Building Buy-In Before Day One | Kevin Rodriguez

Most strength coaches get weeks to settle into a new job. Kevin Rodriguez got four days.Kevin Rodriguez's path to Siena wasn't a straight line, but it was fast at the end. After building the strength program from scratch at Delta State and spending four years at UT-Chattanooga working with men's basketball, women's golf, and beach volleyball, Rodriguez accepted the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach job at Siena and was on campus within four days. He credits a mix of prayer, self-reflection, and honest conversations with mentors, including former UT-Chattanooga head coach Dan Earl, for helping him make the call.Once he arrived, Rodriguez treated the first weeks like an audit. He got every player's phone number from the director of operations and texted personal introductions before he'd even found a place to live. From there, he assessed the weight room, met the training staff, and ran team lifts built less around programming and more around establishing standards, energy, and trust. Rodriguez calls it going back to the same intangibles he built at Chattanooga. The location changes. The standard doesn't.Rodriguez also gets specific about how he manages pressure and emotion, both his own and his athletes'. A habit he picked up as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, rehearsing team talks and workout explanations out loud in the car, is still part of his routine before every big moment, podcasts included. He also leans on a mantra passed down from a football coach at Delta State: take it personal, but don't be sensitive. It's the same approach he brings to coaching players through emotional moments on the court, treating them like adults instead of problems to manage.The conversation closes on expectations. Rodriguez inherited a Siena program that won its conference last season, the same situation he faced walking into UT-Chattanooga the year after a conference championship run. He talks through UT-Chattanooga's NIT championship season, a run built on patience through a rocky start, and the lesson he's carrying to Siena: enjoy the big moments, because not every coach gets one.Key Takeaways- Getting player phone numbers and sending personal introductions before arriving on campus builds trust before day one.- Rehearsing high-pressure conversations out loud, a habit from his graduate assistant days at Mississippi State, keeps him composed in team talks and media moments alike.- Take it personal, but don't be sensitive: a mantra that turns criticism into fuel instead of self-doubt.- Treating athletes like adults defuses conflict faster than trying to manage or control it.- Winning the NIT at UT-Chattanooga taught him to sit in a big moment instead of rushing back to work.Quote"Take it personal, but don't be sensitive."— Kevin Rodriguez, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Siena College