Ruddell, who was working at the school as a teacher’s aide for emotionally handicapped second and third graders, was asked by then-principal Tony Duffy if he was interesting in coaching a team of fourth and fifth grade boys.
A New Albany native who attended Mt. Tabor from 1989 until 1996, Ruddell didn’t hesitate when given the opportunity.
“When I agreed to coach, Mr. Duffy told me there was a kid trying out who is pretty good,” Ruddell recalls. “Sixty kids tried out. We kept 15.”
The kid Duffy was referencing? Romeo Langford.
It didn’t take long for Ruddell to realize he was coaching a player who had the chance to be special.