The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2022 WHERE ARE THEY NOW? as much," Ruff noted. "Physical talent didn't matter. It was more about mental talent and the want-to and the ability to relate to people. A light clicked where I said, 'Hey, you're not going to make it running.' "And even if you get better, the most you're gonna make is maybe $20,000 a year, and some shoes here and there, which you can't live off of. So I had to tell myself that if I want to do this and be a part of the sport, coaching was it." Ruff has made multiple stops through- out his career, working at his high school and college alma maters. One of the most notable was his time as an assistant at Army West Point from 2011-15. What the cadets went through there was an experience that he considers among the highest honors of his career. "That experience was so unique and eye-opening," he said. "Those young men and women, they enter knowing that they're going to be in the Army, and they're going to be serving their coun- try for four or five, six years after they graduate from school. So they're going with a plan in mind. "To have that commitment as a 17- or 18-year-old is amazing to see. When I went to school, I still didn't know what I wanted to do. And these young men and women have everything almost laid out for them. And their acceptance of that is very tremendous." Ruff now is an assistant with the De- troit Mercy track and cross country pro- grams. For him, it is an opportunity to represent his home city and help change the narrative about what working in De- troit can do for someone. It is a burden that he welcomes with open arms and is more than happy to take on. "It's more difficult than I thought to get local kids," he said. "The thing that I realized is that the local kids want to go to a smaller, intimate school, but just not in Detroit. So they'll go to a school like Dayton. Then I find kids from Day- ton or Toledo that will come to Detroit Mercy. They're just exchanging neigh- borhoods. "Everybody wants to get away, but at the same time I can give a different perspective to those parents and those student-athletes that are interested in Detroit Mercy, because one of the first things they want to ask me is, 'Is it safe?' I try my best not to be offended by that question because the major cit- ies, in general, have their troubles with crime and things of that nature. "[Sometimes] I have to bite my tongue. Is it safe? Yes, it's safe if you're doing what you're supposed to do as a student and as a student-athlete to make it there. For me, the big responsibility is trying to take the black eye off of what people perceive when they think of the city of Detroit." Most alumni that are asked will reveal that the biggest thing they learned from their time at Michigan is to lean on the wide network of people it provides. Ruff sees the benefits of that network and is glad he gets to call himself a Wolverine. "I think the biggest thing that it taught me was don't drink the Kool- Aid," Ruff said. "It is not just about the name. I can talk to the University of Michigan now, but it's not necessarily about the name, it's about the connec- tions that you make. "And that's one of the great things about Michigan. It gave me a lot of con- nections and a lot in every aspect of life. Anytime that I need financial advice, housing advice, mental health advice, all of that, [Michigan has been there for me]. "So, I have connections that I can get into to really help me continue to grow and just blossom in life." ❑ The Rondell Ruff File Michigan Accomplishments: Two-time indoor distance medley relay Big Ten champion (2002, 2005) … Indoor national champion in the race in 2005 (2:56.3 in opening 1,200-meter leg) … All-American in the distance medley in 2005. Professional Accomplishments: Head coach at Henry Ford High School in Detroit (2007) … Volunteer assistant at Michigan (2008-09) … Graduate assistant at Saint Francis University (2009-11) … Assistant track and field coach at Army (2011-15) … Head coach at Wayne State (2015-17) … Assistant cross country/ track and field coach at Detroit Mercy (2018-present). Michigan Memory: "I was in dead last and trailing a freshman from Ohio State [in a distance medley relay in 2006] and was not going to let him beat me. So as I'm going to pass him, something just clicked in me and I felt good. I pass all the Ohio State kids and I move up to ninth or 10th place. "The leader is 100 meters in front of me. And after I passed that Ohio State kid, I passed everybody. [When I got to the end], I passed the baton off in second place right behind the leader and actually had a pretty good split. The lesson was to hang in there and stick it out. If you do what you are supposed to do, you will have the results you're supposed to have." Favorite Spot in Ann Arbor: "My favorite spot was The Union. That was always the meetup for us as a student union there. There used to be a Wendy's there. We would all just sit down there and hang out in the West quad. "Before classes and in between practice, I looked forward to going to the Stu- dent Union, because it was just a time to just catch up with folks that you don't see all the time because of classes and athletics." Education: Graduated as general studies major from Michigan in 2006, and earned his master's in educational leadership and administration from Saint Francis University in 2011. Family: Jacqueline (wife), Rondell Jr. (son) and Nora (daughter). Ruff parlayed his student-athlete experience at Michigan into a coaching career and is currently an assistant at the University of Detroit Mercy. PHOTO COURTESY DETROIT MERCY ATHLETICS