PUEBLO, Colo. – 2022 Rookie of the Year Bob Mitchell has never spent more than a handful of weeks sitting out because of an injury, so Mitchell was pretty ticked off when Kansas City Outlaws coach J.W. Hart left him off the Kansas City Outlaw’s event roster for Freedom Fest this past September.
“I was hurting pretty bad, and when he sat me out in Oklahoma City, it hit me hard,” Mitchell admitted during the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship. “I was like, ‘Holy crap.’ It set me back and made me really realize how bad I wanted it and how much it hurt sitting back watching my team.”
Mitchell and Hart had a somewhat love-hate relationship over the first half of the PBR Team Series season you could say.
Both young bull rider and grizzled coach were learning how to approach the inaugural PBR Team Series.
“It was something we kind of had to learn,” Mitchell admitted. “This whole team deal was a big learning curve because I rode at a couple Velocity events last year and then jumped into UTB. Then all of a sudden jumping into this Teams. Everything was a big learning curve, and it was a hassle just getting used to it. By the end we kind of bonded and gotten a lot better relationship. It is more like a family now. But it was new at first to have somebody because it used to always be just yourself, and J.W. was just a contractor.”
Hart admits he had to evolve as a coach too, and early on he would struggle to get his message across to Mitchell, and the 19-year-old would sometimes be unresponsive or fail to communicate what he was struggling with.
“Bob has matured a lot this year,” Hart said. “After our first meeting, I didn’t want him. I was like, ‘What did I do?’ I didn’t want to (leave) him home, but I had about had it. Things had to come to a realization that something had to snap. I didn’t know how it was going to work. You used to not be able to get him to answer a call or get a text. He would lay down his phone in the morning and wouldn’t pick it up until night. Now it is an open communication and we have bonded and come together.”
Mitchell decided that weekend of Freedom Fest to go compete at an amateur bull riding to attempt to snap out of his 2-for-9 slump.
The Steelville, Missouri, native knew what he needed to do, and he agreed being left off the KC event roster in Oklahoma City was a good turning point for him.
“I was supposed to be sitting out and getting healthy, but I was like, ‘No, I am going to take some bulls and get on and get back to the basics. That helped me wonders. That helped us a lot. We are realizing what each other needs and stuff and it is helping us a lot. I feel like at first, he was pretty strict and he didn’t want me to go to other deals, but we have learned I have to get on all the time to stay in shape.”
Mitchell went on to finish the season 5-for-10 for the Outlaws, including an 88.25-point ride on UTZ BesTex Solutions Red Clark in the postseason against Carolina.
Hart was proud of Mitchell’s finish to the 2022 PBR Team Series season, and Mitchell agreed to a one-year extension with Kansas City toward the end of the season to keep him on the roster in 2023.
Mitchell is happy with how his coach pushed him to be better, and he said having a PBR Ring of Honor inductee like Hart in his corner is a big confidence booster.
“To be drafted and be picked by J.W., or any of the coaches, really should give you confidence because that is some of the best guys in the world who have confidence in you that believe you can really help and provide for the team,” Mitchell said. “That really boosts your confidence. I like the way J.W. puts it. He is there to help you with whatever you need. He is not pushy. He is not nothing. He is strictly there to help you with whatever you need. That is what helps us a lot. It is not like do it this way or else you are done. He works with us. That helps us a lot too.”
Mitchell even was baptized this year by Hart’s wife, LeAnn, following a Kansas City Outlaws practice ahead of the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship.
“I didn’t even know what was going on at first,” Mitchell said with a laugh. “We got out there for camp, and we just got done getting on practice bulls, and I was packing up my gear bag and LeAnn came over and said she was baptizing Dustin (Martinez) and I had been wanting to do it since I was kid. My parents believed you don’t do it as a kid, but you grow up and make the choice for yourself. My dad used to give a lot of sermons too. So, I figured here is my chance. I couldn’t do it in a better spot than with my teammates.”
Kansas City went 12-16 in the regular season before being eliminated from the postseason in Round 1 in Vegas with a loss against Carolina and failing to advance out of the Last Chance Game against Missouri and Oklahoma.
Mitchell won the 2022 PBR Rookie of the Year title after going 14-for-45 (31.11%) on the Unleash The Beast and finishing 21st in the world standings, which led to Hart and company selecting him with the 29th pick of the 2022 PBR Team Series inaugural draft. He then went 10-for-26 (38.46%) for the Outlaws.
The now second-year pro is ready to keep pushing forward in 2023 as he is set to make his Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour debut this Saturday at the Ouncie Mitchell Memorial Bull Riding in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Cowtown Coliseum (8:30 p.m. ET RidePass on Pluto TV).
Mitchell said he is feeling good for the upcoming season despite dealing with a cartilage tear in his right hip and on-going, sprained riding wrist.
“Heck yeah, I am still going,” Mitchell concluded. “The longest I ever sat out was when I hurt my shoulder this year and I sat out for two or three weeks and that scared the crap out of me. If I get surgery, I have to sit out 3 or 4 months and I have never done that. As of right now, I am not planning on getting surgery.”
SATURDAY TO FEATURE MULTIPLE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS
The Saturday night bull riding at Cowtown Coliseum will be the capper on a full day of Western sports activities. The slate includes a Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo event, a Bulls Gone Wild bullfighting competition and fundraising efforts supporting A’nyla Allen, the 4-year-old daughter of bull rider Ouncie Mitchell, who passed away in September.
Fans who aren’t able to take in the action-packed lineup inside of Cowtown Coliseum Saturday are able to support via online auction and donation opportunities featured within the Ouncie Mitchell Support page.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
