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U.S. defensive coordinator Robert Tucker excited to be home for 2015 tournament
International football is nothing new for Robert Tucker.
A former club coach in France, Tucker coordinated the French defense at the 2011 International Federation of American Football World Championship.
Now, Tucker is back home in the United States, recently leaving West Hills Community College to take a head coaching job at Los Angeles Valley College.
And while Canton, Ohio, and the 2015 IFAF World Championship are 2,300 miles from his sunny Southern California campus, he’s also closer to home this summer as the U.S. Men’s National Team defensive coordinator.
“There’s a little more (emotion) coming through when it’s your home country,” he said. “It definitely hits your heart. It gives you a definite love and passion for what you’re going to do.”
Tucker said passion for American football is “truly amazing” in France, and that 2011 was rewarding to work with a group of players who were eager to learn.
“They soak up everything,” he said. “It’s remarkable to see. The guys who do it truly do it for the love of the game. They’re not doing it for money, they’re not doing it for fame.”
Coaching internationally helped Tucker improve how he communicates with players. Through dealing with a language barrier, he found his greatest success by being meticulous and specific with directions – an approach he continues to implement.
The approach has worked. In his first and only year as head coach at West Hills, he took over a 2-8 team and posted a school record 10 wins in 2014.
Though pleased to have had the international experience, Tucker is honored to be given the chance to coach the American team, where he will be reunited with U.S. head coach Dan Hawkins. Tucker’s first college job was on Hawkins’ staff at Willamette University in 1997, and the duo also worked together at Boise State and Colorado.
Tucker will get to know his players when the United States hosts a 10-day training camp at the University of Akron to prepare for the July 9-18 tournament at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
Photo: U.S. defensive coordinator Robert Tucker (second from right) served the same role for France in the 2011 IFAF World Championship.
