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TODD ROGERSBorn: September 30, 1973 in Santa Barbara, California USA
Enshrined: 2021 Country: United States Category: Male Beach Player |
BIOGRAPHY
Beach volleyball, particularly the defender position, is very much a thinking man’s game. Strategy on defensive positioning, shot selection, serving schemes and much more are as important as the physical aspects of the game. And nobody in the last two decades has used the power of the mind more than Todd Rogers and in doing so put together one of the best careers the sport has ever seen while earning the most appropriate nickname, the Professor.
Make no mistake about it, while Rogers relied heavily on his brain he was also a supremely gifted athlete. A two-sport star out of San Marcos high school in both soccer and volleyball, Rogers excelled at the indoor game at UC Santa Barbara where he was a two time All-American and set school records for assists and digs.
After college, he began his beach career with high school classmate Dax Holdren and made an immediate impact on the AVP tour. Rogers was the AVP Rookie of the Year in 1997 and won his first tournament at the Minneapolis Open in 1998. Rogers and Holdren would go on to win eight professional tournaments. Following a successful partnership with Sean Scott, with whom he would notch wins at the Chicago and Honolulu Opens, Rogers linked up with a rising young blocker from Florida name Phil Dalhausser.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Rogers and Dalhausser would go on to form one of the most successful partnerships in the sport’s history. From the mid-2000s through 2012 the duo dominated both the domestic and international circuits notching a staggering 42 wins and over $2 million in prize money. Rogers was named both the AVP’s and FIVB’s Best Defensive Player four years in a row, the AVP Most Valuable Player in 2006 and USA Volleyball’s Player-of-the-Year in 2007.
At the height of his game, Roger’s defensive skills were unmatched, whether chasing down shots or making spectacular digs on hard driven balls. While he was superb defensively, you underestimated his offensive skills at your own risk. Not only did he possess a wide array of precision shots he could also bring the hammer when needed, directly challenging the biggest blockers on tour.
A two-time Olympian, Rogers/Dalhausser entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the #1 ranked team in the World, and lived up to expectations dominating the field and winning the gold medal.
After retiring from professional beach volleyball, Rogers assumed the head coaching position with the Cal Poly beach volleyball program. In his first six years as head coach, Rogers had led the program to two Big West Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
For his spectacular digs, precision shots, and unmatched volleyball IQ we welcome Todd Rogers, the Professor, to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame as a Beach Player.
Make no mistake about it, while Rogers relied heavily on his brain he was also a supremely gifted athlete. A two-sport star out of San Marcos high school in both soccer and volleyball, Rogers excelled at the indoor game at UC Santa Barbara where he was a two time All-American and set school records for assists and digs.
After college, he began his beach career with high school classmate Dax Holdren and made an immediate impact on the AVP tour. Rogers was the AVP Rookie of the Year in 1997 and won his first tournament at the Minneapolis Open in 1998. Rogers and Holdren would go on to win eight professional tournaments. Following a successful partnership with Sean Scott, with whom he would notch wins at the Chicago and Honolulu Opens, Rogers linked up with a rising young blocker from Florida name Phil Dalhausser.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Rogers and Dalhausser would go on to form one of the most successful partnerships in the sport’s history. From the mid-2000s through 2012 the duo dominated both the domestic and international circuits notching a staggering 42 wins and over $2 million in prize money. Rogers was named both the AVP’s and FIVB’s Best Defensive Player four years in a row, the AVP Most Valuable Player in 2006 and USA Volleyball’s Player-of-the-Year in 2007.
At the height of his game, Roger’s defensive skills were unmatched, whether chasing down shots or making spectacular digs on hard driven balls. While he was superb defensively, you underestimated his offensive skills at your own risk. Not only did he possess a wide array of precision shots he could also bring the hammer when needed, directly challenging the biggest blockers on tour.
A two-time Olympian, Rogers/Dalhausser entered the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the #1 ranked team in the World, and lived up to expectations dominating the field and winning the gold medal.
After retiring from professional beach volleyball, Rogers assumed the head coaching position with the Cal Poly beach volleyball program. In his first six years as head coach, Rogers had led the program to two Big West Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
For his spectacular digs, precision shots, and unmatched volleyball IQ we welcome Todd Rogers, the Professor, to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame as a Beach Player.
