Washington & Lee University Men’s Soccer – Coach Mike Singleton
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Mike Singleton from the Washington & Lee University Men’s Program in Virginia. We talk about how he tries to recruit all four regions each year. He describes their school’s terrific majors and how they are not just a liberal arts school. Lastly, we discuss his team’s attack minded focus. Learn more about W&L Men’s Soccer.
[00:00:00] Matt: Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Mike Singleton of the Washington and Lee men’s program.
[00:00:07] Coach: Coach. Welcome. Thank you very much. Glad to be here. Great to
[00:00:11] Matt: have you. You guys are a super successful division three program there in Virginia. Uh, I unfortunately, I think in the two or three times, I remember going down there twice as a player.
[00:00:22] I don’t think we came out, uh, on the right side of it either time. But, uh, but I won’t hold that against you, Mike. Cause I know you weren’t there, but uh, well let’s just jump right in and, and talk a little bit about recruiting, you know, division three, it’s a little bit of a different beast, but so when do you start going out and looking at players when you start hearing from players kind of what year
[00:00:40] Coach: are they in high school?
[00:00:42] Yeah, that’s a. And interesting timetable. You know, it’s usually where kind of starting as soon as our season ends, really trying to get ahead and start to look at the next class. So it’s usually sort of December time that we start and we really hope by the end of the winter to have a clear picture of who our tops are.
[00:01:03] And then from there, we kind of look at it as, okay. Now we have an idea of maybe who are our top 20 or 30. But then we keep an open door right up until we can do early reads through our admissions, which really doesn’t happen until June. And that’s once junior year grades are on transcripts, then we can ask for admission blessing and they can inform us who’s recruitable, which is the most important part of that equation for us, because we don’t get to determine who gets in.
[00:01:32] They do all of that. So the summer is really prime time for us as to once we’re able to perform early reads through admissions and we get feedback from them, then we start to really understand who’s our top at each position and what our depth chart looks like, because it’s all people we know were admissible.
[00:01:53] So I would say typically we start getting commits in, I would say July. Um, and then they’ll trickle in. Most seasons were kind of done by mid to late September with forming a class because most, I would say 97% of people who’ve played for me have applied early decision here. Um, so that’s kind of the very normal.
[00:02:20] Um, but there are times where we have an early decision to, which is January 1st application. So there will be some, maybe one player every other year who might, I’ll say, like lose the belief that he’s going to catch on with a D one team. And then in that early decision to process, but we’ll pick up a player every other year or so.
[00:02:43] Um, who wants to get to that, you know, a really good academic school and play for a competitive.
[00:02:49] Matt: It makes, makes sense. Well, how many inbound contacts do you think you get in an average week? I know you’re, I know it ebbs and flows with showcases and tournaments and stuff, but just a round about number.
[00:03:00] Coach: Yeah, I’ll say in an average class, we’re looking somewhere between 800 and a thousand. So we break that down by days. We’re looking at two to three a day on average, but if we look at the busy times. November December, January, February, we’re probably looking at five or six to sometimes eight then, and then a little bit of a slow down.
[00:03:25] And then once tournaments pick up in the spring, again, we’ll start to see a kick back up to that level. And then you’ll see once the end of the summer comes, it’s usually the people for the following year, but not so many people coming in for the year that we’re recruiting. Gotcha. Well, what, what,
[00:03:45] Matt: what’s something you, or what are the things you’d like to see in that, that first communication from a prospect?
[00:03:52] Coach: Well, I think it’s, you know, what schools like ours that are very tough academic school schools in the quality grades. That’s a key part of it is giving us the information both academically and athletically. That’s pertinent to being a recruitable player for us. So it’s. You know, everything from right.
[00:04:14] Here’s my background with soccer. Here’s the teams I played for. Here’s the team I’m currently on. Um, here’s my Jersey number. If I’m there, if you want me to watch you at a tournament, um, here’s the, the positions I typically play, but also, you know, what is your GPA? Do you have an interested in interest in a certain area?
[00:04:35] And if people have a link to video, that’s a great thing to add to it because in that first email out, if I can look at a four or five minute video and say, okay, there’s something there that really does sort of motivate us to make sure that we see that person live as if they’re going to be at an event that we’re going to.
[00:04:57] Um, and if there’s not an event, it will inspire communication saying, okay, well, You know, like someone we hope to find, so let’s talk more. Um, but without that information, that’s kind of tough because even with the other information, if we don’t have any clip or any video whatsoever, we can say, okay, you have a great background, but it might not inspire the same amount of excitement without, without that video.
[00:05:26] No, it makes sense.
[00:05:27] Matt: You, you mentioned events. What are, uh, you know, some of the key events that you make sure you get to each year?
[00:05:35] Coach: Well, for us, it’s, you know, the youth soccer scene is so splintered these days where we’re having, we’re having a hop, skip and jump as much as we can, um, to see players. And we try to be as nimble as possible.
[00:05:48] Um, but we’ll try to get to at least two PCNL events, hopefully two MLS next event. Um, a couple of national league events. And then, you know, I look at it where at region one, two and three championships as well. Um, and then it comes down to really ID camps, um, whether it be ours or ones we’re working at.
[00:06:09] Um, but we try to, we make an effort to get into each one of the four regions of the U S. You know, soccer wise, the four regions, um, at least once every year. Um, and so we really, really do make an effort and con, and I can say we’re definitely pounding on the pavement and getting on planes and doing everything we can.
[00:06:32] Um, sometimes people are asking us to come to smaller events and I just hope they understand. Our budget’s only so big and that’s not really, really big. And with all the events we’re going to, we’re really already stretched them as a staff. And, you know, I have one full-time assistant. Um, so it’s not like we have three or four people on our staff to do it.
[00:06:54] It’s just him and I sorta, you know, pounding the pavement. So, um, the smaller ones we need to go where we can. You know, as much product for our dollar as possible, um, and make our dollars stretch further, especially these days with. Post COVID hotel rates and gas rates and everything. That’s smacking us right now.
[00:07:18] Uh, I
[00:07:18] Matt: hear you, man. Um, well, you know, let’s say you’re at an event or, or an ID camp or something, you know, what is your kind of checklist, your hierarchy of what do I want to see in a washlet player? Whether that’s on the field or off the field,
[00:07:34] Coach: right. Well, it’s, it’s, it’s a lot of things that go into.
[00:07:38] Number one, if I think soccer was, I want to see someone who’s, who’s technically competent, uh, preferably with both feet. Um, you know, doesn’t have to take extra touches when not necessary, but more. So I want to see the hunger. I want to see someone who’s not afraid to be an impact player, who isn’t playing safe all the time.
[00:07:59] Who’s willing to take risks and given their calculated risks, but has the courage to do so. And. Then it’s, I look at our game and our game needs to all shapes and sizes and attributes. And I think when they think of the best players in the history of the world, you know, there’s a lot of 5, 8, 5, 9. It doesn’t matter in soccer.
[00:08:20] Um, so to me, it’s less about that physicality than it is. If you can make the ball move fast, it doesn’t matter really how fast you. But if you’re not fast, you better be really good on the ball. If you have some good speed, maybe you don’t have to be as good because the ball will move with you. But it’s them understanding that there’s a balance to that.
[00:08:45] And then, you know, as people it’s, we have a really close team. Um, we have an honor system here at our school as well, so you can’t lie cheat or steal and stay at this university. So I would hope that you’re that type of person in everything you do with. Um, but it’s, you know, our guys get along so well and they’re hanging out all the time and we’re really close group, and that’s really important to us when we’re watching and we’ll watch warmups.
[00:09:10] We’ll watch what they’re doing. You know, if they’re actually vigilant in preparing themselves for a game, if they’re being the joker, if they’re not really taking things seriously. Um, and then from event to event, it’s very important. I always give positive feedback and constructive feedback to every recruit that we speak.
[00:09:30] And the next event I’m looking to see if that worked on the constructive feedback that we’ve provided them. Um, and I, you know, I had a player who graduated last year. It was funny. He ended up being a two year captain for us and he convinced me that I wanted him when after Disney tournament, I gave them feedback.
[00:09:50] And then I was up at the Potomac tournament, you know, five months later. And after he finished his game, he ran over to me and he said, coach, I’m talking more. I was getting an advanced more. And I was definitely bearing my passing more. Did you see that? I was like, big time, buddy. You remembered that. And five months ago, like, all right.
[00:10:11] And that, you know, he came in at a great career, but that’s what we’re hoping for. We’re hoping for guys who want that feedback, who are hungry to get that. Um, and I tell everyone who comes in here. If you’re not comfortable with me asking you to be better than the last game, your senior year, this is the program for you.
[00:10:30] It’s, if you’re a competitive person you’re competitive in everything you do. And that mindset is very important for our team because our practices are super intense and I don’t drive the players, drive that. And they’re going to ask you to be competitive. And I usually tell people. I’ve won so many races and on the highway against cars that never knew they were racing against me.
[00:10:53] If that doesn’t resonate somewhere in, in to a competitive mind. And it’s probably not as competitive as we need them to be. I love it.
[00:11:05] Matt: Well, let’s talk a little about, uh, I guess the, the, the financial side of things, you know, as is most, most recruits it’s, uh, or parents, especially that tends to be the first thing on their mind.
[00:11:19] Um, so obviously division three, no athletic money, but what is the overall kind of financial aid grant situation, scholarship situation at Washington and Lee, that, that most of your players are.
[00:11:32] Coach: Right. Well, here we fulfill a hundred percent of need from the FAFSA. So everything that the FAFSA form says you need, you will get here.
[00:11:42] But the great thing about it is, is they fulfill it with a hundred percent grants. So if it says that you can afford 30 K, then you’ll get that 40 K in grants to come. Uh, in addition, if your family makes $120,000 or less, you’ll get guaranteed free tuition, as long as you’re attending here and possibly room and board as well, depending on how close that is to one 20 and then 50 players or 50 students, every class get a full scholarship plus $7,000 a summer.
[00:12:16] So they can do internships without worrying about getting paid. Um, that’s a Johnson scholarship and every class. 50 people who win that scholarship. Although I do warn recruits all the time, you have to be in essentially the top one or 2% of your class in order to qualify for that, because those are the 1500 plus 34 plus, and, you know, 4.6 on a four point scale better when in those, those ones.
[00:12:45] But, um, but overall it’s kind of the thing I tell everybody. The sticker price of the school was a silly number. So don’t ever look at the sticker price because very few people ever pay that. Um, and if you have need, there’s definitely great options here with grants and, you know, with that 120 K promise and other opportunities, um, and overall in my time here, I’ve been extremely happy with the financial aid department.
[00:13:12] Um, it’s made my life worlds easier than anywhere else. No, that’s excellent. Well, let’s, let’s
[00:13:20] Matt: pivot over and talk more about the school then. So, you know, I mean, I’ve been on campus, so I’ve seen the beauty of it, but besides clicking around the website and what I see there, you know, give me the inside scoop or what are some of the awesome things about your school that most people would wouldn’t know
[00:13:36] Coach: about?
[00:13:37] Right. Well, I think one of the things I love here is that yes, we’re a liberal arts college. But we have one of the strongest undergrad business programs in the country. We have an extremely strong engineering program. We have an extremely strong journalism program. Um, we actually have a dance program, a theater arts program.
[00:13:59] Um, so when you look at the different things, you can study, you have everything available to you here. Um, and a lot of smaller schools don’t have as much variety of majors as we do here, but I also like about it as. The placement from all these programs is typically a hundred percent. Um, our first choice med school placement rate.
[00:14:23] So you get into your first choice. Med school is 95% for our pre-med programs. So that’s, some of the stats are truly astounding, but I liked that here. You also get to craft your education, but I mean by that is a lot of students will double major or have a significant minor in addition to their major and.
[00:14:43] Once you’re admitted here, you have no other doors that you have to go through to get a blessing, to add a major or do anything different. And that’s a difference between many schools. And that’s what I like is like, you know, I had a player a couple of years ago who went pre-med and econ. And I asked him like, okay, why are you doing that?
[00:15:02] He’s like, well, I want to be a vet. And I want to run my own. Like kudos to you smart. And so people get to do that. And I know people who’ve studied engineering and theater because they wanted to work at different part of their brain because engineering was drawing their brain too much in one way. So that’s what I think is really great about the school is it gives students the ability to craft their education in.
[00:15:29] And quite honestly, with the variety of majors, we have, it’s quite rare for a smaller school to have that many majors, but the placement rates, they S they stand out. Um, you just look at the stats and that’s something that I think I don’t need to really promote so much because of people get online and they look up success of grads.
[00:15:50] Um, it’s astounding. How well the grads here.
[00:15:55] Matt: That’s great. Well, obviously there’s a lot of academic rigor, uh, at Washington Lee. So how do your players kind of balance, uh, you know, their, their studies and their sport commitments, kind of what support mechanisms are there at school to help them make sure that when their four years is done, that, that they are able to, to Excel and have those great placements.
[00:16:18] Coach: Right? Well, here, every person, every student gets free to. So, whether you’re an athlete or not, you have that accessible to you. Um, thankfully I do say to our players too, there’s always a couple of geniuses who are upperclassmen on the bus. So we have a mentor system on the team bill to give support in that regards.
[00:16:38] Um, but we also do our best to not add conflicts and not add burden to, to the students who played for us. So if we’re doing longer trips, it’s usually before school starts. Classes, usually aren’t, don’t start till after labor day. So we have usually a couple of weekends that we can take longer trips, and then we have a protected period for practice in the day.
[00:16:59] So we’ll practice typically in the hours between four 30 and seven. Um, and most labs will be done before we practice. So if the lab runs late, you just jogged a practice. Um, so they don’t have conflicts typically in that window. Uh, Wednesdays is when we tell people not to schedule later afternoon classes because that’s when we might have to travel.
[00:17:23] So I tell them after two, o’clock try not to have a class. Um, but we’ll go through seasons where guys don’t miss a class at all. Um, and then it’ll go to NCAA tournament and ironically, they schedule games wherever Thursdays. It doesn’t really make too much sense. Um, but I was, you know, I look at our program and the last five seasons, there’s been an NCA tournament, feedback and academic All-American, every single one.
[00:17:52] Um, and our teams are in the team, academic award from the United soccer coaches association, every season I’ve been here as well. Um, so it’s, it’s very important here. And I tell my players here, here, academics does come first and I make no bones about that whatsoever. Um, and what I typically say to players is just make sure soccer doesn’t come third.
[00:18:16] And I want them to enjoy college experience, whatever. They want to, there’s so many clubs, there’s so many different opportunities to have in college. I think it’s a wonderful time for people, but if somebody comes to me and says, Hey, I’m going to be late for practice. Cause my Irish step dance competition, and probably not going to be too good.
[00:18:35] So enjoy yourself. Be a college student, but make sure your priorities are your prior. It makes sense.
[00:18:44] Matt: So you mentioned you’ve got practice in the afternoons, uh, Wednesdays, some, it sounds like your schedule, you’re kind of on a Wednesday, Saturday for, for the most part with conference and odax great.
[00:18:56] You’re not traveling, you know, 10 hours away to, to, for, for conference games. So that’s always good. Um,
[00:19:04] Coach: you know, w
[00:19:05] Matt: what is it, is there anything else in that kind of. Let’s call it a typical week, uh, of the season, um, that, that you guys are doing or, or that’s on campus or is it pretty much just classes till the afternoon and then practice and so on?
[00:19:22] Coach: Well, it’s where like throughout the season, it’s interesting because there’s an evident flow to it. And typically when we wanted to like, October. That’s when midterms come in. So that becomes a little bit challenging. Um, so we actually like, with our team, we have team quizzes. Um, and our guys, as we go through October actually have, and they can work as a group on it, but they have quizzes to go over our tactical needs and our specific needs as a team to make sure we don’t lose focus as we got through that important time.
[00:19:53] Um, but we’re constantly trying to make sure they don’t feel pain. Between academics and soccer. So if a student comes to me and says, Hey, there’s a guest speaker and I’m going to get extra credit for whatever class it is. Okay. Go to the guest speaker like one day at practice, isn’t gonna ruin anything.
[00:20:14] Um, and I want the guys to do well academically. So with that, I mean a few years ago, and, uh, we were a sweet 16 and my captains came to me on the day before the game and we had a. Early morning practice. So we had a big window that afternoon and they said, Hey, can we build in a four-hour study table? I’m like, well, probably only team in the nation and the sweet 16 having a four hour study table the day before the sweet 16 game.
[00:20:42] But sure enough. Great. If you guys want it, have it. Um, and to be honest, it’s just something I’m proud of, but the guys, because they know what’s important to them and that they take it on us, like very seriously. And even when we’re in the final four, this past fall, No, I’m walking around the hotel at 11 o’clock and I see three guys hanging out in the, in the coffee shop.
[00:21:04] I’ll study in, and I’ll try to get studies done the day before we’re in the final four. And it’s just kind of the student athlete sort of role that that’s important and that we really do espouse truly. That’s great. Let’s
[00:21:23] Matt: pivot over to the, to the soccer side. Uh, you mentioned in the team and stuff. So, you know, uh, is there a typical roster size you’d like to keep, uh, that you’d like to have?
[00:21:32] I know COVID is kind of thrown, thrown a monkey wrench in that a little bit, but let’s just kind of take that for what it is, but, but is there a specific roster size you, you look for.
[00:21:43] Coach: I kind of think 30 is my ideal number, quite honestly. And when I break down the math, that kind of comes out a bit more clearly to people.
[00:21:52] Cause we typically have four keepers on our squad. So that’ll take us down to 26 field players. And I could ask you from your time at Catholic has. Do you ever remember a time when, less than four players were heard on your team?
[00:22:09] Matt: I don’t know if I have that good a memory, but I know we had small rosters, man. I think we were at like 20, 22. So yeah, there were, there were some games where there might’ve only been 16, 17 people in shirts, so yeah,
[00:22:23] Coach: that’s where we run into it. That dicing. This is like, I like in college soccer, there’s high injury.
[00:22:30] And that’s what I can get concerned about is I want to be able to scrimmage full sided or do scouting prep work, or do preparation for games with actual pictures that are exactly what we’re going to be seeing. So if we aren’t able to have two, two teams of 11, then I’m not going to be able to prep my guys properly for the games that we need to play.
[00:22:55] So that’s where the 30 comes from. Is it. Okay. If we look at the keepers and the field players, and at any point there’ll be between four and six injured players. I want to make sure we have 22 players that could play at a game against each other, or go through scouting mechanics or exercises as we’re going through it.
[00:23:15] So we can really get ready for, for the matches that we’re about to play. That
[00:23:20] Matt: makes sense. So you mentioned you have one full-time assistant, but, um, you know, I it’s, it looks like there’s some other folks listed as, as staff on, on the website. So how big is your overall staff? What role does everybody play?
[00:23:34] Uh, for the team?
[00:23:35] Coach: Well, I have a volunteer assistant and then I have a student assistant as well. Um, so I use all the coaches, I, but it’s, I don’t have any cold mixtures. Um, I guess. You know, we have limited time with athletes. So I want to make sure that everybody is getting as much coaching as possible. Um, so we’ll do a lot of functional, smaller group work when we’re doing training and I’ll put each coach in charge of five or six players or five or six players, you know, maybe outside midfielders or they’re playing or working with forwards.
[00:24:08] And a couple defenders are doing stuff like that. And very specific things that we’re working on in small groups. And then to, in a typical practice, we’ll have. Multiple small groups going, and then we’ll build the practice into the coherent hole, trying to make sure that the different lines of play get connected so we can see how it fits the overall picture.
[00:24:28] Um, but so all coaches are used quite honestly, uh, very actively. And then we have people who help us with our video. Breaking down videos and stuff like that as well. Um, and typically it’s the student assistants who are the best at that because they’re the savviest with video. Yep.
[00:24:49] Matt: I hear that. Um, well what about your specific style of coaching team style of play?
[00:24:55] Uh, that sort of thing. What, you know, what can you tell us about that?
[00:24:58] Coach: Yeah. Um, I’m not a yeller screamer. Um, you’ll see my, you know, I kind of take it. You know, bill Bellicheck style of coaching in that way of if we get scored on or we, it, you’re not going to see too much of a reaction from me in either way.
[00:25:14] Um, and I really look at the game, like I’ll give some instruction that I’m not there to puppeteer players at all. Um, so I’m fairly quiet on the sideline. Um, our style of play, I kinda use some stats to break it out. Uh, we scored 70 goals last year, so. We attack lock. We had 18 different goals, scores. Um, so we’re not just hitting long balls and trying to, you know, get in the end of free kicks or long throws.
[00:25:47] We’re a true possession based team who tries to transition to attack very quickly. Um, and if my, uh, my defenders don’t score, we pick on them, um, until they score. So it’s something where I like playing. Uh, a very creative style of soccer where the guys can have fun and the fans can enjoy watching it. Um, and I always say it’s better to win three to one than one to nothing.
[00:26:12] So if we’re up one, nothing, we will not bunker. Um, we will be going at it and trying to get more goals, um, just to make sure that a team can come back rather than giving them hope and allowing them in our half as much as bunkering allows people to be in her half. So I tell him I got. I’d always rather you defend 80 yards from goal.
[00:26:33] Cause then if you don’t defend, well, it’s not a risk, but if we’re letting people come into our back third, then I just think it’s silly because we’re creating panic time and panic space and, and significant worries. Um, whereas if our first line of defense is 80 yards up the field, if we get broken down, we have plenty of space to recover it.
[00:26:57] Um, and we can do. And then try to limit the amount of times people are getting into, into our goal area. No.
[00:27:07] Matt: Um, so we’re here in the spring. Um, what does your typical off season program look like?
[00:27:15] Coach: Yeah, with our guys, typically at the end of the fall season, um, we’re pretty late in the calendar. So we have individual meetings, uh, We have an overall team meeting where we go over off season training fokai with everybody.
[00:27:31] And we actually send out a Google doc to everybody in which their strengths and what they need to focus on are listed for every player on the team. So everybody can see each other’s. Um, we do that very particularly because we want everybody realizing that in those months that we’re not allowed to work with them due to NCA rules, we can really do a lot of work to improve.
[00:27:53] And if they can coach. And just recognize players when they’re doing good and working on those things or successfully performing those, those areas they need to focus on, or just reminding them to do those things when they’re playing pickup and those off season months, um, then I think we can yield much, much greater dividends.
[00:28:13] So we’ll do that. Then I’d try to get out of their way completely, um, until finals and like this year, it was literally four days after we finished until finals. So that wasn’t a long period, but I do want them to have a break to decompress. Um, I just think the college seasons too compact, trying to be a competitive student and have a pack season like that.
[00:28:36] And it’s just straining. Um, so I want them to go home and enjoy it. You know, sit in their couch over break or go skiing or do something they enjoy and getting away from the game a little bit. And then typically we come back the second week of January and that’s when they meet with the strength coach and get on the Sera, injury prevention, strength, and conditioning program that we build.
[00:28:58] And that’s when captains are in charge and they’re usually playing two or three times a week of doing yoga once a week. And guys can go out in small groups because they have that Google doc that shares everybody’s off season folk guys. So they can do complimentary small groups to help each other.
[00:29:14] That’ll take us until March went to the bees when our spring season is, um, and we’ll wait until, uh, time changes and then we’ll go out and usually go through five weeks. And our, you know, our 15 contact periods that there isn’t three allows. Um, we typically. Going forward. We’re always going to have an alumni game during that time and a scrimmage against the team that we are fortunate this year to have both happen, um, which we were very happy about.
[00:29:45] But the spring season is really about, I choose one topic, typically, maybe a second. That’s an overall arching tactical topic that we need to improve on as a team. And we focus on that throughout the entire spring. Uh, we also have daily grading for all the players. So at the end of every practice, every player comes up and tells us what they recreate themselves that day.
[00:30:08] And why on a scale from one to 10. And then we tell them what we think they would be that day and why. Um, and we do that for every practice in the spring, and then doing these things it becomes every day is about individual development. And then the whole spring is about one or two topics that are central to our team development.
[00:30:28] Um, Once we’re done the spring season, we actually, uh, go into a finals period again, and they’re taken exams. We’ll have indices and meetings again before those exams, and then they get a break and they come back for, we have a third term here. That’s a one month term that you take one class for four weeks, and then we’re back in that time when us coaches don’t get to work with them.
[00:30:53] So that’s when the captains are back and, uh, Doing their thing. And then in the summer, we really want everyone to play. And that gets tricky because, you know, as people get older, they get serious internships and things are demanding, but most of our guys do a really good job of finding a way and making it, even if they’re working an internship, just playing with at least pickup with other college players who are maybe getting together at six in the morning before they go and do their internship.
[00:31:21] Um, but we think, you know, it’s important to have. Be technically sharp and tactically sharp. Just as much as it is to be fit when you come into preseason. Absolutely.
[00:31:34] Matt: We’ve covered a lot of ground. I really appreciate your time. My, my last question is just kind of the catch all here. You know, what else would you like folks to know?
[00:31:43] What didn’t we talk about or something you want to reiterate or anything more. This is kind of your, your time to, to close this out
[00:31:51] Coach: and say, okay, one thing. We do demand a lot of our pliers. We have high expectations, but I will say I’ve led a very, say fortunate coaching life, where it’s taken me a lot of places around the world.
[00:32:05] And the one thing I’ve taken away from every place I’ve been is if it’s not fun, why are, why are you doing it? And the amount of time you spend in soccer on a time we worked to do what we did to be college players. Like, that’s kind of what we believe here is we’re going to have fun and I will demand and pull out every bit of potential from the players that come here, but we’ll have a lot of fun while we do it as well.
[00:32:31] And I think, uh, I think that’s really important, particularly with people who are going into tough academic schools. That fun is critical to keep you saying well,
[00:32:45] Matt: I mean, it’s why I chose division three is just so I could still work hard to get the academics, but still have fun plan and not have. Soccer V jobs, but so, but that’s, everybody’s different.
[00:32:57] They all get their own, uh, their own roadmap to where they want to be. And, uh, and hopefully, maybe somebody seeing this will see that map and it’ll lead them to Washington and Lee. So thank you, coach really appreciate the time, uh, best of luck next season. Hopefully crack crack into that final four again and onto the finals.
[00:33:16] Coach: Well, I appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time and thanks for the invite as well. Great.
