News

The best gets better

Sore shoulder prompts Lostroh to seek expert advice

LOVELAND, Colo. (September 30, 2009) - For the past couple of weeks, questions have swirled around the health of Kody Lostroh’s riding arm.

The Colorado cowboy has insisted his now injured shoulder, which partially came out of the socket in successive weeks, is merely “sore.”

“I feel a lot different this week with getting some help from [bull riding instructor] Gary Leffew,” Lostroh said. “He showed me what I was doing wrong and I was just confident in the fact that I could fix my mistake and do better this week.”

Lostroh is widely regarded as one of the most technically correct and fundamentally sound riders competing on the Built Ford Tough Series.

However, because of the type of injury to his shoulder, it’s important for the 24 year old to not only lead with his shoulder, but drive his body forward, up and over his bull rope. The strain of getting back on his arm could cause the shoulder to come out of place again. Lostroh felt he needed some technical help.

With last weekend’s event taking place in Ontario, Calif., Lostroh headed west a day early to visit with Leffew, who lives in the central region of the state. Lostroh said, “It took an expert five minutes to point out what I was doing wrong, and fix it.”

The admission reignites the debate about coaches in the modern era of bull riding.

Earlier this year, Cody Lambert, Ty Murray, Adriano Moraes, Justin McBride and others expressed the opinion that coaches are a missing element in the sport.

The idea has met with resistance.

In a story earlier this year, Dustin Elliott was quoted as saying, “Maybe some guys need it, but I don’t think I’d benefit from it in any way, especially if I was paying for it. I room with the No. 1 guy in the world. I think he kind of knows his stuff.”

That guy? Kody Lostroh—the same “guy” who needed, in his own words, an “expert” to help identify a small, but significant error in his riding.

How significant?

Once the problem was corrected, Lostroh managed to win his fifth BFTS event of 2009 and extend his lead atop the standings to 1,107.5 points over Guilherme Marchi.

Though Elliott is sure to benefit from traveling with one of the top riders in the world, not everyone is able to room with the likes of Lostroh, or past champions such as Marchi, Chris Shivers and Mike Lee.

Adriano Moraes, the only three-time World Champion, said that competing at the highest level and maintaining that for entire season is “not just about riding ability.”

“I don’t think that Guilherme is very focused,” said Moraes. “He’s just having fun. I don’t think he’s very determined. I don’t think he thinks about bull riding every day.

“I believe that a guy like him is the one that really needs a coach. Imagine that guy with the guidance of a coach, which would give him a little bit more focus, a little bit more determination, a little bit more desire to win.”

“I bet he could increase 10 percent,” Moraes continued, “and imagine that guy increasing 10, 15 percent of his riding.”

Marchi, after his second-place finish in Ontario, is ranked second in the world, and happens to be the defending World Champion.

But historically, riders have been slow to change.

“I don’t think there will be coaches involved in any aspect,” Shane Proctor said. “Cowboys are just stubborn that way.”

While many riders are likely to echo Proctor and disagree with Lambert, Murray, Moraes and McBride, it may just be a matter of time.

Take helmets, for instance.

Initially, riders were very hesitant to wear anything other than the iconic cowboy hat. But years ago, Charlie Sampson wore a helmet. A few years back, Ross Coleman made the switch, and this season, numerous riders competing on the BFTS made the switch.
Coaches?

Perhaps the change is further along than anyone ever realized.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright