By: Darci Miller
PUEBLO, Colo. – In 2007, Kody Lostroh was in the draw as the PBR bucked bulls in New York City for the first time.
In 2024, the 2009 World Champion and 2023 Ring of Honor inductee is returning to the Big Apple as the head coach of the New York Mavericks, one of the two new expansion teams in the PBR Camping World Team Series.
You could say he’s… back in the New York groove.
“I feel really good and really excited about the opportunity to coach a new team, especially one based out of New York,” Lostroh said. “It’s an exciting sports state, and bringing a brand new bull riding team to that state, I think, is going to be a pretty cool experience.”
While New York City – Brooklyn, to be exact, as the Barclays Center will host the Mavericks’ first homestand on Aug. 9-10 – is an unconventional spot for bull riding, New Yorkers love their teams. With 11 teams across the five Major League sports franchises (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLS), New York fans are passionate about their rooting interests.
Which, Lostroh believes, will soon include the Mavericks.
“In New York City, we’ve always had very, very good fans,” he said. “I was part of the very first event that we ever had at Madison Square Garden, and it was just phenomenal from the get-go, and it’s grown every year since. The fans in New York, while they may not be super Western-oriented people, they’re really passionate about their sports, and they’re really passionate about having a good time. They like to be entertained. They get involved. They’re cheering for good rides, and they’re not afraid to boo people, either. It’s a different fan base than some of these Western states, and it’s very enjoyable to be part of that passion that they have towards their sports.”
Lostroh joins the Mavericks, owned by the Avenue Sports Fund and includes General Manager Chris Patani, after two years of being the assistant coach for the former Oklahoma Freedom, now the Florida Freedom.
“I’m very thankful and very grateful for my two years I had with the Freedom,” Lostroh said. “It’s a great team, a great core group of guys there, and that’s really what I’m going to miss the most about that franchise, is just the relationships you develop with your riders, with your teammates.
“They’re a bunch of good dudes, and I wish them the best, but I do plan on kicking their butt,” he added with a laugh.
While his prior coaching experience will be invaluable in guiding a new team getting off the ground, Lostroh admits there are pros and cons to being in charge.
“Being a head coach, I think there’s a little more freedom to kind of take the team in the direction that I think is right,” he said. “Being an assistant coach with Cord (McCoy) was great. We got along good and had a lot of the same ideas, but in a head coach position, the buck stops here. I’ve got to make the right decisions. And so I guess you’d say it’s a little more pressure as well, but a little more freedom comes with it, too.”
Joining Lostroh on the coaching staff is 2002 World Champion Ednei Caminhas, one of the longest-tenured riders in PBR history. Following a comeback in 2021, Caminhas is still on tour at 48 years old, most recently placing seventh at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Worcester, Massachusetts.
“Having Ednei as an assistant coach will be fantastic, too, just for the fact that he’s more ingrained and, relationship-wise, deeper with the Brazilian community than I ever will be,” Lostroh said. “His experience, expertise and example, because he’s been such a stud with his comeback at 47, 48 years old, that that’s a huge advantage to have him on the team.”
Lostroh knew that having a Brazilian in his organization would be critical, even before seeing other teams bring in Guilherme Marchi (Kansas City Outlaws), Adriano Moraes (Austin Gamblers), and Robson Palermo (Carolina Cowboys) last season. Earlier this year – coincidentally, during the premier series event in New York City – Lostroh connected with Caminhas.
“As soon as we got going on this deal, I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ve got to secure my guy,’” Lostroh said. “And just through circumstances, I talked to Ednei at Madison Square Garden and realized, ‘Wow, this would be a perfect fit for what he wants to do and what we need.’ I think it’s crucial that we have that line of connection to the Brazilians because there’s a lot of great Brazilian riders, and there’s more and more coming over here.”
The Mavericks front office is already deep into talks about the expansion draft, new rider draft, and free agency, though Lostroh is mum on any details. But he’s already having fun working through the strategy of it all and recognizes the significance of being at the helm of a new team in a young league that’s already expanding.
“Just watching this growth that the sport and Teams has had in the last couple years, I think it’s a moment in our history that can’t be overlooked for the sport,” Lostroh said. “Sometimes it’s easier to look back at these moments and think, ‘Oh my gosh, that was a huge moment,’ but we’re living it right now. Any other young bull riders out there should pay attention to the opportunity that’s in front of them and work hard towards it, because we need you. We need you to leap.”
And as for the New Yorkers who are unsure of what this team bull riding thing is all about?
“Just give it a shot one time,” Lostroh said. “Once they see the power and excitement and the danger and all the things that come with bull riding, they’re going to be hooked.”
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media
© 2024 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.
