Ozark boys soccer coach Zack Owens will be joining most of his colleagues next spring by also coaching girls soccer.
Owens was hired to coach the Lady Tigers at the beginning of this school year, just as he was getting set for the start of his fourth season coaching the Tigers.
“This probably isn't a correct stat, but 80-90 percent of the Final Four teams from the past 10 years have the same head coach for both boys and girls,” Owens said. “It’s pretty common to have the same head coach for both.”
Nixa's Evan Palmer, Kickapoo's Phil Hodge and Glendale's Jeff Rogers are among the SWMO coaches to lead both their boys and girls programs.
Owens is looking forward to instilling the same principles in both Ozark’s boys and girls programs.
“I don’t want to create a team culture within one of the programs, one for the boys and one for the girls,” he said. “I’m striving for or a culture of unity. I want to be able to do things with both programs together. I want it to be Ozark soccer.”
Owens was an assistant for the Lady Tigers for three seasons. Similarly, he was an assistant to the Tigers for five years, before being named their head coach in 2020.
“I knew there were girls on the team who were rooting for me. I love that,” Owens said. “I want to make sure they understand dedication is what's going to get us to success. I'm ready to gain their buy-in.
“It's a lot more work,” he added. “But I have the support of my fiancee, my family and it seems the community.”
In his four seasons coaching the Tigers, Owens currently has a 60-24-1 career record that includes one COC championship and one District title.
