As Jefferson’s head football coach, he helped engineer the Blue Jays’ best season ever last fall, going 9-3 and advancing to the Class 2 semifinals.
Rouggly guided the girls track and field team to three consecutive second-place state finishes in Class 2, from 2017 through 2019.
Now he’ll lead the athletic department and oversee other activities as the school’s director of student services. The R-7 Board of Education approved his promotion on May 26. His responsibilities also will include coordinating the A+ and at-risk programs. Rouggly will be paid $70,000 this school year.
Rouggly succeeds Jason Dreyer, whose resignation was accepted by the board at its meeting on May 18. Dreyer, who’s salary was $74,851 for 2020-2021, had served as athletic director since 2013 and previously was head coach of the Blue Jays girls basketball team. He has moved back to his hometown, Perryville.
One condition of Rouggly’s move is that he remain head football coach for the 2021 season. Immediately after the season ends, the Blue Jays will begin the process of hiring a new head coach.
Rouggly has deep roots in the county and at R-7. He and his wife, Melanie, coached at Hillsboro for several years before Alex replaced Jimmy Tucker as Jefferson’s head football coach in 2015, with Melanie taking charge of the softball program. She piloted the Blue Jays to third place in the 2016 Class 2 state championships. Their two children attend R-7. Melanie was hired this year as the principal at Bayless High School.
“It’s a culture that’s changed since I’ve been here,” Alex Rouggly said. “There’s a mindset (to) the athletes we are around. (They) are good old-fashioned hard-working young men and women who want to succeed for their teammates more than for themselves. They’re also great students. They do a lot of good things in the classroom.”
Jefferson R-7 Superintendent Clint Johnston said the school district is grateful for Dreyer’s service. When the head coach of the girls basketball team stepped down midway through the 2017-2018 season, Dreyer returned to leading the squad while retaining his AD duties.
“Jason did so many things for our district and we hated to lose him,” Johnston said. “When Alex came forward we were excited to have him. He’s starting to realize the challenge to holding these positions. Jason wore many hats and he was a perfectionist; he did everything very well. With Alex, we’ll back up, regroup and retrain but his ceiling is unlimited. He’s also humble and knows when to ask for help.
“Jason was a consummate professional and we’re thankful for what he did for our district. He brought us a long way. I told Alex he’ll have to stand on the shoulders of the giant that came before him.”
Johnston said starting the search for a new head football coach in late May wasn’t an option. He and Rouggly agreed that Rouggly should stay on.
“We’re going to support Alex to get that done,” Johnston said.
Football has the largest rosters and coaching staffs of any prep sport at most high schools. The head coach has to be effective at organization and communicating what’s needed and expected. Rouggly used the same game-planning methods from football when deploying track and field athletes to gain maximum team points, obviously to great success.
Still, he’s aware of the daunting task ahead. He must now decide on everything from the next play on the football field to arranging for game officials and transporting sports teams to and from their competitions. The school supports 12 interscholastic sports and activities, or more if you separate the combined sports by gender (e.g. cross country, basketball, track and field).
“It goes back to being organized and being a great communicator,” Rouggly said. “It’s going to be a lot. This fall is the bread and butter of the school year and I want to develop those positive relationships in our school buildings.
“A huge reason why I feel comfortable was the help Jason Dreyer gave me this last month. He’s a rock star in what he did. Andrea Hammock (athletic secretary) is the brains of the operation. To have her on my side during this process is huge.”
Another mark of Rouggly’s success at Jefferson is the list of athletes who’ve earned college scholarships, including state track champion Anna Heacock (Wichita State University) and all-state football players Dakota Jakoubek (Westminster College), Shane Clenin (University of Arkansas) and Dylan Schnitzler (Southeast Missouri State University).
Rouggly said he can imagine a bittersweet moment a few months from now when the Blue Jays step off the football field for the final time this year and the last time under his command.
“I’m sad because I love the sport, but excited because of the new position,” he said. “The prior 16 years I’ve been developing those relationships with the kids and I’m going to miss that. The good thing is I’m still going to be around them and all of the activities within the school district. I’m glad that our (school board) allowed me to have this last year with the football team.”
The football job should attract plenty of interest when Rouggly steps down. The county is full of coaches aspiring for a shot to run a program, but this job also will draw interest from outside the area.
“Our program is a solid program and our district has much to offer professionally and personally,” Johnston said.