Sewanee Women’s Soccer – Coach Laszlo van Straelen

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Laszlo from the Sewanee Women’s Program in Tennessee. We talk about how they recruit all levels of all leagues. He describes how going to school there is like being at summer camp. Lastly, we discuss how they adapt their style of play to win games. Learn more about Sewanee Women’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Laszlo from Sewanee, the university of the South. Women’s program, uh, up there in Tennessee. Welcome coach. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah. Thanks for being here. Congrats on a great season. You guys, uh, you know, won your conference, made it to the tournament.

Unfortunately, you’re not still playing, but, uh, but a good season nonetheless. Um, and now that the season’s over, I’m guessing you guys are full bore in the recruiting mode. Um, just out of curiosity, how much, how much recruiting? Happens during the season. I know people ask me that all the time. Should I email during the season?

Are they even looking at it? So, so what’s that look like for you guys? 

Coach: Yeah, definitely. I think most of it, of course, occurs out of season, um, in terms of the effort on our end, but emails come in throughout the season. And we’re always, you know, just glancing over the highlight film, looking at the different profiles, um, looking at NCSA programs like that.

I would say typically in season. The majority of our recruiting occurs through our ID camp. So we do host an ID camp in season. Um, it’s typically a one day thing and we play Friday, Sunday. So it will occur between two home games. So we’ll have a game on Friday, ID camp on Saturday, another game on Sunday.

Um, and that kind of allows students to come and, you know, visit campus and go through the camp process and, and perhaps watch us play as well. Um, in [00:01:30] terms of actually going out and watching players play, I don’t think we did that a single time this season. Typically, we kind of save that for once the season’s over, we’ll do a lot, uh, you know, a lot more going out and watching players play.

Okay. 

Matt: Now, in terms of timeline, I’m guessing you guys are Uh, you know, working hard on the class of 24 coming up, but when do you think you will kind of have that class locked in? Are you looking at any 25 at this point? What’s that kind of look like? 

Coach: Yeah, definitely. I mean, so we currently we’re trying to fill probably about 3 more slots for our 2024.

Um, so we’re about halfway through and slightly over halfway and we’re looking pretty heavily into that class. That’s definitely priority number 1. I would say. Thank you. Hopefully done by summertime around March. Um, maybe even a little bit earlier, that would be ideal. That’s typically the time where we start to ask for commitments from January, February, March, from those players that we’ve, uh, extended offers to.

So, um, but yes, we’re definitely already looking at 20, 25, um, definitely have been contact with a few of them, have a couple offers out for 2025 as well, which is definitely early, but. Uh, we like to get our name out there early and give, you know, them the opportunity to see if they really do like Saloni.

So I think, um, probably sometime around March is when we’re going to fully, hopefully be done with our 2024s and be ready to completely, uh, shift our focus over to the 2025 class. 

Matt: [00:03:00] Well, between now and then, I’m sure you’re going to hit a lot of different events and tournaments and stuff. So what, what events are on your calendar places you guys like to go to, to see players play?

Coach: Yeah, great question. So I was just in New Jersey this past weekend for the PDA showcase. Um, this next, not next weekend, but the weekend after I will be in, um, Raleigh for NCFC for Castle. So that’s a big one for us. And then pretty much anything in Florida, our head coach, he’s a big Florida fan. He likes the weather down there.

So we’ll go to pretty much every Florida showcase. We’ll go to Disney, um, you know, Sanford, all these different showcases down there. Um, we do well in Southern regions. So we’ll go to Georgia, we’ll go to Louisiana, sometimes to Texas as well. Of course, ECNL Murphysboro is 30 to 40 minutes from Suwannee. So that’s fantastic event for us.

So we’ll be there for sure. Um, so I would say any of the ECNL events in the Southern region, uh, most of them we will be attending. 

Matt: Well, and I’m glad you mentioned ECNL. So everybody’s always. Asking about, does it matter what league I play in? Um, and obviously you say you guys are going to ECNL events.

You’re, let’s just say you guys are, you’re a top division three, uh, program. So where, what are the leagues that you guys tend to A scout and B get players from? Because sometimes those might be two different [00:04:30] things, right? 

Coach: Yeah, very true. No, that’s a good question. And I think it, it definitely, we like to spread ourselves as much as we possibly can.

Um, I would say we definitely don’t look at any league like, probably not. I would say it just depends on the level of player within that league. So a lot of our players are ECNL players. We’ve got, um, half of our commits this year are ECNL players. We do have an ECRL commit. Um, actually two ECRL commits, I believe.

So, um, definitely I would say we look at all different levels, and it really just depends on the player individually. Obviously, if it’s an ECNL event, it’s a little bit easier to recruit them, um, in terms of, you know, they’re at the level because they’re playing against higher level opponents. It’s possible where somebody might be at, for example, a DPL or a National League, where you’re watching the game and they are standing out, they’re playing really well.

It’s like, okay, well maybe we want to see her at our ID camp against other players that we know are at the level as well to sort of see where they fit in. But we definitely have DPL and National League players on our roster who do fine. So definitely don’t think that there’s any leagues where we’re really shying away from.

I would say the players we’re typically getting do kind of bounce around that ECNL to ECRL level. Okay. And GA, of course, GA as well is fantastic for us as well. 

Matt: Okay, well, in [00:06:00] terms of the transfer portal, that’s on everybody’s hit list, and international players seem to be, you know, getting more attention, although Division 3, that Generally isn’t the case on the international side because of cost and other things.

So do you guys look at the transfer portal at all? Do you have any international recruiting that you guys are doing? Are you pretty much, uh, the old school high school seniors and domestic high school seniors? 

Coach: Good question. Yeah. Um, so we have two transfers on the team currently, um, that we got last year.

So they are, yep. Those are the only players who have transferred into our roster. We’re definitely looking at the transfer portal. I would say it’s likely that. Um, you know, we, we have a couple of players that we’ve been reaching out to and some stuff that we’re kind of looking at, uh, with specific players who are currently on the transfer portal.

Now, with that being said internationally. We don’t have any international players, um, it’s just with the packaging for our school doesn’t always work out, unfortunately, so it’s a little bit more of, uh, you know, time and energy wasted if we’re spending too much time on that rather than the players who we know would be able to fit in, um, quite easily here at Suwannee.

So I would say the biggest for us is, um. In terms of transfers as players coming from other D3 organizations, we also had a player transfer in from Radford as well. So, uh, we’re kind of looking around at the, at the different, you know, options in the transfer [00:07:30] portal, but most of our time is spent on high school seniors.

Matt: Okay, well, let’s shift gears a bit. Talk about the school. I’m sure there’s folks out there not not familiar with. With the swanee. So I know you’ve only been there a short time. So what are some of the things that drew you to the school? Uh, some of the things you’ve found while you’re there that are just that stick out that are awesome that maybe we wouldn’t know even just by going through the website.

Coach: Yeah, I would say. The easiest way for me to describe Saloni is it’s just different from any other program, any other school. Uh, I have never seen anything like it. 1 of my 1 of our alums who graduated last year described it to me as coming to summer camp for 4 years. And basically what it is is you’re on top of a plateau on the 2nd largest campus in the country.

13, 000 acres. And if you’re an outdoorsy person, it’s probably the best place in the world to be in terms of, uh, in terms of a, um, an education. Uh, everything is outdoors. The campus is absolutely beautiful, consistently ranked top 10 most beautiful campuses and probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived.

Um, I, I love it there in terms of the ability to, you know, walk around every everywhere. There’s, you know, lakes, rivers, trails on campus. So I would say in terms of the campus itself. It’s gorgeous. And then the other thing and something that you might not be able to see when you’re looking at the website is the sense of community.

Um, 1 thing that they will mention is our alumni network is [00:09:00] extremely, extremely strong. And I think that’s just a testament to how much the people who go to Suwannee love it and how much they care about it. Um, and I, you know, I’ve only ever really heard good things from alums. And with that being said, the community is so strong.

We are more rarely located campus. We are about 45 minutes from Chattanooga is the most major city. Um, so it’s definitely not, uh, you know, in a big metropolitan area. Uh, and, and what I usually say to, to recruits who are thinking about, you know, that might not be for me. Well, everybody stays on campus.

Nobody goes home for the weekends. There’s always stuff to do on campus. Greek life is a pretty big part of our school, and Suwannee has rules that if you are part of a Greek life organization, you’re hosting an event. Everybody is welcome. You’re not allowed to regulate who can come in, whether they’re in Greek life or not.

Um, so that. You know, definitely contributes to the sense of community and as well. Um, it just seems like everybody’s tight knit. We’ll get a ton of fans at our games who are either part of other athletic organizations or not part of athletic organizations as well. And some of our teammates are our players live with teammates and some live with teammates and random people who they’ve met throughout the school in other ways as well.

So I think the sense of community and the nature and how beautiful the campus are is. Probably the, uh, the most spectacular things about salami. Okay. 

Matt: Well, obviously as a player, you are a student athlete. So on the student side, [00:10:30] you know, what kind of systems are in place to help. Your players be successful as they make the transition from high school to college and really balancing those demands of, of a sport and school.

Coach: Great question. Yeah, it’s uh, it’s definitely a challenge. That is, that is for sure. I mean, Suwannee is a high academic, high academic institution, um, but our players do really, really well. I think we had a cumulative 7, um, in the spring, and that was the highest across any athletic team at Suwannee. So our players do really well, and they care about their education a lot, which is extremely important.

And of course, you are a student athlete, so it is extremely important that you’re focusing on that. Yeah. Um, they like to study together and all those things. So in terms of, you know, uh, I guess programs or opportunities that would help players and student athletes succeed both on and off the field. I would say there’s a lot of tutoring available.

The small class sizes is very, very underrated. I think you can have one on ones with your professor much easier. They know who you are. They know you’re on the soccer team. They can be more accommodating if you’ve got to weigh trips and that, and you know, that sort of thing. And then of course, the other resource that you won’t see listed on the website is.

You have teammates, teammates who have been in those classes, teammates who will study with you in the library, who’ve had that professor before and can tell you what, you know, he or she likes and dislikes. And that’s a huge, invaluable resource that our players definitely utilize. Okay. [00:12:00] 

Matt: Well, Take me back a couple of weeks, you know, before the conference tournament, um, you’re, you’re just in the heart of that conference schedule.

Can you walk me through what a typical week would look like for players in terms of, you know, winter practices, classes, meals, what kind of, what’s that you mentioned the game canes kind of a Friday, Sunday kind of thing, but, but what does that week look like? 

Coach: Yeah, absolutely. So. We’ll typically have two games a week in conference.

Um, again, Friday, Sunday is usually how it goes if we have two and then of course, there’s your mandated NCAA day off. So we’ll train four days a week, have two games a week and have one day off. I would say that’s a typical schedule. Uh, training is usually 4 30 to 6 30 on our turf field, although we do have a grass field that we can utilize if we’d like.

Um, and then dining. Dining hall is actually, it’s pretty cool. It’s open from 7 a. m. to 8 p. m. daily. So it doesn’t have, you know, specific breaks where there’s downtime and there’s no food. You can always go in and get food. So we try and end our trainings before it closes at 8. Um, but if perhaps, you know, somebody else is using the turf and scheduling made it a little bit tougher, then we’ll provide food for the players afterwards as well.

So. Um, their time management. I mean, our players, they’re very organized. They’re always texting me asking what’s the itinerary for the week. Um, so they’ll, they’re on top of it, but there’s definitely always a time for them to eat and make sure they’re refueled after training. So it’s definitely demanding.

But, uh, with their classes [00:13:30] and being as organized as they are, they do tend to Excel in season. 

Matt: Okay, great. Well, let’s talk more about the soccer side of things. I mean, well, we, we talked recruiting, but is there a roster size that you guys, uh, are trying to hit each year that you find as ideal? 

Coach: Um, yeah, I would say probably between 28 and 30, somewhere around there.

this past season, we had 27 players on the roster, so it definitely is, uh, it can be low once you get Uh, injuries and injuries are inevitable. Everybody deals with them. We had a couple ACL tears this year, which was quite unfortunate. Um, but with that being said, we don’t want to go too high, right? Because if you go too high, then players who might find themselves a little bit lower on the depth chart.

Won’t feel that they have an opportunity to contribute and an opportunity to help the program. And we want to make sure that everybody’s got a fair shot at that. Um, and that way, even if there is an injury, you might just be one spot away from being able to prove yourself on that field. So we try and balance it out.

I would say 30 is kind of the magic number in terms of college rosters in general. Um, and that’s typically what, you know, we like to stay at maybe even a little bit on the lower side. Yeah, the survey 

Matt: I did, uh, 30 was the was the average number across all divisions, all all programs. So that makes sense.

Well, um, in [00:15:00] terms of besides the roster, there’s the staff. So, you know, you’re 1 of the assistant coaches. So what what is the overall staff look like? Uh, what role does everybody play? Are there other staff? There may be just in the athletic department that help the team out kind of what do they do?

What’s that look like? 

Coach: Yeah, definitely. So in terms of coaches, it’s just me and coach Greg Cattell. Uh, he’s the head coach. Been here for four years. I think this is his fourth season. Um, because he, one of them was COVID. So that one didn’t really count or third season rather. Um, but anyway, yeah, it’s just me and him.

And we’ve got, of course, athletic training staff. We have an athletic trainer who is dedicated to us, and she does fantastic with the players. And she spends all her time at our trainings, travels with us to games and that sort of thing. So I would say she’s definitely part of the staff. And then, of course, we’ve got game day managers who make sure that we don’t have to deal with all that, um, you know, operational stuff on game day, especially for home days.

Um, but I would say those are typically the most. involve members in terms of staff, but in terms of hands on 24 7 coaches, it’s just head coach Greg and myself. 

Matt: Okay. Well, how would you describe coach, uh, hit the head coach’s style of play, what he’s trying to implement there is coaching, you know, uh, process, you know, what, what are you guys trying to do on the field?

Well, on the soccer side of things. 

Coach: Yeah, great question. So when, when Greg got [00:16:30] here, uh, Sewanee was kind of like middle of the table SAA program, just kind of getting by. Um, and, and Greg turned it around. He really did. It’s, it’s been a fantastic three seasons into the conference championship game now, three seasons in a row.

Um, and, and finally being able to win it as well, which is extremely important to us. So I would say for him. Results is by far the most important thing, making sure that we’re putting the best 11 out there and we’re playing the way we need to play to win that game. So we will adapt. We will change formations.

We will change tactics depending on who we’re playing in the opponents that we are coming up against to give ourselves the best possible match. I would say, ideally. What’s happening is we’re finding the ball from our back line to our midfielders feet or maybe to our forwards feet with the layoff and looking to go directly to go as quickly as we possibly can.

But if the other teams playing a high line, we’re not afraid to clip that ball over them in behind and we want players who have the ability to do both. So I wouldn’t say we’re married particularly to one style. Um, we’re really all about how can we be most efficient depending on who we’re playing against, depending on the personnel that we have in the game, um, and what we’re looking to do there.

So I would say our training, it’s pretty intense in terms of pressing when we’re off the ball, we do want to press and try and win the ball back and force the other team to, to turn over the ball in their final, in their defensive third. Um, but with that being said on the ball, we’re just going to look for the most efficient way for us to get it.

Into the attacking third for [00:18:00] us. So that could be more direct pass if the other team’s offering that. And if not, and they’re sitting deeper than we’ve got the, you know, the ability and the comfortability to build a ball around the back and look for those gaps in the middle and play from there. Okay.

Matt: Sounds good. Well, really appreciate all the insight. I’m going to leave you with one final question. And that’s if, if you had one nugget, one piece of advice to share with anybody going through this college recruiting process. 

What Great question. I would say put yourself out there. The more you put yourself out there, the bigger profile you can give it.

It’s just so helpful when players have absolutely everything in line. Um, and B make sure you’re being specific. Don’t send an email. That’s five, six paragraphs long with all the information. Just put all the little nuggets of information that are necessary. So, you know, highlight films are. Fantastic. They give us a great idea of where you are first and foremost.

And then from there, the, uh, you know, the interest level can rise and we can look to see you play in person. I would say just create a really good profile for yourself. Make sure you’ve got a highlight film, make sure you know which schedules you’re going to and make sure when you’re sending emails to coaches and when you’re contacting coaches, if you are genuinely interested, make that clear in the email, don’t make it generic.

Make sure you’re saying I like this part about the school. This is why I see myself. fitting in there. So that’s definitely super helpful for us. And it definitely helps, you know, a player who might not even be at the level, might jump two or three spots just [00:19:30] because of their genuine interest and their, um, you know, I guess their desire to be part of our program that always helps.

Matt: Awesome. Really great advice. Well, coach gang, congrats on a, on a successful season. Uh, well, I know it sounds like you’ll be down probably to Lakewood ranch for the ECNLR showcase in March. So when you do give me a shout, we’ll, uh, we’ll grab a cup of coffee or something. Then, uh, I’m sure I’ll see you out there.

All right. 

Coach: Great. Sounds great. Sounds good. Thanks coach. Thank you.