Soccer team celebrates Coach Ward with touching tribute

Ward Rogers, the head men's soccer coach at Franciscan University, will be resigning in May of 2016, leaving behind an inspiring legacy for his team.

It was 2009 when Ward Rogers began his involvement with the athletic department at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He was the assistant coach for the Barons men's soccer team for four years. Following this, a near-death experience occurred, changing the direction of his life.

As Chris Ledyard, Director of Athletics, recounts, “Ward called me 20 minutes before tryouts were to begin, 70-something students were waiting on the field, saying that the doctors found a cancerous tumor and they were going to operate right at 3p.m., when the tryouts were to begin. Myself and the head coach (at the time) went out there, attached an eight inch poster of the Divine Mercy on the fence, and every single person knelt down and prayed with us for 45 minutes straight. No one complained or left... It was beautiful.”

After Roger's recovery, he returned and became the head men's soccer coach for the next three years. During this period, he has guided six players to All-AMCC honors. The men that he has coached have clearly been influenced not only by his outlook on the game, but Roger's faith as well.

Joe Duran, junior and team captain, said, “I have had many coaches in my life. None have ever treated me with more respect on and off the field than Coach Ward. He truly took an interest in me not only as a player, but as a child of God.”

According to John Imbimbo, senior, Ward has expressed a love for the sport of soccer and dedication to the program. He has been a mentor to him and a model of dedication and sacrifice.

Rogers has decided to resign as of May of this year. According to Ledyard, he has a beautiful desire to grow the program and wants to still support it, so Rogers will be staying on to assist the team in anyway possible as an assistant coach. He is currently training Christian Bobak, a Franciscan alum and former player of his, to be the new head coach.

Ledyard's son, Cuyler, junior, said, “Ward governed and guided the team with an understanding that we had all wanted to play soccer for the glory of God. Because of that understanding, Ward was able to bring the team closer to one another and to the 'One' we play for.”

Michael Ostrich, junior, added, “Ward cared for each individual player and would be there for us whether it be soccer, academics, or a personal matter. The men of Franciscan soccer will remember him as a great coach and a friend.”

Franciscan University thanks Coach Ward for his years of hard work and dedication that were all for the glory of God. “We play for an audience of 'One',” the team's t-shirts read, and with Roger's example, this was lived out fully.

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