by Dylan Reynolds and Jacob Jones
Western high
school soccer coach, Ron Rudland has recently been inducted into the hall of
fame by the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association. The MHSSCA hall of
fame banquet took place at the Crowne Plaza in Lansing on November 19, 2016.
The current
Athletic Director at Western High School, Ryan Hackworth was one of Coach
Rudlands old players that played for him from the years of 1997-2001.
We asked what
it was like to playing for Coach Rudland, Mr. Hackworth said “It was probably
the highlight of my high school career.”
Mr. Hackworth
liked seeing Coach Rudland on and off the field
“It wasn't just during the fall season that I was stopping by the choir
room to talk to him.”
Mr Hackworths
favorite part of his coaching was the team bonding they did together. “ Going
up to Silver Lake, running the dunes, and all the different things we did as a
team at the games and during practice.”
Coach Rudland
was very surprised when he got the news about being put in the hall of fame.
His response was “Wow that's a surprise.”
There were many
more things that were considered when making the decision. It wasn’t all based
on the performance of Rudland’s teams. The dedication he had throughout the
years and the leadership he showed to all of his players.
He has won
several conference championships and district championships. Throughout the
years his favorite memory was when his team from 1991 took down Harper Creek to
win his second district championship. They were down 2-0 at halftime. His team
told him “don't worry coach, we're going to win this game.” They came back in
the last 12 minutes to win the game 3-2.
Coach Rudland
has been the coach at Western for 32 years, and is still going. We would like
to thank Coach Rudland for all of the time he has invested in Western High
School, and congratulate him on his well deserved award.
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