WKU rugby team honors former head coach

In order of appearance: Tad Abukuppeh, Jonny Ratliff, Matt Biddle, April Schlieg, Jacob Throneberry, John Russell, Tanner Bates, Kyle Talavera

Reporter: Miles Schroader

In his time at WKU, Coach Josh Ferriell dedicated countless hours trying to take the rugby team to the next level. He played the game as a student when rugby was just a club sport with a captain, and he stuck with the team for over a decade.

On December 9, 2017, Ferriell passed away after a battle with melanoma. It has been nearly a year and a half since he passed away, and even though he isn’t physically with them, the impact Ferriell made on those around him won’t be forgotten any time soon.

“It’s not going to practice, it’s going to see your family,” former teammate, co-coach, and friend Tad Abukuppeh said. “And I know that may be cliche sounding. But that’s just the kind of guy Josh was.”

“Rugby does a thing to the sole in a way,” former WKU rugby player Jonny Ratliff said. “It’s hit me, and I think it hit Josh the same way, and he just wanted people to feel that.”

“He was the backbone of this thing,” player Matt Biddle said. “So it’s been hard. We don’t have him.”

When asked about what she thinks about most when remembering Ferriell today, WKU women’s rugby coach April Schleig still pictures his cheerful grin.

“I don’t think I have a picture of Josh where he’s not smiling,” Schleig said. “It’s his smile. He was always grinning from ear to ear.”

Ferriell’s upbeat personality made the discovery of his passing a tough pill to swallow for those around him.

“About two weeks before he died, he asked me to come over to his house,” rugby captain John Russell said. “He told me about his future, and said boy we’re going to be going to Houston on Wednesday, and we’re going to be talking to a better specialist, hopefully they’ll tell me something good that we’re looking for. And the last thing I remember him telling me is “I love you.” And I told him, “I love you too, Josh.” Whenever I found out that Josh passed, I was at work. And I got a phone call from my previous Vice President whenever I was a sophomore, he told me that josh had died. And I didn’t believe him. Because I was like there was no way, I had just talked to him. No way. He’s just really sick. And then I saw in the group message that sure enough, it was true. Josh has passed. I told my boss, and I had to keep working or I wouldn’t have been able to work for the rest of my shift. And they really needed me, so, I stayed working. I remember going to my car after and just sitting there for a while. He said he was going to see the people in Houston on Wednesday, that following Wednesday was his funeral.”

“I reached out to April to see her advice on [a tribute for Josh],” Abukuppeh said. “We decided we were going to reach out to everybody on the back side, and collect donations and pictures and put stuff together. And I had put the stuff together, but I hadn’t sent it to her yet. And I was actually driving from Nashville to Hendersonville and she calls me about an hour and a half later. And I answered the phone and said, ‘I swear to god April, I’m going to send you these pictures.’ She was in tears, and said, ‘He’s already gone. It’s too late,’ she said. ‘He’s already gone.’ They’d given him six months, and this was two weeks-ish. And it hit me like a train. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, it’s rugby season. I need to reach out to Josh.’ And then it just hit me that no I won’t. That’s probably when… that’s when you realize it.”

Although he’s gone in the physical sense, the rugby team made sure that Ferriell not only stays in their hearts and minds, but on their uniform as well.

On the stitching of the jersey, where it would typically say the location or abbreviation of the team, the WKU rugby jersey reads “JDF” in honor of Joshua David Ferriell.

When it came time for Ferriell to be buried, he was surrounded by not only a majority of his family, but a majority of his former players.

“We probably had close to maybe 150 riggers show up,” Schleig said. “Everyone wore the jerseys from the year they played. And everyone lined up in single file, with their jerseys, and they each touched his casket one last time and said ‘with you.’”

Although coping with the loss of a coach and loved one is one of the most challenging things a person can be forced to do, the memory of Ferriell still manages to make those close to him appreciate the time they had.

“I think Josh would want us to keep going. I like to think of a quote by Winston Churchill,” Ratliff said. “He said if you’re going through hell, keep going. And Josh wanted us to keep going like any rugby player does. He keeps going, when he gets the ball, he keeps going.”

WKUrRugby player Tanner Bates said when the loss of a coach and friend, he tries to fill the void by living the only way Ferriell would want him to.

“Take every moment you have, and run with it.” Bates said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

Current WKU rugby coach Kyle Talavera can’t help but to think of Ferriell as he tries to carry on his legacy with the team.

“I still think about him on a sunny day like this,” Talavera said. “Or being out here at the pitch, because this was his second home, and we were his second family.”