Seton Hill University Women’s Soccer – Coach Riley Butler
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Butler from the Seton Hill Women’s Program in Pennsylvania. We talk about how they find recruits everywhere, but want those that are interested in them. He describes the top-notch facilities and top health sciences programs. Lastly, we discuss all the various staff that make the village that supports the students. Learn more about Seton Hill 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 Riley Butler from Seton Hill. Welcome coach.
Coach: Hey, how are you doing, Matt? Thank
Matt: you for having me. Yeah. Thanks for being here. Excited to talk to you. Uh, one of those amazing PSAC schools up in Pennsylvania, uh, you know, um, uh, growing up in Ohio, you know, I, I was, I was well aware of all, all those schools over there.
It seems like, uh, it’s an endless amount almost of, uh, division two schools in
Coach: Pennsylvania, right? Yeah, it’s, it’s a great league. I mean, first year in it, it was just. It was a big eye opening for me. It’s just like, wow, I was like, these teams can play there. I didn’t realize how big the conference was. Um, but I think first year was great, you know, first time being the head coach and kind of getting, getting my hands wet and getting into the program, beating all the other coaches and teams.
And, you know, it’s been a good experience so far.
Matt: Well, like you said, last season was your first, so you know, we’re talking here a couple weeks after that famed June 15th date on everybody’s calendar to, to start recruiting the junior class. So just outta curiosity for you, A, as a, as kind of a newer head coach and B as a Division two school, kind of talk to me about your recruiting timeline.
How much right now? Uh, is spent on 20 class 25 versus class of 26th. Were you making calls or you kind of waiting? Are you, I’m assuming 24s are all done, but maybe there’s still one outstanding. You’re still [00:01:30] looking at like, what does it look like for you guys right now?
Coach: Yeah. So our 24s are done. Um, we kind of went from having, instead of having two teams, we went down to one team, so a lot, there’s a couple of schools in the PSAC that has a top team and then a developmental team.
Um, So, last year, I walked into the program at 50 players. Um, 2 teams, they had their own. The 2nd team had their own schedule. They had 10 game schedule, which is great. Um, but for me, I don’t think that’s the full college experience, um, for the student athletes. Um, so this past year. You know, we had 13 seniors graduate, which helped break us down and then we brought in 5 players and the transfer.
So we only brought in 6 players this year to kind of get our roster around that 35 to 40 range. Um, so 24 are done. I’m excited about the group coming in. Um, 25, we have about 4. We have 4 signed right now, um, which this 1 is gonna be a bigger class as we have another 10 seniors graduating. So we’re still looking to build with the 2025 and then 26 is are just getting started.
Um. Have we reached out and talk to a few? Sure. Um, but a lot of times being division 2, I think a lot of players have the dream of being division 1 and. June 15th comes around and they’re thinking about it and looking at their phone all day and it’s almost an anxiety attack of all the people that call or don’t call.
Um, but for me, the process is up to the student athlete. [00:03:00] Um. I don’t think these decisions decisions should be rushed rushed, you know, it’s more of a, you know, what we are going to go at your rate. You know, I’ve seen you play. I like you or you’ve reached out to us and you have an interest in, like, our health science program or the location or playing in the PSAC.
Um, so 1, we want to make sure it’s a good fit, both soccer and academically. And then I always encourage. Players that were recruiting, I’m like, go on other visits, go talk to other coaches, go see other campuses. I want you to make sure this is the right fit and where you want to be before we really push forward and talk about, um, the financial side of it.
Um, because once they fall in love with school and they want to be here, it makes the decision a little bit easier.
Matt: For sure. For sure. Well, you kind of mentioned that, uh, you, you may have received emails from players, right? And so. One of the questions that comes up all the time is, do I need to be playing in the alphabet soup leagues in order to be seen by a college coach?
And I think there’s this, uh, misunderstanding in the world, if you will, that because you are playing ECNL, And you’re going to be at the ECNL event that you’re going to be seen by, you know, all these college coaches and that’s how they’re going to pick you out. And then that’s how you get recruited. Uh, [00:04:30] how much of the recruiting that you’re doing comes from inbound interest versus you randomly watching a game and going, I think I want to talk more to that.
Coach: Yeah, no, most, most of our recruits find us. Um, and it doesn’t matter to me what league they play in. Um, you know, it’s great, but I can go to an email game and pick out. Hey, you know, I really like that player that player that player. There’s a good chance if they’re not from the state of Pennsylvania around us, they might have never heard of.
Um, so a lot of our players find us, and they do the research on the front end. They’re like, you know, what. I’m going to navigate what I want to do academically. I want to kind of figure out what level of soccer I want to play at. And then if we fit their criteria, they reach out to us. Another big thing is the ID camps.
Um, I try to keep ours low. Ours was 70 bucks. Um, we have our next one coming up August 3rd, but every ID camp that we’ve had so far, we’ve recruited 1 player that has committed to our program. Um, and half of them, I had no idea who they were before they got here. Um, and I think it’s, it’s great to go to ID camps.
Don’t get me wrong. Some of them are just fundraisers. I will say that. Um, not necessarily for us, but a lot of it is just like, Hey, I like your school goes show what you can do in front of that coach. Make sure you like their coaching style, the environment, the campus, all that fun stuff. Um, [00:06:00] so, yes, can you play any see now and play against the higher competition and spend 10, 000 dollars a year to go play soccer?
Sure. Um, but you can also get recruited, um, by just doing your research, sending emails, having highlight videos and, uh, showcasing your talents.
Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, you mentioned earlier that you’re bringing in a transfer, I think. And so with how, how much recruiting are you doing via the transfer portal, as well as maybe some international students, I, you know, division two tends to have a heavier international flavor on the roster than, than most.
So, uh, how does that fit into your recruiting overall?
Coach: Yeah, um, for me, I’m just looking for players that can come in, compete and make us better. Um, doesn’t matter where you’re from, um, who you play for. Uh, we did have, last year we had a lot of internationals. We had New Zealand, Australia, uh, Spain. American girl living in Germany, the UAE, um, Serbia, um, and a couple others.
So we had a big international piece. Um, we don’t have any internationals. Uh, we have a Canadian coming in this year. Um, but for me, it’s, it’s just finding the best player that’s going to fit. Our system, our program, you know, our core values. Uh, we get emails all day long from agencies or internationals. Um, so to me, it’s just about the right fit.
Um, [00:07:30] you know, it’s great. You might be a really good player, but if you don’t fit our culture and not gonna be a great teammate, then it’s probably not going to be the best situation for us. Um, but yeah, I’m not against internationals. I’m not against locals. I’m not against, we have players from California, you know, you know, Washington state, so it doesn’t matter where you come from, as long as it’s where you want to be in your good, good piece to the puzzle.
Matt: Well, speaking a good piece of the puzzle, what is, what is it that makes up that puzzle piece for you? What, what are the things, whether on the field attributes or off the field stuff that kind of make up that hierarchy of what you’re looking for in a player?
Coach: Yeah. Um, We get to hang out with you guys all the time, our players.
So we’re looking for good people. And I think that’s the most important part. Um, I don’t care how good you are. If you’re going to be a cancer in the locker room or on the field or a headache every day, I don’t want you here. Um, on the field, I keep it pretty simple. Can can you be technical? Can you pick your head up?
And can you make good decisions? Um, we try to do the soccer part. We try to keep keeping the simplest form. I’m not here trying to reinvent the wheel. Um, I just want you to be technical. Make good decisions. Uh, When you’re on and off the ball and read the game. And that’s what we kind of push. It’s not like, Hey, we have to play this style.
We have to go down the right flank. We have to attack this way. It’s more of just, Hey, what’s the, where’s pressure, where’s space, where your teammates and where’s the ball. If you can read those cues, you have a good opportunity to play in here.
Matt: Awesome. Well, you mentioned not, you know, running into people who may not.
Have heard [00:09:00] of Seton Hill. So let’s talk more about the school. You obviously came there from somewhere else. So, so what was it that drew you to the school? What are some things that you found in your time at the school that are awesome? Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website.
Coach: Yeah, so previously coaching journey, I was that, uh, University of Pittsburgh before this, as I’d say, Francis, I’ve been in the Pittsburgh area. I coached at the Riverhounds. Um, and I’ve always heard of Seton Hill, but never a step foot on campus until my interview. Um, so I was just like, hey, you know, it’s a small D2 school in Greensboro.
I’m sure, you know, it’s just Miller Park division 2 school. I got on campus and you actually drive up a big hill and it has the trees overhang on overhang on it. It looks like Harry Potter world to be honest with you when you come in, you see the big admin building. Uh, all the academics are on top of the hill.
Uh, so we have a small campus academics are on top and then all the athletic facilities. So we have soccer and lacrosse field. We have a training. Uh, we call it the progress, which is training football field, um, baseball field, softball field, and it’s all lined up in the. Probably some of the best facilities in the PSAC.
Um, we only have soccer in lacrosse lines, so it’s not like we have a million lines on our field. The turf just got replaced. We have a new sound system, fenced in and all that stuff, um, but we’re really big on the health sciences. Um, so if you’re looking for PAPT, um. Exercise science, if you’re going pre med, um, that’s kind of what we’re known for.
And that’s what a lot of our students do. [00:10:30] Uh, we’re fortunate enough with the size of our school. We can do both. So we train in the morning. We go 7 to 830. Um, and that way, students can do their labs, get their clinical hours, you know, hospitals right across the street from campus. Um, so you’re able to do both, you know, hence the term student athlete.
Matt: Well, and speaking of student athlete, I mean, that tends to be the toughest thing for, for new people coming into college, right? You’re balancing the demands of a college sport, but also high academic demands and in health sciences, so, you know, that’s even, even tougher. So how, how do your students really balance their sport commitments in their studies?
And what kind of support systems does the school offer to make sure they’re successful there?
Coach: Yeah. So we, you know, we’re big on time management. You know, I’m not going to have you for four or five hours a day. We, we are a short sharp. So normally you’re a student athlete. We trade seven to eight 30, you know, time blocks seven to nine in case we got to push back for daylight savings or film or anything like that, but we get you in the morning, then they have class the rest of the day.
We will do pregame film. Once we get through half of the season, we see, seeing teams a second time around. A lot of times we’ll just do it on the zoom link or I’ll send it out through huddle, um, cause we’ll talk about it in the field. They’ll see it, you know, depending on how people learn. Um, but then we also have.
Academic support, so we have 1, we have a sports psychologist, um, that works with a [00:12:00] team. So that’s anything from hey, you’re struggling in the classroom. You know, actually, the year sports performance, you know, you know, I’m in the slump, you know, haven’t scored in in 4 games. What’s going on? Um, we have that support.
We have academic advisors, um, for the student athletes. And we actually just started this program. I’m part of it. Uh, me, Mark Katarski, um, and Jen Brimmeyer, Jen Brimmeyer, uh, called FAST, so Faculty Athletic Support Team. So, now every student. Team our school has a faculty member attached to it. So whether it’s, you know, what do I do with scheduling?
What do I do with I’m struggling with this professor. So now we’re kind of combining the academic and athletics, um, support and it’s just going to get better and better. This is the 1st year that we’re launching it in August. But then we also do, so what we do with the women’s soccer program, instead of having study hall, so a lot of teams do like, hey, you got 6 or 8 hours of study hall.
I don’t think students always have that much work. And sometimes it gets tedious. So, for a freshman that come in and anyone below a 3. 0, they have every Sunday, they have an hour to meet with a teammate, not in their dorm to plan out their week. So, not necessarily study, but just to plan out their week. So, hey, we got a test.
They have a test Thursday. We play on Wednesday away. Make sure you’re meeting with your professor. Make sure you’re meeting with your study group and make sure you’re prepared for that. Not only the game on Wednesday, but then the [00:13:30] test up on the following day, um, once midterms come out, if you have C’s or lower, you’re in my office for 2 hours a week.
Um. And then meeting with your tutor or getting a tutor and advisor, but our team had a 3. 67 GPA and that was with 50 players. So right now, that’s not a huge concern or a distraction for us. So we, we’ve got some pretty good kids on our team.
Matt: No, that’s awesome. Well, you kind of gave us a little bit of a schedule, but, but let’s fast forward to the fall in the heart of the conference schedule.
Can you walk me through what, what would an entire week look like in terms of, I mean, obviously training in the morning, but, but training classes, meals, game cadence, um, what, what else besides training and maybe a little game film would we play or be doing in a week?
Coach: Yeah. So like I said, we train in the morning.
So Monday. Uh, it’s normally a harder day because we’re two days away from the game, uh, train in the morning, they have class, uh, Wednesday again, a little bit more of a walk through in the morning, uh, they have class and then we’ll bring them back for a film session at four, uh, just 30 minutes to say, these are some clips.
These are some how we want to expose other teams. This is, you know, how they’re going to give us a little bit of a threat. Um. If we’re away, you know, we’ll travel. We don’t have lights yet. You know, hopefully we get them soon. Um, so our games are normally mid afternoon, 3 or 4 o’clock, depending on light, um, game on Wednesday.
And then our players made a really good point. Um, the following day, instead of doing recovery, which the players that play a lot of [00:15:00] minutes to recovery, um, players that don’t. Lay do a little bit harder of a trading session, but we also do our next walkthrough for Saturday’s game that Thursday, two days out.
So they get, they put the game behind us from Wednesday and then they start to focus on the game for Saturday. Um, so we kind of combined our recovery and prep for Saturday’s game. Friday, we can really get after it. Say, Hey, we know what to do. Let’s, you know, do a couple of reps and get out. And then Saturday we play in the Sundays are off day.
Um, but yes, you got soccer. Yes, you have academics. We do a pretty good job of hopefully getting back to our community. And when we have volunteer hours, we can do that team bonding stuff, um, going to twin lakes, which is right around the corner. Um, yeah, our, our student athletes actually, our students in general, our school does a really good job of just.
Part of orientation or events on campus, um, or Greensburg has a night market, you know, every Thursday night where it’s like 6, 7 blocks of just, you know, vendors coming out. Um, so we’re really big on the work life balance. I guess you’d say, or school, soccer, you know, social life. Um, cause I think you get the best when it’s all balanced.
You know, if it’s too much soccer and everything else is struggling, you’re not really getting anywhere. Um, so we look at that whole holistic approach, um, to kind of get the best version of them.
Matt: Awesome. Well, [00:16:30] talking more about the team. I know you mentioned your roster size, but what about the rest of the roster, the coaching staff, uh, how many folks are on your staff, what other, and what roles do they play and what other maybe support staff help within the athletic department, uh, with the team?
Coach: Yeah, so no, great question and good timing on it. So we, men’s and women’s soccer actually just got approved for a full time position, um, for each program. So our new assistant actually starts on Monday. Um, she was at a division two down in Georgia, uh, originally from Tallahassee, Florida. So we are getting our first full time assistant.
Um, that starts on Monday that we’re excited about. Um, and it’s more about, you know, things that she’s great with the nutrition side. Um, Kind of the fitness conditioning part, um, so you can break down games. So it’s kind of molding that role of, hey, well, there’s some things that you’d like to do. That’s going to benefit the program, make us better.
Um, so we have that mission, the sports psychologist, um, we actually have, uh, Addison, who came in from Ursula, who originally just want to be a training player. Who’s that? We come, which is attached to our school Lake Erie. Of college osteopathic medicine, she’s like, hey, you know, just want to be a training player.
She walks in her office. She’s all of 6 foot, you know, maybe even 6, 1 of the year of eligibility. Um, but fortunately, she was, uh, part of the leak on program, but she’s out of training every day. Um, so she can help take [00:18:00] groups, um, do individual work. Um, she’s actually pre med, so she does really well in school as well.
So she can help tutor. And then, like I said, we have the academic support here as well. So we have a, it’s hard to struggle, you know, we have a village, it’s hard to struggle. Um, I think our facilities, uh, in operation and compliance are awesome. The two great people, um, that kind of just help us moving forward and hopefully being one of the better schools in the PSAC year in the year out.
Matt: That’s awesome. And, uh, I live, uh, two miles from, uh, Lee comms, Florida, Bradenton, Florida location. It’s right next to our club soccer field. So.
Coach: Jacksonville, Florida. So I know all about Tampa and down there and I’m jealous. And Tampa’s great.
Matt: Yeah, it’s good stuff. Um, well, what about you? You know, you’re, you’re the head man here.
So talk to us about your coaching style, style of play you’re looking to implement there.
Coach: Yeah. You know, first, you know, first. opportunity. So I’m thankful to be here. Um, thankful for Seton Hill and Chris Snyder and Rosalie to give me the opportunity to kind of spread my wings and, you know, take the lead on this.
Um, but no, looking to build a program, uh, not just for a few years and get out, but, you know, develop a winning culture where you’re one in for multiple years and, you know, hopefully being top of the conference more often than that. Um, But our system’s kind of [00:19:30] based on one personnel. So last year we, we took a, it took us a little bit to figure it out, you know, instead of being a little bit more direct.
You know, we had a lot of quality players and trying to put all the pieces together. It took us about halfway through. There was one point where like two and six or two and seven in the middle of the year. And then it just clicked, you know, we were at the point where it’s just say, Hey, you know, let’s talk, let’s stop talking about what we should do or have to do.
And let’s actually implement it. Um, And it happened and we’re like, Hey, we gotta get 20, 21 points of the 27 available to make conference. And we went on a pretty good run and had some good results against teams that we struggled with early in the season. Um, but part of it was just like, Hey, make the best decision possible.
Get your head up, take a touch, get your head up, move the ball. Uh, we’re possession based. We try to keep the ball. Uh, we talk about playing in the half space. We talk about, you know, movement and then it changes. Um, and just being on the same page and the players that. Do that the best get the opportunity.
Um, so it doesn’t matter who plays to me. Um, like I said, we have 13 seniors last year that were that were very good. But, you know, we also had two of our freshmen were the two all conference players. Um, so the players that come in that compete that listen, That work hard. They get the opportunity. Um, but simple smart soccer is what we try to do.
We don’t try to overcomplicate it. Um, and we make it make sense. So
Matt: [00:21:00] awesome. Well, you had your, your 1st fall under your belt, but that also means you had your, your 1st off season spring season, if you will. Um, so what, what does your typical spring season look like?
Coach: Yeah, I wish we had a spring season before I got here in July last year.
It was just, if we did everything that we did the first half of the season in spring, we probably would have had a better start and all that stuff. Um, but spring was really, the first part of it was more about individual development. Like, Hey, I’m pretty honest with our players of this is what you’re good at.
This is what you can improve on. This is what things you can do to get there. Um, and then this is where you are right now in our lineup. A lot of times I have the. And I think the players like it, uh, just kind of like a depth chart, like, Hey, this is where you’re at. This is where you, I think you could be, but you got to put in the work.
Um, I think everyone’s capable, but, uh, it’s up to you to be willing to do the work. Um, so spring, we did a lot of the, a lot of technical stuff, um, just to sharpen their tools a little bit. And then we really got into that game concept once we got into games. Um, and spring’s all about development. So results are great, but it’s also, there’s players that just need minutes.
They need games. They need, they need to fail. They need to fail and understand, you know, why we’re, we’re coaching these, these tactics, these tactics and what we’re doing. Um, so spring was individual development. Then we really sharpened our system and how we want to play. So hopefully going into this fall, we are [00:22:30] rocking and rolling game one, even though we have a a tough couple first games.
You know, we have Ashland away. We have Charleston away. We have Carnegie Mellon. That was, you know, Division three, but final four a couple years ago. Good people over there. Um, and then, you know, playing teams, um, sorry, like Fairmont. We played in the spring that we drew, you know, they’re a good team. They battle us every year.
Uh, lock havens or previous assistant got the head job there. Jesse did. So congrats to him. So he knows all about us and we play him early on. Um, so there’s no gimme’s and then we open up our conference. Um, pretty early with a slippery rock, so, and they’re always a fun one to play against.
Matt: Absolutely. Well, coach, I really appreciate the time.
I’m going to leave you with one last question. And that is if you had one piece of advice for somebody going through the college soccer recruiting process, uh, you know, in general, what, what would that be?
Coach: Yeah, I mean, it’s a process, you know, breathe. There’s gonna be highs and lows, but it should feel good to feel wanted.
Um, there’s a, excuse me, there’s a place for everybody. Um, I think the biggest thing is just being realistic with yourself. Um, whether, you know, Everybody has, normally has a dream of, I want to play Division 1, I want to play these big schools. But, you find the players that find the right fit the first go around, are normally a little bit happier and more successful.
Um, Transfer Portal is real, real. It’s [00:24:00] uh, there’s a thousand players in there the first day every single time. Um, so I think it’s more about right, making the right fit. Of that makes sense and kind of take the glory part out of it. Just like, Oh, we get all this, that, uh, and whatnot. But if it’s not the right fit, it’s not going to work.
Um, so yeah, put, put time, put energy into it, you know, remember to breathe and your pros and cons. You’ll land in the right spot. Hopefully
Matt: great, great advice. Well, coach, really appreciate it. Wish you the best of luck as you, uh, as you get ready for that fall season. And if you get to any of the recruiting events down here in a liquid ranch, give me a shout.
All right.
Coach: I go to Florida every year. So, uh, I’ll hit you up on that. Well, we’ll see you in January then. All right. Take care.
