Pike Road Head Football Coach Ed Rigby appeared on WCOV Fox 20’s The Score show on June 3, 2022, to discuss the upcoming football season.
Watch the video below:
Transcript from The Score Interview:
Video From Coach Rigby’s Introduction:
So at this time, I am pleased to introduce to you your new head football coach, Coach Ed Rigby.
It’s great to be here. First thing before we get started, I want to congratulate you all on your state championship last year. Everything about this school is special. To take a chunk of land in an old high school and create a whole school system in a matter of seven years, to be the best of the best, is not normal. That doesn’t happen every day.
The way I coach, I coach the way I wanted my son’s coached. Okay. I want you to be treated like a young man with respect and dignity the same way I wanted my two boys to be coached by other people
That underdog mentality, that dog instinct, that’s the mentality that we have and that I have, and that’s the mentality that we’re gonna have. Because what everybody’s saying about you, and I’m sure you’ve heard this, is hey they got 5A, that 6A is gonna be different now. They’re gonna take some lumps. How many of y’all heard that. Y’all heard it right. Well, you know what, I’ve heard it for four years and I ain’t backed down from it yet and I ain’t gonna back down now. That’s why I wanted this job. And we’re gonna do this together. I want a 6A state championship ring
Host:
Good morning friends of The Score. We are so happy you are joining us and man what a treat. We are so blessed to have some really amazing coaches in our area and what I believe is probably the newest coach in our area is Pike Road’s new head football coach. Now, this is Ed Rigby. You may remember the name if you watch the program because we have interviewed his wife Chanda Rigby who’s the Troy women’s basketball coach. They’ve got two kids, Ramsey and Ren and it is today’s Carol’s Carpet live look-in.
Ed How are you doing this morning? Thank you for joining us. How are things?
Coach Rigby:
Thank you for having me on. It’s funny because you’ve had the real Coach Rigby on. It’s funny when we go places and people say, Coach Rigby, I don’t even look because they’re not talking to me. You know everybody says she’s the real coach you know and I’m the imitation and they’re telling the truth. So yeah, she’s been on the show and she thinks the world of y’all and as soon as I think maybe you would reach out you know I sent her a message and she’s like hey you got to go on there. Call back right now and I got it, got it honey, got it yes ma’am, and so glad to be on. Thank you for having me.
Host:
Thank you for joining us now. How are you settling in? How are things going in Pike Road? Tell us what’s going on? Just kind of give us the lay of the land real quick.
Coach Rigby:
Today is my official second day and so I’m trying to get all the things ironed out. Getting the lay of the land. Anytime you come into a new position, a new job, there is a learning curve of finding out where everything’s at. How do you operate? How do you navigate getting something fixed that’s broken or you know, purchase requisitions, you know, because every place is a little bit different? Every place has its own spin and way of doing things and it takes you a while to learn that way. You know you’ve got to learn it to be able to navigate successfully and quickly.
Here so far it’s kind of weird because it’s my second day. You know the kids are not here. They just got out of school last Friday or technically Friday and so this is their off week. We will start in the month of June. I’m doing things a little bit different then I’ve done it before like this and they’ve done it here once before where we’re actually for the four weeks of June gonna do a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, which is a little bit different. It gives every one the four-day weekend. But it’s not about the four-day weekend. Alot of these kids go to camps and you know a lot of your camps are Friday and Saturday events and weirdly last year maybe it was because of coming out of covid and not having camps, a lot of schools started these Sunday camps you know, which I’m not a huge fan of. But you know it is what it is. So a lot of times when they go to these camps they’re coming back on Monday from them, especially if they’re any distance. So to avoid you know kids missing as much as possible we’re going with the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday model for the month of June, and then we’ll come back with the four-day model you know in the month of July and really start to lock in you know.
It’s a little bit different situation since they did not go through Spring. The coaches did a great job of doing the two hours a week with the kids you know in the mornings at six o’clock. They did a phenomenal job of keeping that moving, keeping the kids motivated, and in shape, when it would be so easy for them to wander off somewhere else. So it’s a different situation because again I’m showing up not knowing any of these kids. From what I see on film and learning names as I go. But you know I don’t know them. I’ve never worked with them. We’ve got to put in a whole offense, a whole defense. I’ve been trying to get folks hired which I’ve kept a lot of guys who were here for the fact that you know that they’ve proven their success. I mean they won the 5A State Championship and moving up to 6A is a whole different bear you know. I’ve been there last four years as a 5A school and uh it is a different bear. In 5A you’ll play schools where every couple weeks you’ll have to play somebody who’s got a dude we’re here everybody you play every week is gonna have two or three four dudes and they’re getting recruited very high levels that you’ve got to kind of gameplan around and against.
So far you know it’s been a thing of figuring out what I need to work on and fix. The coaches that I do have, getting things implemented. Offensively this is what we’re going to do this is what we’re going to call this that and another thing and so hey it’s been just a true rush rush rush deal. And to put you know things on top of it Chandra’s at home with Covid. Getting all three shots and traveling all around the world. She’s actually sick at home so that kind of threw a monkey wrench on some moving this week and doing some things but uh but she’s doing great feeling a lot better so praise the Lord there and everything is good.
Host:
Well, we’ll have to remember her and our thoughts and prayers. Covid’s no fun and we hope she makes a speedy recovery.
Coach Rigby:
Yeah, she’s doing really good.
Host:
Now we watched and we have played this before this interview, something I found on Twitter, your first kind of comments to the team really pumped me up listening to it. The one thing that that you make mention as you kind of acknowledge that going from nothing you know just a field basically to a state champion winning football program in seven years is unheard of. And now you guys are in 6A, you’re wanting that ring…
Coach Rigby:
Yes and the thing is with the kids they’ve had so much success in winning with the middle school program, with the JV program, that you know they expect to win. And you want to be a part of those situations. You don’t want it, because i’ve been there, you don’t want to coach in situations where you’ve got to try to pour the kids onto the other team. Literally you know. And hey do this drill right. This may help you want kids who naturally will go out and compete. And you know Pike Road has already developed that mentality of of players, of young men who want to go out and compete. And you don’t have to pour them on people. They’re going to show up for the showdown. They’re going to show up to work hard. And that’s the kind ofprogram that you want to be in.
The challenge obviously again is going up to 6A because it is different you know. I made mention of this, 7A has 32 teams. At the top of 7A, the top seven or eight teams you know there’s a big discrepancy from there to the bottom 32. And 6A is different. there’s about 20 teams at the top and the discrepancy you know of those to the bottom is not that big. 6A to me and many people that coach in this profession in this state think that it’s the toughest you know class that there is in the state. And again everything is relevant to what you’re in. Whether you’re in 2A it’s relevant because that’s the toughest thing you know for you. But we’re in 6A and it’s very relevant and the teams, the top teams, you can’t just save one or two. There’s a bunch of them. And so the competition level has obviously spiked up you know.
You’re going from your maximum school in your class to with certain numbers to schools now you’re playing in class. You have two times that numbers and so it’s going to be a different hombre. But these young men are up for the up to the challenge and it’s something that you know we’ve just been doing at Eufaula. You know playing up and so it’s not new and that’s what that was what was kind of alluring to me you know. The challenge you know of hey this is uncharted waters. But it’s a water that I’ve been swimming in and trying not to drown in and so hey i want to go get a piece of that. Couldn’t think of a better group at school to do it with than right here at Pike Road you know.
Host:
I’m really impressed with the Pike Road school system and what they’re doing. Getting behind this program. There is a huge commitment. Huge buy-in from the community. Have you felt that?
Coach Rigby:
Oh no doubt. No doubt you know. When you have people coming up to you the first day I was hired to you going hey, i work the press box. You know i do x-y-z. I don’t have a kid in the program. I just love being apart of this and being a part of this community. Will you let me keep doing it? And of course my answer is absolutely. You know i mean? But that, you don’t get that everywhere. You know, i mean I’ve been places where you got to beg somebody to go to do this. You gotta beg somebody to make the blow up. You know put the blow up thing out there. We’re here, people are lining up with hey my kids are little bitty, you know, they won’t be here for you know eight years but i just work hard you know and i get to say and this is my home up here and seeing football played here. It’s just an incredible thing and I just want to be a part. You don’t get that everywhere. That’s not everywhere in the sport. That’s not everywhere in every state. It’s a minority. It’s very few and far between and i’m thankful to be blessed to be able to be the head coach of this school.
Host:
Well hey we are blessed to have you on here. You won’t have to twist our arm to cover Pike Road football. You come on anytime. We would be happy to have you. We look forward to hearing how the summer goes and you know we’d love to revisit once you get to know those players and tell us who the stand outs are who the leaders are your team. We’ll come out there and do some feature pieces.
Coach Rigby:
I’d love to do it. You’re welcome anytime.
Host:
Let’s do that going forward. I’m excited about it. Excited that you’re there and excited you joined us this morning.
Coach Rigby:
Thank you for everything you do for high school sports and sports in general and because truly it’s a passion and and all of that and it’s a passion project and i just appreciate you having me on
Host:
Well Coach Rigby we wish you all the best as the season starts. As thepractice kind of as you prepare for the 6A season. And I know you got your eyes set on that championship and we hope you get there. Thank you so much for joining us.
Coach Rigby:
Thank you have a blessed day.
Host:
All right that is head Pike Road Football Head Coach Ed Rigby. Wonderful guest. Wonderful person. And we are so honored that he was able to join us this morning.