Upper Iowa University Women’s Soccer – Coach Josh Davis

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Davis from the Upper Iowa Women’s Program. We talk about how he is always recruiting and looking to improve the squad. He describes the unique class schedules that help players with time management. Lastly, we discuss how he focuses his coaching on helping players with their decision making. Learn more about Upper Iowa University Women’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Josh Davis from upper Iowa university. Welcome coach. 

Coach: Thanks for having me excited to be here. 

Matt: Yeah. Excited to talk to you. Uh, you guys, we’re just kind of chatting beforehand. You’re you’re division two now in the GLVC.

Um, tough, tough conference, both on the men’s and the women’s side of soccer. I, I, when I was. Coaching D2 down in Southern Indiana. We, we, we were playing a lot of those teams and then they were always tough. And that was 20 years ago. So I don’t think that’s changed very much. Um, but we’re talking end of May.

I’m assuming your class of 24 is done and dusted, or you still got one or two. You’re, you’re still trying to sign or what’s, what’s the timeline looking like for you? 

Coach: Yeah. I mean, we’re always looking, I, you know, it’s one of those for us. I mean, if we could pick up one or two more players that we feel are going to be valuable, then, you know, absolutely.

We’re going to. Make room for those players without a doubt. So, um, we’ve got a good class coming in right now. We’ve got eight kids coming in so far, looking at potentially a few transfers here and there still. But, um, I think the class that we got coming in is going to really compliment the, uh, class that we had from last year as well.

So I’m excited to see the progression and, uh, where we move forward. But yeah, if we, uh, we could find one or two more, I wouldn’t be upset. Let’s be honest. 

Matt: Well, I mean, has with a combination of the transfer portal and the delay in FAFSA this year, did it, did it change your timeline and what you had hoped or what you were planning on [00:01:30] trying to do?

Or how, how has that looked? 

Coach: You know, I, I feel like I’ve been playing catch up for the past two years. So when I originally got this job. You know, I got hired in August before the 22 season. And so, uh, there wasn’t a whole lot to really, you know, kind of go off of. And so, uh, we really focused on the 23 class to bring in a good number last year, and then obviously turned to the 24 where now I’m starting to get ahead a little bit, uh, kind of the 25.

So, uh, the transfer portal is one of those where, you know, I think it can be a benefit, obviously. You know, at the same time, I think it can be a disadvantage depending on how you use it. Um, so the hope is that we can maybe pick up one or two transfers to maybe add some, uh, add some games under our belts with a few kids that have maybe already kind of done it.

Um, but at the same time, you know, the fast foot pushing things out. I feel like for the most part on the women’s side, normally everyone’s committed pretty early. So, um, it’s not as much of a factor, I feel like for us, but we have had a few kids, um, that it did kind of cause a little bit of a hiccup, but ultimately we still ended up making it through and, uh, they did end up signing with us.

Matt: Okay. Well, one thing that I’ve seen at looking at your roster from this past fall, that, Stands out to me as a little different than most division two schools is I think I only saw one international player on your roster, which, uh, which is, which is very different from a lot of division twos, uh, you know, is it, is that just by design, are you looking more at internationals now, or is it just something about the school or what does that, what does that look like?

Coach: [00:03:00] You know, I think if you look at our men’s team, I want to say about half of them are international and he’s done a really good job, um, You know, for us, there’s a lot of really good kids here in the state still. And so, you know, we definitely do look at that at the same time. Um, you know, if we can find the right player from an international standpoint, that’s going to fit.

We’re definitely going to take them. And so, uh, we’ve had some good, uh, good conversations with some agencies in Canada. And so we’re working on that avenue. Um, and then potentially in Japan as well, that we’re kind of starting to go. Kind of have some conversations with and so when I first got here we did have We had a kid from england and a kid from spain One of them graduated and then one of them ultimately ended up transferring out for a bit.

He just wanted a bigger school and so, um You know, definitely not something that we’re opposed to but at the same time It’s one of those where it’s got to be the right fit ultimately at the end of the day and we are Rule, small town, middle America. So when you talk to some of those, you know, international kids and it’s like, well, where’s the nearest biggest city?

And I’m like, well, you know, what are you considering a big city? Cause probably Chicago or Minneapolis, and those are going to be a little bit of a drive for you. So, um, and that’s a big thing for us in the recruiting process is being very transparent about what we are not trying to sell the school, but just really being honest about what we have to offer and seeing if that checks the boxes off for those, uh, recruits in particular, Sure.

Matt: Well, when it comes to, you know, let’s call it the, the normal domestic recruiting into high school students coming up, uh, are there events that you like to go [00:04:30] to places that are kind of must hit on your list each year or where, where’s your targeted recruiting look like for, for those types of folks?

Coach: Yeah. I mean, you know, if money allowed, it’d ECNL and GA events. Um, But that doesn’t really work. So I’ve got a long, strong connection out on the West coast still and starting to build it more here in the Midwest. And so we definitely hit out a few of the ECNL events out in California, Arizona. Uh, we’ll be out at the GA event as well.

Um, I’m very fortunate that I was able to get a few Hawaii kids on the roster. And so I. Go out to Hawaii each year and kind of do a camp. I think, uh, the islands provide some very good players, quality kids. And so they fit well with how we want to play and what we want to do. Um, other than that, it’s just trying to find the local events around here, trying to get into Chicago and Minneapolis a little bit more.

Um, St. Louis obviously is a big hotbed for us, especially with us going into the GLDC now. So, um, and that’s been one of the big things that we’ve really, I think, changed since I got here, where the majority of our roster was Minnesota based and a few internationals, where now, you know, we’ve got three kids from Hawaii, five or six kids from California, two from the Pacific Northwest.

You know, Florida, Texas, kind of all over. We really try to open up where we’re looking. Um, and we found some really good players and doing that. And so for us, it’s, you know, we’ll look anywhere and everywhere we can, obviously money providing that we can get there. 

Matt: Well, when you’re looking, you know, is there, [00:06:00] I guess, I know it not is there.

What is it that kind of stands out? What’s the hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player? What’s your kind of, this is, I want to make sure. Players have this, whether it’s on the field stuff or off the field stuff before you bring them in. 

Coach: Yeah. You know, I think, uh, the big part for us is really kind of those, those second and third efforts, uh, from players is always really important.

Um, you know, how do they, how do they handle a mistake is a big piece for us. Um, you know, when everyone’s. playing well and things are good, you look great and that’s, you know, that’s fantastic. But how do you handle it when, you know, maybe you’re getting picked up in a man to man or someone’s really just getting after you and kind of, you know, pestering you a little bit, how do you handle that additional pressure?

And so for me, those are important pieces to really watch with some of the players. Um, You know, the off the field stuff is, you know, it sounds simple, but you know, how do you react when the game’s over, win or loss, how are you treating your teammates? Uh, I always laugh when, uh, kids will kind of like toss their backpacks at their parents to carry them for them.

And I’m like, So little things like that, um, obviously important things to kind of see. Um, you know, I think it’s important to get a full picture. You may see something you don’t like, but at the end of the day, I think it’s always important to at least still have a conversation if the player checks off some other pieces that you do like, and kind of see if maybe that was just a one off thing, or maybe it was a bad experience for the player on that day.

And so I think that’s an important piece that when you are recruiting, uh, these players that it’s not just. One [00:07:30] instance. And that’s what you kind of judge them off of. 

Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, do you guys do ID camps or ID, do you work other ID camps? Are they an important part of your recruiting process? 

Coach: Yeah.

You know, um, I’d love to try to start doing some more here on campus. We actually are in the process right now of trying to work with some other smaller schools like us, so we can try to get, you know, four or five schools all to come in to run a camp. Um, to me, I think, uh, you know, I encourage recruits all the time.

If it’s a school you really want to go to, like, go to their ID camp. But for us, it’s another one where, you know, we really want to try to get the best bang for the buck with the players as well. So if we can bring in four or five other local schools in the area where it’s going to help them identify a few players as well.

And, you know, selfishly, it gets some people onto our campus. You know, that’s for sure something that we want to do. Um, and then other than that, yeah, it’s just trying to kind of find opportunities to work other I. D. camps and things like that. So, um, I don’t do many of the I. D. camps over the summer, uh, simply because my kids are with me.

And so I kind of take that time where we just, we kind of hang out with the family and just do that. Obviously, anyone that knows you kind of, your time during the season is minimal. And so we try to spend a lot of time with my kids during that time and not really do a whole lot. That’s good. 

Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school.

Um, you know, you’ve been there a couple years now. What were some of the things that drove you to the job to the school? What are some things you found since you’ve been there? That are kind of awesome. Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website. [00:09:00] 

Coach: Yeah, you know, um, So the men’s coach, he actually, he used to coach here and he and I actually played together.

I was in his wedding. So we’re good, good friends. And so, uh, he came back here and the first time he was here, he took the men’s team to a regional final. And I remember thinking like, man, this is a place I feel like you can win here. You can do some special things with the setup and the venue. Um, he ultimately ended up coming back after making some other stints.

And, uh, it was the summer. He had kind of called me and asked. You know, if I’d be interested in coming out and I was like not to be your assistant. No. And she’s like, no, the women’s coach just resigned and they’re looking for someone. And so, um, interviewed came out and always knew that there was a good opportunity out here.

And so, um, you know, one of the things that I enjoy about the school is the tight knit community that You know, is around Fayette as well. And, um, you know, for us, it’s interesting when you look at our website, um, you know, we, we try to tell everybody that our student population, it’ll say 3000, but our on campus population is closer to about 600.

Um, we have a pretty decent online base. And so that’s helps kind of continue to fund everything for us. And so the other part is, you know, about 80 to 85 percent of those students that are on campus or student athletes. So we’re very student athlete driven. Our. Professors understand that our new president, she wasn’t all American for Wartburg.

We have faculty members that won national championships at division three levels as well. So they definitely understand the rigors demands of our student athletes, [00:10:30] which is great because now One, it doesn’t make it any easier on them, but there’s definitely, I think, an understanding. Um, the other piece I really like is with our academics, we’re a semester based school, but we do everything in eight week sessions.

So instead of having, you know, five classes you’re going to have to worry about for those 16 weeks, you add two classes your first, uh, eight weeks, and then three classes your second week. eight weeks, which for us, obviously, it’s kind of majority of that season that first, so it keeps it pretty minimal, especially helping them with that time management as we have new players that come in.

So, um, from that standpoint, academics wise, it’s it’s a great set. It’s a great facility. Um, you know, we have a lot of tools that I think we’re fortunate that some other division twos don’t with five full time athletic trainers to full time strength and conditioning coaches. Um, you know, we’re very fortunate in a lot of areas with that.

Matt: No, it sounds good. And that is a unique kind of class schedule there. Um, so I mean, obviously one of the toughest things about coming in to college is as a student athlete is balancing the demands of both the sport and school. So besides the kind of the unique class schedules, what are some of the ways that the school can help?

Uh, the students be successful both in the classroom, uh, as well as on the field. 

Coach: Yeah. You know, they do a good job with obviously tutoring, tutoring services. And you know, that’s something every college is going to offer now. It’s not like it’s something unique just to us, but every college is going to offer that.

And so the other part that I like with us being a smaller campus is our faculty are extremely [00:12:00] accessible. And so if you’re going to a tutor and you know, it’s just still maybe not clicking, uh, the faculty are very good about. You know, Hey, come into the office, let’s sit down and they’ll work with you one on one as well.

So, um, for us as a program, we do study hall, um, for our group, uh, we do it a little bit differently as the way we set it up is, um, it’s kind of self monitored and we’re aware. And we have check ins throughout the season to make sure things are going well. Um, but we just have you track those hours as you’re going through.

And as long as you maintain a 3. 0 after that first. semester, you drop down to four hours. And if you maintain that throughout the first year, you drop down to zero. And part of that is just to one, help our student athletes create good studying habits, especially as they come out, you know, some of those freshmen that come in and, you know, they’re away from mom and dad, or they’re in a completely different area of the country.

It definitely provides some challenges for him at times. I think that’s a good way that helps us keep them on track as well. 

Matt: For sure. Well, let’s rewind. Uh, take me back to the fall. You’re in the heart of that conference season. What’s a standard week look like for a player in terms of winter practices, classes, meals?

What’s the game cadence look like? What are they in for in a normal week? 

Coach: Yeah. So we tried something a little bit different this year, about halfway through the year. We actually tried Saturday is our off day. Um, and so part of the reason that we tried that was with us having, we had about 29 kids on the roster for last year.

Um, [00:13:30] you know, as most coaches know, if you don’t have, you know, if you’re not in that top 18 20 and you’re not playing consistently on Friday and Sunday, you’re really only getting one true training session a week. And so for us, We tried using Saturday as that off day to try to kind of keep that other group as close as we could from a fitness standpoint and a speed of play standpoint.

So for us, we actually trained in the morning all last year, so we would go 6. 30 to about 8, 8. 15. Um, We would do that and we’d go Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, uh, Thursday, we would taper that back. We’d go seven to eight cause obviously our training sessions a little bit easier, but, um, then the girls would have classes, um, anyone that doesn’t have a lab or isn’t like a bio or science major, if they don’t have any class on Wednesday, so that kind of provides them a true day off as well.

Besides obviously the soccer, um, we would lift twice a week as well during season, we use the lifts as a, uh, Recovery lift the first lift, and then we use it as a maintenance lift to kind of help continue pushing the girls forward. A lot of our freshmen really work on just technique at that time, Tuesday being our hardest day, Wednesday we taper it down and then Thursday, like I said, we really just do some shadow play set pieces, fun finishing game, and then we normally give the girls some time for some visualization and their position where they’re at.

And then Friday play. Saturday, they got the day off. Um, they have a recovery thing that they know that they can do, um, that they can get in that we kind of provide for them and we kind of leave it to them to go do [00:15:00] those things. And then Sunday, normally we’ll get some video going in the morning, kind of go over what happened on Friday and then play our game.

Uh, on Sunday. And so we’ll occasionally have a video session in the middle of the week as well, just depending on kind of where everyone’s at, um, that’s the soccer side, the, um, academic side, for the most part, uh, the girls obviously get to build their schedule, however they want. Um, A lot of them will take like those 830 classes, and so normally by 12 o’clock, they’re done for the day and they don’t have anything else going on.

Um, a lot of our players have started, you know, working on campus, which has been really good. They work either in the mail room or in the student store. And it’s just a good way for them to one, get some extra cash and, you know, we’re very fortunate. They allow to do kind of their homework stuff as well.

So it’s a good area for them to do that. Um, and then obviously the afternoons are open that if anyone wants to do additional stuff, come in for video, they kind of have that opportunity. So we’re going to change it up a little bit this year. We’re not going to go in the mornings again. I think that had a little, uh, I think that took a little bit of a wear.

On the group as we kind of got going. And so we’re going to be in the afternoon and we’re fortunate our football program, our men’s soccer program. We all work really well together about getting onto the turf. So, uh, most likely we’ll be two 30 to four 30 this next year. 

Matt: Okay. Well, you mentioned that you had a roster of 29.

Is that kind of your, your target number? Is that what you’re going for this, this fall as well? Kind of in that 29 30 range? 

Coach: Yeah, if we can be at that 29 30, that’s ideal. If we can have 3 to 4 [00:16:30] goalkeepers in that, um, You know, the idea being that we’re sitting right around 26 to 25 field players consistently is what we’re looking for.

Um, you know, it’s great to have depth in every single role for us. Our forwards are probably where we have a little more depth is what we’re striving for in that. Just because of the rigors and the demand that we put on them, that we tell our forwards, you know, they are our first line of defense and how they press and what they want to do from there is really important.

So it’s difficult. And we tell forwards, like, if you’re wanting to come here and play 90 minutes as a forward, We’re not the program for you. You’re, you’re going to struggle if you try to do it. 

Matt: Yeah, that makes, that makes sense. Um, well in terms of, I mean, that’s your playing roster. You’ve, you’ve talked about having a strength and conditioning and training, uh, staff as well.

But what’s the rest of your, your staff look like in terms of assistant coaches and maybe other support staff that are involved in the program at any given time? 

Coach: Yeah. So we actually will have an assistant coach coming on board with us this year. We’re excited. We actually just extended that offer out to her.

She’s going to be joining us this fall. So we’re looking forward to that. Um, you know, our strength and conditioning staff, they’re great. They’re at every single game as well. So they’re usually there watching, uh, one as fans, but also watching to make sure what they’re doing from that standpoint is helping move the program forward, um, in the weight room.

And then our strength or our, uh, athletic trainer obviously is at every event. We do have a few managers that help out with some [00:18:00] social media content. So we’ve been really trying to kind of make a bigger push for some of those things as well. And so we’ve been fortunate that a few of the students have been willing to help out.

So that’s been good. And then, like I said, having such a close connection with the men’s staff. Normally we’re at each other’s training sessions or we’re popping out and we’re catching it. And sometimes it’s nice just having a second voice or another set of eyes that happened to be there. And so, um, you know, that part is great because I think one it provides our players a unique opportunity to have two to three more coaches around and seeing things and just a different voice, which really does help.

Matt: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. That’s, that’s the way myself and the women’s coach did it, uh, way back in the day. We’re kind of like our number one assistant for the other program. So I definitely hear that. Well, in terms of specifically your style of coaching the team style of play, you mentioned, you know, what you’re asking for from the forwards.

But overall, what does that style look like? What are you hoping to do there? 

Coach: So, you know, we like to call it proper decision making soccer. Um, You know, we’re not necessarily possession based and we’re not direct. The idea is that we want to play forward as fast as we can while maintaining possession of the ball.

Um, you know, we talked to a lot of players about that of, you know, how can we break lines, how can we pass people out of the game so that way we can get into the attacking half faster? Um, we’ve done really well with that. I think it’s gotten better. We played in a four, four, two with a diamond in the midfield.

Uh, Last, um, last fall, we toyed [00:19:30] around this past spring with a box and a 2, um, you know, I thought it was much better. We did a good job with it. You know, we really wanted to get our outside backs higher into the attack and we didn’t do that much in the fall, but we did a much better job in the spring. Um, you know, and so that’s what we’re looking for.

We want players who want Athletic, of course, but at the same time, you know, you gotta you gotta be able to be a soccer player as well. You gotta be able to move the ball, keep possession of it and make good decisions. And so those are one of the things where, you know, we always want to be looking forward first.

That’s kind of what we tell our players is you don’t see the easy option. The highest one. Great. What’s the next level that we look to? And then what’s the next one? If we have to go back and reset it, that’s okay. That’s fine. Let’s go over the video then when we get there and it’s like, Oh, I didn’t have anybody to play.

It’s like, all right, well, great. Let’s look at the video and see the options. And it’s works out because sometimes it is one of those things where I might see it as like, Hey, I think you could have played this. And then we watched the video and she’s like, Ooh. And I’m like, eh, you know what? Right decision, you know, let’s reset it and open them up a little bit more and then try to break the line.

So, um, that’s the idea of what we’re trying to do. We want to be very hard nosed defensively. That’s one of the big pieces for us is when we win it, we want to keep it, but at the same time, when we lose it, we’re going to try to get after you as quick as we can and, you know, close you down and try to win that ball back as fast as we can.

Matt: Yeah. Okay. Well, I, I really appreciate, uh, all your time and letting us, uh, in taking a peek behind the curtain there at upper Iowa, but I got one last question for you. [00:21:00] Yeah. If, if you could just give me one top thing that you think all families recruit student at potential student athletes here should know about the college soccer recruiting process.

What would that one thing be? Oh, 

Coach: wow. That’s a good one. Um, you know, I think the best thing I would say is try to just. Make a, make a good list of pros and cons of each school that you visit and keep them when you’re ready to make a decision and kind of go over them. And I think, um, as you do that, that’s a good start.

And then just be honest with yourself, you know, what’s most important to you, uh, you know, as a player and typically for a lot of players, that’s, you know, you know, do you want to be playing right away? Do you want, are you okay sitting like really knowing yourself, what’s important to you and your college aspirations is really important.

And so I think if you can do that and keep a good list. Um, you know, be honest with yourself about where you can truly step in and play and ask for honest feedback from coaches. I think that’s one of the things for us that we really try to provide probably to a fault is being very transparent with, you know, players of whether we think they fit with us or if we just tell them, I don’t think this is the right fit.

Um, You know, and that’s okay. And I think at the end of the day, there is a good fit for everybody. It just might not be the one that you’re currently looking for. And that’s okay. And, um, I think if you can be honest with yourself and your family of what you’re looking for, you’ll, you’ll find a good fit and you’ll have a great experience and, uh, your college atmosphere, [00:22:30] which is what I think we all want as college coaches for everyone that comes into our programs.

Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, coach, I really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck, uh, as you wrap up that Recruiting class and getting set for the fall. And, uh, if any of your recruiting travels, take you down here to Lakewood ranch, uh, for the ECL event, let me know, we’ll get together and grab a cup of coffee.

All right. 

Coach: Yeah, I love that. It sounds good. I appreciate it, Matt. We’ll talk to you soon. Thank 

Matt: you. 

Coach: All right.