got there,” he said.
While Rodgers has moved Ohio’s tactical focus into a new, promising direction, he still has to move his wife and two kids to Athens. He takes one problem at a time — at least no one mistakes him for the Green Bay quarterback anymore.
am794811@ohiou.edu
