Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU’s Pogue Works Hard at Having Fun
March 28, 2019 04:08 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Many, many years ago, when I still had hair and hope, I worked for a construction company during summer vacation to make a little extra money to put toward my fabulous WVU education.
Five-thirty in the A.M. arrives pretty quickly when you get to bed at 1, yet each morning when I arrived at the site I got an immediate pick-me-up.
My boss had one unconditional answer each time you asked him how he was doing.
"TERRIFIC!" he would say.
Sometimes he might change it up and reply "OUTSTANDING!" or maybe "FANTASTIC!" or perhaps even "MARVELOUS!" if his wife was in town, but it was always something positive, and it was said with great conviction and sincerity.
That guy I once worked for immediately came to mind after watching the video posted yesterday of West Virginia University assistant football coach Al Pogue on Twitter, he of the 100-watt smile and endless enthusiasm.
Each morning, Pogue tries to bring a little sunshine to everyone's day.
"If that's what you want to call it," he laughed. "That kind of stuff gets me in trouble with my wife, now. She loves it low-key, but I enjoy it. It's an opportunity for me to get out there and have some fun. They pay me to coach football, so why not enjoy it? I enjoy being with the kids. And this is a great place!"
Pogue says he was born with enthusiasm; it wasn't a learned trait.
"I was that kid the teacher used to say, 'Ah, he's a little hyper today Mrs. Pogue. I don't know?'" he grinned. "My wife says it, my mom says it and my teachers used to say it, my kids … it's just me, man."
It's also refreshing.
College football is a serious business these days conducted by mostly serious people. Coaches usually carry their burdens on their shirtsleeves, and it's often visible to those around them.
That's why athletic staff members usually keep their heads down and their small talk to a minimum when around coaches, as Jay Cunningham tried to do when he was tearing down the audio equipment following this morning's news conference in the team room.
Jay was just going about his business carrying stuff out of the room as he walked past Pogue without saying a word.
"Hold on there, Jay, how are you doin'? How's your day going?'" Pogue asked.
"Somebody somewhere is having a much worse day than I am," the coach explained. "I mean, I'm coaching football in the Big 12 at West Virginia University! Come on now, what's not to get excited about that? Even at the other places those were golden opportunities because I know I'm not going to be able to do it forever, so why not enjoy it?"
Pogue was once a special education teacher in high school and the kids in the school he worked at always looked forward to his classes because his goal was to make learning fun.
Learning, work and fun don't always have to be mutually exclusive, the way Pogue sees things.
"We always got the lesson in," he said. "I tried to make it fun with whatever we did. The 'ugh" I've got to go to practice' or the 'ugh I've got to go to class …' I try to take that out of it. I want them to say, 'The one group I look forward to is Coach Pogue's.'"
Before the start of yesterday's practice, Pogue was right there on the ground doing up-downs with the other defensive players when they were defeated by the offensive players in a pre-practice contact drill.
Junior wide receiver T.J. Simmons was really giving it to Pogue by making sure he did all of his up-downs.
"What you guys didn't see was the day before they lost, and I was really talking trash to them," Pogue said. "He was using that as his big payback. He's a fun guy to be around."
The Will and Spear linebackers Pogue is overseeing are already taking to his positive approach to coaching and to life. He said couldn't be happier with the effort and enthusiasm they have given him so far this spring.
"The guys love to practice, and they take coaching really well," he said. "I don't think we've had to get on the guys once for loafing or not giving effort. They do a really good job with that and that's refreshing."
Refreshing - much like Coach Pogue, who you can often hear before you actually see him.
"We want to be a positive influence on the guys," he explained. "We want them to say, 'Wow, those guys are having fun doing what they're doing' – especially defensively. Let's have fun causing havoc and hopefully that spews over.
"We're going to work hard so why not have fun when you work hard? If they see that in me, hopefully, it will transfer to them," he said.
It already has.
Five-thirty in the A.M. arrives pretty quickly when you get to bed at 1, yet each morning when I arrived at the site I got an immediate pick-me-up.
My boss had one unconditional answer each time you asked him how he was doing.
"TERRIFIC!" he would say.
Sometimes he might change it up and reply "OUTSTANDING!" or maybe "FANTASTIC!" or perhaps even "MARVELOUS!" if his wife was in town, but it was always something positive, and it was said with great conviction and sincerity.
That guy I once worked for immediately came to mind after watching the video posted yesterday of West Virginia University assistant football coach Al Pogue on Twitter, he of the 100-watt smile and endless enthusiasm.
A special treat tonight! We mic'd up assistant coach Al Pogue at practice, and it does not disappoint.@coachalpogue#HailWV | #JuiceMan pic.twitter.com/u7FS5qrhKk
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) March 27, 2019
Each morning, Pogue tries to bring a little sunshine to everyone's day.
"If that's what you want to call it," he laughed. "That kind of stuff gets me in trouble with my wife, now. She loves it low-key, but I enjoy it. It's an opportunity for me to get out there and have some fun. They pay me to coach football, so why not enjoy it? I enjoy being with the kids. And this is a great place!"
Pogue says he was born with enthusiasm; it wasn't a learned trait.
"I was that kid the teacher used to say, 'Ah, he's a little hyper today Mrs. Pogue. I don't know?'" he grinned. "My wife says it, my mom says it and my teachers used to say it, my kids … it's just me, man."
It's also refreshing.
College football is a serious business these days conducted by mostly serious people. Coaches usually carry their burdens on their shirtsleeves, and it's often visible to those around them.
That's why athletic staff members usually keep their heads down and their small talk to a minimum when around coaches, as Jay Cunningham tried to do when he was tearing down the audio equipment following this morning's news conference in the team room.
Jay was just going about his business carrying stuff out of the room as he walked past Pogue without saying a word.
"Hold on there, Jay, how are you doin'? How's your day going?'" Pogue asked.
"Somebody somewhere is having a much worse day than I am," the coach explained. "I mean, I'm coaching football in the Big 12 at West Virginia University! Come on now, what's not to get excited about that? Even at the other places those were golden opportunities because I know I'm not going to be able to do it forever, so why not enjoy it?"
Pogue was once a special education teacher in high school and the kids in the school he worked at always looked forward to his classes because his goal was to make learning fun.
Learning, work and fun don't always have to be mutually exclusive, the way Pogue sees things.
"We always got the lesson in," he said. "I tried to make it fun with whatever we did. The 'ugh" I've got to go to practice' or the 'ugh I've got to go to class …' I try to take that out of it. I want them to say, 'The one group I look forward to is Coach Pogue's.'"
Before the start of yesterday's practice, Pogue was right there on the ground doing up-downs with the other defensive players when they were defeated by the offensive players in a pre-practice contact drill.
Junior wide receiver T.J. Simmons was really giving it to Pogue by making sure he did all of his up-downs.
"What you guys didn't see was the day before they lost, and I was really talking trash to them," Pogue said. "He was using that as his big payback. He's a fun guy to be around."
The Will and Spear linebackers Pogue is overseeing are already taking to his positive approach to coaching and to life. He said couldn't be happier with the effort and enthusiasm they have given him so far this spring.
"The guys love to practice, and they take coaching really well," he said. "I don't think we've had to get on the guys once for loafing or not giving effort. They do a really good job with that and that's refreshing."
Refreshing - much like Coach Pogue, who you can often hear before you actually see him.
"We want to be a positive influence on the guys," he explained. "We want them to say, 'Wow, those guys are having fun doing what they're doing' – especially defensively. Let's have fun causing havoc and hopefully that spews over.
"We're going to work hard so why not have fun when you work hard? If they see that in me, hopefully, it will transfer to them," he said.
It already has.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ FootballRich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
