SSHS Football Brings Back Familiar Faces

They say before you look to the future you must first learn from the past.  The Soda Springs 2024 football team will be able to accomplish both simultaneously as they have brought back a pair of familiar faces to be co-head coaches.  Rod Worthington and Scott Gambles each started coaching football in 1990.  Scott started right off with the Cardinals while Rod was coaching for a different school.  In 1995 Rod had the opportunity to join the Cardinal staff and the two men just meshed well as they served as assistant coaches for a few years before Rod took over as head coach.  “I became the head coach but really at the same time we were working it together.  So when they approached us about doing this we said if we come back into that role again we come back together.”  In other words they are a package deal.  

The duo spent several years walking the sidelines together before each decided to step away for other pursuits.  Most recently Scott has been helping in the jr. high football program while Rod has been serving as the elementary principal.  Despite being out of the high school scene in recent years, both men still have been big supporters of Soda Springs athletics, with Worthington being in the elementary since 2018 and Gambles coaching jr. high. The co-coaches are already familiar with most of the young men in the high school.  

Coach Worthington stated, “A fun dynamic about this is some of those players, we’ve coached their dads.”  Some of their former players include some of the recent Cardinal coaches such as coach Evans, and Garbett.  Speaking of other coaches, Coach Worthington went on to state, “We have a lot of great assistant coaches that are coming on board.  Some we have seen in the past.”  Coach Gambles added with a smile, “ We’re getting the band back together.”  When asked about what their coaching philosophy is, Coach Gambles was quick to respond, “Being a defensive coach it is always be the aggressor, be physical and take care of business.”  

Coach Worthington added, “Repetition is the key to learning.  Football is a repetitive game.  As we gain relationships with the players and they build relationships with each other and they come together as a team.  Then we can have a ferocious defense and an explosive offense.”  

The Cardinals will need that toughness and explosiveness as they compete in what has been one of the toughest districts in the classification for the past several years.  Coach Gambles commented, “It's a good conference and you don't really get any breaks.”  Over the past couple of seasons the Cardinals have struggled getting wins in that very tough conference.  With both coaches just being hired in the last couple of weeks they are having to take on the burden of trying to turn that trend around in a short amount of time.  How do they plan on doing that?  Coach Worthington answered by saying, “Baby steps.  Football is a game based off of inches and yards.  You make that first down then just keep moving that wall.  We come out prepared for that every game.”  

Coach Gambles added, “We are going to control what we can control.  We are going to be physical and hardworking and I think that is going to be a good step in the right direction.”  As we wrapped up the interview I asked each coach what one of their favorite parts of coaching is?  Coach Gambles replied, “I think it's fun to have a plan in place and organize it, then see it come to fruition.”  Coach Worthington painted a great visual with his answer.  “There’s something special when those lights flip on on a Friday night.  You feel the energy.  You're all huddled around all these fellows that have been practicing all week long.  You take the time to be grateful before you make that break to go outside the locker room.  When you hit the field, that's really the fun part for me.  That's Friday night lights.”