Washington College Men’s Soccer – Coach Ryan Shera
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Ryan from the Washington College Men’s Program in Maryland. We talk about how they like to see recruits multiple times in a variety of settings. He describes the tight-knit community of students, players and alumni. Lastly, we discuss their staff of dedicated individuals. Learn more about Washington 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 Ryan from Washington College. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you for having me.
Yeah. Thanks for being here now to, to those not familiar. Washington college is not in Washington state, nor is it in Washington DC. Although you’re pretty close, uh, over there in Maryland, across the Bay bridge, um, nice division three men’s program.
Congrats. Uh, we’re talking here in January. You guys had a terrific season, uh, this past year, make making it quite far in the NCAA tournament. I think knocking off what four top 25 teams on your way, uh, on your way there in the tournament. So, uh, like I said, we’re talking in January. It’s, it’s, uh, showcase time, right?
I’m assuming you’re, you guys are out and about. So what, what’s kind of your timeline, uh, in terms of Recruiting I miss is the class of 24 locked and loaded and you’re working on 25 or are you looking at it all at 26? Like, what does that look like for you guys in your recruiting timeline? Sure.
Coach: Um, so we’re, um.
Really trying to lock down the 2024 class right now. That’s the primary focus. Um, got a really good pool of players and, um, now is that prime time of when, when guys are getting, [00:01:30] um, admitted to the school, figuring out the financial aid package where maybe, depending where they are in the process, I mean, some guys we’ve started talking to as sophomores or juniors.
Some guys just came on our radar recently. Um, some, some, some guys are moving faster. Some are a little bit slower in the process. So, um, everybody’s a little bit different, but in general, um, now is prime time for getting admitted, getting your financial aid package, all those things, uh, this year with FAFSA.
Uh, being completely revamped. That’s that’s delaying seemingly everything. So, um, you know, I think I think this spring we’re, you know, it’s, it’s going to be late before we’re finalized. Um, and and even though it’s kind of late in the process now, there’s still guys who are coming on radar that we’re having to look at.
So, um, that’s where we are. And every weekend is. Three or four different showcases. So, um, the calendar is, is, is packed.
Matt: Well, speaking of those showcases, I mean, looking at your roster, you guys got a lot from the Maryland, Delaware. You know, mid Atlantic region. Um, so what, what are showcases that you guys kind of have got to get to every year?
What are some of the ones that you enjoy the most making sure you attend?
Coach: Yeah, so we’re, we’re in a good location in the mid Atlantic because, um, there’s a lot of, um, good clubs in the area and a lot of showcases in the D. C. [00:03:00] Uh, area in the Philadelphia area, uh, New Jersey. So those are all, you know, short, short drives for us.
Um, where we are right now and where I’d like to be generally is a more strategic and surgical approach to recruiting. So we will go to a Jeff cup. Um, last year, I went to surf cup. So some of those bigger events are like an EDP. You know, showcase it at Tuckahoe or something like that, where there’s 20 to 30 fields.
We will go to those. Um, but, uh, prefer to be a little more, as I said, surgical with it and go see players who we’ve been talking with, um, and and see players play multiple times and really dive into a game rather than just catch a half here, catch a half there and more of kind of a fishing expedition. Um, so, um.
All those showcases are on our calendar, but we’re, we’re really interested in the guys who are really interested in us. So if that means, you know, we go see them at, at, you know, club training or a club scrimmage, or just a one off club game, we’ll definitely do that. Um, as long as it’s, you know, within, within reasonable driving distance, of course, but, um, yeah, so that’s kind of our approach to, to recruiting.
Matt: What about camps? It seems that ID camps and clinics, you know, really taken off in terms of, of being an integral part of, of a program’s recruiting efforts. So do you guys host your own? Do you and [00:04:30] the rest of your staff work other ones? What does that look like for you guys?
Coach: Yeah, we, we do, um, 1 day I. D.
clinics in, um, in the fall and the spring. And then we have a big summer residential camp. That we host posted it for the past, I think, 5 years and, um, we’ll invite a lot of other colleges to it as well. So I think we have somewhere between 20 and 30 other schools and colleges and attendance and, um, that’s a.
Big event for us, uh, because we get to not only do the recruits get to come to campus, experience the campus, the facilities, the food of that, um, a lot of our guys work that as staff and, um, you know, help help the guy, the, the, the recruits get from the field to the dorms and what have you and just be a contact and resource for them.
And so they get a chance to interact with our guys. Our guys get a chance to interact with them. We get to train them and coach them on the field. Uh, so it’s really, uh, an important event for us, um, to bring in, you know, top guys that we’re interested in and also get a chance to see other guys who might not be on our radar yet.
So that’s sort of the main kind of culminating event for us. Um, and with the timeline, that’s, you know, often that’s when, um, you know, if we’ve been going through the typical process with the recruit, we’ve already been to see them play. We’ve already talked to them. Now they’re coming to campus. Um, it’s taking a lot of our boxes and progressing a guy along that recruiting line [00:06:00] to where we’re, we’re ready to, uh, to, uh, start planning on offers.
So, uh, that’s a big event for us in the summer.
Matt: Yeah, it sounds like a really, uh, a great event. Um, well, whether it’s at that event, at a showcase and anything else like that, what. Factors really tie into whether or not you make that offer, whether it’s on the field ability off the field ability. What kind of things are you really looking for in a player?
Coach: Um, I think, um, a really important thing for us is, is, um, you know, do, do we like the guy? Do we think he’s a good character? A hard worker? Um, is this someone who’s going to fit in with the team? Um, that’s yeah. That’s sort of a non negotiable piece. Um, you know, we, we think that, um, if there’s aspects and there are to every player aspects that we can help a player with, in terms of the soccer side of things, or, um, aspects that, you know, our strength and conditioning coaches can help in terms of physical development, um, then we can, we can Thank you.
Help a player, you know, get to the level they need to be to be successful for us. Um, the, the character pieces is a little bit, uh, more difficult. And so, you know, that’s what we’re looking for, um, guys who are ambitious and eager and, and just. Good guys, uh, will be successful in our program. So that’s 1 thing that [00:07:30] we’re very, you know, um, keen on, um, in terms of playing ability, uh, smart players, um, guys who make good decisions who have a good Bye.
Sort of tactical sense of the game. Um, and then it’s really after that it’s, you know, can they play at our level just in terms of general ability? And then after that, we’re looking at key qualities. Okay. What does this guy do better than other guys who may be competing in that position or other guys in the class?
Uh, what is that one special thing that they do? And it could be anything from, you know, Striking a dead ball, you know, a free kick specialist to it could be leadership, you know, it could be someone who’s just a captain on the field. It could be any anything. Um, and then we, we start to, you know, formulate, okay, how can we take this guy with these key qualities and start to plug them into the team?
Um, so those are some of the things that we look for when recruiting. We’re not, um, too focused in general, I think, uh, on, okay, we need a particular profile for a particular position. Um, because we have guys who play similar positions, but they play it in different ways because they have different key qualities.
And then we’ll adapt and adjust our tactics and our strategy accordingly. It’s more about. You know, is this a high quality player? Are they a very intelligent player in terms of their decision making and game awareness? And then what are those, those special key qualities that they have?
Matt: Okay, [00:09:00] well You mentioned players are starting to get admitted and financial aid packages and all that and you know, I know parents get a little worried about D3 schools because a lot of them are private and you know, they don’t have those scholarships for sports and they don’t know what it looks like.
Right? But I’m guessing you might have a different perspective on that. So help me out. And I’m not holding you to hard numbers here, but Just give me an idea of what a typical student athlete might be walking into, uh, from a overall cost standpoint coming to Washington College.
Coach: Sure. So, um, our school is, is very ambitious in terms of trying to recruit top students.
So, if you have good grades and and. You know, so let’s say at a 4. 0, like a 3. 7, something like that, um, and higher, um, and obviously there’s other factors that admissions looks at, but, um, let’s just say you’re a good student. You’re going to get a significant merit scholarship. Um, so that’s something that we offer.
We also offer a bus financial aid packages. So, if you have that, that mix of need and really high academics, then our school becomes very affordable. Um, and, um, and, uh, our school recently just got a major, um. [00:10:30] Grant to to further it’s sort of the coffers in order to attract more students, high caliber students.
So, um, we’re investing in in in the students we bring in for sure and want to attract really high academic, um, students. And the merit awards are there to, uh, to pay for that good work in high school. And what we, what we find is. Um, in terms of soccer recruiting, we want to recruit guys who are high academic because the guys we have now are very ambitious academically.
Uh, when we bring in smart guys, they’re typically they tend to be smart players as well, which allows us to really push the envelope in terms of our demands tactically of the guys and understanding all the different ways that we can play and all the different ways we can press the team or build out against the team.
And then we also know that if we’re recruiting those smart guys with good grades, the better chance they get in a better chance. They get a big merit award, which means there’s a greater chance that they’ll end up committing to Washington College. So, um, so that all goes hand in hand. Um, obviously there’s a lot of question marks right now with with FAFSA.
I hope it all. You know, works out for everybody and people who have have need get get what they need. Um, but I know that’s a big, a big question mark right now. But, um, um, you know, when we talk to folks about, well, what is it going to be, you know, uh, you have to apply, um, and we accept the common app.
There’s no charge to to [00:12:00] applying. So you’ve got to apply and kind of go through that process to really see, because we can give you kind of All park idea, but, uh, the specifics really come down to the individual students and their family situation for sure.
Matt: Well, no, I appreciate that. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school.
Like I said, I’m sure there’s folks not familiar with Washington College. Um, so. You’ve been there a couple seasons now. What, uh, what is it that you love about the school? What are some of the awesome things about the school? Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website. Sure.
Coach: So, um, the school is, um, it’s small, it’s quaint.
The town is, uh, it’s an old, um, historic town, Chester town. It’s a beautiful area on the Chester river. Um, and it, it just has a certain feeling to it. It’s a tight, close knit community. And, um, I think the guys who, who we have really embraced that. So, uh, everybody knows everybody, you know, your professors, we know your professors.
Um, and, um, the guys really bond in that, that, uh, type of environment. They get very close. Um, they’re close with the alumni as well. So the whole community is, is very, uh, tight and close knit and, um, really supports each other. So example of that is when we went to, um. Back in 2021, when we went to Boston in the tournament and played against [00:13:30] Tufts, or, you know, this past season, uh, when we traveled to Ohio or traveled to, to, uh, Roanoke, Virginia, uh, we had a lot of traveling support, uh, current students, former students, former, former players, parents, um, you know, anyone, someone who went to Washington College 30, 40 years ago, who happens to be in the area.
I mean, it was like the whole Shorman community came out. Um, and it’s not because we have. You know, thousands and thousands of students every year. It’s because there’s a certain just feeling that, um, you know, you’re 1 of a of a select few and, um, you got to support, uh, the shorman when when they’re in town or whatever their endeavors are.
So, um, it’s a, it’s a really wonderful place. Um, and, uh, I really like it. Part of that is the campus. It’s it’s a small school, like I said, but it doesn’t feel small. The campus is nicely laid out. It’s beautiful. The field, our stadium is right in the middle of campus. So, when we have a 7 PM, you know, Saturday game under the lights on the KIB.
If you’re around town, you see the lights, you hear the stadium. It really becomes the center of campus and kind of the center of town. A lot of foot traffic because we’re in the middle of campus. So it just, it just has this feeling to it. Um, and, uh, something else that I think is, is unique, um, or, or special.
That I like is I’m really impressed with the quality of the guys that we have on the team [00:15:00] and that’s credit to coach and this isn’t coaches who were in Washington College before I arrived of just committing to to recruiting really good guys, interesting guys, smart, ambitious, um, and and developing that culture.
Um, of, um, you know, hard work part of that is is something that I’m pretty sure is unique to to our program. Um, when we make, we make offers to guys, we bring in, you know, um, classes of guys, we don’t cut players, so we don’t bring in, you know, 14 and think, okay, well, after preseason, we’ll, we’ll bring this down to 8 or.
Okay, we brought this guy in. He’s not panning out on the field like we thought he would, so we’re going to cut him and bring in someone else who we think is better. Instead, and it’s a bit of a cliche, we describe ourselves as a family, but we treat it like a family. We wouldn’t cut a family member. So, um, we hold ourselves, uh, as coaches responsible for bringing in guys who are going to make an impact on the field and be really good guys for the team.
It’s on us to do that and it’s on us to develop guys once they arrive. So we don’t cut anybody for, um, for any, you know, soccer reasons now, if someone does something that would get you kicked out of any team organization, if it’s disciplinary or, you know, academically, or there’s a pattern of behavior where you’re just not contributing to the team, um, that’s different.
But we, we try to take the [00:16:30] approach of it’s not about, um, you know, work hard and train hard based out of fear. It’s, it’s more based out of love. You want to run hard. You want to work hard. You want to train in the off season because you love the guys you’re with and you have that security that, you know, okay.
I’m not going to get cut, but, but if I’m okay with not getting cut, because maybe I’m a starter or whatever, I also don’t want my roommate and my best friend getting cut from the team. So there’s a sense of security there. And, um, I think that’s something that’s, that’s unique to our program. Okay. Well,
Matt: Let’s, let’s roll it back to say the beginning of October, you’re in the heart of the conference season.
What’s a typical week look like for a player in terms of practice times, class times, game cadence, just what are the, what would they be in for in a normal week?
Coach: Sure, so, um, we’re always practicing either 4 or 6 PM. Um, and, uh, most guys are getting their classes done before that. We don’t have too many conflicts with class schedules.
Occasionally, occasionally a lab, there might be a conflict where guys, you know. Arriving right at 4 PM or right at 6 PM. Or they have to leave, you know, 10 minutes early from practice to get to an evening lab or something like that, but it’s usually for 6 PM. Um, we’ve got, um, a turf field and that’s our stadium field.
And we have a grass field as well. So, depending on, um, [00:18:00] the games we have coming up, right? If we’re playing away and we’re playing on grass, we might be training on the grass field. Um, or if it’s a recovery day and we want to, you know, just go really easier on the guy’s legs, we might choose the grass field.
Um, so either turf or grass, depending on the situation. If we’re trained, if we know we have a night game, we might try to push the practice to 6 or 6 30 to get closer to that 7 PM kickoff. Just so the guys are acclimated to that. It’s a 4 PM game than 4 PM. Um, but yeah, it’s a, it’s, you know, a full day of, uh, of class.
Um, what, um, is different from high schools, you know, instead of going from. 8 to 3 guys might have a class and then off for 3 hours and then another class or 2 classes back to back and then 4 hours off before practice. Everybody’s schedule is a little bit different and you’ve got a lot of time on your own, which means you’ve got to be very responsible with that time.
Um, and, um, we have lunch with the guys every day. So, um, coach, don’t you and I and then the women’s team is also usually there. We usually, you know, congregate in the same area and we all have lunch together. Of course, everybody is welcome. So, um, other friends that are non, you know, uh, soccer players or even non athletes will join us for lunch, but we always have lunch with the guys and it’s a, it’s a really a good time to connect with them and, and just talk about, you know, What’s going on in their lives, um, you know, what they’re studying, what they’re working on, or, you know, what the latest, uh, Champions League or EPL result was, or, you know, who’s, who’s the goat, Messi or Ronaldo or [00:19:30] whatever it happens to be.
Um, yeah, and then we train, um, typically we play Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sometimes we’ll do a Saturday, Sunday, um, or a Tuesday, Thursday game, but typically it’s, it’s Wednesday, Saturday and, um. And yeah, we’re just preparing for the next game and, and, and managing the team. So we’re either preparing, recovering, preparing, recovering.
Once we get in the full schedule, it’s it’s that’s it, you know, you prepare and recover, prepare and recover.
Matt: So absolutely. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about on the field stuff. So you mentioned, you know, you don’t like to cut anybody. And so is there a roster size that you guys find is ideal that you’re trying to hit Each year?
Coach: well, I, you know, I, I think that the ideal size, you might say is, you know, 28, you have 4 classes, 7 guys in each class, but the idea, but it never kind of works out exactly that way. Covert obviously through everything, um, kind of up in the air and this last year we had. Uh, 6, 5th year seniors.
Which was tremendous for us, because these are, um, uh, great guys, great leaders of the program, guys who went through that whole, you know, COVID period and kept the team going, stayed connected, kept working hard, um, and then were significant guys in the 2021 season. Where we went to the sweet 16 and when the conference, um, so [00:21:00] it was really, um, special that them this year.
On the field and off the field to to continue to pass that kind of institutional cultural knowledge down to the new guys coming in. Uh, so we ended up having 33 guys. This year, um, which, um, I think in, in a situation like ours where we’ve got really good leadership, it’s, it’s, it’s, um, manageable. Um, I think as next year is the last year of COVID and that number might start to go down, but at the same time, um, you know, with our success, we’re, we’re getting a lot more interest from guys.
And so I think there’s, you know, another, you know, influence in that direction too, where we’re getting a lot of really good guys who are interested in the program. So. You know, that might open up a few more, a few more spots as well, but right around 30 is probably ideal. Okay.
Matt: Well, one of the things that, that I noticed when, when looking at the team website is, uh, the rest of the roster, AKA the staff, uh, you guys seem to be blessed with, with a good number of, of coaching staff.
Uh, so what does that look like? What is everybody’s roles? Are there other athletic department staff that help out with the team? Kind of kind of what does that look like? Sure.
Coach: Yeah, we’ve got, um, we’ve got a great group. Um, so, uh, Roy Dunchey is the head coach. And when, when Roy started almost a decade ago, uh, Jeff Reinal, one of our volunteer assistant coaches [00:22:30] was there with him.
So he’s been part of the program since the beginning, uh, with coach Dunchey. Um, he. Focuses more on goalkeeper, um, uh, specialty, uh, James bedrock is alumni of the program. He also does goalkeeper specializes in goalkeeper work. So, you know, during the week, um, you know, 1, sometimes both, but 1 of those guys will be there to, to get particular focus and attention on goalkeepers.
We have Dr, uh, Bowen, who is a former head coach of the program. Um, fascinating guy. He’s, uh, uh, uh, that, uh, veterinarian. He’s focuses on, um, breeding racehorses and he’s got a farm on the eastern shore and he’s got so much history with with the college, um, and family in the area. And he’s a great influence and, um, Great guy to have around the team as well.
Um, we’ve got a couple of recent alumni who want to get into coaching. And so they stay connected with us and we’ll come to trainings and, um, you know, do a little bit of, um, you know, scouting in the areas they’re working with clubs and telling us who they think is a good player and all that. Um, so they stay connected to the program as well.
Um, outside of of just kind of the, the, the team that. Coaching staff, we’ve got, um, strengthening conditioning coaches. So we’re. [00:24:00] Lucky that Washington College has full time strength and conditioning staff who work with our guys in the offseason. Um, and we’ve had a couple of different ones over the years.
They’ve been fantastic, really good communication with them. Uh, Nikki Crouch is our athletic trainer. She was new this year. Um, it was great to have her on board. She, she had previously, um, worked in MLS. So that was great. She, you know, really wanted to work with the men’s soccer program. So it was great to have her join us, um, and help us, um, especially as we hadn’t playing into December, a long season.
So, uh, her help was critical when guys started to get beat up. Um, so yeah, that’s, yeah. That’s, um, that’s the staff. I hope I’m not leaving anybody out. Um, and we’ve got a, you know, a really supportive just overall, our directors really supportive of our program and what we do. Oh, also mentioned. And this is might be who you said you met down in Sanford.
Tom Riley, who’s the women’s coach? Um, he’s been, he’s been, you know, best friends with, with coach for, for Since they were youth and, um, so it’s, it’s, um, we’re often in each other’s office bouncing ideas off of each other. He’s a great guy and a great coach, and his assistant Megan is fantastic as well. So, um, yeah, it’s a, a lot of people, but it’s a, you know, it’s a team effort.
Matt: So, yeah, no, I, uh, I interviewed Tom just like this, uh, last year I think. Okay. And, uh. Must’ve been Megan that I met in Sanford, but, uh, but, but I’ll [00:25:30] go. Well, coach, you’ve been generous with your time. I just got one last question for you. Uh, it’s, you know, if there was one piece of advice, one, one little nugget of information that you wish any player parent.
Anybody going through this college soccer recruiting process, uh, something that they should know. What would that be? Um,
Coach: I, I would encourage players and parents to really find the right fit, find the fit for you. That, um, is not just about, well, you know, can I check off that? I played at a certain level or at a certain school, but what is the best fit for you as a player as as an athlete?
Um, and socially as well. I think that, you know, what, what I’m very happy about with our program and what I experienced as a former player myself is the relationships you carry forward, right? Are you still close with the guys you played with 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago? What are those relationships?
That’s what carries on, you know, the, the results are good, but, you know, the games get fuzzy. But the, the relationships you develop and you should be your best friends. And so if you find a school that’s the best fit for you, um, then I think you have a better chance. It’s more of a, uh, transformational experience than just a transactional experience, you know?
Um, so that’s what I encourage. And how do you do that? You got to go [00:27:00] and visit the schools, meet the coaches, um, talk to them, talk to the players, really get a sense and not be so caught up and, well, you know, what can I post on social media? Um, because it’s not just, that’s not where you commit to is not the, the goal is not the end.
It’s where are you, you know, during that four years and then for the 40 years after that.
Matt: So absolutely. Couldn’t agree more. Well, coach, really appreciate it. Congrats again on a great season and, uh, and, and hopefully you can get back there next year. Uh, we’ll keep an eye on it and, and see how you guys do.
All right. Thanks.
Coach: Appreciate it. Take care.
