The starts have been great for the Riggers through two games but the endings are certainly not what this group wants.
The Roughnecks find themselves 0-2 after two weeks and in the midst of a 21-day break before their home-opener Dec. 30 (TICKETS).
The Riggers led 10-5 against Rochester and 4-3 against San Diego at the midway point and didn’t come out with a win in either case.
Roughnecks head coach Josh Sanderson says there are things they can do to get the desired results.
“We’re not happy with the record, that’s for sure,” he explained. “But we are working to get to a complete 60-minute game and once we get doing that the results will follow. We just weren’t good enough the first two games to get a win.
“I have to do a better job of getting them ready for the second half,” he continued. “I have to do a better job of making sure we start the second half like we have the first and we just have to keep getting better. I thought we were better in game two than the first game and we expect to be even better in game three.
“There is some new stuff that we are doing that they didn’t do last year so in fairness to the players we’re trying to get everything locked in and it isn’t quite there yet and I have to be better at having us ready.”
The reality of the league is that the team won’t be together fully until Dec. 29 when they practice before the game but there are things the group does to make sure they stay focused over the holiday break.
“With that much time off the guys know they have to be taking care of themselves at home,” Sanderson explained. “We only have so much time together over the break so there is a big point of emphasis on everybody doing what they have to do to prepare for the game.
“It’s tough over the holidays with Christmas but it’s part of the job and we expect everyone to be dialed in for the thirtieth.”
It will be a reunion for the new bench boss as he returns to the Rough House as a member of the team for the first time since 2010. He played for the Riggers from 2008-10 winning a title with the team in 2009. He was also named Champions Cup MVP.
Sanderson is excited to get back in front of Roughnecks fans.
“I’m super pumped to be in front of our home crowd,” he said. “I obviously have some great memories from being on the homeside so just looking forward to being back after being a visitor for quite a while so couldn’t be more excited for our players and our team having a chance to show our stuff in the home-opener.”
