Taylorsville football: Coach Rod Wells bio

In mid-July, I interviewed new Taylorsville (Utah) football coach Rod Wells. I'm helping Taylorsville by publishing its football program this year. This is the bio that will appear in the program.

Coach Rod Wells:

He became a success at Bear River

and follows the model of Ron McBride

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

             When Taylorsville High School went looking for a new football coach, Rodny Wells was easy to find.

            He had spent 11 years as an assistant at Bear River in Tremonton, serving most recently as its defensive coordinator as the Bears won three 3A state championships.
            Wells was eager to leave and return “home,” he said. He had grown up in Tremonton, and starred at running back for the Bears, graduating in 1987. He was a punishing ball carrier that helped him earn a scholarship to play at the University of Utah. He had his best season as a freshman under coach Jim Fassell – lining up behind QB Scott Mitchell.
            Later, after his LDS Church mission, he was at Utah during the Ron McBride era.
            “I loved it up there,” he said. “That’s really where I grew up.”
            Thus, Salt Lake has become his adopted “home.” He applied for several different open coaching positions here during the spring, and Taylorsville principal Garett Muse believes he has found a good one.
            “Our problem isn’t so much at the varsity level,” Muse said. “The young kids around here are successful. We needed to find someone who can help keep them here (instead of moving or transferring elsewhere).”
            Wells may be that man. He and his wife, Gina, have four children and one (an 11 year-old) is still at home. The family moved into the Taylorsville boundary. Wells wants his last child to graduate from Taylorsville, which means he plans to be here a while.
            Wells doesn’t believe in magical transformations, political correctness or trick plays. He said success at Taylorsville starts with hard work and that begins in the weight room where, if you’ve ever seen him, you can tell he has spent plenty of time.
            It’s a belief similar to his mentor – McBride. As Wells takes his first head coaching position, he said he plans to use a lot of what he learned from him.
            “I just want to teach the kids to play like I did,” he said. “They need to know what success feels like.”
            Wells accepted the job last January and became Taylorsville’s seventh coach in its 31-year history. To date, the Warriors have won one region title and recorded nine winning seasons - but none since 2003. The last four years have been the worst – with a combined three victories in 40 games.
            “These kids are good kids,” said Wells. “They need discipline, but discipline with love.”
            On the field, the burly, bald 5-foot-6 coach admits “I get into the game.” He is fiery and passionate. Off the field, he treats his players with care and often tells them that he loves them. He said it took the Warriors several weeks to get used to him, but they’ve since caught on.
            “At first, I’d tell them that I love them and they thought it was strange,” he said. “Now they don’t think twice about it.”
            Wells also has a family he loves. Their children include Tricia Buchanan (Josh), Kayla Bingham (Zach), Payton and Valerie – and two grandchildren. Payton was a star running back at Bear River who is playing at Dixie State.
            Wells will teach special education and weight training at Taylorsville. He brings a new attitude – much what he learned from McBride, who was looking at a similar task at Utah.
            Wells calls it tough love and, so far, the Taylorsville players are buying into it. In late July, over 100 players had arrived for summer workouts.
            He doesn’t know what will happen in his initial season, but expects consistent improvement.