Coach Rob Jordan Inducted Into 2022 Indiana Soccer Association Hall of Fame
February 2023
This month, Zionsville Monthly is pleased to feature Zionsville Community High School Men’s Soccer Head Coach Rob Jordan on its cover. Jordan’s remarkable coaching career spans more than 3 decades, and his contributions to the sport throughout central Indiana were recognized last month by the Indiana Soccer Association, which inducted Jordan into its Hall of Fame.
We sat down with Jordan, who shared with us where his passion for coaching and for soccer comes from. He also shared his thoughts on the ZCHS Men’s Soccer program as well as his hopes for this coming season.
A Passion for Coaching Local Youth
Jordan, a longtime Zionsville resident, has an impressive coaching resume that includes his work in developing not only top-rated athletes but also his advocacy for the sport in general. Jordan created the award winning “USA of Indiana Have A Ball in School Fitness with a Ball” program. Have A Ball has reached more than 50,000 school-aged children, introducing each to the game of soccer with an approved Indiana school curriculum.
Throughout his coaching career, Jordan has been recognized multiple times by a vast list of highly respected soccer associations, including ISA, which inducted him into its hall of fame. He just completed his 12th year coaching at ZCHS and, in his words, is “still loving every minute of it.”
Jordan’s passion for soccer began in his youth, and he played for the first club team at Pike High School, at which he was head soccer coach for 24 years before coming over to ZCHS.
When asked how he feels the ZCHS soccer program has evolved over the decade-plus since he’s been head coach, Jordan replied, “The growth in and of itself and the talent of the kids — at school level — is just amazing. It’s always exciting when you [have] that kind of talent and skills in the players, and it makes life a little bit easier as a coach. You can do a lot of things with that kind of talent.”
When asked if the growing population and the increasing popularity of soccer in the U.S. has become a challenge for the [ZCHS] program, Jordan admitted, “The school population is increasing, and we’re seeing a lot more kids playing soccer now as the popularity of the game has increased, which brings up the issue of having to make cuts. We didn’t have to make cuts the first year I got here, and now we’re having to make cuts every single year. It’s a terrible problem to have because you want every kid to be able to play and participate in a sport they love. It’s a problem that we [coaching staff] agonize over, and it’s our toughest issue.”
Community Support
In addition to the support of the ZCHS administration and parents, Jordan acknowledged the support of the Zionsville Youth Soccer Association and its contributions to developing quality athletes and impressive young personalities.
“ZYSA does a great job in preparation with the kids and with teaching the game,” Jordan expressed. “They also do a great job teaching about life on and off the field. And we’re very dependent on our local and area club teams. We have such a short and abbreviated season at the high school, and we do have summer training sessions that start in June, but then we’re basically done in October. The club [teams] season goes on pretty much year-round, and we’re very appreciative of what clubs like ZYSA do for the development of these kids. They’re bringing us kids that have great skills, great knowledge of the game and kids that are just good people.”
Jordan pointed out that many of his student athletes also play for area clubs such as Indiana Fire Academy, Hoosier Futbol Club, United Soccer Alliance of Indiana and others that he attributes in part to his team’s success.
Priorities from this Coach’s Perspective
“Since we’re an academic-based sport, everything is centered around the school and what the kids are doing in school,” Jordan emphasized. “If you’re having troubles in school and can’t take care of what’s going on at school, you’re going to have troubles being successful on the soccer team as well. You’ve got to put the time and effort into being a student, and that’s where [success] starts. You’ve got to be a person with good character. We look at those pieces first, and the rest of the pieces come together, as far as being a skilled soccer player and understanding the game tactically. That’s a luxury we’ve always had [at ZCHS], and that’s what colleges are looking for. Those coaches want to know what kind of student they are and what kind of character they have. We’ve been very blessed with kids that come through Zionsville who are the types of students collegiate coaches are looking for.”
Seeing the Investments Paying Off
In 2019, the ZCHS Men’s Soccer team finished a perfect season and took home the state championship title. Jordan recalled what it took to get there and his hopes for the upcoming season.
“The one thing that we’ve always pushed is that you’ve got to enjoy the game and you’ve got to have fun,” Jordan said. “I think that group embraced that throughout training and conditioning, and they made it fun. They always enjoyed being together, and I think that camaraderie helped push us through some of those tighter games we had. The team captains’ leadership was also a big piece of our success at the state championship. And going back to character again, we had the type of kids that had incredible character, worked hard, enjoyed being together and they loved the game.”
Jordan continued, “I’m really exited [for this next season]. I’ve blessed to have great coaches around me: Nick Noel, Jason Donkersloot, Luke Beasley and Ernest Weni. What we’re all looking for and what we’re always expecting is to win a state championship and to win our conference, but we have a lot of other goals too. We have the ultimate goal in mind: that it’s not always about the wins and losses — it’s about learning about failure and how it takes a lot of failures to get to that one success.”
When asked about his feelings on being inducted into the ISA HOF, Jordan humbly replied, “I was excited of course. I was eating lunch when I got a telephone call from a few members on that selection committee and was like, ‘Why are George Perry and Steve Franklin calling me?’ I know both of them, but I don’t talk with them very often. They told me that I was going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and I was like ‘Wow!’ It’s one of those things that you don’t know what to say once it happens, but it was exciting. I let my wife, Susie, and my sons — Matthew and Joshua, whom I coached when they attended ZCS — know, and they were pretty excited as well. I went to the [ISA] website and looked at the people who are in the Hall of Fame. To be included with such an incredible group of people who have done so much for soccer in the state of Indiana — it is truly amazing and humbling.”
When asked what the greatest rewards of coaching are, Jordan expressed, “I’ve been very blessed to be coaching for 36 years and counting. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into coaching, but soccer has given me so much more than I’ve ever given to it. I’ve shared the life journey with thousands of kids, and I’ve witnessed unbridled joy and love for the game of soccer. It’s allowed me to travel the nation and the world. It’s a privilege that I cherish, connecting with people and watching them grow into their roles on and off the team. It is exciting to watch these kids struggle and learn and become good men and productive people in our community.”
Team Records
Pike High School – 330 Wins, 101 Losses and 27 Ties
Zionsville High School – 147 Wins, 47 Losses and 27 Ties
High School Total – 477 Wins, 148 Losses and 54 Ties
Club – 627 Wins, 321 Losses and 109 Ties
Combined Total – 1,104 Wins, 469 Losses and 163 Ties
Recent Coaching Accolades
2022 Indiana Soccer Association Hall of Fame
2020 United Soccer Coaches Coach of Significance Award
2019 United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year
2019 United Soccer Coaches Indiana Large School Coach of the Year
2019 NFHS Indiana Soccer Coach of the Year
2019 ISCA Indiana Overall Coach of the Year
2019 ISCA Indiana Large School Coach of the Year
2019 ISCA District 3 Overall Coach of the Year
2019 ISCA District 3 Large School Coach of the Year
2019 Hoosier Crossroads Conference Coach of the Year
2019 Indiana Soccer Girls Club Coach of the Year
2018 ISCA Presidents Award
2018 ISCA District 3 Overall Coach of the Year
2018 ISCA District 3 Large School Coach of the Year
2018 Hoosier Crossroads Conference Coach of the Year
TEAM AWARDS
2022 United Soccer Coaches National Academic Team Award (3.25 or higher)
2022 United Soccer Coaches National Academic Team Award (3.25 or higher)
2020 United Soccer Coaches National Academic Team Award (3.25 or higher)
2019 United Soccer Coaches Pinnacle Award
2019 United Soccer Coaches National Academic Team Award (3.25 or higher)
2019 United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award
ZCHS STATE TOURNAMENT
2019 State Champions
2018 State Championship Runner-ups
2018, 2019 Final Four
2018, 2019 Semi-State Champions
2018, 2019 Regional Champions
2018, 2019 Sectional Champions
Writer:
Janelle Morrison
Photography:
Paola Williams Photography and Tom Marron Photography