Rose hopes to stay with EV
Jeff Rose wants to stick around. But at the same time, he knows that decision is not entirely up to him.
Rose, the head boys soccer coach at East Valley High School the past four seasons, is ready to embark on a career as an elementary school teacher – something he’s been working toward throughout his time at East Valley.
And Rose’s time with the Knights has been extraordinarily productive.
“My first year, we finished fifth” in the Greater Spokane League, he said. “After that, we’ve been fortunate to win the last three league championships.”
Programs like to hold on to coaches who earn multiple league Coach of the Year honors and capture three straight league titles – especially when the streak is active.
But there might not be a teaching job for Rose in the East Valley School District next year.
“You just never know what the situation is going to be,” Rose said. “I would love to be able to stay and continue working with the young kids we had on the varsity team this year. We’re going to go forward as if it’s still a possibility.”
So, after his most successful season yet, leading the Knights to their third-straight GSL title and on a postseason march to the State 3A quarterfinals, Jeff Rose is uncertain about his future.
“I do know that I want to continue coaching,” he said. “I’m not ready to give that up. And I know that, eventually, this (East Valley) is where I want to end up as a teacher. This is a special school district, and I would love to be a part of it.”
Rose was an assistant coach in the GSL before taking over the Knights. What he found at East Valley was something special.
“I worked at Ferris and Gonzaga Prep and at Central Valley as an assistant coach,” he said. “But East Valley was different. I have never found kids with the kind of camaraderie these kids have – it really is something special.”
Part of the Knights’ secret is the school’s abundance of multisport athletes. Supporting one another is second nature at the school. Another factor is the club team coached by Bob Escobar.
“I have been so lucky to have Bob working with these guys,” Rose said. “Under the rules, he can’t have any involvement with the school team. But he’s the coach who developed these guys and put them in their positions. I just came along at the end and tried not to mess things up too much.”
Escobar coaches the Spokane Valley Express and has coached eight of East Valley’s seniors since they started playing soccer as 10- and 11-year-olds.
Cole Abramson, Matt Miller, Josh Peck, Josh Polello, Marcus Intinarelli, Dino Valdez, Jordan Selland and Matt Schneidmiller all played hundreds of soccer games under Escobar before they reached East Valley as freshmen.
“That kind of experience together is something you don’t find very often,” Rose said. “It means a lot. These kids all knew each other and knew each other’s games backward and forward before they got here.”
Rose also insists there has been an element of luck in winning three straight league titles.
“I think there’s always an element of luck involved in winning,” he said. “Good teams have a way of taking advantage of their good luck when it presents itself.”
It’s an approach Rose plans to use in his teaching career.
“My wife has a wonderful career, so that gives us a great base to start with,” he said. “If I need to commute to Chewelah or Colville or someplace like that, I can commute if I have to. And if I can’t find a full-time teaching position, I have the flexibility to substitute for a while.”
Meanwhile, the Rose family is about to expand by one.
“We just found out we’re going to have a baby boy,” Rose said. “That does kind of add to the urgency of the situation. These days, you really need two full-time incomes if you’re going to raise a family.”
So, is Rose planning to raise a young defender? A midfielder? A striker?
“I want him to be a really good football player,” the coach laughed. “That way, he can take care of us in our old age.”