One more game

Although the Waseca football team’s year was cut short in the Section 2AAA championship, senior running back Christian Rodriguez had the honor of stepping onto the field one last time with some of the best football players in the state.

Rodriguez represented the Waseca Bluejays in the 49th Annual All-Star Game at US Bank Stadium Saturday, December 10. The game was sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Minnesota Vikings.

Rodriguez was one of 88 players and 12 coaches to be named to an all-star team. He received the news that he was being invited just before Waseca’s November 4 section title game against Fairmont.

“I was excited when I got the news,” Rodriguez said. “It was really cool to hear that I made it. I wanted to represent Waseca by working hard and doing well in the game and practices.”

His head coach Brad Wendland was not surprised. “When he was chosen, I knew that he would be a great ambassador for Waseca and that he’d fit in well as a player and a teammate,” he said. “He is very coachable and unselfish.”

Rodriguez was part of the south all-star team, which featured members of schools as small as 9-Man Renville County West to as big as 6A Rosemount. He was one of four running backs on the team. Coach Wendland had some experience coaching the south team in 2019 and gave Rodriguez some sage advice. “I told him to have fun and to develop as many relationships as possible. It will be a good experience to prepare him for college football.”

Rodriguez claims the mood was fairly relaxed the day of the game. “When we arrived at the stadium, we were there for about two hours before the game started,” he explained. “We were allowed to go on the field and throw the ball around for a little bit and be in the tunnels.”

With four running backs on the team, Rodriguez said coaches tried to give each of them as equal a  number of snaps as possible. “We did limited time compared to a smaller team like Waseca,” he elaborated. “But I got to play a good amount.”

Since there wasn’t anything on the line like a section title, Rodriguez focused on having a good time with all the other seniors named to the team. “It was more of a cool thing we all did,” he said.

But that didn’t stop them from being competitive. When the south and north teams faced off, it wasn’t even a close game. The south team shut out the north 29-0. While Rodriguez didn’t score any touchdowns, he felt that he had quality carries that helped his team get the win.

The all-star game was the final cap to an over decade-long tenure with the Waseca football program for the senior. Rodriguez has been playing tackle football since third grade and played flag football before that. “I liked being active and hanging out with friends,” he said. “Having something organized like that as a kid was nice. As I grew older, football became less of a game and more of a passion.”

It was partially thanks to his brother Hunter, a 2019 Waseca graduate, that football became a passion for Rodriguez. “I went to the morning training sessions with him,” he said. “Seeing kids much stronger than I was helped me get better.”

He added that getting to do strength conditioning and lifting in junior high boosted his interest in the sport. “You get to be more serious when doing those things because you can improve a lot more in the offseason.”

Football has given Rodriguez an outlet to build toughness and commitment. He’s also learned a lot about leadership, especially during his time this season as a captain.

“Being a captain is a big undertaking,” he admitted. “You have to commit a lot of time to it. But I was willing to do that. It was fun to celebrate when the team did well and hold everyone accountable when you didn’t. I liked getting better at the game with all the players.”

Aside from his time in the all-star game, Rodriguez’s favorite memory was getting four touchdowns against conference rival Fairmont. “It was great to beat up on them a little bit in front of the home crowd,” he said.

When asked what advice he’d give, he reiterated what he told the sixth-grade football team earlier this week. “Be active, commit to things, find what you like to do, and be a leader. You don’t have to be a captain to be a leader. We had plenty of guys this year that didn’t have the title of captain but took that leadership role anyway. If we could’ve had ten captains, we would have.”

Coach Wendland believes that Rodriguez was a tremendous role model for young players working their way through the Bluejays football program. “He excels at everything he does,” he said. “He is an excellent student and a leader in the classroom.”

Wendland pointed out that in addition to being a football captain, he also holds the position in wrestling and will do so in track this spring. “At the end of the day, it’s only a title,” Rodriguez claimed.

But Wendland feels he’s earned that title. “Christian leads by example and is well respected by his teammates. He is a humble player who is just as excited to block as he is to run the ball.”

Rodriguez has narrowed down his college choices to Gustavus, St. Olaf, and Bethel. He plans to play football after high school at one of those colleges. Although his choice is still unmade, one thing is certain: he and his fellow seniors will leave behind a great legacy in Waseca. His all-star appearance is only the cherry on top. 

“I’m thankful for all of my teammates and everyone who has helped along the way,” he finished. “I hope I helped them one way or another.”