PUEBLO, Colo. – If the Missouri Thunder have one advantage over the other PBR Team Series teams, it’s co-head coach Ross Coleman.
He’s passionate, he’s loud, and according to co-head coach Luke Snyder, he’s the best motivator in sports.
“I get excited. I definitely get excited,” Coleman admitted with a laugh on PBR Now. “But that’s just me. It’s funny because I talk to the bull riders a lot, and I’m always like, ‘The TV, all the cameras and all the big money and all the fame and everything out there, it’s all a distraction.’ I get excited, and I don’t mind the cameras being around. I get all jacked up, and I get in their ear, but I try to be positive, and I try to get them motivated. I love everything about this job, and I love everything about the PBR, and why not get excited, huh? Get pumped up and go stick it on one.”
As the new PBR Team Series season approaches, the Thunder are getting pumped up for the PBR Team Series Draft on May 17 in Fort Worth, Texas (6 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV). Not only do they have the No. 3 overall pick, but they also have three picks total – more than most other squads.
“You’re going to see some familiar faces, first of all, but then Ross and I have some tricks up our sleeves to beef up the team a little bit,” Snyder said. “We have the luxury of having three picks in the draft this year. We’re excited. Ross has been working so hard with the existing bull riders, and we’re at the combine right now. We’re kind of weathering out a thunderstorm right now, but we’ve got some fantastic talent that we’re getting to see right now.”
Snyder points out that this year’s combines – a series of three events held in Pueblo, Colorado; Archdale, North Carolina; and Fort Worth, Texas – were an ideal way to get a good look at some new talent.
“There’s a lot we’re looking at, and we have the luxury at these combines to do one-on-one interviews and get to know these guys on a more personal level,” Snyder said. “We get to run them through the Ryzer test, which is what Tom Brady would go through, from a mental standpoint, and also physical challenges too. So these things are awesome. It’s not only good for the Thunder, but it’s good for all teams and for the sport of bull riding.”
The Thunder currently have four riders on their protected roster: Andrew Alvidrez, Colten Fritzlan, Luke Parkinson and Marcelo Procopio Pereira. All four rode for the Thunder during the inaugural campaign that saw the team go 13-15.
“You look at all four of our guys on the team right there – they’re superstars in my book,” Coleman said. “Obviously, we love everything about those four guys, and we’re still learning. That’s what I want to say. Andrew’s No. 6 in the world today, and he’s done a really good job for us all year, too. But if you’re even that high level of a bull rider, you can still learn something, I think. I know when I was going, it was like I was learning something new every weekend, being around all the great bull riders like Luke and Justin (McBride) and J.W. (Hart) and all these other coaches, too. And the future of bull riding is good.”
Alvidrez, in particular, has been the Thunder’s breakout star. The team’s fourth-round draft pick, he went 11-for-26 (42%) during the Team Series season before his career year on the Unleash The Beast. Alvidrez notched the first two premier series event wins of his career and is just 365 points behind No. 1 Kaique Pacheco in the race for the world title. He’ll battle it out for the gold buckle at the 2023 PBR World Finals on May 12-21 in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I think it was about a year ago at the PBR Finals is when he really showed up,” Coleman said. “And actually, at a combine a year ago also, in Pueblo, he was there just showing off how good he works out and lifts weights and does all that. Which is cool and good to have, but when he showed up at PBR Finals last year in Fort Worth, he really stuck it on a bunch of really good bulls, and from then on, the momentum kept rolling on through Teams. We try to help him any way we can, and we love everything about what he does. He rides good, and he’ll continue to get better.
“That’s what it’s all about: getting better.”
When it comes to what they’re looking for, Snyder and Coleman have particular values that fit the Thunder ethos, and they’ll accept nothing less.
“There’s a lot of boxes that we’ve got to check to be a part of the Thunder,” Snyder said. “Riding good is just one of them. They’ve got to represent our core values. These guys have to be respectful, willing to learn, willing to be part of a team.
“Thunder is about still opening doors, taking your hat off and dinner and saying, ‘Yes, ma’am,’ and, ‘No, sir.’”
Will they find any of those diamonds in the rough at the draft? Only time will tell, but don’t expect the Thunder to make the conventional picks.
They’re going to keep things interesting.
“We went overseas, and we looked at a lot of guys there, and we’re learning a lot (at the combines),” Snyder said. “So we have a solid plan that we feel very comfortable with, but there’s also a couple of contingencies that could switch around in there. But I think, when the Thunder picks, I think a few eyebrows might raise and ask where that came from.”
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
