By Cody Morris
First-Year BHS Head Coach Figuring It Out
One month ago, Kyle Rhodes was eagerly waiting to step onto the football field as a head coach for the first time. Rhodes had left a defensive coordinator position at a thriving program in Oklahoma to take the helm at Butler High School. Two weeks into his tenure, the Bears had some question marks and an opportunity to phone it in and give up on everything they had spent the offseason building. Instead, the Bears chose to fight back.
Butler opened the season with a heartbreaking 27-26 loss to Adrian before traveling to Summit Christian Academy the following week and falling 41-18. Sitting at 0-2, it would have been easy for a young program under a first-year head coach to begin questioning the process. Instead, the Bears responded with a convincing 45-21 win over Crest Ridge and followed it up one week later by putting 54 points on the board in a 54-30 road rout over Windsor.
The pair of back-to-back wins now have the Bears sitting with an even 2-2 record. Suddenly, some of the things Rhodes was preaching before the first snap of the season ever took place, are starting to pay off.
In a preseason interview with Tailgate TV, Kyle talked about accountability, buy-in, resiliency and creating a culture.
Watching how the Bears have chosen to respond to a shaky start has proven that Rhodes has indeed instilled plenty of fight and culture into the Butler program.
When asked about the bounce back after the two recent wins, Rhodes said he is most impressed by “the resilience of our kids. We’ve been talking about overcoming adversity over the last couple of weeks and we’ve really shown it in the second half of both of those games.”
While Butler is early on in this learning process, they have proven that they will not back down, and they have a fierce leader at the reins. Despite the early woes, which included some unfortunate turnovers, penalties and mistakes, the Bears have continued to show improvement and fortitude each week. Rhodes admits, “The unfortunate reality is sometimes the adversity comes from things that we do to ourselves, not just things that we don’t have control over.”
However, the Bears continue to roar even with their backs against a wall, as Rhodes continued, “We’ve definitely seen improvement on both sides of the ball over the last couple weeks.”
The fight that this squad has shown didn’t just appear overnight, it has been ingrained and instilled in this group of guys for months now. When Tailgate TV sat down with the new coach before the season ever began, he spoke about his intentions to develop young men as opposed to simply making football players. Rhodes said, “I’m not raising you to be a 13-year-old. I’m raising you to be an adult.”
He also discussed how football teaches valuable lessons that apply on and off the gridiron. Bouncing back from hardships, continuing to fight through struggles and finding growth in the midst of adversity are just a few of the life lessons Rhodes is teaching through the vessel of high school athletics.
Billy Graham once said, “A coach in one year will impact more lives than the average person in a lifetime,” and Rhodes said that is a philosophy he embraces fully, adding that he would call this season a success if “these boys are men at the end of the year.”
But Rhodes isn’t building this culture alone. Butler is led by a large group of seniors who have helped carry his message into the locker room and pushed the younger Bears to buy in to what the new coaching staff is trying to build. That leadership from the upperclassmen has helped turn Rhodes’ expectations into team expectations, with seniors setting the tone for the underclassmen who will eventually be asked to carry the program forward themselves.
That buy-in can also be seen simply by looking at who is showing up. There are players on the roster this season who are coming out for football for the first time, drawn in by what they see being built within the program. For a first-year head coach trying to create excitement around Butler football, getting new athletes interested in being part of the team may be just as encouraging as anything happening on Friday night.
Rhodes has set standards in the locker room, the classroom and on the field at Butler. As an ordained Baptist pastor, Rhodes continues to push personal development and culture change within the Butler football program. Even before the Bears had taken the field for the first time, much less earned their first win, you may have seen them in the community working. Kyle has pushed the boys to serve their community, which has included working on farms, hauling brush and helping residents around Butler. Rhodes said, “There’s not a neutral influence. You’re either a positive influence or you’re a negative influence, and you get to choose which one you are.”
After those first two losses, it appeared from the outside that the Bears had a choice to make: give up or keep fighting. But inside that locker room, there was no option. The Bears were going to bounce back. When asked about the first win — Rhodes’ first win as a head coach and the Bears’ first win of the season — Coach said, “Obviously winning feels really good and it’s been exciting. I’m just glad to see that all the hard work that we put in so far is paying off.”
And when that first win finally came, it came emphatically. The Bears erupted for 45 points against Crest Ridge, earning a 45-21 victory and giving Rhodes his first win as a head coach. One week later, they proved it wasn’t a one-night celebration. Butler’s offense exploded again in Windsor, scoring 54 points and leaving town with a 54-30 win.
The Bears have been building something special for a few months, and according to Rhodes, these last two weeks are nowhere near the potential this team has. “We have nowhere near hit our ceiling,” Rhodes said, going on to explain that he believes these boys are capable of some very impressive outings during the rest of the season.
If you’ve watched the Bears this season, it isn’t hard to imagine what this team could look like if they continue cleaning up the turnovers, penalties and other self-inflicted mistakes that have slowed them at times. Those are still areas Rhodes and the Bears are working to improve, but through four weeks they have already shown plenty of growth — and there is reason to believe we haven’t yet seen the best version of this Butler team.
Thinking back to that first win over Crest Ridge, Rhodes called it “a great time and a great night,” talking about his players waiting for him in the locker room after his first victory as a head coach. More importantly, Rhodes added, “I think we’re starting to show people what we are capable of.”
This coming Friday, the Bears will hit the road for a nearly four-hour trip where they will battle a Class 3 St. James team. The larger school will definitely be another test for the evolving Bears, but Rhodes feels confident in his group, saying, “If we can keep executing and continue to try to reduce the turnovers and penalties, I think that we can compete with anyone that we’re on the field with.”
Four games aren’t enough to define a tenure, and Rhodes has repeatedly acknowledged how much work remains. But early on, it seems that the values Butler’s new head coach is pushing in the locker room are beginning to shape this group of Bears both on and off the field. And with a senior class helping lead the charge, younger players buying into the message and even new faces choosing to become part of the program, there are signs that what Rhodes is trying to build may already be taking root.
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Photos provided via Butler High School Facebook page.
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