Mitchell Ready to Lead Team Can-Am as New Captain
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Ezekiel Mitchell peered into the bucking chutes in Cherryville, North Carolina, and echoed words of encouragement to his little brother, Jahmal Moore.
Moore, 17, had recently attempted to ride a bull earlier this year and had become fond of the sport pitting man vs. beast.
Therefore, he had reached out to Mitchell for advice, and Mitchell offered Moore the chance to move into his place in North Carolina and train together.
Since then, Jahmal has ditched his tennis shoes for cowboy boots most of the time, has started riding horses and, of course, has begun to tie his hand into a bull rope more and more at a local practice pen in Cherryville, where Mitchell helps coach a series of up-and-coming bull riders.
Being entrusted with helping his little brother, as well as others, pursue their passion, is empowering, says Mitchell.
“Yeah, it is pretty damn cool,” Mitchell said. “I have become a coach in itself kind of here lately. My little brother rode his first bull and now he is hooked. He is staying with me in North Carolina, and I have been teaching and taking him into the practice pen every week. He is competing at his first rodeo this weekend without me there.”
Mitchell will not be by his brother’s side, as he will be competing for Team Can-Am during Championship Weekend of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Instead of mentoring his brother, Mitchell is hoping to inspire and lead a different group of bull riders after Can-Am General Manager Chase Outlaw asked him to serve as the Team Captain in replacement of Fabiano Vieira.
Vieira was injured on July 1 attempting to ride Stone Cold Crazy at the Touring Pro Division event during the 90th annual Texas Cowboy Reunion Rodeo. The 37-year-old sustained a skull fracture and underwent brain surgery at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, Texas, on July 2. Vieira remains in the hospital and is continuing to be monitored and treated by doctors.
“I do feel really bad for Fabiano, and he is in my prayers,” Mitchell said. “I feel like we do have a similar personality. We are both fun-loving, high-energy people.”
Outlaw selected Lane Lasley as the fourth rider to Team Can-Am, which also features rookies Mauricio Moreira and Rafael Henrique dos Santos.
“I know those guys are looking for somebody to step up, too,” Mitchell said. “With our team taking a hit like that, it is going to take a big step up in order to make sure we are going to achieve everything that we set out to.”
Team Can-Am (3-3) faces Team Ariat (4-1-1) on Friday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in the second wild card game of Championship Weekend. Team Las Vegas (4-2) takes on Team Boot Barn (3-2-1) in the first wild card game, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and RidePass.
The competition format for the playoff games is a little bit different from the regular season with three riders per team attempting two bulls per game, and a fourth rider getting on one bull. The winning team will be the team with the highest aggregate score on seven rides.
The losers of the two wild card games will then compete in a consolation game Friday night with all four riders per team attempting to ride one bull.
Team Can-Am will likely go as far as Mitchell and his two Portuguese-speaking teammates – Mauricio Moreira and Rafael Henrique dos Santos – take it.
Mitchell tried his best during Division A of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, to connect and get to know teammates despite the language barrier.
Through a series of hand motions and the help of translation apps on their phones, Mitchell and the two Brazilian rookies bonded and motivated each other towards success inside the arena as best they could.
Words will not be needed to win in Sioux Falls. Instead, 8-second rides and feeding off each other’s energy is all Can-Am will need, says Mitchell.
“It is all about the team energy,” Mitchell said. “You can tell when those guys are nervous or fired up. This weekend I will be making sure everybody is pushing to be the best. Having Lane as another addition on the team will allow me to be a little more comfortable, but I have full faith in my guys and what we have to do.”
Mitchell is going to work with Paulo Crimber, the PBR’s on-site translator, on organizing a team meeting before Friday night so he can talk to his team prior to the playoffs beginning.
The Rockdale, Texas, bull rider wants his team to believe they are more than just a group with great potential.
“I just want to let my team know we aren’t outmatched,” Mitchell said. “All we have to do is our job at the end of the day, and the judges and secretaries will take care of the rest. I don’t feel like there is a team that we have seen throughout the games, except Team Cooper Tires in a way, that has been fully dominant. You can even see with Team Cooper Tires, if it wasn’t Jose (Vitor Leme) riding his two bulls in games that they wouldn’t have had nearly as many rides.”
If Team Can-Am defeats Ariat Friday night, then it would take on the undefeated Team Cooper Tires Saturday night.
Mitchell, Santos and Moreira head into the Wild Card round with some momentum, too. Santos finished second at the Stamford, Texas, TPD event and Moreira finished tied for fourth/fifth. Meanwhile, Mitchell won three local rodeo events he competed in, one in Georgia and two in North Carolina.
Mitchell went just 2-for-9 in Division A play for Can-Am, but he is ready to turn things around beginning on Friday night.
“I feel like I am finally getting into a space of I want to be more successful than what I have been able to put forth here lately,” Mitchell said. “I want this team to be successful. I want people to see we are just not a group of young guns.
“We are a group of guys that can win.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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