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Soccer coach Rohr splits with Brentsville after 18 years
It’s an end of an era at Brentsville District High School.After 18 years as head coach of the boys varsity soccer team, Chip Rohr has bolted from the Tiger program following disputes with the school’s athletic department.
“The primary issues had to do with matters of scheduling practices, scheduling games, scheduling and other things that had to do with providing the right environment for the team, for the kids,” said Rohr last week. “And I just felt that my input didn't get the consideration that it had gotten in previous years and that the kids and the program suffered for that.”
Brentsville District athletic director Jane Earman said the school administration wants to hire a coach who can also teach at the high school in Nokesville. Earman and Rohr have since told conflicting stories about the terms of the former coach’s resignation in the press.
One certainty, though, is Brentsville will have huge shoes to fill next spring at the head coaching position.
The Tigers (194-89-21 since 1991) won the Group A state title in 1996 under Rohr’s watch and have qualified for the Group A and Group AA state tournaments several times since, including this past year. In 2007, Brentsville swept through the Northwestern District tournament as a No. 3 seed to claim the championship and finished second in the region.
Jamestown ended Brentsville’s season in the state quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory.
“I think we had a very talented group of younger players, and we were starting, at times, two freshmen. We were starting several sophomores,” said Rohr, noting how his team was plagued with injuries throughout the year. “But I think the group of seniors had sought as their last chance to do well, and they didn't want to be the first Brentsville team to [not] get into regionals” in three years.
A 1-1 tie against then-second-ranked Sherando late in the season became the catalyst that led to the team’s winning streak.
According to rising senior Bryce Heltzel, Rohr asked his players if they wanted to lose before making it to the Region II tournament.
“And that was pretty motivating, I guess,” said the midfielder. “Nobody wanted to be that first Brentsville team that didn't go to regionals.”
Rohr credited his seniors, including all-region second-team honorees Robbie Cronauer and Julien Coy, for demanding more of themselves as tournament time approached. That triggered the rest of the team to work harder.
“I think it was more about work ethic,” said Rohr. “I think all of those [seniors[...led by example, and they stepped up their work ethic on the field, and they stepped up their work ethic in training, and the whole team did.”
“I think if you see those guys working that hard, you kind of feel like you need to be working that hard for the rest of the team,” Heltzel added.
Heltzel played midfield under Rohr for his first three seasons and scored the game-winning goal with two seconds left in quadruple overtime against No. 2 Sherando during the district semi-finals.
But while the Tigers mounted their post-season run, word around Nokesville was Rohr might be on his way out.
“From what I know, he wasn't treated like he had been in the past,” said Heltzel. “There was at one point, there [were] a lot of rumors going around saying something like that was happening.”
At the time, Heltzel said, Rohr told his team he “didn't plan on leaving at all.”
Rohr made his final decision about leaving Brentsville in June after the season ended, and he notified his players via e-mail. He made his resignation public last week.
There is reason for Tiger fans to go into 2009 with some optimism, as starters like Heltzel, goalie Mike Madigan, and all-district first-team defender Jimmy Ford are just some of the seniors planning to return to the field.
Up-and-comers like Zach Willis and Zach Kennedy, who both saw considerable playing time in their freshmen season, are also slated to return, along with a host of other members from the 2008 squad.
Heltzel said the program doesn’t necessarily have to have another Rohr as much as it simply needs someone who knows how to operate with the team at hand.
“I'm not saying that he needs to have the same philosophy that Rohr had. He just needs to bring in something that will work with the players we have, I think,” the midfielder said. “I think that's what a good coach can do: work with what he has to win games.”
Rohr plans to continue operating his soccer summer camp, which is now in its 30th year. The former Brentsville coach is also a member of the Virginia Youth Soccer staff, where he focuses on coaching education.
He said he still wants to coach high school boys’ soccer in the county and thinks he still has a lot to offer.
“The bottom line is, if you look at what coaches get paid, you don't coach for the money,” Rohr said. “If it's not fun, it's time to not do it, and that led to my resignation at Brentsville.”
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