North Central College Men’s Soccer – Coach Enzo Fuschino
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Enzo from the North Central Men’s Program in Illinois. We talk about how he likes to recruit everywhere in order to make a diverse roster. He describes the benefits of a nice town and a school with a tradition of athletic success. Lastly, we discuss how he likes to make sure his players succeed through challenges and learning from mistakes. Learn more about North Central College Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Enzo from North central college up in Illinois. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for having me.
Matt: Yeah. Thanks for being here. I think I’ve been in Naperville once in my life, I think for a wedding. But, uh, but a nice, it’s a nice place.
Your, your temperatures are definitely better than mine are down here in Florida here at the end of July, but, uh, it’s neither here nor there. So you’re just a couple of weeks away from, from preseason, I’m guessing. And, uh, you guys had an amazing run last year. So, uh, what. Kind of, uh, what, what was your year like in terms of recruiting?
What, what’s kind of your normal calendar? Uh, you know, let’s, let’s say we’re looking at the class of 24. Now I’m guessing kind of what is your normal recruiting situation?
Coach: Yeah, we’ve been done. We’ve been done with the 23s for a while now, and it’s a pretty large, uh, recruiting class. We’re trying to build up a roster.
Uh, since, uh, we, we carry two teams, basically, um, you know, uh, first team and a reserve squad. Um, so now we’re looking at, we have been looking mainly at 24s, uh, but, uh, 24 recruiting class is going to be much, uh, smaller. Uh, we’re losing very few players. So yeah, this last, this past season has been great, but I would say that the past two seasons, so right after COVID, uh, 21 and, uh, 22 have [00:01:30] been.
Uh, two, uh, pretty, uh, pretty good seasons, you know, we lost basically only once in a regular season, uh, games and, uh, twice in the NCAA tournament, you know, made, uh, uh, some strides, um, 2019 was my first season here and, uh, you know, trying to get my, my feet wet and, uh, you know, bring, you know, kind of hard to bring my own recruits since I was hardly in, uh, in, uh, March, uh, we had a pretty good run, but then we had COVID.
Uh, which, uh, uh, you know, kind of stopped a little bit what we’re doing, but the recruiting didn’t stop and, uh, it kind of gave us a chance to, uh, to do a few other things. You know, the NCAA allowed us to train, uh, much more than we normally normally do. So we just train and play some scrimmages, but it really helped, uh, cement the group and, uh, and, uh, I think the results.
Showed. So, uh, yeah, we’re getting ready for, uh, our, uh, our, our, our new season here, 23. And, uh, we’ve got two weeks away and kids are coming in on the six, on the 16th of August. Uh, 18th is gonna be our first day on the field. And, uh, we’re very excited. Um, you know, we had a very good spring season, um, worked on a bunch of things and, uh, we also had a chance to travel.
Uh, overseas, uh, in March, we went to, uh, to Italy and, uh, and, uh, it was great, you know, it’s, it’s a great chance to, to, to give the kids, uh, uh, you know, a great cultural experience, but also a way to, uh, [00:03:00] um, You know, the bond, uh, even more as a team and, uh, uh, so yeah, now I know the kids, uh, they’re all working hard in the off season.
They’re all excited about, uh, the new season. Um, yeah, we, we lost only that one game, uh, but it was enough to leave a sour, uh, taste in our mouth. So, you know, kids are eager to get back on the field and, uh, hopefully build on the success we’ve had. Uh, no, that’s great.
Matt: Well, I was going to guess if you went overseas that it was Italy.
That was just a wild guess on my part.
Coach: Uh, you know, although I like to explore other parts of the world as well. So maybe the next one is going to be somewhere else.
Matt: Yeah, I’m sure. Well, one thing that’s maybe Slightly different about your roster is you do have some international players, which isn’t as common at the division three level.
Um, so what is your recruiting like on the international stage as well? As do you look at the transfer portals at all? Does that come into play for you in any way?
Coach: So, uh, I like a diverse roster. Uh, you know, just. Different states, different cultures, and I think the internationals bring a lot to the plate as well.
It’s becoming more common now in D3 to see international players. It’s, it’s happening more and more. Um, so in our conference, you know, there are. I would say two or three teams that, uh, also, uh, recruit internationally, um, pretty heavily. Um, [00:04:30] so, you know, basically I established some relationship with a couple of agencies and, uh, if you looked at my roster, you know, you notice there are four Italians.
So I, I felt like there was a good connection to make because I am familiar with the leagues, you know, having played there. So if they tell me where they played, I understand, uh, you know, I stay. They’re good enough to play here or not, while, you know, other, other countries, I’m not very familiar with the leagues, so I’m not quite sure, um, you know, if they can play at this level, um, level or not, and, you know, the Italians were last year, they did pretty well, you know, out of the four, one was injured the whole season, but the other three, I’m Uh, world conference and, uh, two of them were all region.
So, uh, we’ll continue on that path. So when I recruit, um, you know, I, I went to Italy, uh, spent some time there, um, looking at some of the showcase over there, but we also attend, uh, any other events, um, in the country or even here locally. I mean, the Chicago land, it’s a, it’s a hotbed for soccer. So there is a ton of clubs and high schools.
Uh, so you don’t have to travel that far. Uh, to, to, you know, to recruit, but, you know, we, we attend, uh, some of the major events, you know, I was in Dallas for the MLS next event and we’re, uh, my sister was in North Carolina for the CNL, uh, regional event. So we, we, we like to expand and, you know, we got some kids next, we got some internationals.
We also have kids from California, kids from Texas, [00:06:00] kids from Michigan, from Iowa, from all over. So, so to make up for the roster, it’s. Quite diverse. Yeah. Yeah.
Matt: Well, do you guys do your own ID camps or do you or your staff work other ID camps? How do they fit in? Yeah.
Coach: Yeah. We do both. Uh, we, we attend a number of, uh, um, local D one ID events and work, uh, those events.
And we also do two. Um, here in North Central College. One is going to be this coming Saturday, as a matter of fact, and the other one is in the winter. Um, we do one indoor. Um, so, and we on purpose, we, uh, charge very little. And we also keep a very small. I mean, it’s a moneymaker. I know that there’s a lot of a ton of ID camps out there and families will spend a fortune attending all of them.
We want to make sure we give the kids a chance to show. Um, you know, their skills, uh, we’re going to spend some time with them, which I think is very important, the recruiting process, you know, I mean, yeah, the first thing we look at, it’s how good the kid is, uh, but then we want to see is the kid coachable, uh, does he have a good attitude, is a hard worker, and on the other hand, I always tell the recruits, I also want to give them a chance to see us, uh, in action.
Uh, so it’s a chance for the recruits to come in and, uh, and spend three, four hours with, uh, with the staff and meet some of the players who are working in the camp. So, uh, it goes both ways and, uh, and, uh, you know, we, we rely on that a lot.
Matt: Okay. Well, do you attend, [00:07:30] uh, high school games? Do you have You know, are you talking with high school coaches, club coaches?
How does the relationship with coaches, obviously internationally have those, but locally, how does that come into play with your recruit?
Coach: It is very important to establish a relationship, uh, you know, high school games, we attend as much as we can. It is kind of hard because it’s during our season. Uh, but again, as I said before.
This area is a hotbed for soccer. So there is a lot of good high school games going on all the time. So one of our staff is always able to, uh, to attend. Um, you know, also the high schools have a lot of, uh, um, tournaments or, uh, or, uh, camps that they’re doing nowadays over the summer where they invite college coaches and we attend those, uh, as well.
So we have a network. I’ve gone with high school coaches, club coaches. Yes, it’s very important. And, um, again, the duration with the coaches is also important to know more about the kids. You know, I said before, yeah, we want to make sure the kid can play is good enough, but we also make sure, you know, is this a good kid.
Uh, is it going to fit our system? Is it going to fit our culture? Um, and, you know, talking to coaches and having a relationship with them really helps getting, uh, the story of, uh, the kids, you know, and then, of course, having them on campus and work with them, um, that really helps a lot as well.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school.
Um, you know, there’s you’ve been there three, three, four years now. [00:09:00] Yeah. So you’ve, you’ve, you’ve got a good, uh, good handle on it. So what, what are some of the things you find are amazing about the schools, things that set us apart? Maybe some things we wouldn’t know, even just by going through the website.
Coach: Yeah, well, uh, you know, there are three things are very important here. First, it’s a good academic school. You know, academics are, are, are, are good, um, pretty high rank, pretty high in the Midwest and, and, and beyond. Um, and then the location, it’s, it’s one of the prime, uh, things. I mean, we’re a small school.
We’re, I think, but 2, 800 students. So, you know, you get all the benefits of a small, uh, small school, you know, small class size professors only. But we’re downtown Naperville, which, uh, you know, Naperville every year gets voted as one of the best places to live in the U. S. And so the kids, you know, go to class, get all the benefits of a small school, but then they step outside, and they’re downtown, uh, a nice area.
So they’re really, and it gives them a feel of being, you know, not in the middle of nowhere, but in a, you know, in a bigger… bigger area. Um, and then the tradition, the athletic tradition that the school has. I mean, the school has 43 national championships, um, you know, throughout the years. So it really adds.
And, you know, I mean, those national champions just put the central name on the map all over the country. You know, I mean, if you look at the, uh, national championships, it’s mostly cross country track and field. But lately, uh, in our football team has won two out of three in the last Three years. Um, and, [00:10:30] uh, you know, our conference, you know, CCIW, it’s a, it’s a pretty tough conference and our teams in every sport kind of are on the top, uh, part of the, of the conference.
So, uh, you know, I would say these three elements, academic, athletic, and the location are what makes, uh, North Central special, you know, also being 30 minutes from Chicago. Service from O’Hare, very easy to get here and get out of here. Yeah, for sure.
Matt: Well, you mentioned the academic component, obviously a very good school academically and good sports, as you mentioned too.
So, so how do your student athletes really balance the demands of both a high level on the field and high level in the classroom and what support systems does a school offer to help them with that too?
Coach: Yeah, a lot. I’d say the main thing is, you know, out of the Close to 3, 000 students, one third are athletes.
So our faculty is used to have athletes in their classroom. That doesn’t mean they cut them a break. Actually, they make it a little tougher on them. But there’s a lot of cooperation between faculty and coaches. We work together. Um, so, um, so there is a lot, a lot of, uh, help to the kids get, uh, we have a ton of systems going on in the athletics department.
We have a mentorship system. Uh, every, every program is got mentors. We have a faculty, uh, mentor was meets also meets with the players regularly, uh, to go over. Uh, you know, the demands and, uh, you know, uh, [00:12:00] how can you succeed, uh, as a student athlete? Uh, you know, it’s not easy. It’s, it’s, it’s tough, especially for fall sports.
You know, you have freshmen who come in, uh, they have not much time to get adjusted to, uh, uh, you know, to the new, uh, to new life, basically, and they’re thrown right away to the pit. And, and, uh, you know, I mean, for us, especially, you know, kids come in at 16 and we start classes a week later. So there’s not much time, you know, sort of school start a little later.
So kids have a little more time. So we start right away. So, you know, we, we, we, we have, uh, lots of, uh, um, you know, faculty mentors who talk to the kids about how to manage your time, you know, how to, um, Uh, find time to, uh, uh, you know, do everything you need to do, uh, as a student athlete, you know, homework, rest, uh, get your lunches, get your, your, your dinners, um, get your academic help, uh, get your mental help.
You know, we, we stress a lot, uh, uh, the mental part, uh, of the game. I mean, it’s easy to, to, to get here and just be overwhelmed by, by the, by the whole thing. So. We, we, we help a lot, you know, we spend a lot of time also as a team to deal with these issues and talk to the kids about, uh, you know, all these things.
We also make sure the kids understand, you know, that make sure all your classes are done as early as possible in the day. So it leaves you time for the rest of the day, uh, to do the other things.
Matt: Well, that was going to be my next question is if, you know, let’s pretend it’s October and you’re in the heart of the season here.
Kind of walk me through what a typical week might look like for your [00:13:30] players in terms of. When our classes, practices, meals, what’s the game cadence look like that sort of thing?
Coach: Yeah. So basically kids started class as early as possible, 8am in the day. So, you know, get up early, get your breakfast, go to class.
You know, nutrition is very important as well. We make sure the kids understand that, you know, they get their meals in, they get their rest in. Um, and it’s a pretty stressful season, you know, on the body and on the mind. So done with classes, uh, as early as possible in the afternoon, get some rest if you can.
Get homework done if you can, and then we train, uh, normally, uh, like from 6 o’clock to 9, 6 to 9 p. m. That’s our, uh, our, uh, our training time. It’s a three hour block because I said before we have two teams. Basically, we have a first team and a reserves team, so we do 90 minute blocks, uh, and we alternate those.
One week we have one team go 6, 7, 30. The following week, we have the team do that. Um, so basically our games in October, I would say that in October, it is the, in the thick of things, but things get a little more normalized because we finally just played conference, uh, schedule. So games are only Wednesdays and Saturdays.
So, uh, you know, by NCA rules, we have to give the kids a day off. Uh, that usually happens in October and Sunday regularly. So the Mondays, the day that we go hard to prepare for a Wednesday game, um, you know, the Tuesday session, the day before a game, it’s more like a, um, a tactical session where we, you know, deal with, prepare some, [00:15:00] uh, the tactics for the game, um, you know, that’s a film day as well.
Um, you know, either Monday or Tuesday, um, then the Thursday, it’s a recovery day, you know, after the game, um, we might push some of the guys who did not play or play less a little harder. And then you’re back into Friday where you’re preparing for the Saturday’s game. So a light session, uh, with some film and, uh, and, uh, tactical tactics just to go over.
And then. Sunday, we, we rest, I would say the most stressful part for, for, for our players. It’s September because that’s when we try to get all the non conference games in and, uh, try to feed them in as much as we can. So there are weeks where we play three games and, uh, you know, that’s, that’s pretty rough.
So that kind of helps having a good, healthy, you know, 24, 25. First team roster and, uh, and, uh, you know, do some turnover, um, you know, and, uh, you know, I believe at this point we have a pretty, uh, balanced and, uh, and even roster where we have positions, you know, we got more than one player per position. So, uh, the level does not drop and we can.
Switch players, you know, and, you know, injuries happen, uh, you know, stuff happens. So, you know, in last year, last two years, that helped a lot, you know, last year, for example, we had, uh, our, our top forward [00:16:30] coming in and he got hurt right away. He broke his collarbone. And so we had to put a, uh, a freshman.
There was also a top recruit. And he had the same, how freak is that? Same kind of injury. He broke his collarbone as well. So it was a third player in. And he was good and strong enough to, uh, to do the job. And, uh, so, you know, depth in a roster, uh, really helps. One thing I forgot to mention before you asked me about the, uh, the transfer portal.
Uh, yeah, I don’t spend, uh, a ton of time, uh, looking at those, at those, you know, look at the portal. Uh, occasionally I go up and, uh, and, uh, I go, I go in and, uh, and take a look at it. And I’m gonna reach out to a couple of kids here and there, mostly from local. Uh, but I don’t, I don’t spend too much on it, but we have every year a number of transfers that, you know, because of the success that we’re having, you know, they want to, they want to come in and explore our school.
Matt: No, that makes perfect sense. Well. Let’s, let’s continue on with, with kind of the season and then the soccer side of things, you know, I mean, obviously you mentioned having the, the, the reserve team too. And so what is, what is your total roster size that you’re trying to hit each year?
Coach: Yeah, we’re looking at like around 45 kids, uh, including four goalkeepers.
Um, so they will give you a 24, 25. Group two groups. So, you know, and, and the roster, the, the, the reserves roster team, uh, [00:18:00] they play, uh, 13, 14 games. So it’s a lot of games they get to play and, uh, and it’s also a very competitive group. So basically that’s meant for all the freshmen, you know what I mean? All the freshmen come in, they’re good players, but they’re not maybe physically ready.
Uh, they’re not quite up to par with the speed of play at the college level. You know, I did it in college, 18 year old playing against maybe a 25, 26, 27 year old from school. It makes a big difference. So they might need a little time to develop and that’s why we give them all these games so they go and compete with other schools.
Um, so yeah, I would say about 45 kids. That’s the size of the, of the roster that we try to keep every year.
Matt: So then what is the size of your staff to, to manage both?
Coach: Yes. Yes. No, I am really happy. And you know, I, I was, uh, at a different institution for years where I had never had a luxury or an assistant coach.
I had to recruit some, uh, uh, Players that just graduated and, you know, volunteer their time or, uh, or, uh, you know, give, uh, uh, enough to buy a big Mac or something, but now, no, I’m really happy because we have a full time assistant, uh, and we just have a new, we just hired a new full time assistants coming in, uh, next week and then I have a GA, um, so it’s not busy, not a full time position and the GA, Uh, I usually try to, uh, to, to recruit a GA who’s a goalkeeper coach so that he can spend, uh, [00:19:30] quality time with the goalkeepers.
You know, we have four goalkeepers, maybe five, uh, you know, they need attention, you know, from my past experiences, goalkeepers of us can kind of get kind of neglected, uh, pushed aside. So I want to make sure that we have, uh, we have that. So we got everything covered. Um, you know, it’s the three of us, uh, working together, but we also have a, a fourth was a volunteer, uh, coach, um, and he’s mostly working with data and, uh, analytics and, uh, uh, so he’s a numbers guy, does all that stuff.
Um, so it’s four of us basically, but three full time and one is a volunteer and, uh, and, uh, yeah, it’s been working. Pretty well. I mean, we had another assistant who had to resign recently for family reasons, but I’m excited about the new one coming in and we work as a unit. Uh, so even, even the goalkeeper coach, the GA, he basically takes charge of the reserves team.
Uh, the assistant works mainly with me and the reserves team. Um, so I feel like, you know, we’re, we’re, we’re a good team, um, you know, running good sessions. And, uh, uh, Discussing, um, you know, what’s, uh, uh, what’s working, what’s not working, you know, and, uh, I make sure I tell my students that they know that I’m not looking for a yes, man, you know, I want to, you know, them to question and discuss and try to find the best solution for any of the issues that would arise with our team.
And, uh, I’m pretty sure with the new system, things are going to just be as smooth because I’ve known him for years. So good. Good. Well,
Matt: [00:21:00] one of the things you just mentioned was data and analytics. So what is it that you guys do with data analytics? Are you filming games and practices or using any of the GPS technology or any of those kinds of things?
Coach: What do you guys do? I’m not big on the GPS thing. I mean, I, I, you know, I’m old, old, old style. I can tell it was running. It was not, uh, uh, but, uh, you know, numbers. Uh, so basically we just invested. You know, in, uh, in a new huddle camera and, uh, there’s also a new, uh, feature with huddle. It’s called the white scout, uh, that breaks everything down.
And, uh, and so we film, uh, everything from, uh, from, uh, games home and away to practices. You know, I’ve, it’s, it’s, uh, you know, video. There’s a lie. Uh, I find it very helpful for kids. Even at practice, when you tell the kids he’s doing something wrong, he might. But if you show them the film, you know, there’s no way out and we don’t use it as a way to, you know, uh, kind of a finger point, but hey, you know, you did this wrong.
Let’s fix it. And, um, it really helps. And, uh, and then, uh, you know, the numbers and the data and, uh, analytics, it just helps a little bit with, uh, percentage. And, you know, where are we losing the ball the most? Where are we winning the ball most? Where are we more effective? You know, um. You know, what that really helps a lot because we present the kids, uh, these numbers and, uh, you know, it gives us something to think about.
So, uh, yeah, so I’m really excited about this new camera that we got with Huddle and, uh, uh, [00:22:30] and use it as much as we can. And, uh, and last year really helped, you know, we didn’t do. As many practices as we wanted to, uh, I wish we did, but you know, this year we’ll go as much as we can. Okay. Awesome.
Matt: Well, more about you specifically, I guess how, you know, you guys have had some, some great success these last few years.
So how would you describe your style of coaching and the team style of play?
Coach: Yeah, I would say you should have somebody else, uh, ask somebody else’s question, but I would say, you know, I’m a very demanding. Coach, once we step on the field, you know, I expect the kids to give me 100 percent or more every single time I push him as much as I can.
I personally feel that if A session. There’s no mistakes made. I’m not pushing the guys hard enough. So, I want to make sure that I push them to the limit, but the, the, always in a positive way. You know, I mean, the kids are not going to hear me, you know, screaming and yelling the whole time if they make mistakes and everything.
No, I want to make sure they succeed, uh, through mistakes and, uh, and, uh, through challenges. So, uh, I would say that’s my style. I’m very passionate about the game. Uh, I wouldn’t say I’m a maniac, but You know, I, I still watch a ton of soccer and, uh, uh, not just, uh, college soccer, but anything. And, uh, um, our style of play reflects my passion and reflects also our trainings.
You know, our trainings are also, uh, you know, very detailed and, uh, and we, we like to play, you know, I like [00:24:00] to enjoy, uh, the product that we put out there. So, um, you know, we, we, we, in general, you know, we like to build out of the back, we like to possess, but. You know, I also like my players to be very eclectic and change according to, uh, how the game is going or, you know, who we’re playing, you know, based on the scouting we’ve done.
Um, so, you know, we might play a bit more direct sometimes when, uh, when, uh, um, you know, the game requires us to do so. So, you know, we have, we have a game model. Uh, we have some basics that we like to, to go about, you know, my kids always hear me, uh, you know, maybe being Italian defense is one of the, one of the things in my mind, but I’d rather win a game, a game 1 0 2 0 than 4 3 5 4, right?
The one thing we take pride on. Is not giving up goals. All right. So, uh, they always hear me, you know, get behind the ball. So we lose the ball. Everybody knows that we work as a unit defensively. And they also know that we get the ball. The first thing we do, we look forward. That doesn’t mean we just dump it forward every time.
But that’s one of the concepts that we try to steal the guys, uh, try to try to, you know, win the ball before you get the ball, you know, speed of play, speed of thought. Your first option is forward. And if it’s not there, we go to option two or three. But, uh, um, Yeah. Defense, you know, I would say in 2021, we, we had a number of, uh, records that we build defensively.
Our, our, our defensive unit was one of the best in the nation, [00:25:30] uh, for goals against. And, uh, but again, it’s not just the defense that the back four or back five of the keeper, it’s we defend as a unit. It was called score. Well, a number, you know, a good number of goals as well. Uh, so we’re not just, you know, a defensive team, but we, we, we like to go forward as well.
Matt: No, that’s great. Love it. Well, coach, we’ve covered a lot of ground, talked about a lot of different things, but, um, my, my ending question is always, if you had one piece of advice, one nugget of information, you’d love to give all parents, players, families going through the college recruiting process.
Coach: Yeah, I’ve heard this on some other, uh, some of the podcasts you’ve done.
But, uh, to me, uh, one of the most important things and I coach club as well, it’s, uh, you know, make sure that, you know, when a kid is looking for a college, don’t just look at, uh, You know, the school and, uh, you gotta find the right fit, but you gotta find the right fit by spending time on campus. So don’t just go once.
Uh, go more than once. Uh, go watch games. Uh, look at how the team behaves on the field. How the coaching staff behaves on the sidelines. Meet the players. If you can spend a night and overnight, that’s awesome. So you can see what the kids do when they’re not playing soccer. Um, you know, you’re going to have to spend the next four years of your life at this new place.
So you want to make sure that, uh, uh, you know, all the boxes are checked and, and it fits what you’re looking for in a school. Okay. So, um, [00:27:00] What the kids do when they’re not playing college, when they’re not playing soccer, it’s, it’s very important. Um, and you know, what kind of behavior the kids have on the field and, and the coach, you know, coach yells all the time on sidelines, kids are out of control on the field.
You want to make sure that you check. Uh, you check everything, uh, and of course, the other thing that I always tell the kids, academics, all right, uh, you know, our private schools can be pretty pricey, uh, but there is a ton of help that they can get, and one of them is, is, uh, academics, uh, you have a good GPA, uh, our tuition gets cut in half, uh, so they really have, so don’t neglect your academics, make sure that, you know, you take good classes, AP classes, and you, you just, Get your GPA as high as you can.
Matt: Great advice, coach. Absolutely. Well, wish you the best of luck here in the fall. Hopefully you can just keep on, uh, progressing in that NCAA tournament. And, uh, we’ll definitely keep an eye on you this, uh, this fall. And if you’re down in Bradenton doing any recruiting, give me a shout and we’ll get together.
Coach: All right, coach. Definitely do. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Take care.
