Union gets an unexpected boost from Rodriguez
No one associated with the Union football program knew he was on his way. There was no head’s-up call. No e-mail.
Alberto Rodriguez just showed up on campus in August, the first day of practice.
Rodriguez, who had moved to Vancouver from California, was enrolling at Union when he met the principal in the office that day. Rodriguez noted that he likes to play football.
The principal then told him he’d better go meet Cale Piland, the athletic coordinator who just happens to be the football coach.
Rodriguez did not go home right away after that meeting with Piland.
“I suited up that same day,” Rodriguez said.
By Week 3, Rodriguez, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 230-pound senior lineman, was the team’s starting right tackle. Tonight, he and his new teammates take on Bellevue in the Class 3A state semifinals in the Tacoma Dome.
Rodriguez said he was welcomed by everyone at Union — not just the football team — and he enjoys living with his Aunt Jonalyn and three cousins.
His journey started last summer when his mother, Helen Refil, decided to move back to The Philippines to take some college courses. Rodriguez was given the option: stay with friends in his Bay Area hometown of Martinez, Calif., or move to live with relatives in Vancouver.
“It was just up to me. Pretty much if I wanted to stay, I could have,” Rodriguez said. “It just felt like it would be a better atmosphere up here.”
He said he misses his California friends “big time,” but he also knows he made the right decision — even if he wasn’t so sure at first.
“My cousin (who graduated from Union in the spring) told me they were good and they made it to the state championship game. Other than that, I didn’t know anything about the team,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez went out to that practice field only knowing about last year’s team. He had no idea if he would fit in with the Titans.
“I didn’t expect to start. They’re a championship team,” Rodriguez remembered thinking. “No way I’ll make it here.”
The Union coaches saw a lot of talent — raw talent — but not necessarily a fundamentally sound football player.
That has changed over the weeks.
“It’s been great. They taught me a lot of stuff,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not the best, so they tried to work me to get better. I liked having them work me, the coaches.”
Rodriguez said he enjoyed his coaches in California, but he prefers the Union way. The constant drills had to be perfected, he said, and he has thrived with that extra bit of discipline.
“Alberto is a big, strong kid, but we had no idea what kind of player he was,” Piland said, recalling his first impression.
And it can be difficult for an incoming senior to make an impact on a quality team.
“He had to learn our systems,” Piland said. “He’s a very, very intelligent young man. To pick up what we do in that short amount of time that he’s had is pretty incredible.”
But before he could play, Piland had to make sure Rodriguez would be eligible in Washington. Part of that was contacting officials from California.
“I called his previous high school’s athletic director, and he had nothing but glowing things to say about him as a kid,” Piland said. “At that point, we felt, hopefully this kid can help us.”
Union has been there for Rodriguez, too. He says he is a B-minus student, and “the teachers here help me whenever I need help.”
His dream is to become a firefighter. He plans on moving back to California after graduation to pursue that goal.
By then, his mother might be finished with her schooling, too. They talk on the phone a couple times a week. He is going to The Philippines to visit her during the winter break from school.
“After that, the next time I’ll see her is probably graduation,” he said.
It has been quite a change for Rodriguez. But other than missing his friends, he said he has no regrets.
“This football team is worth it,” he said. “We’ve got the state semifinals this week. What’s better than that?”
Nothing, except maybe the state championship game.
