“Don’t tell me how rough the waters are, just bring the ship in!”“Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it was built.”Monterey Peninsula College football coach Mike Rasmussen was full of one-liners. They are the type of catch-phrases you see on posters or hear in movies. Exactly what you expect to hear on a football field.MPC players and coaches have heard them a million times. The phrases have a way of sticking. Players chuckle, and perhaps in the moment they brush them off, but over time, these quotes lodge themselves in memory, rising into consciousness every now and then to inspire that same chuckle. There is a theme to these phrases. It is the same one Rasmussen uses in his coaching: Work hard. Work together. Work without excuses. “We are a tough love, committed program. It is not always going to be easy, but we are going to grow together”.Over 19 years, Coach Rasmussen and the Lobos did just that, winning games and building a culture at MPC. “He demanded 100 percent effort at all times, and we would practice until he felt we had the best opportunity to compete and win”, said three-time Olympian and former MPC football player, Nick Cunningham. It paid off. Rasmussen is the second-winningest coach in MPC history with 118 victories in his career. His teams won seven conference championships.“Ras was the coach and the man that all of us needed. He led by example. He expected the same from every guy and never put anything above the team. Everything he asked of us, he put in double,” said former MPC player, Jake Blackwell. Rasmussen has coached athletes to the highest level of football, sending three players to the NFL. Under Rasmussen’s guidance, more than 200 athletes went on to play at a four-year school. Even more have graduated. “I am just as proud of the NFL guys as I am of my other players who grew into good men.”Tim Dunn, has followed in his former coach’s footsteps, going on to coach at Monterey High School. “Coach Ras is the greatest coach ever. I wouldn’t be where I am today without coach pushing me to fulfill my potential and never giving up on me,” said Dunn. After 48 years in coaching, and 19 at MPC, Rasmussen leaves football as a winner. The Lobos finished 10-1 this season, with a victory in the Living Breath Bowl over Cabrillo College. “I’ve grown so much. We all have. After 48 years, I have seen the ups and downs. I am just so appreciative and extremely grateful.”