TUKWILA — The Peninsula College weight room is quiet at 7 a.m. for the first time in months.
While the Peninsula Pirates were gathering to take photos with the Northwest Athletic Conference men’s soccer championship trophy Sunday at Starfire Sports Complex, a few players were celebrating the end of early morning workouts.
“They’ll get a day off, yeah,” Peninsula coach Cale Rodriguez later said.
Said freshman Johnny Martinez, “Finally. Finally. We deserve it.
“No days off. No days off.”
Not only did Rodriguez put the Pirates to work in his first year at the helm, he made them morning people.
The players loved it as much as 18- to 20-year-olds can love waking up early — which is hardly at all.
“7 a.m. weights every day. 7 a.m. practices on Sunday after the games, so we didn’t have days off,” sophomore midfielder Eddie Benito said.
“We would bicker and stuff during the weights and stuff, but we got it done.
“It all paid off, so it was perfect.”
Peninsula’s perfect payoff was a 4-3 victory over Spokane that earned the men’s soccer program its fourth conference championship, all four coming in the past six seasons.
It was the first title under Rodriguez, who was hired in March after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Redlands in California.
“We wanted to set a standard. I wanted to get them out of their comfort zones and establish a culture,” Rodriguez said.
“There’s no secret to the madness, it’s just hard work.
“I asked the guys to trust in me and what I was doing, and they trusted me and they believed in me, and I believed in them.
“And I knew we had a team to get it done, and it was just a matter of could we do the right things.
“And here we are.”
One of the things the Pirates constantly worked on — one of the many things — was set plays.
That paid dividends as well.
Two of Peninsula’s four goals Sunday came on corner kicks, including Jose Soto’s game-winner in the 85th minute.
Other free kicks throughout the game were close to finding the net.
“We practice set plays a lot, and that’s what got us this championship,” Martinez said.
The Pirates are champions and are free in the morning, but there’s still a lot to be done.
“The work doesn’t stop here, to be quite honest,” Rodriguez said.
“We won the championship, but I’m going to make it very clear to these guys that there’s still work to be done in the classroom.
“Ultimately, my job is to help theses guys be successful off the field as well. So we got to get them recruited, we got to get them to be able to move on and transfer to four-year programs. That’s the end product, that’s the end goal.
“Honestly, I’d rather have 100 percent placement of my guys into four-year schools versus an NWAC championship.
“I’ll take the NWAC championship, no doubt, but it’s more import to me that these guys be able to move on with their [associated degrees] or be able to move on to four-year programs and continue their education.
“That’s ultimately why I’m in this profession, and, you know, there’s no greater thrill than helping a young man succeed and continuing his education and developing into an adult that can contribute to society.”
But even the coach is going to rest a bit.
“I’m going to be sleeping in, to be quite honest,” Rodriguez said.
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: Peninsula College’s confidence never wavers during quest for NWAC championship —
https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20151117/NEWS/311179997/mens-soccer-peninsula-colleges-patience-never-wavers-in-nwac
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
