“This year what we’ve been trying to do is have more of a team mentality,” Seydler said. “We’re starting to see that more as we progress. The guys are starting to get it. They’re a little bit more emotional with the game. It means more to them as far as doing the things they need to do, and the small successes have been not necessarily what’s on the scoreboard but are we doing what we planned on doing and are we succeeding in what our goals were during the game and throughout the game?”
Seydler said he reminds his players that improving their understanding of the game and developing as a player, winning is inevitable.
“It essentially just comes down to the education and developing the mindset of an elite player, and the winning part comes with that,” Seydler. “If these guys are in that stage where they can develop and they’re trying to get better at what they do individually and as a team, then the wins will come.”
Rudder (2-2) graduated five seniors last year, the losses mainly forcing the Rangers to rebuild their defense. But the majority of this season’s roster features upperclassmen, so the bigger rebuilding project will happen in future seasons.
With that in mind, Seydler said he is trying to spread the playing time as much as possible to give younger players experience that can help the program handle turnover is the years coming.
“We had quite a few in our defense [graduate], so we’ve got a younger, more agile defense this year,” Seydler said. “It’s going to be more cyclical in the next few years, because we have anywhere from seven to eight seniors [in each class] over the next three to four years.”
Rudder went 5-16-2 overall and 2-10-2 in District 19-5A last season. The Rangers already appear off to a better start in 2020, and they hope to continue that improvement when they open district on Jan. 24 at home against Waller.
“Last year the mindset was definitely we want to make playoffs and that has to be the goal,” Seydler said. “This year, it’s the same goal, but now they have the mentality that this can really happen. It’s the underlining goal that we want to make playoffs and make it to round one, but it’s not like we have to go out there and win today because we need these points.”
Rudder will play at College Station on Jan. 28 before returning with back-to-back home games against Magnolia West and A&M Consolidated on Jan. 31 and Feb. 4. Rudder closes out the first round of it’s district slate with Magnolia, Brenham and Katy Paetow before facing Waller again on Feb. 18 in Waller.
With district play just a week away, Seydler said his players are starting to understand the part they play in the Bryan-College Station area, and he hopes to get the community more involved with the team this season.
“We step on the field and we play for a different purpose, and they’re really taking ownership of that and it’s coming together really well,” Seydler said. “With that in mind, they’re starting to also understand that it’s not just 11 people on the field. There’s people in the stands, people that are listening, people that are looking on ... Click here to read full article
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