He was only about five years older than the seniors when hired to coach the Glendale High School boys soccer team and, given he had walked across a college graduation stage a year before, you figured that Jeff Rogers would need a few years to let the program marinate into his winning formula.
Instead, Glendale won the district championship in that fall of 1990 and then reached the state semifinals the next year.
“It was interesting. My first year was Jose Flores’ last year,” Rogers said, referring to the coach of crosstown rival Kickapoo who had developed soccer in southwest Missouri. “We had beaten them on a penalty-kick shootout, and then won the district. That kind of kick-stared the program. It was kind of the passing of the torch.”
Rogers has since built Glendale boys and girls soccer into one of the state’s premier programs, employing a balance of fun and technique to churn out more than 800 wins. It’s quite the resume, and the reason the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Rogers with the Class of 2017. His induction is part of the Enshrinement in Springfield presented by Killian Construction, set for Sunday, January 29. (For tickets and the full lineup, see below.)
Overall, he is 826-304-66, which ranks fourth overall in the state. In boys soccer, his record is 474-164-32, which is 10th best in state history, while his record in girls soccer (352-140-34) is third-best in state history since he took over the program in 1996.
Along the way, Rogers’ boys teams have two state runner-up finishes, three fourth-place finishes, five state quarterfinal championships, 12 state sectional championships, 20 district championships and 13 conference championships.
Meanwhile, Rogers guided the Lady Falcons to a third-place finish in the state in 2011 and fourth twice (2009, 2012). They also have six state sectional championships, eight district championships and nine conference championships. Under his leadership, Glendale has had 67 All-State selections, including 43 on the boys side.
And to think it’s a career that almost never happened.
Rogers grew up in south Florida and played for the state champion Highland Christian Academy soccer team and then later played lacrosse at Liberty University in Virginia. However, while he was in college, his parents and two younger brothers relocated to Springfield. So Rogers figured he would move here, too, after graduation.
“It was a world different than what we were used to,” Rogers said, later adding, “Growing up in south Florida, we’d go to the parks to play. Or you’d see grown men, in their 40s and 50s, playing in the street, and they’d be taking it to us.”
Fortunately, his passion for soccer found an outlet. Rogers’s first summer in town led to being called in by then-Springfield Public Schools athletic director Edsel Matthews, who was looking to fill the junior varsity coaching slot at Glendale.
The job put Rogers in the same athletic department as then-baseball coach Mark Stratton, a Springfield native who took him under his wing and helped him settle in a at Glendale.
“He taught me how to navigate the system,” Rogers said.
Who knew it would lead to 26 years and counting of building a winner?
Known as “PaPa” to his players, Rogers has tried to build a winner the right way. He isn’t known to belittle players for mistakes, but rather teaches and then lets players learn as they go.
His strategy was simple: Learning techniques of the sport and keeping it fun would prevent players from defecting to other sports or quitting altogether.
On hot days, he would line up sports drinks atop the crossbar of a goal and, to earn one, players would have to attempt penalty kicks and knock them over.
For varsity players, the same quotes (to tell the media) were passed down year to year – often to the amusement of former players reading the quotes in the paper. When a record would be broken, Rogers also lined up the former player to call or text the new record-holder.
Rogers also tried to play every player even in important games such as state semifinals or third-place games.
“Kids forget records and scores,” Rogers said. “But they remember the good times and hard times that teach life lessons.”
Fortunately for Rogers, he has had tremendous support from all over, but especially at home from his wife, Jacqueline, sons Justin, Jacob and daughter Jessie.
“I’m fortunate I got to carry the torch,” Rogers said. “Without that support at home, it’s a tough gig. You’re trying to be a father and a father for other families. And I’m fortunate that my Glendale family has great parents and have kids who know how to play the game.”
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ENSHRINEMENT IN SPRINGFIELD
When: Sunday, January 29
Early Reception: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive in Springfield. Event is sponsored by Meek’s The Builder’s Choice.
Reception, dinner & ceremony: 4 p.m. at University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in downtown Springfield, 5 p.m. dinner and ceremony. Sponsored by Killian Construction. Associate Sponsors are Advertising Plus, Hartman & Company, Inc., Hiland Dairy, Hillyard, Inc. and White River Valley Electric Co-op
Inductees: St. Louis Cardinals speedster Vince Coleman, Kansas City Royals outfielder Amos Otis, Chiefs quarterback Bill Kenney, the Voice of the Missouri Tigers, Mike Kelly, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane (University of Central Missouri baseball), former Mizzou football coach Warren Powers, Missouri State volleyball coach Melissa Stokes, Mizzou head athletic trainer Rex Sharp, B.A.S.S. champion Rick Clunn (Ava), motocross champion Jeff Emig (Kansas City), Missouri State basketball standout Kelby Stuckey, NFL referee George Hayward (St. Joseph), the Voice of the Missouri State Bears, Art Hains, track coach Rod Staggs (St. Louis Berkeley), Penney High School football coach David Fairchild and Glendale High School soccer coach Jeff Rogers. The Hall of Fame also will induct the New Bloomfield High School Baseball Program and its coach, the late Rod Haley, and the University of Central Missouri Mules Baseball Program. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will be bestowed on Jack Henry & Associates, and the Hall will present the President’s Award to Leon Combs.
Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. A sponsorship table of 10 is $1,500 and includes an autographed print of the Class of 2017, sponsor recognition in the printed program and at the table. An individual ticket is $150. Numerous other sponsorships also are available, including congratulatory ads.
