Mike Rodriguez busted through the doors on 6565 West Outer Drive on a mission. Upon arriving at Detroit Catholic Central, Coach Rod had dreams of developing a dynasty, and that’s exactly what he did. Within 2 years of arriving in Detroit, Rod accomplished his first goal of bringing home a team state title to CC. The Shamrocks under Rod defeated Lansing Sexton in 1969 and continued to roll the blue streak into the '70's. Rodriguez led the Shamrocks to a Three Peat, as the Shamrock wrestling team continued to win championships as they won Class A Championships in 1970 by defeating Pontiac Northern, and 1971 by defeating East Lansing. Rodriguez was the first coach in MHSAA history to coach a team to three Class A Wrestling State Championships in a row. In 1972 Coach Rodriguez, received the "Ring" as he was named National Coach of the Year. Rod went on to win four more state championships by claiming titles in 1974, 1978, 1983, and in 1988 the Shamrocks became the first team to win a state title under the team format (dual meet).

During his 40 year legendary career at CC, Coach Rod accumulated over 730 Dual Meet wins and retired as the winningest coach in the history of USA High School Wrestling.

Rod coached many successful individuals as well. He coached 18 All-Americans, 29 State Champions to 38 Individual State Championships, and over 125 state placers.