Being Big Rig: Scotty Rodgers

If you follow lacrosse even just a little, you’ve probably heard the name Scotty Rodgers. The 6’4” 265 lb goalie was the highest-ranked recruit at his position coming out of MacArthur high school in Long Island. He’d attend Notre Dame, where in 2010 he captured the attention of the nation by leading the unranked Fighting Irish to their first appearance in the NCAA Championship. That year he also led the country in save percentage. He was subsequently drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Nationals, the MLL’s reigning champions. Just a year later he anchored a Nationals team, by then playing in Hamilton, that made it to the 2011 MLL Championship game, though they would lose 10-9 to the Boston Cannons. Since 2013 Scotty has played for the Ohio Machine, helping the franchise win their first championship this past season.

Outside of his success as a player, Rodgers is known for his personality. He’s an outspoken work-horse, a person who in his words “has one speed,” and is “not changing for anybody.” He attacks everything in life with intensity and firmly believes that respect, like success, is continuously earned with great work-ethic. That mindset makes him one of the most captivating players to watch. It’s also the reason why he was such an engaging and fun athlete to interview.

Rodgers isn’t afraid of much. Growing up, he pushed himself in sports and was notably “loud and charismatic.” The qualities gave way to leadership roles across sports, even when he competed with older kids due to his size. He credits much of his motivation and early success to his father. “My dad went to the Marines right out of high school and then did 20 years as a correctional officer at Rikers Island. He gave me my blue-collar attitude,” Rodgers said. The ‘Blue Collar’ attitude represents a common motif for Scotty. Friends and fans call him “Big Rig,” a name that suits the only player in lacrosse with arms the size of watermelons. The origin story of the name couldn’t have been scripted any better. “I was coaching at Towson after college. Coach Nadelen gave me the name,” Scotty said. “He comes out to practice one day, and I had just come from flipping some tires, and he says ‘You’re like an 18 wheeler, like a Big Rig,’ and it stuck.”

Today, Scotty’s social media channels keep the life of “Big Rig” alive and relevant. Videos of workouts, images of MLL action and his time spent coaching serve as authentic examples of what it means to live and train with the Big Rig mentality. Posts are candid and -- I know I’m not the first to say -- somewhat intimidating. He’ll story a selfie vid while rocking out on the way to the gym, film himself lifting an obscene amount of weight, or encourage followers to celebrate #FatArmFriday with him. While it’s mostly lacrosse-related content, his goal is to inspire people to reach their full potential through hard work. “I don’t work out because it helps me with Lacrosse. I work out because it makes me a more confident version of myself, which in turn helps my game,” he said. Sharing his lifestyle has become an integral piece of Scotty’s career. It’s a source of accountability for his offseason lifestyle, and it adds to his credibility as a coach that practices what he preaches. “Everyone thinks [my behavior on Instagram is] an act at first, then when kids meet me away from social media, they’re like ‘whoa, this guy’s really like this.’”

As important as publishing his lifestyle is to him, Rodgers remains a firm believer that hard work comes before showmanship. It’s a lesson he’s learned, and re-learned throughout his career. After starting all four years in high school and having “shoeboxes full of [recruiting] letters,” Scotty would ride the bench at Notre Dame until his last year of eligibility.

“I knew Notre Dame had a goalie and I knew I had to beat him out. The plan was for me to start two years,” he said. “[But when that didn’t happen], I ate my humble pie. I could’ve transferred but that goes back to my upbringing. My dad taught me when you commit to something you stick it through.”

It would have been easy to let ego get in the way. He could’ve decided his coaches owed him playing time or that they didn’t have his best interests in mind. Instead, he relied on his dogma that it was the work he put in -- not his talent, previous accomplishments or other outside factors -- that would determine his success. It’s a mindset he refers to as ‘ego-less clarity;’ that by putting aside feelings of pride, one is more prepared to make the improvements they need to succeed.

After watching him lead Notre Dame on a historic 2010 tournament run, it’s safe to say he was right. Rodgers was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, undoubtedly the biggest reason Notre Dame was able to compete with the blue blood lacrosse schools they faced on their way to the championship. After holding #6 Princeton and #3 Maryland to just five goals apiece, Scotty proved his performance was no fluke by holding Cornell to seven goals and helping the Irish advance to the championship game. “I kinda knew after the Cornell game I was seeing the ball pretty well. They call it being in the zone… it looked like a beach ball in my eyes,” he recalled. The lacrosse world was going nuts -- for just the second time in 19 years, an unranked team had the chance to become champions. Scotty’s confidence was soaring, but the celebration after beating Cornell didn’t last long. “I remember watching Duke-Virginia and it was a 17 - 16 dogfight. I’m sitting there like holy sh*t, we gotta play Duke.”

Growing up in Charlotte, NC as the son of a Duke graduate, I was heavily invested in that championship. A quick note on Duke fans -- we expect Duke to win everything, and we’re notably extroverted about those expectations (another way I’ve heard it described is ‘cocky,’ though I’m not sure where that comes from.) But if our fanbase was cocky, it wasn’t without reason. Duke’s offense, bolstered by the season’s Tewaaraton trophy recipient Ned Crotty, was averaging over 13 goals a game-- the highest among teams competing in the Tournament. But even they couldn’t get through Big Rig. The Irish and Blue Devils headed into overtime tied at just five goals apiece, making it the lowest-scoring game in NCAA Lacrosse championship history. Scotty was once again giving his guys a chance to compete with a team many thought to be more talented. The underdog story ended suddenly with Duke winning the faceoff and scoring just seconds into the overtime period but nobody -- not even Duke fans like myself -- could deny that Scotty was the story of the season.

It was the toughest loss he’d ever suffered. His whole career -- the time he spent working despite not being the starter, the way he’d shouldered his team in his final season -- had seemed destined to end with him being crowned a champion. Instead, he fell just short. “You could play it a million times in your head and it doesn’t help. You just look at it like one more save here, one more there… but [looking back now] there weren’t many errors to pick apart. I was proud of our guys.”

Eventually, the sting of disappointment was replaced with a sense of gratitude. What it took to make it to the championship had to be acknowledged. “It was a pretty cinderella-esque run. We were a part of the lowest scoring game in NCAA tournament history. The defense and myself took a lot of pride in that,” he said. Even though he fell short of his goal, his work-ethic had given him reasons to feel accomplished.

Rodgers’ work ethic permeates every aspect of his world. As Scotty continues to work hard on-and-off the field, he has recently taken on a new challenge: bringing work ethic to the next generation of goalies. Rodgers’ latest endeavor -- Scotty Rodger’s Goalie Training -- bring high-end goalie training to novice and elite players across the country.

Scotty Rodgers’ Goalie Training events are designed to teach players the same lesson. “Hard work is never easy, and neither are my events. Players come into a boot camp style program. We break them down, let a kid know their weaknesses first, and at the end, we build them back up. If you show me you’re retaining information and applying it to your game, you’ll be my favorite kid.” The unique approach has fueled Scotty Rodgers Goalie Traning’s rise to one of the premier goalie offerings available for youth and high-schoolers. “My kids are starting to realize the amount of work it takes,” he said. “Seeing goalies train, and train hard… it’s a beautiful thing.”

About the Author

Stuart Gill is a student at the Annenberg School for Journalism at the University of Southern California. Outside of the classroom, Stu coaches youth Lacrosse, co-hosts and produces USC’s sports talk show The Water Cooler, and produces content for Annenberg Media as a weekly Sports Editor. Stu joined Rabil Events in Summer of 2017 to assist in increasing the popularity and influence of Lacrosse nationwide while celebrating the positive experiences it creates for young athletes. He's back in the office with us for Summer 2018.