.jpg)
Former Assistant Rhodenizer Steps Into Head Role
For the first time, a Rockbridge County High School alumnus will be the school’s head football coach. Last week, Rockbridge County Public Schools announced that Zack Rhodenizer, a 2007 RC graduate and a former assistant coach, will lead the Wildcats on the gridiron.
The announcement was made at the Rockbridge County School Board meeting on Tuesday of last week.
Rhodenizer, 35, replaces Martin Cox, who coached the Wildcats for the last three years, going 6-24 overall. This will be Rhodenizer’s first head coaching job, after serving as an assistant coach at Staunton River High School in Moneta, at RC, and then at Washington and Lee University.
On his decision to apply for the position, Rhodenizer said, “Obviously, I’m an alum … Football, just from a community standpoint here in Rockbridge, has always been important to me. When I became a teacher and had the opportunity to come back, early on that goal was, at some point I’d like to step up and lead, and not necessarily as a head coach right away, but that was the general goal. The longer I spent in coaching, the more I thought, I’d like to be a head coach someday.
“The opportunity to come back and coach at home is special,” added Rhodenizer. “That, I think, was probably the number one driver. This is where I’m from. It’s the program that made me. It’s the program that I want to get back to.”
Praising the new coach, RC athletic director Adam Haynes said in a press release, “Coach Rhodenizer is a highly motivated, organized, and high-energy guy, with a lot of passion for the game of football and Rockbridge County. Being a product from Rockbridge County, and this football program, Coach Rhodenizer has a lot of pride in our school and community and wants to bring that pride back to Wildcat Football.” “ “We feel that Coach Rhodenizer is the right person to lead our football program here at Rockbridge County High School,” added Haynes. “We look forward to witnessing his version of Wildcat Football.”
Rhodenizer knows a lot of the football players already because he is a chemistry teacher at the high school and the chair of the school’s science department. “I haven’t stopped teaching, so I feel like I have a little jumpstart on some of the kids,” he said.
He previously served as the program’s assistant coach for five seasons, from 2017 to 2022, under then-head coach Mark Poston. He worked with the defense for one season and spent the other four seasons as the offensive coordinator. Poston stepped down in January 2022, and Cox brought in a new staff the following fall.
In the spring 2021 season, postponed from the previous fall and condensed due to COVID19, the Wildcats had their first undefeated regular season in program history. They went 6-0 during the regular season, going 5-0 in the Valley District to win their first outright district title in program history, before losing to Heritage in the Region 3C semifinals. The Wildcats are switching from the Valley District to the Shenandoah District, with shorter travel distances, this coming school year.
Over the last three years, Rhodenizer has been a volunteer assistant coach for the W&L football team, coaching wide receivers and working on the passing game. Under the direction of head coach Garrett Le-Rose, the Generals went 20-12 in those three years, making two bowl game appearances. W&L lost to Lycoming College in the Cape Charles Bowl in November 2023, but the Generals earned their first postseason win last November by beating Wilkes University 40-21 in the Cape Henry Bowl.
Prior to coaching for Mark Poston at RC, Rhodenizer spent three years as an assistant coach for Mark’s brother Chuck at Staunton River, working with the varsity and junior varsity teams and also helping with the middle school program.
“I learned how to spot, and I learned how to be an assistant,” said Rhodenizer of his time at Staunton River. “Then here [at RC] I was given a little more responsibility, and I got to cocoordinate the passing game. [Mark] Poston was the offensive coordinator, but I co-coordinated with him, but he taught me. He was a mentor.”
While a student at RC, Rhodenizer only played football for one year, his senior year, but it was a big year. In the fall of 2006, with Rhodenizer as outside linebacker, the Wildcats won the district and regional championships and made a run to the Group AA, Division 3 state championship game, where they fell to Richlands 29-28. The Wildcats’ coach at that time was Jason White.
Prior to his senior year, Rhodenizer had played little league football. At RC, he also played baseball and ran track.
After high school, Rhodenizer attended Liberty University and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in biology-pre-med in 2013. He didn’t play football at Liberty, but he was on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu team for all four years, where he also got his first taste of coaching.
Rhodenizer then got his master of arts in teaching through Liberty, and he later did some graduate work in chemistry remotely through the University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut.
In his years as an assistant coach, Rhodenizer said, he learned a lot from other coaches. “All of the coaches I have worked for have been great mentors, great leaders,” he said. I’m very fortunate to have been on good staffs.”
The Wildcats are coming off a 2-8 season last fall, going 2-4 in the Valley District, following a 0-10 campaign in 2023. Their last winning season was the spring 2021 season under Mark Poston, with Rhodenizer as an assistant coach.
Looking to the future of the program, Rhodenizer said, “What we have to do from a rebuild standpoint, from a turnit- around standpoint, is we’ve got to focus on the things that we can control. We have to be fundamentally sound. We have to make sure that we understand our jobs and we execute our jobs and we play together as a team. That starts with fundamentals, but even before that, that starts right now with off-season weight workouts. That starts with recruiting.”
Last Wednesday, Rhodenizer and Dan Taylor, an assistant coach for the Wildcats the last three years, visited both local middle schools, and Rhodenizer had an interest meeting on Thursday with high school students. He was planning to start weightlifting with prospective players on Monday.
Through the efforts of Cox, Taylor and another assistant coach, Joey Jones, the Maury River Middle School football program returned last fall and had a successful season. “From all reports, they’ve done a stellar job,” said Rhodenizer.
Rhodenizer said he’ll be getting his staff together in the near future.
On the Wildcats switching to the Shenandoah District, Rhodenizer said, “I did watch a lot of the Shenandoah last year because we were recruiting some kids out of that district at Washington and Lee. The Shenandoah’s a tough district. I’ve got a lot of respect for the programs up there. Pretty much everybody in that district is gonna be a top 25 percent team in their classification.”
One of the strong things about the Shenandoah District is that a lot of the schools have feeder programs. “I’m happy we’re able to compete with them,” said Rhodenizer.
Rhodenizer and his wife of 11 years, Kessley, have a daughter, Maven, who is 4 1/2 years old.
Football is in Rhodenizer’s blood. He’s the oldest of four children, with a sister who is a middle school teacher and another sister in college. His younger brother, Ben, a 2018 RC graduate, was a quarterback for RC and then at Shenandoah University. While Ben was at RC, Zack got the chance to coach him.
Hopeful for the Wildcats’ future, Rhodenizer said, “I really want us to get to the point where kids want to play because the program gives them more than just football. Football’s more than just that game. It’s got a lot of life lessons that go along with it. It’s got a fraternity that goes along with it of coaches and players that support you long after you hang your jersey up.”
“I’m a program-focused individual,” added Rhodenizer. “If they don’t ever say my name, I’m fine with that. I just want our program to be something that our kids benefit from being a part of, and that’s really the emphasis that I want to push.”
