Rogers State University Women’s Soccer – Coach Chris Jones
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Chris Jones from the Rogers State Women’s Program in Oklahoma. We talk about how their school has a low cost of attendance. He describes the college town atmosphere near a big city. Lastly, we discuss their team’s movement creates chaos. Learn more about Rogers State University Women’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Chris Jones from Rogers State. Welcome coach.
Coach: Hey Matt. Thanks for having me.
Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. You guys are division two, right? Uh, yes, sir. Wo Women’s program in Oklahoma. Well, uh, I’m uh, Now that the season’s over, right?
Uh, I, I see you got the, the lockers behind you, which is awesome. But, um, I, I’m assuming you’re, you’re hitting the recruiting trail pretty heavy now that, that, that your season’s over. So when, when is it that you really start talking to players? Uh, you know, junior year, sophomore year, senior year? What, what does that look like?
Coach: Well, I mean, with the new instead of labor rule, we can’t talk to ’em until June 15th going into their junior year. So, um, you know, division two is a little bit different than division one. You know, I was a division one coach for five years, so, um, the minute that June 15th hit, it was, you know, gungho let’s, you know, start talking to the new class, all that kind of stuff.
I mean, we do it at the division two level, just more of a regional based, more than a national based. Um, and then from then on it just identifying, you know, Who we wanna talk to, when we wanna talk to ’em, all that kind of stuff. Uh, and just getting out and seeing ’em play. Right.
Matt: What, in terms of getting out and seeing ’em play, are there kind of your, your must hit events, uh, that you guys make sure you get to each year to, to check players out?
Coach: Uh, I mean, you know, a couple weeks ago, the la the big one for us, especially at, at the division two level is the, the Phoenix EC L Showcase, just because it’s right around signing day or just after signing day, [00:01:30] so, You know, being able to, to maybe, you know, see some players that just haven’t been able to be seen or, or whatever the case may be.
And, um, you know, a lot of, a lot of division two, to be honest, is regional based. Um, you know, so my in-laws live in Texas. They live in Dallas, so I, I go to Texas a lot. Um, you know, Kansas City’s a good one for me just cuz it’s four hours up the road. Uh, there’s some good ones here in Oklahoma. Um, I do hit California quite often.
As well, um, try and convince some California kids to come to Oklahoma. So, um, a little bit of more of kind of like the regional, like central region, uh, and then hit the west coast as much as I can. Okay.
Matt: Well, how do, uh, camps fit into your overall recruiting mix, whether that’s your own camps or You and your staff work in other camps, what does that. ,
Coach: that’s huge for us just because obviously our budgets are, are, are a lot different at the division two levels. So, uh, you know, being able to see players not only at our camps, um, but other, other institutions, camps are huge for us just cuz we’re able to work with them.
Um, we’re able to see how they interact with us, how they interact with other, other, you know, student athletes, uh, especially on our campus just because we’re able to showcase our campus. Um, you know, we’re able to do a tour and, and do all that kind of stuff and, and really kind of showcase what Roger state’s all.
Matt: Okay, well whether it’s at, at a camp or one of those tournaments you mentioned when you, when you’re looking at players, what’s your kind of hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field attributes or off the field stuff.
Coach: Yeah, I mean, it’s kind of all encompassing to be honest.
Um, you know, [00:03:00] if we’re recruiting a kid pretty hard, what, you know, say we’ve had a few conversations on the phone or over Zoom or whatever the case may be, it’s, you know, we get to the field early, see how you show up to the field, um, you know, how you warm up, how you interact with, with your teammates. , uh, especially on that, that third, fourth game of, of the weekend, you know, when you’re tired and, and you don’t necessarily wanna be there anymore.
Um, or you’re stressed cuz you gotta catch a flight or whatever the case may be to get home. Um, and then it’s, you know, what is your soccer IQ? Like, you know, how are you adapting to the game? Whatever the solutions are that you’re giving based on the problems that are being presented. You know, how are you interacting with your coaches’ instructions?
Um, you know, how are you interacting with being subbed in subbed? , all that kind of stuff. Obviously I know E C L is a lot different with sub rules and all that stuff. So dealing with that and then obviously the tactical side of things. You know, how, how do you fit in your system, how do you understand how you wanna defend, how you wanna attack, all that kind of stuff.
And then your technical ability, and obviously athleticism comes into it, but it’s not the first thing that I look at. Um, just because you can be athletic as all can be, but if you. Soccer player first, then it’s gonna be really hard for you to, at the college game to be successful. So, um, you know, for us, it’s, it’s kind of those, those four main principles that we look at to, to make sure that we’re, we’re getting the right fit.
Matt: Okay. Now, I noticed your roster, you got a couple, couple players from overseas, but, but how much do does international recruiting fit in as well as how has the transfer portal kind of changed things up or has that [00:04:30] been an issue for you guys at all?
Coach: Yeah, so the men’s, the men’s side here is, uh, is definitely very, very international heavy.
Um, so that helps with recruiting internationals. I, it’s, it’s always a caveat of, you know, are they gonna like it, are they gonna stick around? , you know, um, are they gonna transfer out? All that kind of stuff. So, um, I’m open to international recruiting. Uh, I’m not be all end all by it by any means. Um, but it’s also hard to turn down a good player from, from the international stage if, if, if they’re for, if they’re the right fit for us and for them from that standpoint.
Um, and then the transfer portal, it’s. . It’s been crazy. Um, you know, with the new rule of the new windows and, and, you know, kind of made everybody panic a little bit. Um, I am a big proponent of the transfer portal when it comes to the division two stuff, just because, you know, we give a lot more of a student athlete experience mindset compared to especially like the big time division ones and, and all that kind of stuff.
So, , I’m, you know, I’m not one of those that I’m gonna rely on the transfer portal, but again, we’ve had a, we had a couple transfers last year that, that came in for the, for, for my first season. And, um, you know, it’s just one of those, I’m not actively s you know, recruiting from the transfer portal, but I look at it every day.
And if, again, if it’s the right fit or if I have a preexisting relationship with a recruit, then I’ll definitely reach out. But ultimately it’s up to them. Um, you know, hopefully get ’em on campus and see what we’re about and, and talk to ’em about what all Roger State can offer and [00:06:00] kind of go from there.
But it’s not, I. Oh, it’s the portal or international recruiting, you know, especially now, cuz obviously, you know, with the winners winner, um, and the dead period coming up for the division one programs, it’s um, you know, kind of how do we get these kids on campus through the window, all that kind of stuff.
Luckily for us, we don’t have that. Um, so being able to take up my time with the, the transfer portal and the transfer recruits, it’s, it’s kind of a blessing. Yeah, sounds like it.
Matt: Well, you know, as a parent, one of the big questions I always. How much is this gonna cost me? Right. So, uh, not holding yet any hard numbers here, but if you can just gimme a brief overview of what, what kind of the financial landscape looks like, what school costs, what’s athletic money, academic money, just just a big picture, uh, scenario.
Coach: Yeah, so I mean, we’re just under $20,000, um, a year for total cost of attendance. Um, and luckily for us throughout the whole school, they kind of. Made it easier because they do want to be a very big, you know, kind of nationwide university. Um, so anybody and everybody can get an out-of-state waiver. Um, so really that hundred 20,000 is.
For anybody that qualifies for it. Um, obviously GPA comes into play when it comes to that, getting that from the out-of-state side of things, um, or even international. Um, so we we’re a very affordable university, um, and that’s very enticing for us. So as a parent, obviously, like say we cost $20,000, you know, off the top, you get that out-of-state waiver, that’s probably, you know, you’re looking at [00:07:30] 20 to 25% off the top plus whatever I give you.
Soccer money-wise, I mean, you’re already looking. Very low cost for the year. Um, you know, you think about it, that’s roughly, you know, say 18, let’s say 19,000. $19,000. Say I give you a $10,000 scholarship. I mean, that’s, you’re only paying four and a half grand a semester. Total cost. And from a parent side of things, um, one thing our school is looking at, obviously, you know, we’re a very young university, so.
They’re, they’ve hired a firm to look at how do we better our academic scholarships. Um, obviously our, uh, endowment and all that stuff isn’t exactly huge like some other schools. So we’re, we’re trying to grow that as well. Um, trying to find different avenues of, of how, how we can, you know, help the academic side of scholarship stuff.
But because we’re already a low cost institution, um, it’s not exactly I’ll be all end all for us coaches, just because, you know, the way that our budgets work, we’re actually able to provide a lot of scholarship dollars toward. , you know, from the soccer side of things to keep costs relatively down for, for parents and, and players and stuff like that.
So that’s a huge help.
Matt: Yeah, that’s great. Well let, let’s shift and talk a little bit more about the school. Uh, you know, probably a lot of people out there not familiar with, with Roger State in, in Oklahoma. So k kind of gimme some of the inside scoop. What are some great things about your school that maybe I’m not gonna learn just by clicking through the.
Coach: Yeah. So, um, you know, we’re about 25 minutes northeast of, of downtown Tulsa. So we’re in a, not a [00:09:00] big town, not a small town, but we also have the metroplex right around the corner. So, you know, I’ve coached it some places where. , you know, you’re in a town of 25,000 people and it’s literally a four hour drive to any major city, so to speak.
So, um, for, for you to kind of get that small town feel with a community feel of everybody surrounds the university, it’s a college town. And then if you want the big city life, you know, you’re 25 minutes away. We’re 15 minutes from the major airport here in Tulsa, so flights in and out, super easy. Um, you know, we’re, uh, uh, again, a division two school, so we’re, we’re kind of a medium sized school.
Um, We’re not small enough where everybody’s gonna know your name, but we’re not big enough to where you’re just gonna be a number in a classroom as well. Um, one fun fact about us is we don’t have football and we don’t have, uh, volleyball. So men’s and women’s soccer in the fall are the premier sports on campus.
Um, it’s kind of cool to to, to be a part of. I mean, we average probably about three, 400 pounds a game this fall for, for. for women’s soccer, um, which is, you know, somewhat unheard of unless you’re, you know, Florida State or Duke or North Carolina or those types of programs. But, um, so it’s, it’s, it’s a fun atmosphere to be a part of.
Um, you know, the university itself from the athletic side of things, it’s a community feel, you know, all the sports are at every single one of your games. Um, you know, my girls are at every single one of the, you know, right now basketball games, um, when they can be, obviously it’s Thanksgiving week, so every.
Gone home for the most part. So, um, it’s, it’s kind of [00:10:30] fun to be a part of and, and be around. Obviously, you know, if you, if you want the big size campus, all that kind of stuff, you know, we’re not for you. But, um, at the same time, if you want that community feel and that, you know, smaller school environment, you know, kind of being the middle of the road where, you know, you can walk across, across campus and professors will tell you, good game last night, or tough loss, or whatever the case may be.
It’s, it’s, it’s the place for you. .
Matt: Oh, that’s awesome. Well, we talked about academics as well. So for your student athletes, how do they manage that balance between sports and studies and, and what kind of support systems does a school offer to help with that?
Coach: Yeah, so, um, obviously with being a women’s sport, uh, one of the, you know, premiers, I guess, um, studies that a lot of females, especially soccer players, Is nursing.
Um, nursing is one of our biggest majors here on campus, so, you know, and everywhere that I’ve been, that’s been the case. So what I did was I actually walked into the nursing department and had a meeting with the director of the nursing department and said, Hey, how do we ch how do we help each other out?
Um, you know, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna make my girls choose junior year of soccer or nursing, but also I wanna make sure that they’re getting everything they need to get done to graduate on. . Um, and we worked it out. We, we have a, um, a student athlete graduating from the nursing department this May, um, and we worked it out, the schedules, everything like that.
I’m also flexible with our practice times, so. You know, I, the past [00:12:00] year and a half here at Roger State, we practice at 4:00 PM I practice as late as 7:30 PM depending on class times. So I’m very flexible. Again, we, we have our own facility, you know, we don’t share it with anybody else. So other than the men’s soccer team.
And they have a set time that they practice and that’s not moving. So for us, it’s, you know, I’m very flexible with practice times, making sure that every, all of the studies and everything like that are, are, um, able to get done. You know, again, I’m, I’m not afraid to have a meeting with the director of, of the department and see like, Hey, ca how do we help each other out?
Um, we do study hall as well. So, um, I’m in our locker room right now and we do study hall in here. Uh, I have a couple girls that are, that help me out that monitor that. Uh, as freshman you’re required to do four hours of study hall. A week, um, which is kind of next to nothing, but it’s kind of helps them out with time management, you know, organization, all that kind of stuff.
And then they’re rewarded at the end of the semester. If you’re above a 3.0, you’re actually get outta study hall kind of thing. So, um, and then on the road we do a bunch of study hall as well just to get them, you know, so they don’t feel like they’re bogged down. Luckily again, for us, we’re region, you know, everything’s regional.
So, you know, our further, we only have two major, um, Weekend trips during our conference season, so, you know, it’s, it’s kind of up and back trip. From that standpoint, so they don’t miss a whole lot of class. Another fun fact about Roger State, they don’t really believe in classes on Fridays, so, um, that’s also good for us from that [00:13:30] standpoint.
Matt: Well, and, and, and you kind of gave me a, a, a sneak peek into this, but, but can you just walk me through the parts you didn’t talk about in terms of what a, what a week nor a normal week looks like if I’m a player, when, when are most of my classes, meals, practice games? What’s kind of the game cadence that kind.
Coach: Yeah. So, uh, Tuesday starts our week, um, and, you know, classes all day. And then, you know, we train, we train at four. Um, you know, they have to sign up for appointments on their own with athletic trainer to get, you know, stuff done, whether it’s before practice throughout the day, whatever the case may be. Um, he’s pretty good about making sure the schedule is, is, um, set up for them and set up for, for them to be able to come in.
Um, and then we train at four. , you know, usually it’s about, or I guess we have waits at four and then we train right after. So it’s usually about a two hour, I guess, training session, so to speak, with weights in the, in the training. Um, same thing. Wednesdays, um, you know, waits and then train. And then Thursdays we train.
Friday we play at Friday nights and then Saturday morning-ish, um, you know, let ’em sleep in a little bit. We do kind of a recovery session. I’ve. Kind of found that, you know, and, and again, I don’t know if this is the right answer or the wrong answer, um, we actually don’t touch the field on Saturdays. Um, we kind of get away from the field, uh, cuz they’re touch, they, they’re on it enough.
Um, my wife’s a physical therapist and she’s really big into yoga. So, uh, we do about an hour yoga session with her, [00:15:00] and then we do a bunch, we do some film, and then Sunday afternoon we, we play, and then you get Mondays off and Monday’s your day, um, you know, we have a. , uh, massage lady here in town. Uh, every Monday I text out a schedule and, and they can go see her if they really need to see her, all that kind of stuff.
Um, but as far as meals and stuff go, I don’t, I’m a big proponent of, you know, it’s your life. You kind of understand what your body needs. You know, I can give you the tools of like caloric intake and what you need to be eating and all this kind of stuff, but when you eat, it’s totally up to you just from.
you know, every person’s different from, from, you know, what you need to eat or gluten allergies or food allergies or whatever the case may be. So, um, that’s kind of a week in essence for us. Okay.
Matt: Awesome. Well let, let’s talk more about the team itself. Is there a, is there a roster size that you find is ideal that you try to hit each year?
Coach: 27 to 28 is, I found our ideal number. Um, we had 26, well, we had 27 on the roster. This year, but, uh, two, were not able to play. So, um, and we, even though we had some pretty significant injuries, we had, we had two major significant injuries. We still had enough to cover, um, from a depth standpoint. Um, 27 to 28 also gives me, you know, two to three goalkeepers plus at least two PE people per position.
So one, we can play 11, 11 in training, and two, it creates a little bit of a competitive environ. to where nobody’s complacent from [00:16:30] that standpoint. So 27, 28. I don’t really like to get close to 30. I think that’s too much. Um, cuz then you’re, you’re asking 30 girls to travel and four to five might, might not play at all.
So, um, then it’s, do you leave ’em at home or whatever the case may be, and then that’s not fair to them either. So, um, 27 to 28 is kind of my. Ideal number.
Matt: Okay. What about, uh, staff to help you manage everything? What, what staff do you have? What roles do they play?
Coach: What’s happening? Well, at the moment, I have no staff.
Um, uh, both, both my assistant coaches decided to leave, um, for various reasons. So, um, I get one, I get one paid, uh, staff member. And then, uh, I have a couple people that reached out that wanna volunteer. So, um, luckily again, we’re in the Tulsa metroplex, so there’s club soccer all over the. And all over the city that’s close to us.
So a lot of club coaches that are looking to get in the college game wanna volunteer. Um, and I’m a big proponent of, of helping people break into the game or whatever the case may be. So, um, the more, the merrier, we had a quote unquote social media. Volunteer this, this last fall. Um, she was the wife of the, one of the men’s assistants.
So, um, trying to get creative with it. Obviously, you know, with being division two, budgetary constraints or budgetary constraints. So being able to maximize what I can use is just gonna benefit me for the better.
Matt: Okay, that’s great. Well, can you gimme a little bit more about your particular style of coaching, the team style of play, what that kind of culture of the team looks?[00:18:00]
Coach: Yeah, so our style of play, I mean we’re very possession based, um, but we’re a very possession style team at a very fast pace. Um, I’m not one that likes to play the ball negative or around the back, whether it’s back three, back four, whatever it may be, 50, 60 times in a game. Because at the end of the day, the more goals you score, you’re gonna win the game.
So I’m also a big proponent of winning the mid. . So if you win the midfield in possession, that means you’re creating scoring opportunities. Um, and for us it’s, it’s, we’re keeping possession. We’re, we’re, we’re trying to play through the midfield if we can, trying to play upfront as quickly as possible and then play off of that.
Um, a big philosophy, mine too is called, it’s a movement based on, uh, movement creates chaos. So the more movement we have up front and in the middle, um, the more offset that the other team’s gonna be or get confused, or whatever the case may be. Um, there’s a lot of intricate movements that are somewhat planned, um, somewhat not planned based on, you know, the scenarios that are being presented.
Um, and you know, that’s kind of our style of play. My coaching style is I’m, I’m very player first. I’m a lot. I put a lot of ’em, player’s, shoulders to um, solve problems. Solve issues just because in games, a lot of the times, and I’ve come to find out, is that you’re giving solutions to problems that already happened versus, which is a [00:19:30] reaction v versus kind of a proactive approach.
And the only way you can be have a proactive approach is actually if you coach this, the girls on the sidelines. Um, so I have a whiteboard on the sidelines. You know, I, I drop the, what the formation of the other team is, what our formation is. And I, and I coach the, the players on the bench a lot more than I do the players on the field, just because, you know, they’re the ones that can make a difference in the.
you know, whether it’s a tactical change or, you know, just giving a better, I guess, look at what we’re trying to do or whatever the case may be. So, um, I don’t like to yell a whole lot. Um, I’m, and I hate to yell at referees. Um, again, sometimes it’s warranted, but, uh, At the same time, I don’t want to take away from my players or, you know, heighten in emotions.
So say they’re frustrated and I’m frustrated and I’m yelling at them, yelling at the referee, that’s just only gonna heighten their frustration. Um, which in the end will may, which may put us in a compromised state to get a red card or, or whatever the case may be. So, um, I’m very, I’m very energetic on the sidelines.
I have a chair. I never sit down. Um, and, but it’s not for me getting angry or, or anything like that. I just wanna make sure that we can, we’re getting the best out of our 11 on the field at any given moment, whether I need to make a change or make a, you know, whatever it may be. Um, and then I’m a very, you know, fun, happy-go-lucky guy, kind of glass half full kind of guy.
So, you know, at halftime I’m not, I don’t talk about a whole lot of negatives. I ask the players a lot of questions at half. You know, what do you [00:21:00] see? What’s going on? How can we change it? All that kind of stuff. See what their point of view is, and then does it match up to my point of view of what’s going on?
And then how do we change it from that standpoint?
Matt: Okay. Well, you know, we’re talking now, the season’s over. Uh, we’re November 22nd, uh, here before Thanksgiving. Can you walk me through again, high level, just what is. The off season look like kind of between now and when the girls report back for, for next year?
What, what all is gonna be happening?
Coach: Yeah, so, uh, obviously I’ve been recruiting every weekend. Um, you know, I go obviously Thanksgiving weekend, luckily for me in-laws are in Dallas, so we’re gonna go to Dallas for the weekend. Uh, there’s two major tournaments in Dallas that I’m gonna hit up on the weekend.
Kind of gives me excuse to get away from the in-laws. Um, and then, you know, come back, there’s a little showcase in, uh, Oklahoma City the next weekend and then, Take a little vacation for my wife’s birthday. Um, and then just kind of, you know, if I can get kids on campus, great. If not, um, just keeping in contact with kids, seeing what all I can do to, you know, find that next diamond to the rough or next player that will, that will help us out.
Um, and then, you know, once the turn of the year happens is, you know, kind of planning the sessions for the spring. what the spring schedule is gonna look like, get it out to the girls. Um, and then they come back January 18th and I usually give ’em the first week to kind of readjust to school life, all that kind of [00:22:30] stuff.
And then division two, again with rules a little bit different, so we can actually start our 15 hour weeks until February 15th. So we’re just in our eight hour schedules of weight room and, and on the field just, you know, doing technical work and having a little fun playing or foot saw or whatever the case.
Okay.
Matt: Well I always like to end these the same way, and that’s to give you the last word. So is there anything you think, uh, we didn’t cover, whether it’s on recruiting the team, school, uh, just college soccer in general?
Coach: The, the now’s the time. Yeah. I mean, college soccer is a grind. I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s not for everybody, but I always tell every recruit that I talk to it is just say, Hey, give it a go for a semester.
and at the end of the day, if you don’t like it, you can just call it quits. But you know, you’ll never, you’ll never know if you don’t like it until you try it.
Matt: All right, well hopefully, uh, some folks will see this and decide to try it out there at Roger State. So, uh, hopefully . Well, if you get out to Philly for the United Soccer Coaches Convention, be sure to swing by and say hello.
We’ll have our podcast booth there and, uh, wish you the best of luck, coach
Coach:. Appreciate it. Thanks, Matt. Awesome. Thank you.
