Taylor Roden couldn’t see herself coaching without her assistant. He also happens to be her husband, Jared.
“We will be wrapped up in a three-hour car ride and notice the entire time we talked about soccer, our girls, what formation to play,” Taylor said. “We love it. That is the kind of stuff we enjoy talking about, so it makes it fun that you can do it with the person who is always there with you.”
Not only do they get along on and off the field, they also combine to form what they like to call a “super coach” for Lafayette High School and Lexington F.C.
“Jared compliments me really well, said Taylor, who has already started spring kickarounds for what will be her third season at Lafayette. “He sees the tactical side really well, and I’m willing to try new formations because that is his strength. Where as I’m technical and good at developing foot-skills.”
The Rodens each attended Paul Laurence Dunbar, but were a couple of years apart and not high school sweethearts. Both played varsity soccer for the Bulldogs. Jared was part of a state title team in 2005.
“It’s funny because my best friend’s brother was the same age as Jared at Dunbar. We went to all the soccer games together, and I knew who he was.”
After graduation, Jared decided to hang up his boots and attend the University of Kentucky, while Taylor (nee Henderson) continued her soccer career at Georgetown College where she became the team captain in her senior year for the Tigers.
It wasn’t until Taylor’s junior year at Georgetown that she started dating her future husband. They hadn’t “officially” met until a mutual friends get-together.
Taylor began coaching before their marriage, starting with Adena Futbol Club (now Georgetown FC), where she coached girl’s U10 and U12.
The thought of moving from club soccer to high school didn’t cross her mind until an unusual message at a slightly inconvenient time. It was 2014. She had just gotten married.
“Tom Morgan, the Dunbar girls coach, Facebook messaged me on our honeymoon and asked if I would be the junior varsity coach,” Taylor said. “He also said it would be great if your husband joined.”
But Jared had no interest in coaching. And having already made one huge step in life, another, so quickly, seemed out of place. She turned Morgan down.
But not for long.
The opportunity was just too good to pass up and Jared knew with his bride’s passion for coaching, he couldn’t hold her back. They returned from their honeymoon and she got right to work. But this wasn’t U12 club ball.
“It was hard because I had 30 girls, and it was wild trying to manage everything” Taylor said. “Jared was coming to every game, and he would text me on the sidelines giving me advice.”
It wasn’t long before Taylor noted that if he was going to help from the stands, he could help from the bench. He took her up on it midway through the season.
“It took some begging, but I told her on our honeymoon that if you took this job you had to have a good assistant,” Jared said. “I saw her trying to manage playing time for 30 girls and practice and I felt bad.”
Jared’s initial thought was to help Taylor for the first season. But he began to see how much he enjoyed coaching and spending extra time with his wife. And he realized he had a passion for coaching just like Taylor.
“Seeing the growth, and seeing the girls get better is the passion,” Taylor said. “We both love the game, and sharing it with girls that are passionate about the game. I see a lot of myself in these girls, and I want to be a person they can look up to”
Although they work well with each other, there are struggles that come with coaching as a married couple.
“The hardest part is that we are both super competitive,” Jared said. “If we lose a game then we are both in terrible moods, and it’s hard for us to pull each other out of it because we feel the same way.”
Taylor is one of three female varsity girl’s coaches in Fayette County, along with Megan Adkins of Frederick Douglass and Ally Tucker of Tates Creek. While soccer and other sports have had female head coaches for years, there are still issues with sexism. Taylor acknowledges it’s something she has to deal with.
“Often times during games they will direct questions to (Jared), they will still make remarks to him and that can be frustrating,” Taylor said. “One incident where the opposing team coach was a male and he was on the ref the entire game, and I said one thing to him and he got angry. I feel like there is a shorter fuse with women coaches.”
A feeling of a lack of respect is what Taylor mainly deals with as a female head coach. Achieving that respect right away with referees is difficult sometimes, but her husband helps her get through it.
“There are definitely times when they are coming straight for me,” Jared said, smiling. “And most of the time I point my finger at Taylor before they get to me.”
The thought of the “super coach” splitting up and each coaching their own teams has not entered either of their minds.
They understand each other. And know that they work well with each other better than they would apart.
“Coaching is huge job and takes a lot of time and if we were off doing our own thing we wouldn’t see each other very often,” Jared said.
“She’s also far better at being the head coach.”
