Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Q&A with Baseball Head Coach Rucker Taylor
11/13/2019 11:15:00 AM | Baseball, DAF
What initially inspired you to join the coaching staff at Davidson College? I've been around educators, teachers and academic places my whole life. Davidson has a great reputation for thinking and learning, and the type of scholar-athlete associated with that is something I was drawn to from my time at Vanderbilt and Samford. I had an opportunity to coach at an SEC school at the same time, so I put a lot into researching the opportunities at Davidson and came away impressed with the possibilities that existed.
After serving as the associate head coach under Dick Cooke, how were you inspired by his leadership as you moved into the head coaching position, following Coach Cooke's 28-year Davidson baseball legacy?
I think it has been an enjoyable transition for both of us. Coach is our baseball oversight administrator, and we maintain a great relationship. I think he made the transition easy for our baseball staff because he gave Assistant Coach Ryan Munger and me a lot of responsibility and freedom in prior years. Ryan and I both felt prepared for our new roles, as a result. Personally, Coach has taught me a lot about Davidson and navigating a year on a day-to-day basis. Without question, I am better prepared because of him.
How has the recent increase in scholarships for baseball made a difference for your program, and what are some of the biggest changes you've seen as a result?
It's made a tremendous difference. It has made it easier to have recruiting conversations during players' junior year of high school. The baseball recruiting timeline has become incredibly accelerated in the last several years, and we are not as accelerated as many due to the academic piece of the puzzle, but the influx of scholarship dollars has allowed us to compete for recruits against schools we have normally not been able to go against with any consistency.
Baseball is well-known for the interesting superstitions or pre-game rituals of its players and coaches. What is the most interesting thing you've seen or perhaps do yourself or as a team?
The most interesting one I've seen involves a former pitcher at Davidson. On days he was the starting pitcher, he would put on headphones and crank up some music, which isn't uncommon. What is uncommon, however, is that he would then head to the woods around the field, and dance to the music amongst the trees for an extended period. He had a great season, though, so we were ok with it.
What is the greatest lesson you learned as a player or as a coach that you've carried with you and aimed to pass down to your players?
Too many to list in a reasonable amount of time! The one concept I probably come back to the most is "Be Yourself." I was given that advice by a coach while I was in school and planning on becoming a coach. That advice has a lot of applications in many areas of life. And I think it encompasses planning, working and evolving to better yourself and become the best person you can be, but staying true to your core values and beliefs. And it's ok if those ideals change over time.
What is the significance of wearing #3?
I wear #3 in honor of my dad. I'm Rucker Taylor IV, and Dad is Rucker Taylor III – so I wear #3 in honor of III.
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