LSU-Alexandria Women’s Soccer – Coach Mark Hammond
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Mark from the LSUA Women’s Program in Louisiana. We talk about his international and domestic recruiting mix. He describes the benefits of being part of the larger LSU system. Lastly, we discuss building toward the NAIA national tournament. Learn more about LSU-Alexandria Women’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Mark Hammond from LSU, Alexandria. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you. Appreciate you. Uh, invite me on.
Matt: Yeah, I love, love to have you here. Really appreciate it. Um, you know, we’re talking, it’s may 10th and I mean, your, your students may have been, uh, may not even be there anymore for the, for the year.
Who knows? Um, but, uh, how is it in terms of your recruiting? Are you, are you recruiting? All done with 24. You still trying to find those last 1 or 2? What’s your calendar kind of look like right now from a recruiting perspective?
Coach: Yeah, so we actually are lucky enough. We’re, uh, we’re on that final stage of recruiting.
We have the 20, um, 24 class. You know, finalize that was just trying to get them through the process. Um, you know, obviously, it can be a little bit difficult with internationals, you know, getting them time zones is always a problem. But, you know, obviously, then getting them through to our system and then getting them through the NAIA, um, clearing house as well.
Um, but yeah, we’re on that final stage for the most part, everyone looks like we’re at a good stage. So, um, hopefully by, you know, the end of June, we have everyone sorted, um, and then kind of really focusing on just getting those test results in. So, uh, sorry, my light turned off.
Matt: That’s all right.
Coach: You get those last few test results.
You know, from their high schools or colleges, you know, they get them their [00:01:30] eligibility from the play any guy.
Matt: So with, with you spending all that time, you know, obviously working on the 24s, getting them in, are you also looking at 25s right now? Or are you kind of waiting till everything’s all settled and you’ll, you’ll start that process later?
What’s that usually look like for you?
Coach: Yeah, so I’ve started, um, you know, we have identified our 2025 class, you know, in our local areas, mainly throughout the state of Louisiana. So now just starting to have a few conversations with them as well. Um, you know, kind of setting up, you know, maybe some visits, um, in the fall, just to kind of get that ball rolling.
Um, Thank you. You know, for me, I’m a, I’m kind of a woman operation here, but, um, I have an, um, assistant coach coming in. So that that would be kind of her, um, role when we kind of hit into July, August to kind of start reaching out to them, organizing some days to get them to come to games, um, and then for us to kind of start going out, catching club games.
And then obviously high school will start a little bit later in around October here in Louisiana.
Matt: Okay. Well, you mentioned, you know, getting international players through and, and, you know, you look at your roster and there’s quite a bit of those, uh, on there. So how, how does that work for you? Or is it a lot of video, a lot of, uh, back and forth, I guess, what, what, what’s your ideal mix when it comes to domestic international recruiting?
Coach: Yeah, we definitely like to keep a nice mix. [00:03:00] Um, you know, try and keep it around, you know, 60, 40. Okay. You know, um, don’t want to have a full international roster or anything like that. But, um, you know, it’s been lucky enough throughout the last few years coaching, I’ve been able to connect with some great, um, you know, recruiting agencies and some great, um, agents that, um, you know, I typically take a player or two off them every year.
And they haven’t, uh, Haven’t, uh, led me wrong or anything like that. So we built a lot of trust with a few, a few, um, agents and, you know, they’ll send me their video, kind of have it, break it down, watch it. Um, you know, obviously then we kind of talk about with the agent, what their scholarship, um, what scholarship package they are looking for.
Um, and then it’s usually, you know, To the tree zoom calls. Um, you know, with the player, just to kind of initial meet and greet that the master and their questions about the university. Um, and then kind of. The next time we meet is kind of like what we talk a little bit more about, you know, what the financial side of package is, what, you know, their ultimate goals are for their experience in the US.
And then typically the last 1, I can have them call, you know, a couple of our, um, you know, leaders or senior players in the squad. So they can talk to. You know, the current roster and kind of get a better idea of who I am, you know, and obviously getting a better perspective of what the student athlete experience is [00:04:30] like at our university as well.
Matt: Okay. Well, in terms of domestic recruiting, I mean, you talked about some, some of the local players, but where is it that you like to recruit domestically? What are some of the events that you like to get to each year? Kind of where’s your focus lie when it comes to domestic recruiting?
Coach: Yeah, um, we have a really strong, you know, um, strong soccer culture in Louisiana.
Um, I think it’s, it’s growing and there’s a lot of top quality female players in the state. Um, so typically I like to, we have a local tournament, um, that one of the coaches, um, Greg Como, um, host is called the Rebel Cup. That’s in Alexandria. So, um, Typically try and get out there to watch the games in that one.
Um, and then down in Lafayette, there’s also the EIL department that we always try and make it down there. Um, you know, we’re pretty connected with the Lafayette Base Club, uh, Crew Rush. Um, so Dave is the girl’s director and he’s, he definitely knows every female player in the state and, you know, definitely is always pushing players who are the right fit for us.
You know, obviously he talks to, you know, the girls in his club and, you know, who’s looking for a smaller school vibe, who’s looking, you know, to. Being a development program or who’s looking to, you know, kind of make an impact from the start. So, um, those are the 2 main ones that we like to attend.
Obviously, Dan, there’s state cup [00:06:00] presence cup that we hear on the club side later on in the spring as well.
Matt: Okay. Well, Whether it’s international, domestic, whatever the case may be, kind of what makes up the hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field attributes or off the field stuff.
Coach: Yeah. Um, and that’s key for me. I don’t really recruit in positions. Obviously we will identify some key areas that we need to improve on, but we’re looking firstly to bring in some good people. Um, you know, obviously college soccer, you spend every minute of every day with, you know, your teammates and the coaching staff.
So we want to make sure that we bring in the right person that fits our program and what our program goals are. Um, but in terms of what we look for, for a player, you know, depending on different positions, but we obviously want to want to see someone who has, you know, technical ability. Um, we’re looking for people that physically are ready to play at the level.
Um, and then obviously like people who can showcase high soccer IQ. So when we have those zoom calls. We’re, we’re talking tactics and kind of getting an idea of what, um, you know, what their soccer IQ is, you know, obviously sometimes, um, you know, with, with the program that we have, we want to develop players in our program.
So sometimes we do take, take a player or two every year that, you know, might need that one, two, three semesters of development in our program, in our training system before they can really [00:07:30] expect it to kind of break into the team. So we definitely look at, you know, Identify players as, oh, this could be someone who after a few, um, a few reps, a few semesters with us could be making an impact in, you know, sophomore, junior or senior season.
Matt: Well, in terms of your roster and recruiting makeup, is there a roster size that you’re trying to hit each season?
Coach: Yeah, we like to keep it around 30. Um, for me, obviously, um, in the NAIA, in the postseason, you have a 24. Um, woman roster. So we kind of keep around 30, um, on game days, we only announced a 24, um, squad roster for each game.
So it is tough leaving six, seven girls out each game. But for me, I think that helps with, you know, keeping, keeping training honest, keeping the intensity and the integrity and training is like, you’re not pushing yourself each and every day. The squad roster will reflect that, um, you know, and obviously the season is so short, it’s intense, you know, injuries happen, suspensions happen, so having that little bit of leeway where the squad is a little bit bigger, where one or two injuries or maybe a suspension here and there, um, doesn’t hurt the squad dramatically either.
Matt: Yeah, well, that makes sense. All right. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. Um, so obviously, the name says it all right. L. S. U. Alexandria. So you’re part [00:09:00] of the L. S. U. system, but kind of a branch campus. So what what are some of the benefits of. Of that set up, um, cause you know, it’s different to a lot of schools.
So, so what have you found to be, I mean, you’re an alum, so you have some good, uh, insights into this. So, you know, tell me some of the awesome things about the school and talk to me a little bit more about that whole relationship as a branch campus.
Coach: Yeah. So one being a branch campus, the biggest benefit of us is that your degree is still coming from LSU.
Um, however, your, your. Doing Alexandria campus, and, you know, the price definitely reflects in that. So we are 1 of the most affordable universities in, um, you know, in the country to be honest as well. Um, also, like, for us, um, has been growing tremendously, you know, we’ve doubled in size in terms of, um, you know, student body.
In the last 3 to 4 years, um, we’re actually the fastest growing university in Louisiana. So, um, there’s a lot of good going on at LSUA. We have some great leadership in terms of not just our leg director, but around campus. Um, I think the big benefit of, you know, what LSUA is, is that we are, we are a smaller school and we have that community aspect on our campus.
You know, I always tell. Um, you know, recruits, if you’re going to walk across campus, it’s going to take you 10 minutes to walk from the cafeteria to the library because you’re going to see so many of your teammates, or you’re going to see so many [00:10:30] of, you know, your faculty or staff that will stop you and ask you questions and want to talk to you and engage with you.
And I don’t think, uh, you know, you can get that at a lot of universities. Like, I always go back to the example of, um, I graduated in 2018. Left, went to St. Louis, um, came back, job interview here, three and a half years later, and I’m walking across, um, campus doing a tour with, um, Ethan Lipsy, who was actually one of my first, uh, professors when I got here and, um, To other professors, um, I did, um, I graduated my degree in English until the English professors came running across campus, running across the quad to give me a big hug.
And they’re asking me like, Oh, how’s your girlfriend, Alex? And, you know, now we’re married and stuff like that. So, you know, they, they remembered who I was. They remembered who my, my mom and dad were. And I think that that kind of showcases what the benefits of LSY is, is that the local community vibe on campus where you’re still getting a high quality education as well.
Matt: It sounds like it. Well, speaking of education, you know, one of the toughest parts, uh, is, is really balancing the demands of being a student and an athlete and trying to be successful on the field and in the classroom. So. What, what kind of support systems does the school have to really help student athletes be successful on both fronts?
And, and, uh, what, what’s kind of the focus to help them [00:12:00] transition to, to be successful?
Coach: Yeah, I’m like, I would say, like, when I was here, um, you know, that was one of the areas that, you know, kind of lacked, um, but since the last few years, there’s been a lot of new, um, New programs in our university and people being moved into different roles.
So we actually have, um, you know, student athlete, uh, academic success. Um, that’s just for, um, in the athletic department. Um, so that’s Mackenzie young. He was hired as just, you know, to kind of help the student athletes manage classes, be enrolled in the classes and stuff like that. And he actually, uh. Yeah.
He was doing a really good job and then he ended up, um, having to step in and help out on the men’s, men’s side. And now he’s our men’s head coach, but, um, he’s a, he’s a big asset for the shooting athletes. You know, I think all the shooting athletes love going to McKenzie and they can trust them to, you know, when they need help, when they need, um, a little bit of guidance.
Um, we also just, um, started our tutoring center this year. So there’s, you know, we have, You know, tutors for every subject. So, and the hours are kind of 24 7 to be honest. So, anytime, you know, if you work in the evenings, or if you need, if you have classes in the morning, there’s a way to go see the tutoring center.
They’re really flexible. We also, we have our own study hall center as a student athlete upstairs above all the [00:13:30] offices. So, the student athletes will go in each coach assigns different hours, but they can go in. Sign into the laptop, you know, and we have student workers in there monitoring, making sure that they’re not just sitting on their phone or anything like that.
That’s actually doing their work. Um, and then we have different programs throughout administration on campus in terms of Dr. Beth Palmer, who was the next basketball coach. She is head of, like, the career center. So she loves working with student athletes and helping them, you know, settle for the next part of life.
You know, obviously the game always ends, but. After you leave college, we’re hoping now you’re going into the workforce and stuff like that. So, um, Dr. Palmer is a great addition to our campus as well.
Matt: Awesome. Well, let’s talk. You know, more about the day to day. Um, so let’s rewind it back to October and, you know, you’re in the heart of that conference schedule, kind of walk me through what a typical week’s going to look like for a player in terms of, you know, when is training classes, practices, the game cadence, all that kind of stuff.
Coach: Um, so typically on a Monday, um, we have weights, uh, 7 a. m. to 7 45 in terms of weights, it’s more, you know, um, strengthening programs, you know, hip, hamstring, knee, ankle, uh, strengthening and mobilization activities. Not too crazy. Um, Then classes kind of start [00:15:00] from 8 a. m. onwards, um, so obviously it just depends on the, um, what the schedule looks like, but you’re typically in class from 8 to about 2.
15 or so, um, so then we start training at 2. 30, um, sometimes it’s a little bit tighter for players to get there on time, which is, you know, which is okay as long as we know that they’re, they’re coming from class, there’s no issues if they’re, you know, buying on time, um, Training is 2 32, probably about 4, 4, 15, um, depending on the, on the day.
Um, you know, we try and try and make sure that we, we, we hit our topic of the day or whatever. Tuesday is the same. We kind of can have the same, um. You know, weights in the morning training in the afternoon. Wednesdays is just training in the afternoon at 2. 30. Wednesday is more of a walkthrough day. You know, um, we play Thursday, Saturday.
So Wednesday is more shape work. Um, maybe a little bit of shooting. Nothing too crazy. Just kind of getting them moving. Typically in our, our Um, our 15 train session Thursday, we play depending if we’re at home or away for our home. It’s nice and easy. Um, we excuse, um, the players from classroom 11 a. m.
Give some time to have lunch. We meet typically about 11. 45. Um, and then we, we kick off at 1pm, um, which is tough because it’s kind of the hottest part of the day. But, you know, if you’re in [00:16:30] Louisiana, you know how, how tough that, that he can be. But, um, after that, men play after us. It’s a double header.
Friday is typically a recovery day. So players who have played in, you know, majority of the minutes, they kind of just warm up, do a little bit of stretching, do a little bit of yoga. Um, the girls who didn’t play in the game, they kind of run through a full session, um, you know, just to keep them, you know, getting those reps in and stuff like that.
Saturday we play again. Same deal. And then Sunday is a rest day. Um, so, so maybe don’t meet or anything like that. Obviously, it’s, uh, you know, girls can get whatever they need to, to, to do, you know, we, we do send out like a stretching video or whatnot for Sunday. If you’re feeling, feeling, um, tired or anything, get a little bit of stretching, but, you know, and then we kind of get back to on a Monday.
Um, you know, when it’s in a way trip, yeah. You know, so we go to San Antonio, so we’ll leave on a Wednesday, uh, stay Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And come back Saturday after the game as well. So sometimes when we’re on a wait trip, we leave on a Wednesday and don’t get back till late Saturday evening.
Um, so it definitely is important to for the student athletes to make sure that their time management, they’re communicating with their professors to let them know that, hey, we’re out of town for this time. And, um, you know, just so, uh, we’re all on the same page. [00:18:00]
Matt: Okay. Awesome. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the soccer side of things.
Um, you know, I know you, you mentioned, uh, that you’re, you’re kind of a one man operation, but maybe you have some staff coming on board. So what is the overall kind of staffing situation of the team and maybe what other support staff are in the athletic department that are helping out with the team on a, on a usual basis?
Coach: Yeah, so we have a, we have a great, like, administration, you know, um, Tyler, our athletic director and, um, Claire, our assistant athletic director, help with anything that we need in terms of, you know, um, getting things organized and, you know, helping with, um, you know, just a general help, um, with the shooting athletes as well.
We have, uh, Chelsea, who is, um, You know, head of, um, our communications and our director department. So she’s, you know, writing stories, doing, uh, you know, videos for the girls, high videos and coming to training and all that good stuff. So, um, you know, in terms of staff, we have, we have a great, great bunch there.
Um, myself and Mackenzie, our men’s coach, we definitely, you know, lean on each other for different things. So. Sometimes I’ll be working on something. He might come out to the session. Just give me a hand with it. Vice versa on that side. But, um, you know, our department is growing. We’re in a better place. So we will be.
Well, we have that. We have an assistant coaches for both programs coming in next year, which is going to be a huge help. You know, but, um, we have, [00:19:30] we have all the support that we have, that we need, we have, you know, in terms of, it’s kind of like when soccer’s, um, going on all the coaches, um, you know, even the other sport coaches are all like all hands on deck, anything you need, whether it’s, uh, you know, just someone coming to, you know, You know, help organize some, some meals and stuff.
All the other coaches are more than, more than happy to help out. And I think that says a lot about our leg department and kind of matches what our community like is on campus as well. Um, but yeah, we’re super excited for next season to have, um, um, our sister coach will be Bailey Tillerson. So super excited that I have her join our, join our staff.
And I think that the girls are going to really benefit from working with, with Bailey as well.
Matt: Awesome. Well, what about you as the, as the head man, uh, how would you describe your style of coaching and the style of player looking to implement there?
Coach: Yeah. Um, in terms of style of play, like I think that, um, try and keep it somewhat European style, obviously.
That’s why, why you see there’s so many Europeans in the roster. Um. We do try and build out, um, but don’t get me wrong if, if we’re in, in a little bit of a sticky situation, I don’t mind my center backs, um, or defenders putting their foot through the ball. Um, but we do try and build out, you know, we do look to be as expansive as we can, um, you know, be aggressive when we have the ball to, the, to get our forwards players into, into the game.
And for me, I was trying to keep, um, keep it kind of loose up top. I [00:21:00] don’t want to really handcuff footballers, um, or soccer players, want to let them don’t express themselves. You know, obviously in the final third, it’s, you know, if you keep the ball away, I have no issue with it. As long as you work hard to try and win it back.
Um, in terms of defensively, we definitely have, um, what are triggers of what we look to kind of press on. And, um, we have our system of where we want to force the ball and everything like that. It’s a lot more organized, a lot more structured on the defensive side of things. But, um. You know, I think that the brand of football that we play is enjoyable to be, um, to, to, um, it’s a joyful start to play as a player.
Um, cause I always thought back of when I was a player, I wanted less direction. I wanted to make my own decisions when I was a player. And I try and give, um, the players that freedom to make their own decisions. And, you know, if they make a, you know, a decision that could have been better, we’ll try and work on it.
But. For the most part, I want them to, to make their own decisions and to own their decisions as well. I think that’s, that’s really important as well. Um, so definitely try and give, give the players a lot of trust when they have the ball and, um, to go out and play the game. Um, in terms of my style, I think, uh, you know, I like to, um, be involved.
I want to be someone that, you know, the group can, you know, come and have a chat with. You know, I’m not always going to agree with you guys and stuff like that, but, um, I think that there’s a good line of communication between, [00:22:30] you know, the players and myself. And I think that that’s, that’s really important.
And I think that helps build that trust to allow me to push the players a little bit more when, you know, when the motivation is down or result is, is poor. Having that trust where. When I’m getting after them, it’s, it’s not just, oh, coach is getting after me today for, because that’s what he’s like. It’s, it’s more of, okay, coach is getting after us.
We need to step this up. We need to, we need to, to, to kick it on another gear or whatnot. And I think that for the last two seasons, we’ve been progressing pretty well. First year we were, um, I took over. Got to the final for some programs being there in the Red River tournament final for a while. Um, was it wasn’t to be and, you know, the better team won on a day and we can hold our hands up and and take that one on a chain.
And then this year we went one step further, won the tournament for first time in program history and went to national for some problem here history. So. You know, hopefully we can, um, continue to build off of last season and, you know, go one further with the, with the team. And I think that’s, that’s always been the goal here is to turn out this way into a program that, you know, gets to the national tournament and, you know, nobody wants to play because it’s a sticky tie.
And I think, you know, if we can do that a little bit more consistently, I think that, um, it’d be a big, big, uh, big push for the program and, uh, something that I’m really excited to be a part of.
Matt: Yeah, [00:24:00] that’s fantastic results. You’ve had for sure. Well, really appreciate your time coach. Got one last question for you.
Uh, and, and that is if you had one piece of information, one nugget piece of advice that you wish all student athletes going through this college recruiting journey, uh, would know, what would that be?
Coach: Yeah, I think like for me, I was coming in blind, um, for the recruitment process, obviously being an international, you don’t really know, um, what you’re getting yourself in for.
And I think that a lot of players get hung up on, you know, the level, whether that’s Division 1, NEI, Division 2, Division 3, JUCO. Um, you know, and I think, uh, really, um, it’s not about the level, like, I think the top programs in each division can beat each other. I think there’s a lot of quality, um, college programs out there.
And I think what’s important is to find the right fit. And I tell players this all the time and recruits all this all the time. You know, you’re looking to go to a school where. It’s a juco or four year that you’re going to be there happy for two years or four years and always say for for recruiting process like I look at three things.
Firstly, the university doesn’t have my program because obviously you’re, you’re looking for a degree. Um, you know, obviously, yes, we come and we want to play sport and we want to be the best soccer player we can, but ultimately [00:25:30] there to get that degree. So make sure that. Your, your university has a degree or a few degrees that you’re interested in, because obviously, you know, deciding what you want to study and be for the rest of your life at 16, 17, 18 can be difficult, but, um, identify some key degrees.
Second one is looking at the program itself. And does the program match your athletic goals. Whether that’s, you know, a team that competes for championships or a team that’s growing that, you know, maybe will compete for a championship in two or three years. Does that match your athletic goals? Um, and then for me, um, this is a big one for internationals is location.
You know, um, I think that a lot of people have this idea of you go to America, it’s either beaches or big cities. Um, it’s not always the case. Um, so finding you know, a university in a city where it has an airport or um, that it’s, you know, the climate suits what you’re looking for. And then for, you know, domestic players as well.
Like location wise, do I want my mom and dad to be able to come to my games every week? You know, that’s where we tend to get a lot of our domestic players because family is a huge part of them. They’d like to visit their family over the weekends and stuff like that. So, um, I think those three are big key elements that I look for.
Um, when I was going through the process and what I tell, you know, [00:27:00] players, and even if that means that this way is not the right fit for them. I think those three key elements are really important.
Matt: Oh, great advice, coach. Well, I really appreciate your time. Wish you the best of luck, uh, as you go into the fall season.
And hopefully you can, uh, make that repeat as conference champs and get back to the NAIA tournament.
Coach: Uh, appreciate it. Thank you very
Matt: much. Thank you, coach.
