University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Women’s Soccer – Coach Dawn Crow

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Crow from the UW-Stevens Point Women’s Program in Wisconsin. We talk about how she recruits players that want to be there. She describes the amazing school and local community. Lastly, we discuss her staff and how they help the program. Learn more about University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Women’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer Today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Dawn at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Welcome, Coach. 

Coach: Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. I think, uh, I’m not sure we could be farther apart, uh, in terms of mileage and weather differences.

Um, I, I, I, It was funny, I had a board member who lived in Stevens Point and we did a January board meeting in Tampa at one year and it was a literal 100 degree delta between the temperature in Stevens Point and the temperature in Tampa. So, hopefully you’re not feeling that 100 degree delta today. 

Coach: We have a little bit of snow.

Matt: Okay. 

Coach: But, you know, early in the season. 

Matt: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, uh, we’re, we’re, you and I were just chatting a little bit before, you know, this is the heart of the, uh, the showcase season last weekend. There was Norco and St. Louis and Raleigh and all these things. You’re guys, the season’s wrapped up. You were in St.

Louis. I was in Raleigh, kind of how quickly, once the season ends, are you jumping on that recruiting train? And, and really during the season, I mean, give me a percentage. What amount of time is spent recruiting versus, you know, the typical in season team that’s happening? Um, 

Coach: you know for me we try to concentrate a lot of our time on season and the players we have right out of respect for them and respect for each other and Um, respect of our [00:01:30] goals and what we’re trying to achieve.

And so we spend a lot of time with the team. I think there, you know, we may leave one night to go watch a state cup game here or something along those lines, if it makes sense, not so much if. We’ve got to rearrange everything with our college team. Once we get out of the season, obviously we’ve been recruiting throughout the season in terms of getting commitments and stuff.

And so we only need like one or two more kids for the 2025 class. Um, But I mean, we pretty much are a year ahead in terms of scheduling for recruits and we’ll have our top 2026s come in in January. And, um, you know, last year we were pretty much done in the end of February. So, um, you know, it’s, it’s one of those where it becomes fun, but then it’s like exciting because you’re waiting for them to get here.

By the time they get here, you’re like, all right, we already have another group ready to come in, you know, like, so Um, you know, we’re not ones when we talk about recruiting. We’re not ones to guarantee playing time. I don’t know what they’re going to be doing in, in the off season. I don’t know where our players are going to be in the off season.

Um, you know, and I don’t want to be sitting across from somebody guaranteeing playing time when. You know, my job as a coach is to make sure the people we have in our, in our On our team, basically, um, improving [00:03:00] them. And that’s my main goal for the spring is to at least, you know, you don’t recruit what you have, you recruit over that in terms of talent.

And my job as a coach, and one of my favorite parts of the coaching job is Getting the players we have up to the level of those kids that we recruited for the upcoming class. And that way, when they come in, it’s a battle and they can compete with each other and know it’s okay to compete with each other and embrace that, right?

We always joke about embracing the suck, right? If it was easy, everybody would do it. And, and, um, you know, we have a class that, um, embraces it to its fullest. And I mean, we had the girls over the current team over at the house last night for our annual chili dinner. Um, so we had that and just again, it’s all about connecting with them.

Like, I’m very much a relationship type of coach. And that’s what I love about the game. And I love about our team. Like, we don’t take away their personalities. I want them to show me how crazy and And just, I mean, let’s face it, when the game’s in the thick of things, we want their personality to be there and be okay with it.

And, um, we’ve been in those games where it’s paid off for us as well, so. Um, but I don’t really start really looking at thinking about what we need to go do and where we need to go until We get at the conference basically and then it’s like, okay, I got to [00:04:30] get airline tickets if I have to get it You know that type of stuff but for the most part like I want to be present just like I want our players to be present During the season.

Matt: I love that. Well, and like we said that the last weekend there was something on the west coast Midwest East Coast So when you’re looking for players or looking to watch players play Where is it that you like to go? What types of events, uh, what are kind of the must hits on your list each year? 

Coach: You know, I think as this has kind of taken off with, you know, alphabet soup and all the other stuff that’s going on, like, I think some of those tournaments, um, like I think, um, Castle or Castle as we used to know it, right.

Um, the North Carolina tournament, like that’s always great. When the college cup is there, right? And, and if it’s not, it’s not as great per se. Um, so you can either go to ECNL, GA, you know, I, I do a lot of the exact camps and I absolutely love them. I love that they bring in a mentality piece because I think we’re getting to a point in the recruiting process where.

Skill levels are starting to kind of be the same consistently, but the difference is what’s between the ears, right? And how hard you can push someone and, and what’s quote unquote, their breaking point or whatever. [00:06:00] And I think that’s where you kind of find the cream of the crop, right? Like as a coach, we want those kids that, um, that are more, they hate losing more than they love winning.

Right. Cause you’re not motivating them. You’re not, they’re in it for the right reasons in terms of competing and playing. And they’re the same way with their academics, right? Normally. Um, and you don’t have to worry about, are they going to class? Are they like, they’re doing the right things early enough.

And you know, if I have to pick it between a player who, you know, falls to us per se, who thinks, Oh, I’m a division one player, but the reality is, you know, they’re in the transfer portal the next year. Like to me, I, I, I would want the kid who wants to be here, right? Not the kid who ends up here. And so we really kind of look for that.

You know, I talk a lot about, um, does your desire Even with with your mentality, right? I totally want to play on the national team, but I sit on my couch and eat ho hos and ding dongs. Not, they don’t match up, right? And those are what we’re looking for. We’re looking for the people who, You know, don’t just talk the talk, but walk the talk and see kind of where we’re at, because, you know, I take somebody who I know what I’m getting day after day after day over somebody [00:07:30] who plays when they want to, and I know as a player, you know, you look at those kids and you think, is she willing to play for me and it’s hard to get those kids that play when they want to, to play for somebody else.

And so, um, to me, While it might look great on a piece of paper that they’re coming the reality of it is is I’m gonna be fighting with them consistently because you know my What I’m requiring out of them is gonna be more than what they’re giving me, right? Like I always say I’m not gonna call you and wake you up and say oh my god Congrats on waking up like that’s kind of the expectation, right?

If you go above that expectation, then we’re going to have a talk and then you’ll be rewarded for what it is you’re doing. But the reality of it is these are our expectations and our standards. Are you above or below the line? And that’s really what we look for when we’re recruiting and doing all the other stuff.

So, you know, I’ve recruited a good number of players that I’m watching the game and they’re getting their butt handed to them. Right. But I’m so excited because they’re still going. Right. They’re still trying to fight. I’m going to get a goal. I’m going to get a goal. I’m going to make sure they don’t get another one.

Like, those are the players that, you know, you’re not having to motivate and are in it because they want to get better. And those are the ones that I absolutely love, right? The workforce. 

Matt: Yeah, [00:09:00] yeah, makes a lot of sense. Um, you know, you mentioned transfer portal, um, and obviously that’s, that’s kind of become a huge thing these days.

Um, is that something that you look at at all when you’re recruiting or do you prefer kind of the, the, the four year, you know, player that, that you have the whole time? 

Coach: You know, it’s, it’s funny, like, um, you know, I’ll look through it. I think right now there’s 1500 in the portal. Um, you know, and you think, okay, that’s 1500 and you have the incoming freshman class.

And, you know, I think it’s something like 28 percent get out of the portal once they get in it. So it’s kind of a unique thought process. Um, but rarely will I reach out to somebody unless I recruited them the first time. But then also even with that, there’s that great debate of, you know, let’s say a kid’s a D1 kid, right?

And they went to a mid major school, right? Because normally we get in recruiting battles with the directional schools, the northern this, eastern that, whatever. Um, so if they go there and they don’t play, are they better than a kid who’s been playing on her club team for, you know, for the last year playing the whole time?

And, you know, a lot of times I think we get parents and kids in the portal, they’re like, [00:10:30] well, I played D1. Well, did you though? Right? And they’re like, well, I trained all year against them. But knowing that you’re not playing is you’re training the same as if you were playing. And I don’t think a lot of them can say yes.

You know? So it really. To me, I’d take a D2 kid over somebody as long as they’re playing. Now, if they’re not playing, then we have a whole nother issue. And so there’s that, you know, you got the scale trying to think, well, is it worth going after with, you know, like she didn’t want to be here the first time.

Like, um, and again, trying to get those players to play for them. Like it may be a great quick fix, but in the longterm, does it, does it Hinder your team chemistry. And those are really big things. Like, you know, I always joke and you know, if a kid wants to come here and play, I’ll say, you know, I haven’t seen you play.

I didn’t want to take up a year of eligibility if I’ve never seen you play. So you can come and then try out in the spring. And my thought behind that is they don’t use, lose a year of eligibility, but also Team chemistry is so important to me. If a player, if I come in in the beginning of the season and I go through preseason, that player could have an adverse effect on our team chemistry.

But if they come out in the spring, And, you know, I always joke and say anybody can act like they’re a princess [00:12:00] and nice and whatever for two days, right? But like, if they have to get up at 6am for a good period of time to do, um, soccer practice or whatever, sooner or later I’m going to see what their true self is, right?

And that’s what I’m looking for. Right. Like, you know, everybody thinks team chemistry is all about no issues, no whatever. But the reality of it is, is you have to have enough patience to call someone out and respect them enough to call them out when that standards not being met. And that’s where you start looking at the difference between a transfer and a non transfer and.

You know, the buy in and there’s so many other things that go into it. And I think, you know, maybe if I had a good senior leadership group coming in, maybe that’s where it’s like, okay, can I take a risk on a transfer from that side? So it just really depends year by year and kind of what’s going on. But ultimately, you know, you want people who want to be here and, and, you know, to me, I really embrace that.

I think we have a great university. I think we have a great community. Like, I want people to want to be here and then be engaged in what we have to offer. 

Matt: Yeah. Oh, makes a lot of sense. Well, let’s talk about that, that great university, that great town. You’ve been there, uh, a number of years now. So what, what do you think?

What is it that stands out to you about Wisconsin Stevens Point? Maybe some things that are great about the school we wouldn’t know even going by the [00:13:30] website. 

Coach: You know, it’s really funny when I first, um, applied here, I actually applied for it the first time it came open and then I didn’t turn in my I didn’t follow through on the paperwork process.

I was like, well, you know, maybe I’ll hold off. And so when I went back to apply the next time, it was like, Oh my God, all my stuff’s in here. Like, this is great. Right. Um, so I think that was a little foreboding, um, in, in that sense. Um, but when I started to do research on it, um, the worst thing anybody had to say about Stephen’s point was it’s in the middle of Wisconsin.

And I was like, that’s it. That’s, that’s all you got. Like, you know, to me, that’s like a huge selling point. I’m three hours from Minneapolis. I’m two and a half from Milwaukee. I’m three from Chicago. An hour to Green Bay. Like, what else do you need, right? You can go wherever you need to go and it’s not a long, huge trip.

Um, so that was a big thing. Then once I got here, the community is just so embracing of, of, The school like it’s annoying sometimes when I want to sneak out for to get some creamer early in the morning because I’m out of coffee creamer and someone’s like, Hey, coach, and I’m like, Oh, my God, they just saw me and whatever outfit I was wearing or whatever.

Um, but they really do take the time to get to know everybody on campus. Um, then with that, we have a slogan here that. You know, it’s [00:15:00] 500 athletes, but only one point. And, um, we kind of live and breathe that slogan. Um, we do a one point event with all the, um, college athletes on Labor Day. Uh, this year it started at six and it ended, I think the last people left at nine, right?

And it’s mandatory that you’re kind of there, but then like however long you stay is however long you stay, right? Um, we did a kind of. An event where, like, for soccer, we did, uh, You had to see if you could juggle 10 times. So all the other sports did our station and if they were able to do it, they got a ticket and then like football did field goals.

I think, you know, volleyball did setting men’s volleyball did spiking and doing that. Um, so there were all these different things that you could do. Then the funnier part was afterwards for every three tickets you got, you could put a coach in a dunking booth. And you got three balls to dunk the coach.

So, um, I think the last people left at like nine o’clock at night. So, um, it was, well, I left at nine o’clock at night. So, um, like it just is a really good group. Like, you know, we could walk away and have two, 300 kids and, and, and people in our stands when we play on campus. Like. You know, men’s basketball, the arenas packed women’s basketball, the arenas packed volleyball, the arenas packed.

Um, you know, they [00:16:30] do a great job of coming out and supporting other athletes. Right. Um, which I absolutely love. I love the fact that even for us as coaches, you walk down the hall and you see our football coach talking to our, um, women’s volleyball coach, you see our Men’s hockey coach talking with women’s basketball.

So like there isn’t this I only care about my program. It’s all of us together, right? We’re trying not to reinvent the wheel and our ad has done a great job. Brad Duckworth has done a great job, um, fixing the culture of this athletic department in general since when I first got here. And, um, you know, everybody has their door open.

I mean, we’ve, the staff has had great debates. We had a Phenomenal debate about, um, how relationships start for college kids, whether it’s, we’re just friends or we’re seeing each other or we’re together or, and we put them all in order trying to figure out what, you know, so all of the coaches would come in and we would like, well, I think this is first, I think, you know, so even we can’t agree on that.

So it was pretty funny, but yeah. But again, everybody’s open to everything. We all get all dressed up for Halloween. We get, you know, we get into Christmas parties, all that type of stuff. And I think, again, that that’s one of the things that makes this university so great. Then you add, [00:18:00] Academically, obviously you have the university of Wisconsin name behind it, but we’re like the best bang for your buck.

If you want to be in education, right. From a teaching, from a special needs, from, you know, any of that, then you have our, um, wellness dietetics program. Then you have, um, anything, if you’re looking to go into anything medical, like our biology science buildings. Since I’ve been here, we haven’t had a player not get into their first choice of grad schools.

And, you know, case in point, we have a player this year. She is pre pharmacy, and she graduates in three and a half years. And, um, she’s already been accepted into, uh, Iowa University of Iowa’s pharmacy program, right? She also was accepted into Ohio State’s pharmacy program, Tennessee’s pharmacy program, Memphis pharmacy program, Colorado, you know, like they’re so good.

It’s a little scary. And then we also have our, physical therapy doctorate program. Our athletic training program is phenomenal. You can get your master’s in athletic training in five years. Um, speech communication disorders is one of the tops in the country and you can get a master’s in that in five years.

So there’s so many things and then it’s annoying. It was annoying at COVID. It’s not so much annoying now, but our, our, our students get out of school in, in, Under four years [00:19:30] consistently. Right. So when COVID hit everybody everywhere else had another year or semester of school, I’m like, I have no one, like no one’s saying, cause they all, you know, I’m not going to turn around and ask someone, Hey, you want to pay another 12 grand to come and play soccer for a semester when you don’t even need the class.

So from that standpoint, it’s things, but then the other standpoint, I can look a parent in the face going, it won’t cost you more than this. 

Matt: No, that’s great. 

Coach: And I think that that’s important. 

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. Well, let’s rewind back to say conference, you know, time, uh, real quick, just walk me through what’s a typical week look like for a player in terms of wins, practice meals, classes, games, all that.

Yeah. 

Coach: Um, so our ladies do weights with a partner on their own, so they get a weight workout and they can do that whenever they want to. We normally do two days during the season. Um, obviously they do it more together during preseason when there’s no class issue. Um, Mondays have consistently been our off days.

So most of our ladies take labs and stuff, night classes on that day. Tuesday, we normally have a game Wednesday. So we come in and we do like an hour practice to just warm up, activate, and then we play something high intensity, mimics the game. So you’re comfortable. Um, and then They all go and do what they need to do.

Then, um, [00:21:00] Wednesday we normally have a game. On, um, in September, then we come back, we do a recovery practice on Thursday. If we had a game on Wednesday, Friday, we have a normal one and a half hour practice, right? I’ve learned in my time doing this, that anything over an hour and a half, it’s like, they’re going squirrel, squirrel, you know?

So if, if we get what we need done, we’re out in an hour and a half. Um, They normally get there a little bit earlier to warm up and do that, so we’re not having to wait around and we get the most out of our time. Um, Friday, same thing. Um, if it’s a day before a game, we’ll go for an hour. Um, same type of principle.

We’ll do something where it’s very game like, very quick. Um, kind of some type of competition. So we, in, in, develop. Envelop that as well. Um, you know, if we play Saturday, we play Sunday and then once we kind of get into conference, we really try to only play conference games, right? One from a scouting point where, you know, you can’t call other teams in our conference for scouting report.

Um, so they’re having to look two or three games behind and watch video as opposed to call someone to find out what we do, right? Um, But once we get to conference, there’s two weeks where we have Wednesday, Saturday games, and then the rest, we have Saturday games. So we really try, [00:22:30] it’s a, it’s a little bit of a taper to get them engaged.

And, and at that point, normally they’re getting where they’re going to have midterms and stuff like that. So it’s a perfect opportunity to remind them that they are student athletes, not just athletes. Um, And, um, you know, they may have to go 30 minutes before practice to the athletic training room to get, you know, prehab.

And, you know, if they’re injured, then they have to do something else, but we try, you know, I was a student athlete. I try not to waste time where they don’t need, you know, we don’t demand anything that is over and above because I know the demands that are already on them to begin with. So I value their time just like they value our time.

Um, we, we meet with our players every other week. Um, just, you know, we try not to talk soccer in those meetings because I get bored talking soccer. So I know they have to and it’s more about what’s going on in their life, right? And, and again, it helps us kind of motivate them when we get into soccer, but also if there’s something, you know, mental health wise or something like that, that we, we need to be aware of.

We try to get that out of them. They, you know, they take a mental, um, wellness test when they first get in and we get a response back from that pretty general, but it’s like, you know, 20 percent of your student athletes have social anxiety. Here are ways for you to help [00:24:00] that and try to help them get over that.

And then, you know, if there’s something else we need to know of, we’re triggered. But again, we don’t know who it is, but it’s just kind of there for us. And those have really kind of helped. And then we also give our players, I refer to them. Let me see if I have some over here. I refer to them as poop days and, um, they can use them anytime during the year.

And the only stipulation is it can’t be the day before a game and it can’t be a day we’re doing fitness. So if someone just comes in and like, I just can’t do it today. I just, you know, it’s not, I’ve got a lot on my plate. I need a day off. All they have to do is tell me that they’re not coming to practice.

They’re using a poop day. And I’m like, all right, no problem. And we, you know, make that. Something that’s okay, right? Um, it’s not necessarily frowned upon. Um, then also it’s a way to um, hopefully Engage the player. So let’s say practice stinks, right? And there’s no energy or whatever. I may say, all right, the winner of this gets a poop, right?

And so they have a paper poop that is transferable, right? And so if they don’t use it in their four years here or want to give it to another teammate who might be struggling or whatever, they’re more than able to do that. And so that’s really kind of helped take us to [00:25:30] another level too, where the players know that we’re not just talking the talk, but Like we’re trying to help you let us know.

Matt: Yeah, no, that’s a, that’s fantastic. I love that. Well, in terms of the, of the players and the roster sizes is that I know we’re coming upon the new roster limits in the NCAA, but for a division three school, what, what do you find is your ideal roster size that you like to hit? 

Coach: You know, it’s pretty hard to keep kids happy if they’re not playing right.

Um, so we’ve consistently been at 25 players. Um, the max I will ever go is 27. Um, and, and four of those are goalkeepers, right? Cause I enjoy training to big goals when, whenever we can. Right. It’s game realistic. Um, so we’ve really kind of looked into that. Um, so, um, 27, you know, That’s the consistent number.

That’s the max number of Titan sensors we have for GPS and all that other fun stuff too, right? So, um, you know, and it’s nice because our athletic director is fine with that, right? Um, we’ve been, you know, when a lot of colleges are getting rid of sports, we’ve been adding them, you know, this has been the first year we’ve had men’s soccer since I’ve been here.

And, um, you know, Jordan had a great year with the men’s team. They, um, [00:27:00] You know, finished above 500 and, and he put the groundwork in. So that’s really, really good. So, um, yeah, it just, it’s such a unique experience and it’s fun and, you know, we’re going to start doing more with, with the men’s team as we get going again.

Matt: That’s awesome. Well, besides players on a roster, there’s coaches and other staff. So, talk to me about what other staff you have on the roster or, you know, help with the team. Whether that’s coaches or training staff or anybody else and what does that look like? 

Coach: Yeah, so one of the things we kind of looked into doing is, um, once, once I had my daughter, I kind of feel like I realized I wasn’t doing enough to promote women in the women’s game, which seems weird.

But, um, I’m a member of the Wisconsin women in soccer board. And so our main goal is to try to keep women involved in the game from a coaching, administrative, reffing, just whatever we need to do to try to keep women there. So. players can see that it’s a viable option later on. So, um, we, um, will have two, um, current players as, um, student assistants next year.

Um, one, um, through injury and one who’s going to be working on a grad. degree and both of them want to coach in the future. So we’re trying to give them kind of a leg up on what it is that they’re trying to do. [00:28:30] We’re going to get them involved in Wisconsin ODP so the players can kind of see them. Um, from there, I also have, um, this is the first year I’ve had a full time assistant.

So I’m very grateful to our administration for that. Um, Cory Bougie is my assistant and I enjoy saying that name like there’s no tomorrow. Um, He’s not so much bougie. That’s for dang sure, but, um, but you know, he, he is a great, um, Role model for the players. He has three daughters. Um, it’s really funny because some of the, uh, club coaches were like, Oh, I’m sure Don has you picking up cones and that’s all you kind of get to do.

And he’s like, um, I think Don picks up more cones than I do. Um, and to me, you know, it’s great to have a different voice. They’ve been hearing my voice for the last, you know, 10 years. So it’s good that they get somebody else in there. And then the other part too is. It’s good to finally have somebody in the office to banter back and forth with and like, um, enjoy it.

The other assistant we have is Eric Weiberg and he is our goalkeeper coach. Um, you know, I, we look at it as he’s full time, but he’s a volunteer and he’s at every single practice. Right. He’s retired. Um, there’s not very many division three programs that have a full time goalkeeper coach. So it’s, it’s really, um, outstanding to have somebody with his [00:30:00] presence with camp shutout and, and, um, he’s been doing it long enough.

And, and, you know, again, I think the main part of our staff is, is all of us are in it for the betterment of the game, not for ego or any of that kind of stuff. Um, You know, the light bulb moments are the ones we look forward to the most. And let’s be honest too, there’s so many different ways to do the same thing in soccer.

Um, and it’s individual flair that you’re looking for. And so you want to keep that with the players. And so, um, it’s not so much, this is wrong, that’s wrong. It’s how can you manipulate it to work for you? So I think we’re all kind of on the same level with that as well. Um, and then of course we have a Phenomenal athletic trainer.

Um, and, and, you know, it all goes together. Like they do a great job of working to make sure we get everything going. Awesome. 

Matt: Well, coach, you’ve been super generous with your time. Don’t want to keep you here too long. I’m going to give you one last question. Uh, and that is if you had one piece of advice for someone going through this college recruiting process, what would that be?

Coach: Um, it’s your journey, not anybody else’s. And it’s all about fit. Is it important for you to, um, play? Is it important for you to just say you’re part of something? Do you want to be the main part and why something’s working [00:31:30] or, um, are you comfortable being in the back? Um, and I, and I think that that’s an important thing to look at, right?

The other thing that I would say is huge is don’t just go somewhere because you’re getting money. If they don’t have your major, you’re going to end up transferring out and you’re going to be probably paying more since credits don’t transfer that well. So it’s your process. Enjoy it. 

Matt: Absolutely. Well, coach really appreciate the time and the insights, which you, the best of luck as you finish out this recruiting class that you’re working on.

And, uh, if you do get to any of the events down here in Florida, give me a shout. All right. 

Coach: All right. Have a good one. Thank you. 

Matt: Thank you.