Author: C.J. Aragon

For high school seniors there are plenty of opportunities to earn scholarships. Here are a few tips that I think may help as you look to find the school that is the right fit for you.
I just want to keep it real. Less than six percent of all student athletes are on a full ride scholarship. Not rodeo students, all student athletes, every sport, every college. Football, basketball, baseball all sports combined amount to less than six percent on true full ride scholarships. And when you really look at the full ride scholarships, they are in the big revenue sports such as football, and basketball, the sports that fill stadiums and generate revenue for the schools. Rodeo has never filled a 100,000 seat stadium six or eight times a year like an SEC football team will. Scholarships are there, full rides are scarce.
The dollar amount of the scholarship should not be the determining factor for your choice of schools. I know students that made the choice based simply on dollars. They took a $3,000 scholarship to Rodeo Time University where tuition is $12,000 per year and turned down a scholarship of $2,000 to Rodeo Tech College where tuition is only $4,000 per year. They took $500 more in scholarship money but the choice really cost them thousands of dollars. Look at the big picture and make wise decisions.
Many times the schools that make the best offers scholarship wise, have the least to offer in other areas. Check out the dorms, the academic programs you are interested in, the practice facilities, the stalls, the coaches. How many times a week you can practice. How long do you practice in the fall and spring seasons. Does the school offer tutors for you, athletic trainers. Will your classes transfer to other schools? How big is the team? Make sure you are a good fit for the school and the school is a good fit for you.
There are a lot of other scholarships available. From having attended three different colleges and working at a couple as well, there is much more money available in academic scholarships than there are in athletic scholarships at every college you will look at. From your freshman year of high school on, your high school grades can help or hurt you when applying for scholarships when you get to college. When combined with athletic scholarships, academic scholarships can be huge, they can truly help you earn that full-ride. Many of the students that I have had that had the best scholarships were on rodeo scholarships combined with academic scholarships. You are a student athlete first, and if you truly are, there can be financial rewards.
Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Local scholarships. High School Rodeo Scholarships. Foundation scholarships. Search for scholarships on the internet. There are thousands of scholarships available if you are willing to put in a little work. Don’t be afraid to write a few essays, or fill out some applications. I know several students who have earned over $5,000 for just a little effort in applying for scholarships.
Know the employees in your colleges Financial Aid Office on a first name basis. If they know you are willing to apply and put forth effort to get additional scholarships they will help you out.
By NIRA rules Letters of Intent cannot be signed until March 1st of your senior year. Start the recruiting process now contact the programs you are interested in now. Visit schools, visit coaches, do your research on the school and rodeo programs. When March 1st rolls around you should have a good idea of which school you are interested in attending. Don’t be fooled or pressured into signing your LOI before March 1st.
Once you land a scholarship on a rodeo team make yourself an asset to the team. Get good grades, chances are you can earn an academic scholarship in the future. Score lots of points, you may earn a better rodeo scholarship. Treat college like a job, and be a great employee, chances are you may get a raise in some form of a scholarship.
Final thought—Scholarships are a privilege not a right. When you receive a scholarship it is fair that the coach/college have expectations for you to do well in the classroom and in the arena. You need to be a good student, a good athlete and a good representative for the school. If you don’t hold up your end of the deal, don’t expect the college to keep you around.

There is a transition from high school rodeo to college rodeo and from college rodeo to pro rodeo. For a select few the transition is seamless and hardly noticeable. For the majority there are some growing pains on making the transition.
Most student athletes at the college level were recruited for their talent and their potential to rise to the next level. Every year college coaches from around the country recruit students on their past accomplishments but most importantly on their potential.
Most of the highly recruited students were very successful in high school rodeo but that does not translate to success at the college or professional level.
So what is the difference between those who make the transition and those who don’t?
Comfort Zones.
Those who experience success will often fall into a comfort zone. It is easy to be complacent when you dominate at an early level. It is easy to get comfortable winning. What you do in the practice pen works, it is comfortable. What you do in the arena works, you win, and it is comfortable. You fall in to a comfort zone.
Then you have to step up to the next level. There will be a majority students who were successful at the high school level competing at the college level. Those who are willing to step out of their comfort zone will be the ones that progress the quickest.
To step out of your comfort zone you can’t be afraid to fail. Every World Champion has failed, and it was not comfortable for them. They have failed in trying great things, trying to win. They then used the experience to become better and improve themselves.
You have to be focused on a goal to step out of a comfort zone. It is easy to go to the practice pen and stay as good as you were when you showed up. To really improve and grow you need to be focused on improving and getting better every day. Don’t waste your energy and effort to just stay as good as you are, work to improve daily.
Comfort zones can include your practice habits, your practice cattle or those you practice with.
If you have any doubt about your practice habits have someone who competes at a high level in another sport come watch you practice. Let them ask you questions on why you do things, how you do things. Many times they can pick up on small changes you can make to be better. Many times when you get to college your college coach will also pick up on the good and the bad of your practice habits.
Make sure you have a variety of practice cattle. Have some that will challenge you. Don’t always run the pups or get on horses and bulls you know you can cover. Because you can cover the hopper every day in the practice pen, doesn’t mean you are ready for the rank one at the rodeo.
Find people that are better than you to practice with. Many are intimidated to go practice with those who are better than them, don’t be. They were once where you are, and they can help you get where they are. Watch them and learn from them.
Step out of your comfort zone.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

Practice should be a process to improve daily. Unfortunately the majority of people just practice to practice. They have no daily plan to execute to get better. They will run a lot of cattle with or no improvement. They waste a lot of runs on the cattle and on their horses. Every day in a new practice session, the do not build on the previous day’s practice. They will eventually improve but most of the time it is by blind luck. The improvements are unpredictable and difficult to replicate.
So why is it important to have a process in place?
Those who improve the most and the most efficiently have a process to their practices. They work on improving daily. Each run is an opportunity to improve and is treated as such. They do not waste runs on the cattle or on their horses. They don’t expect to make great changes or improvements by accident. They understand that by having a process in place, they will see a continued and gradual improvement every day. The process will lead to these students spending more time roping the dummies and spending time on the practice machines. They are not afraid to rope the Heel-O-Matic. They will spend the time on the small details to improve.
Because of the plan they can build on the successes from the previous day’s practices. They can learn from their previous mistakes instead of repeating them daily. Improvements are predictable and easy to replicate because of the process used to create them.
So how do you start a process for improvement?
The first step is to understand that the quickest way to improve is through repeated small improvements. Do not expect major improvements overnight. The process is what it is, it is a process. The more work you are willing to put into the process of improving the greater the results you will see. Generate plan for your practices and stick with it. You may not see the improvements right away but if you stick with your plan you will start to see the improvements. Continue to build on the improvements, find what works for you and your learning style and utilize the resources you have.
Gradually build your process of improvement. Try not to fall back in to your comfort zone practices. Challenge yourself to make small improvements. As part of the process recognize the small improvements and use that as motivation to keep making further improvements.
Start developing a process to improve.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

The National High School Finals Rodeo is one of my favorite rodeos of the year. There are not many rodeos you can go to and see students from around the world try to win championships. The energy these student put forth to reach their goals is exciting to watch. The youthful passion is contagious and there is excitement every performance. If you have a chance you should go.

It is the largest rodeo in the world, and like most every rodeo there are more people that leave disappointed than satisfied in the results. For the true competitors, the road does not end at the high school finals. Sure the journey to win a high school championship will end for most in disappointment. There are only a few lucky enough to win the championships. For many of these students they have invested so much time and energy on reaching their goals. The defeat at the high school finals can be a defining moment for these students.
Students can learn from their experience and use it to cultivate their competitive spirit for future events. The high school finals rodeo is one of the best learning opportunities that many students will attend. They get to compete against the best high school athletes from around the world. It is a measuring stick on where you are with your current skill set and how far you need to go the compete at the highest level.
Truth is there are not many of the WNFR qualifiers that won high school national championships. Most of these PRCA World Champions and WNFR qualifiers competed at the high school finals and their experience did not end the way they would have liked. These competitors used the high school finals rodeo as a spring board for their careers. They took the disappointment from not doing well at the high school finals and used it in a positive way to improve. Their approach to their future was not defined by their performance at one rodeo.
All of the competitors at the high school finals will have a chance to respond to their performance at the high school national finals. There are approximately 1,500 contestants at the high school national finals rodeo this year. In future years you will see many of these contestants competing at the WNFR and winning World Championships.
The students that will rise to the top are the ones that will refocus their goals and energies on their new goals. They were not satisfied just competing at the high school finals rodeo. Shortly after the high school finals rodeo these contestants set their sights and expectations on college rodeo and competing professionally. The learned from their experiences and use them to make progress in the future.
High school championships are great, but the majority of the future PRCA champions will have faced adversity at the high school level. Not many of them will have won a high school national championship, but their experiences at the high school finals have helped them become the champions they are today.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

article by C.J. Aragon, 2010 NIRA Coach-of-the-Year, Odessa College Rodeo Coach

Each year as the college rodeo season starts, we ask our students to step up their game and improve. As coaches we want to see studen
ts be successful, we want to see them improve, and we want to see them compete at a higher level. This is what is so exciting about the beginning of the season to see how much students can improve.
Most Coaches know, and have a feel for the talent level of students and will ask students to do things that will help them reach their potential. However some of the most improved students each year are not the most talented on the roster. The most improved students are usually the ones with the best attitude, and willing to make a daily commitment to improving.
Some students have a great attitude and embrace the challenge presented to them by their coaches. These are the students that set high goals for themselves and are willing to work hard to reach their goals. They are willing and excited to work hard in practice every day. These are the students that coaches love to have in any sport. These type of students have made a commitment to themselves, their team and their coaches and are willing to do what is needed to be successful. They may not be the most talented but these students usually rise to the top fairly quickly.
These type have a “Can do attitude.” When you get these type of students you are excited to see them grow and reach their potential.
On the other hand there are students who will tell coaches “I can’t.” When the talent is there and students say “I can’t” do that what is simply means is that the student simply will not make the commitment and put forth the effort to reach their potential. Their attitude has determined their potential and how much they can improve. These students will rely on their talent and usually will not work hard consistently in practice. Their attitude will go farther in determining their success than their talent.
The attitude and commitment is a critical determining factor in your success in any sport. Students with a great attitude and a commitment to improve will be easier to coach, and work harder to be successful.
It is much easier to coach a student with a great attitude and a commitment to improve.
Too many students come to college relying on their talent. Students who have a positive attitude, a commitment to improve and a good work ethic the will find their way to the top over those with talent and a poor attitude.
Your attitude may be one of the most essential keys to your success. Make sure you have a good one.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014, 2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

article by C.J. Aragon,
Odessa College Rodeo Coach

Rodeo is the ultimate accountability sport. The principle of accountability in rodeo is very simple you are responsible for your results. If you are winning you are responsible, if you are losing you are still responsible. Rodeo is a sport where your performance dictates your accountability. Pretty simple concept for most to understand.
With many however it seems to be easier to defer accountability and use excuses. Here are just a few that I hear often.

“I drew badly and didn’t win.”
“The ground was terrible.”
“The judges don’t like me.”
“My horse didn’t work.

There are many more I could add to the list but these are some of the most popular. For those who use them I have some simple responses…
The draw is the same for everyone, everyone will draw good at times and bad at times. Sure, you will not always draw an animal that you can win on, but you can do your part to make the best possible run or ride on what you have drawn. If you find yourself using the draw as an excuse repeatedly, maybe you are not prepared and need to hold yourself accountable.
For those who complain about the ground, chances are if it was bad for you it was bad for others as well. The winners likely found ways to work around the ground conditions. Don’t let this be a constant excuse or start entering places where the conditions favor you.
If the judges don’t like you find out why. Is it your attitude towards them? Is it something you say or do? Is it the level or respect you show the judges? Could it simply be they see your riding differently than you do? You can’t control the judges, however you can control your actions in and out of the arena which may help you with the judges in the future. Be accountable and act professional and chances are you will see a difference.
Your horses didn’t work at the rodeo? If this is a regular excuse you need to use maybe you should find someone who can help you with your horsemanship skills. Be accountable and improve your skills.
Accountability is one of the building blocks of a successful athlete. In rodeo this is especially true, you are solely accountable for your actions in and out of the arena. (You can blame your partner in the team roping, but who made the decision to enter with them?) Those who embrace accountability and use it as a tool to get better will excel in all areas.
As a coach I remind students that they are accountable in many areas of their life. Students are accountable for their grades. As athletes they are responsible for their performance in the arena and the practice pen. In reality you are accountable for everything you have control over in your life.
Rodeo is not like many other sports, you have no teammates that can cover a bad performance. You are truly accountable for your actions and decisions. You either embrace accountability or make excuses, accountability leads to progress, and excuses lead to the need for more excuses in the future.
Embrace accountability and you will be on your way to success.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014, 2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

article by C.J. Aragon,
2010 NIRA Coach-of-the-Year, Odessa College Rodeo Coach

As a coach I always get asked what I think students need to be ready to be on a college team. After many years of coaching and keeping notes from meetings here is a list of things I think students need to be aware of to step up to college level competition. They are in no particular order…
1. Set goals and work towards them. This will be your roadmap to success. If you don’t have goals you are just dreaming of being good. You hear it all the time for good reason, setting goals works.
2. Stay focused at practice. Just showing up to practice is not enough. Have a plan and use practice to improve every day. Your goals should be directly tied to your focus at practice.
3. Challenge yourself at practice. You will see bigger improvements when you challenge yourself daily. Don’t just run the good cattle or get on rough stock you know you can ride. Challenge yourself in practice.
4. Don’t be the one whining about practice or coaches. If you have the opportunity to practice make the most of it, there are others who would love to be in your place. Utilize your coaches and practice opportunities.
5. Go to bed before midnight. Get your rest. Go to class and practice charged up and ready to go to work. If you want to be a professional cowboy this is your job, treat it as one.
6. Don’t be the students who only practice hard the day or a few days before a rodeo. You will not make improvements practicing the just a day or two before a competition. You will see better results if the work is done months and weeks in advance.
7. Give 100% in practice. If you are not giving 100% in practice you are wasting your practice and taking practice time away from others. Practice as intense as you compete.
8. Drinking and partying. A lot of talented athletes are beat before they ever step inside the arena because of their drinking and partying habits. You may think it doesn’t affect you, someday you will realize you are wrong.
9. Quit worrying about your competitors. Go to the rodeo and take care of your business, don’t worry about everyone else’s.
10. Students who only work on their strengths in practices. Work on every aspect of your event or events not just your strengths. Be aware of your weaknesses and improve them.
11. Don’t make excuses. If you didn’t do well figure it out, make adjustments and improve. Excuses do not help you improve.
12. Not going to class. For high school and college students this is a must. Take care of your business in the classroom so that you can compete at the rodeos.
13. Students need to take constructive criticism from the coach/parent well. Instead you believe you are getting picked on. Coaches and parents want to see you do well, they are trying to help you be your best. Be coachable.
14. Skipping practices and taking days off. Make sure your work ethic is on the same level as your goals. At some point your actions speak louder than words or goals you have. Your actions should be on par with your goals.
15. Don’t be the one going to rodeos for the social aspect. If you are going to the rodeo to hang out with friends and make a social event of your trip, YOU are the added money.
16. Believe what other contestants tell you about your draw. Keep your own list, watch the start for yourself, and watch the stock for yourself. Keep your own list, do your own homework.
17. You should not expect to do something at a rodeo that you haven’t already done in practice. Don’t expect to do things at a rodeo that you can’t do, or are not willing to do in practice. Do great things in the practice pen and you will start to see great things happen at rodeos. Dream big and practice hard to get there.
18. You need to spend time in the weight room. You are an athlete and if you want to be at the top of your game you need to treat yourself as one. There are benefits for you no matter what event you compete in.
19. Don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend that distracts you from your goals. Just don’t let this be you.
20. Learn time management skills. Learn to manage your time and run a schedule. Classes, Practice, Work, Gym, Sleep and anything else on your schedule need to managed and prioritized. Set your priorities and manage your time well.
To be a valuable asset to a rodeo program you will need to contribute to the team. Hopefully this list will help.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014, 2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

article by C.J. Aragon,
2010 NIRA Coach-of-the-Year, Odessa College Rodeo Coach

From what I have witnessed as a coach, those who work hard win. It is that simple. There are no big secrets about it, and the formula will hold true in all aspects of your life. If you work hard and diligently you will be successful. It may take time, there will still be ups and downs, but hard work will always lead you to a better place.
I have seen talented students not reach their potential because they were not willing to work. I have watched as students with marginal talent simply outworked the competition and found ways to win. Hard work is a great equalizer of talent.
Many of today’s top rodeo high school and college athletes think they will get by on talent. They were successful in high school on talent, and they expect the same results in college and even on the professional level. As an athlete you will progress through the levels of rodeo from high school, college and on to professional, two things will noticeably increase, the talent level of the competitors and the amount of work they put in their craft to compete at a high level. Many high school, college and professional rodeo contestants believe they can be a rodeo star, but they are not willing to do the basic work that it takes to ascend to the next level of competition.
Successful work habits are not just in the arena, they should carry over to all aspects of your life. You should work hard in the classroom. Successful work habits should carry over when you are being paid for your time. Working hard is a great habit to develop and use every day.
Here is a simple question I pose to many of my student athletes every year. “Are you the hardest worker on this team?” If you are the hardest worker on the team you are setting the bar for everyone else. If they answer that they are not the hardest worker on the team, the question is a simple one. Why Not?
Can you honestly expect to beat someone like Trevor Brazil if you are not willing to out-work him? If you honestly believe that, you had better be phenomenally talented and extremely lucky. You can choose most of the top rodeo athletes, and none of them are there by accident. The qualifiers to the WNFR have put in weeks, days and hours of work to get where they are. Don’t let the brief time you watch them in the arena fool you. For every second you watch there is a long and dedicated story of hard work that got them to that point.
One of the basic goals that everyone needs to have is to be a hard worker. By being a hard worker you are dedicating yourself to being better at your craft. Your dedication will be contagious and you will find like-minded people will soon surround you.
Most competitors wish for success, those who truly want it will WORK for it.
C.J. Aragon was named the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014, 2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.

article by C.J. Aragon,
Odessa College Rodeo Coach

Last week I had a recruit on campus and partway through the campus tour he said that he wasn’t sure he wanted to go to college, and that he thought he would just start going pro rodeos. Then he asked me my thoughts on going to college. I am not sure he was ready for what I had to tell him.
My first advise was this: if you are not serious about earning a degree and are just going to college to rodeo, don’t pretend to be a college student, you will not do well and it can hurt you later when you may want to really go to college.
Competing in College Rodeo is a great opportunity. Here are just a few of my thoughts on the benefits of college rodeo.
College is a place where you can discover what you want to do in the future. Many times your career path that you chose when you graduated is not the same one a semester or two into college. By being able to take classes that you choose, you are able to explore your options. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and take classes that you are interested in. Just because you are a Kinesiology major don’t be afraid to take a business class.
College rodeo gives you a great chance to network which will help you either as a professional cowboy or as a business professional in the future. Many of the people that I competed against in college rodeo have gone on to be very successful and those contacts still benefit me today. Some have been to the WNFR many times, others have become very successful in the business world either way they people you meet in college rodeo can be an great resource. You never know what paths you may cross with the people you meet during your college rodeo career.
In college you will learn some lessons that will help you in all aspects of your life. One of the first lessons you need to learn is to manage your time. For a lot of students the first lesson is the one that is the downfall of their college and later professional careers. Your development of time management skills will prove to be valuable. As a college rodeo athlete you need to manage your class and study time, practice time and social life. Your prioritization of these will go a long way in determining your success as a student and an athlete and even later in life. The sooner you can learn this lesson the better.
College rodeo is a stepping stone; the competition is a step up from high school rodeo and a step below pro rodeo. If you have dreams and aspirations of making it on the pro level you should be able to have plenty of success on the collegiate level, if not you need to take that time to continue to build yourself up to the pro level. Use your time in college to get an education in the classroom and in the arena, both will serve you well.
Just remember there are only a handful of PRCA World Champions who made the jump from high school straight to the professional level. You can find a very long list of contestants that came up through the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association that have gone on to have successful professional careers in the arena and in life that took advantage of their time at college
Just don’t pretend to be a college student.

C.J. Aragon was named the 2008-2011 Grand Canyon Region Coach-of-the-Year. 2014-2015 WJCAC Coach-of-the-Year, 2016 Southwest Region Coach-of-the-Year, and 2010 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Coach-of-the-Year.