Ohio native makes transition from player, to coach and recruiter

Platteville, Wis.- Robert Stallion was finishing up his senior year at Cleveland Benedictine, in Ohio, when he was told by his high school coach Rob Stircula to be expecting a call from coach Jeff Gard from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  "From whom?"  Stallion asked his coach. 

The tradition rich UW-Platteville basketball team was in search of a new coach, and Gard was an assistant at that time.  Ready to be a head coach, Gard applied for the job and on June 9, 2009 was named head coach.

The history of the Pioneer basketball program is well known throughout the state of Wisconsin and NCAA III basketball with four national titles, most wins in the 1990s at any level of basketball, two undefeated seasons and five consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championships. Stallion had no clue of the success the Pioneers had in the past; Ohio was not a recruiting hotbed for the DIII powerhouse. "I had never heard of UW-Platteville before that call," Stallion said.

Stallion's named got on Gard's radar with an assist from his older brother, Greg Gard.  He had been recruiting one of Stallion's teammates at Benedictine for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where the elder Gard is now the head coach.  He liked the way Stallion played and passed his name on to his younger brother and the Pioneer staff.  "Coach Gard's brother was the first person I ever spoke to about UW-Platteville in person; he was in the Cleveland area recruiting and stopped by my school to chat with me about UW-Platteville," Stallion said. 

The in-person meeting with the Badger coach, led to conversations with the soon-to-be-named Pioneer coach. "Coach (Jeff) Gard and I had good conversations and he eventually convinced me to come on a visit."  On his visit two things really jumped out about the basketball program.  "It was the family atmosphere within the program and the facilities," Stallion said.  "The first time I walked in to the locker room and saw my jersey hanging with my name plate, I got goose bumps." 

After the visit, Stallion returned home to Ohio and sat down with Stircula and looked over his options for continuing his basketball career.  At that time (Jeff) Gard was still an assistant interviewing for the head job.  Not knowing the outcome of the hiring process, Stallion waited on making the biggest decision of his life.  Eventually, Gard was named head coach and shortly after Stallion would become his first commit.

"I trust Coach Stircula so much, he has never lied to me and rarely been wrong in any advice he has giving me since," Stallion said.  "He always made me feel like he had my back, and only wanted what was best for me.  When he said that UW-Platteville was the best fit for me, it really hammered home what I was feeling."

Stallion was a regular in the rotation for the Pioneers all four years; he played in all 107 games, starting 74 throughout his career.  The Pioneers improved from 14-12 his freshman year to 19-9 as a senior. Known for his work ethic and attention to details, Stallion was a defensive force.  He was named to the WIAC all defensive team his senior year.

Stallion graduated in 2014 with a degree in business administration with a double emphasis in management and supply chain management.

After his playing days were completed, Gard asked him to join his staff as a graduate assistant.   "I never even thought about coaching until Coach Gard spoke with me about the possibility," Stallion said.  "I had my reservation about it at first, mainly I didn't want to lose my hair like Coach Gard did."  Stallion took most of the blame by saying, with a laugh, "I'm sure I stressed him out as a player, and I didn't want the same thing to happen to me."

Stallion, taking the same approach as he did before committing to UW-Platteville as a player, weighed his options and accepted Gard's offer to re-commit to UW-Platteville as a coach.

"Having one of your own former student-athletes on your staff is a positive, not only for the relationship standpoint of the staff but more importantly the connection of the student-athlete to the assistant coach," Gard said. "His familiarity with the program, combined with his passion for UW-Platteville and overall character, it made Rob a perfect fit as an assistant coach."

Transitioning from player to anything is always tough as an athlete, making the transition from player right into coaching is even more difficult. "Early on Rob struggled a bit with the relationship, when he needed to be a friend and when he needed to be a coach," Gard said.  "As time passed, Rob grew more comfortable and I began noticing the players looking at him as a coach and not as a friend/player."

"It was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be," Stallion said.  "I love to laugh and make other people laugh, especially my teammates when I played. Switching to a coaching role was hard because I knew my relationship with the players had to change.  I had to learn to balance my relationships with the players, knowing when I could be a friend and when I needed to be a coach."

"When the student-athlete is struggling on or off the court, having someone on staff that has been in their shoes makes the conversation more relatable," Gard said. 

"I have found myself in kind of a big brother role for our guys," Stallion said. "I have been in their exact places, thought what they are thinking, felt what they are feeling, and gotten the tough love that they are now receiving. The running joke in the program is, that Coach Gard still hasn't yelled at anyone more than me."

Stallion is committed to the Pioneers as a coach, but he has responsibilities outside of the basketball program on campus. He works in the Office of Admission Welcome Center as admission advisor and multicultural outreach specialist.  His main responsibility is to help recruit prospective students and help them through the admissions process.

Stallion also plays a main role in helping grow the diversity on campus through the multicultural outreach program by developing new ideas for different programs and initiatives on campus.  

"Being a student of color here, it could have been easy for me to feel out of place," Stallion said. "But I always felt like there were students, my teammates especially, and faculty and staff that reached out constantly and made me feel welcomed. I want other students similar to my situation to have the same experience on campus as I did."

Written by: Jason Piddington, Public Relations Writer-Athletics, Communications, 608-342-7645, piddingj@uwplatt.edu

Photo Courtesy of: Andy McNeill, UW-Platteville Campus Photography, Communications, 608-342-1195, mcneill@uwplatt.edu