Todd Jonathan Rogers (born September 30, 1973) is an American professional beach volleyball player who is an Olympic and FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championship gold medalist. He and his former partner, Phil Dalhausser, were the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 AVP Tour champions.
In October 2021, he will be inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, along with Logan Tom and Clay Stanley.
Early life
Rogers was born in Santa Barbara, California to David and Heidi Rogers and brother Dean Rogers.
Playing career
Youth and collegiate
Rogers attended San Marcos High School from 1987 to 1991, where he played indoor volleyball for Jon Lee. Together with teammate Dax Holdren, Rogers won a league championship in 1990. The following year, Rogers led his team to the CIF Southern Section Boys' Volleyball Championship. In addition to volleyball, Rogers played soccer at San Marcos High School.
After high school, Rogers enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He played for the men's volleyball team from 1993 through 1996 and was twice named a Second Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 1995 and 1996. Rogers set a school record for career digs with 783 (since surpassed) and placed second in career assists with 4,831. He earned a degree in religious studies with a minor in coaching.
Amateur
Rogers was originally turned on to beach volleyball by his San Marcos High School coach, Jon Lee, as a way to stay fit for the indoor volleyball season. Rogers' first teammate was then-San Marcos High School teammate Clay Holdren, a cousin of Dax Holdren, in 1987.
He later competed with Holdren; together, they entered professional tournaments starting in 1993. Rogers, however, could not collect any prize money in order to keep his amateur status with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as he was also competing with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos while a student-athlete. The duo competed in the Manhattan Beach Open in August 1995, finishing 25th.
Professional career
1996–2001: starting with Dax Holdren
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Rogers turned professional and kept Dax Holdren as his partner. The duo competed in the domestic AVP Tour and the international FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. Rogers took AVP Rookie of the Year honors in 1997. It took until the AVP Minneapolis Open in July 1998 for the pair to win their first tournament together while their first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournament win came in June 2000 at the Mexico Open in Rosarito, Mexico.
Rogers and Holdren spent 6 years as a professional tandem and achieved 5 first-place finishes on the AVP Tour and 1 first-place finish apiece on the FIVB Beach World Tour and the Beach Volleyball America Tour. He played every match during this span with Holdren, with exceptions being Kevin Martin for the 1997 AVP Tour Dallas Open, Canyon Ceman for the 1999 AVP Tour Cleveland Tournament of Champions, Stein Metzger for the 2000 FIVB Brazil Open, and various teammates for the 1998–2001 AVP Tour King of the Beach tournaments held in Las Vegas, before switching to Sean Scott permanently at the end of 2001.
2001–2005: playing with Sean Scott
Rogers split with Holdren at the end of 2001 and partnered up with Sean Scott for the Rogers' last event of the 2001 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, the Brazil Open. The duo narrowly missed out on participation in the 2004 Summer Olympics as the third-best American teams while only two are sent. The pair found moderate success, winning on four separate AVP Tour stops. As with his previous partnership with Dax Holdren, Rogers played the overwhelming majority throughout this period with Scott, with the few exceptions being the start of the 2003 AVP Tour with Eli Fairfield for 2 tournaments, the 2005 AVP Austin Open with Reid Priddy, various teammates for the 2004 Best of the Beach and 2005 Las Vegas Shootout, and Phil Dalhausser for the 2005 Beach Volleyball World Championships prior to making a permanent switch to Dalhausser in 2006.
2006–2012: dominance with Dalhausser
2006
While playing with Scott, Rogers took notice of a 6'9" up-and-comer named Phil Dalhausser. Recognizing his potential, Rogers partnered with him for the 2006 season and began coaching Dalhausser on the intricacies of the game.
The pair won eight AVP events and one FIVB event in 2006. Rogers also won the season-ending round-robin tournament, earning the title, "God of the Beach".
Despite their success, Rogers and Dalhausser finished the 2006 AVP season in second place, just six points shy of leaders Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger.