Significant Coaching with Matt Rogers

Didn't hear back from your dream school? Time to give up!

A college coach told you you're not good enough? Give up!

Your friends are getting recruited and you're not? Might as well quit!

Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? That's exactly the point.

In Episode 202 of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Coach Matt Rogers tackles the unreasonable reasons student-athletes abandon their college recruiting dreams long before they've exhausted their opportunities.

Rejection, impatience, comparison, unrealistic expectations, and the unwillingness to consider different college pathways can turn an already challenging process into an unnecessarily frustrating experience.

But here's the reality: Just because the schools you want aren't recruiting you doesn't mean there aren't great schools that want you.

With more than 25 years of experience in athletics, including serving as a college head coach, athletics director, and recruiting advisor, Coach Rogers challenges recruits and their families to stop making excuses, rethink their expectations, and recognize the opportunities right in front of them.

Your recruiting journey doesn't have to go exactly as planned to have a significant ending.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

Before your child’s next sports season begins, ask yourself one question: What would make you happy?

In Episode 201 of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Coach Matt Rogers challenges parents to write down what they hope their child will experience—and how they expect their child’s coach to treat them—before playing time, wins, and losses stir up emotions.

Drawing from his experiences as a coach and a dad, Matt explores ten ways to set thoughtful expectations, support your athlete, and recognize growth beyond the scoreboard.

Topics include:

• Separating your expectations from your child’s goals.
• Defining honest communication, patient teaching, and respectful coaching.
• Understanding how accountability and care work together.
• Helping your child navigate disappointment and communicate with their coach.
• Examining how your own reactions affect your child’s experience.

If your child finishes the season more confident, connected, resilient, and eager to grow, would that make you happy—even without a championship or a starting spot?

Listen to past episodes, explore college recruiting resources, and find the Significant Recruiting Playbook and companion journals at https://coachmattrogers.com.

Watch The Significant Coaching Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CoachMattRogers

Subscribe, rate, and review to help more coaches and families join the conversation.

Control what you can control, be humble, and keep chasing significance.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Casey Stanley, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at NCAA Division II Westminster University in Utah, we get deep into the realities of college basketball recruiting.

Casey explains why playing and developing at the D2 level can sometimes be a better path than sitting on a Division I roster—and how the transfer portal has changed the value of that decision.

We also talk about what Casey REALLY looks for when evaluating recruits:

🏀 Why defense absolutely matters on recruiting film
🏀 Why scoring alone won’t get you recruited
🏀 How playing time and confidence impact development
🏀 What NIL offers can tell you about where you actually stand on a D1 roster
🏀 Why D2 has become a legitimate pathway to Division I
🏀 Why a high GPA immediately gets Casey’s attention
🏀 How recruits should email and contact college coaches
🏀 What high school coaches can do to help their athletes get recruited

Casey gives families and athletes a college coach’s perspective on something we talk about constantly on this show: don’t simply chase the highest level. Find the opportunity where you can develop, compete and succeed.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

Casey Stanley, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Westminster University in Utah, joins Matt Rogers for Episode 199 of the Significant Coaching Podcast.

Westminster competes at the NCAA Division II level in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), and Stanley arrives there after a fascinating journey through nearly two decades of college and prep basketball.

After 15 years at the Division I level—including stops at Louisville and Iona working for Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances at UNC Wilmington—Casey took a very different path: national prep basketball.

In Part 1, Casey talks about what it’s really like working for Rick Pitino, the prep school basketball world, and what running the national prep program at Layton Christian Academy taught him about recruiting from the other side.

It’s a unique look at the experiences that prepared Casey to finally lead a college program of his own.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

What does college recruiting really look like from the coach’s side of the conversation?

In Part 2 of my conversation with Babson College Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kate Barnosky, we turn our attention to recruiting—what coaches are looking for, how athletes can separate themselves, and why finding the right fit goes far beyond basketball.

Kate brings the perspective of a former college athlete and a coach who has recruited at the Division III and Division I levels. We talk about evaluating recruits, competitiveness, communication, expectations, playing time, fit, and what she wants prospective student-athletes to understand about the process.

If you’re a high school athlete, parent, coach or anyone trying to better understand college recruiting, this conversation is for you.

🎙️ The Significant Coaching Podcast with Matt Rogers — Episode 198

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

Babson College Head Women’s Basketball Coach Kate Barnosky joins Matt Rogers for a conversation about connecting with today’s athletes without lowering expectations.

Kate shares how she balances empathy and accountability, why coaches need to understand the individual they’re leading, and how Babson’s three core values—Connect. Communicate. Compete.—shape everything from relationships and recruiting to practices and player development.

They also talk about adapting how we teach, building trust, creating competitive practices, learning from great mentors, and pushing athletes toward their potential while still coaching the whole person.

It’s a conversation about what significant coaching looks like with today’s student-athletes.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

What happens when a coach becomes the parent of a college recruit?

Mike Klinzing, Co-Host of the Hoop Heads Podcast, returns for Part II of The Significant Coaching Podcast to talk about navigating college recruiting with his own son—and how different the process looks when it’s your own kid.

Mike and Matt discuss realistically evaluating an athlete’s ability, identifying the right level, separating the role of coach from the role of parent, communicating with college coaches, and keeping the student-athlete at the center of the decision.

Having experienced college athletics as a Division I player, coach, and now recruiting parent, Mike offers a unique perspective on what families can learn from the process—and why finding the right fit matters more than chasing a particular level.

🎙️ The Significant Coaching Podcast | Episode 196

Listen at CoachMattRogers.com/podcast.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

Do we have to coach this generation differently?

In Episode 195 of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Matt Rogers sits down with Mike Klinzing, co-host of the Hoop Heads Podcast, founder of Head Start Basketball, and former Division I basketball player at Kent State.

Mike has spent a lifetime playing, coaching, teaching, and talking with coaches at every level of the game. In Part I of this conversation, Matt and Mike dig into how coaching has changed, what today’s athletes need from their coaches, and what the best coaches continue to get right regardless of generation.

They also explore the balance between adapting to today’s athletes and still holding them accountable, what Mike has learned from more than 1,000 podcast conversations, and the lessons from previous generations of coaches that are still worth holding onto.

It’s a conversation about growth, relationships, accountability, and what significant coaching really looks like.

🎙️ The Significant Coaching Podcast | Episode 195

Learn more and listen at CoachMattRogers.com/podcast.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Also, check out the companion workbooks The Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Softball and Volleyball Recruit's Journals at coachmattrogers.com or amazon.com.

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

“Be where your feet are.” Five simple words that led me somewhere I didn’t expect.

In Episode 194 of The Significant Coaching Podcast, I explore four different ways to think about this simple mantra: be where you are, own where you are, be with the people who are there, and understand where their feet are.

For athletes, recruits, parents, coaches and leaders, being present is important—but presence is only part of it. Sometimes we need enough humility to step outside our own experiences and understand what the world looks like from where someone else is standing.

Because being true to yourself is conviction. But believing everyone should see the world the way you do?

Sometimes that’s ego.

🎙️ The Significant Coaching Podcast | Episode 194
🌐 CoachMattRogers.com

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.

Why did they get the offer and I didn’t?

It’s one of the most common questions in college recruiting—and one of the least productive comparisons a student-athlete can make.

In this solo episode of The Significant Coaching Podcast, Matt Rogers breaks down why another athlete’s offers, commitments and recruiting timeline have very little to do with your own. Every recruit brings different abilities, priorities, values, academic goals, financial needs and expectations to the process.

Matt also discusses what “fit” really means, why getting an offer doesn’t necessarily mean another athlete is ahead, and why recruiting timelines can extend much later than families realize.

Don’t fall in love with being wanted. Fall in love with where you’re going.

Their journey is theirs. Go build yours.

Send us Fan Mail

Significant Recruiting: The Playbook for Prospective College Athletes

Don't rely on mere chance.  Be significant with your future.

The easy 12-step book to owning your college recruitment.

Get your copy here at Amazon.com

Support the show

📰 Join my Recruiting and Coaching Community and get my FREE Weekly Newsletter at coachmattrogers.com

📆 Need help with your children's college recruiting needs?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss working together:  Schedule FREE Recruiting Session

🎤 Does your school or organization need help with Recruiting Realities and College Athletics Education?  Schedule your FREE Discovery Call to discuss bringing Coach Matt to speak:  Schedule FREE Speaker Discovery Call

📚 Do you want to handle your college recruiting on your own but would like a plan to follow?  Click HERE to get your copy of the Significant Recruiting Playbook and your Sport Specific Recruit's Journal for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

📺 Do you wish their was an inexpensive, simple step-by-step recruiting class series you could follow?  Click HERE to get full access to the Significant Recruiting Launchpad.