St. Vincent College Men’s Soccer – Coach Matt Davis

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Matt Davis from the St. Vincent College Men’s Program in Pennsylvania. We talk about he looks at what players are doing off the field and off the ball, as well as their skills. He describes how their school works hard to keep it affordable. Lastly, we discuss how his conference helps to minimize time away from school. Learn more about St. Vincent College.

[00:00:00] Matt: Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer. You are lucky enough today to be joined by the two Matts coach Matt Davis from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. Uh, and of course myself. So, uh, coach, thanks for joining us today.

[00:00:14] Coach: Yeah, for sure. Matt, uh, excited to be here.

[00:00:18] Matt: Well, I’m excited to have you. I have, I have the soft spot for the division three programs since that’s, uh, what I played in, it looks like that’s what you did as well.

[00:00:26] So, um, but let’s, uh, let’s talk a little bit about the recruiting side of things on division three. Cause that that’s, uh, always, uh, at the top of mind of a lot of high school players. So, you know, when is it that you’re doing. You’re most contacts with players. What year in high school are they, when are you hearing from them?

[00:00:47] When are you going to tournaments to watch, et

[00:00:49] Coach: cetera? Yeah. Yeah. So, um, so yeah, this year’s timeline was a little bit thrown off. I, I got here to St. Vincent in January. Um, and then there wasn’t much of any, uh, in terms of a recruiting class that was put together. Um, so, so our timeline, obviously for this, uh, for this year’s class was a little bit thrown off.

[00:01:07] We’re actually just wrapping up. Uh, right now, but typically, um, you know, starting in, you know, probably that, that second semester of junior year, um, is when we shift a lot of our focus, you know, so this, this past January and the typical year, we would have shifted much of our focus to, um, you know, the 20, 23 grads and, and the juniors in high school.

[00:01:27] And, um, really use that, you know, the spring, the spring showcases and the summer camps, um, to, to really narrow down our, our pool. Uh, of players, both guys that have shown interest in us and guys, we have, we, we, we identified, you know, just, just out in our recruiting. So, um, that would be narrowed down in, in the summertime.

[00:01:46] And then, um, so most of our initial contact and, um, getting guys on an initial campus visit would be, you know, right around this time in the spring, early summer. Um, and then as our pool narrows, we would invite guys back to campus in the early fall. You know, typically to see a game, uh, spend extended time with the team, you know, have more of their official visit on campus.

[00:02:06] And, um, and that’s, you know, it’s typically when guys give you the yes or the no, um, once they’re able to, to get that, you know, almost 24 hours a day in the life type experience on campus.

[00:02:17] Matt: Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Now you mentioned spring showcases and camps and stuff like that. So what for you on the tournament side of things, what are the ones that are kind of your.

[00:02:27] You know, you’re, you’re going to, no matter what, that you’re there every year taking

[00:02:30] Coach: out players. Yeah. So certainly, uh, in the spring time it was, you know, Jefferson cups, the big east coast tournament, and they, that tournament’s done a great job of, of, you know, growing as a showcase over the years where, um, you know, I was there for all three days, this fall, Friday, Saturday, or this spring of Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

[00:02:48] Um, and, and was able to, um, both see seniors that were making their final decisions. And, um, as well as, you know, it’s just see a lot of, you know, really good, um, 20, 23 grads playing. So, um, that’s a big one for us in the spring time. Uh, you know, two weeks, two weeks prior to that was at Bethesda. Um, we’re also, you know, typically going to the blue-chip showcase, um, which is this coming weekend.

[00:03:12] Um, and then, yeah, yeah, yeah. Cincinnati and, um, summer summertime is, is, you know, a mix of, of camps and showcases, you know, um, I’ll go to some of the, the more than nationally based recruiting camps that do a good job, um, you know, year to year, like future 500 is one that, that continues to grow. And, um, you know, being a Philadelphia guy that’s, that’s where they were founded.

[00:03:34] So I’ve always had a good relationship with them. Um, and then just the mix of, you know, we’ll, we’ll try to have. Um, some camps here in the summertime and early fall, uh, as well as, you know, still going out to, to identify guys, um, you know, at some smaller summer summer, tournament’s that, you know, not every, guy’s going to go through a, an ID camp circuit.

[00:03:52] So we understand that.

[00:03:53] Matt: Um, it makes sense. So when you’re at a camp or, or, uh, or would these showcases, you know, what, what’s your, your checklist look like? What’s the hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field or off.

[00:04:08] Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So I think, I mean, big, big thing, and it’s probably a thing a lot of coaches point to is just the, the attitude kind of the off ball piece, you know, what they’re, um, what they’re doing when they’re not, you know, an active part of the game.

[00:04:19] So how they’re, um, how they’re coached, you know, how they, how, you know, I try to get, try to even get to, you know, if I’m going to single off games, try to get there 20, 30 minutes early. Um, and just see what a guy’s like in more mops, you know, how he interacts with his teammates. I think those are all the pieces.

[00:04:35] Um, can really separate, you know, the, the average programs that have talent to the programs that similar talent level. And they’re just, you know, it’s just a bar more bought in collective groups. So, um, that’s a big thing for me. Um, certainly all the. Tangible athletic pieces, you know, size, speed, uh, ability on the ball.

[00:04:54] Um, I’ve always kind of gravitated a little bit in my recruiting led division three level to some guys that are a bit under size that, you know, really, really skillful players that I’ve had over the years that, um, if they were six foot instead of five foot eight, they they’d probably be on a division one roster.

[00:05:09] So that’s, um, you know, and that’s, that’s maybe a little bit too, as, as you mentioned, I was division three players. Uh, it was undersized. And, uh, I think if I was six foot tall, I still would have played division three, but, um, there’s some other guys that, you know, size and, um, maybe just the natural athletic ability, isn’t, you know, top, top tier, but they’re just really, really smart, you know, high IQ soccer players.

[00:05:30] And, um, I, I tend to gravitate towards that. You know, as I’m watching the game, you know, who might be the overlook guy on this, you know, elite club team. Um, isn’t the top seven or eight guy on his, maybe his own team, but, you know, in our environment could be, you know, an elite player, um, just with his, with his mind.

[00:05:48] Yup. Yup.

[00:05:50] Matt: I hear that. Um, so w w when you’re recruiting, how much are you talking to club coaches, high school coaches about, about these players and, and how does that, those relationships back.

[00:06:03] Coach: Yeah. They’re I mean, there, there’s certainly a part of it. I think my, my own, um, kind of way in which I do it is certainly if I’m, if I’m at a club showcase tournament, um, um, contacting the players that I’m most interested in afterwards, but I’m also content contacting their club coach.

[00:06:19] A lot of that just helps with the communication piece. The, the club coaches are able to give the players a different angle. Um, certainly you have that kind of the division three stigma, a lot of times. You know, unless they’re getting a little push from their club coach, like, Hey, this is, you know, very good coach, you know, growing program, those types of things.

[00:06:36] Um, the, the a 17 or 18 year old, my, my bloat off. Cause they’re, you know, they’re, they might be waiting for a division, one offer or more, um, established set up. So it always helps in the, in the beginning of the process, the first get in touch. Um, and then, you know, once we’ve had had the player on campus and we’ve, like I said, we’ve narrowed down our pool a little bit and we’re getting really serious for that.

[00:06:56] Um, that’s, that’s typically when I’ll engage the coach again, just in terms of a more detailed level of, you know, Hey, what’s this, what’s this guy like in a day-to-day environment. Um, how’s, how’s he go about, you know, the train sessions and, and the things that as a college coach you’re not typically present for.

[00:07:13] Um, and that, that helps you kinda, you know, make, make some final decisions. So, um, yeah, I think there, there are certainly an integral part of it because they give the guys a perspective. You know, the, the, the player where their parent, if they’re going through a college recruiting process for the first time, um, might not, might not be fully aware on, on some certain, certain things.

[00:07:34] Yep.

[00:07:34] Matt: No, it makes perfect sense. So, you know, being division three, uh, you know, we mentioned it’s, it’s, it’s a hard, it’s a little bit harder to recruit, right? Cause you’re waiting for those kids, those D ones to, you know, realize that maybe they weren’t the ones after all, but. How specifically at St. Vincent does the financial aid situation work?

[00:07:56] What does it look like? Obviously there’s no athletic money, but, but how has your school with scholarships, grants, academic money and all that?

[00:08:03] Coach: Yeah. So, so St. Vincent, um, certainly, I mean, uh, Benedictine, uh, first Benedictine college in the country, um, and, and founded by, by that, that order, um, you know, religiously, and, and I think one of the things that they, they still kind of hang their hat on is making college as affordable as possible.

[00:08:22] You know, in this day and age, when, when college prices are exciting, Um, as making it as affordable as possible, we have a, you know, a decent number of first-generation students here and, um, you know, and those types of things. So I think, um, yeah, in, in the process, the, the, the, the large, uh, portion of, of a student’s aid would be their academic merit grant.

[00:08:42] Um, and that, you know, is why, you know, every college coach, you know, in the country stresses to when they’re meeting with 15, 16 year olds, you know, um, take, take tougher high school courses, challenge yourself with your high school courses. Um, shortly do well with your courses, prepare a bit for the standardized test.

[00:08:59] And, uh, and those types of things can make a difference in, you know, honestly like 10, $10,000 give or take of scholarship money in terms of our range of scholarships. So, um, so that, yeah, that’s, that’s the big way that we make, make things financially affordable is, um, you know, finding guys that are a bit higher academic and can get into, um, you know, a good scholarship range.

[00:09:20] Matt: Now, you know, most, most division threes, aren’t, aren’t heavy on the international front, uh, because of costs that usually is the NAI and D two folks. You guys got a couple, uh, internationals on your roster. Um, you know, how does, how does international recruiting and transfer recruiting kind of fit into the whole puzzle for you

[00:09:39] Coach: guys?

[00:09:40] Yeah. Yeah. So I was actually, uh, one of my previous colleges. Um, probably the most international heavy team in the entire country when I was there. Um, they, they had a, uh, an academic merit scholarship that really just, you know, academic merit scholarship that puts you on par with the same scholarships that, um, you know, an American student would receive.

[00:09:59] Uh, and then the difference is, you know, they’re not, you know, unless, unless you’re finding a dual citizen. So we have a couple of guys on our team that, you know, have dual citizenship. Uh, American aid, unless you’re doing that, then you need to have, um, you know, financially have have international players here and there that are, that are very stable, you know, in terms of their financial backdrop.

[00:10:18] So, um, yeah, we, we have a few guys on our team here. Um, a few that came through St. Benedict’s prep, which, which the, the college Saint St. Vincent, um, has, has a longstanding relationship with St. Benedict’s prep. Um, in terms of, they send a number of students here every year athletes, and non-athletes just because.

[00:10:37] Both Benedictine institutions, both, um, you know, tied in their history and, and, um, you know, so that was, that was a natural, um, kind of a natural move for a few of those guys. We have, I think, six or seven of those players on our roster, and those are some of our higher level, a higher level players. Um, so yeah, we’ll, we’ll certainly recruit, you know, the international base when, when it’s, uh, when it’s going to fit.

[00:11:00] Um, I think two guys right now that, that we’re speaking to, um, from, uh, international backgrounds, one would be a potential transfer and, um, one, an incoming freshmen. Um, and again, they’re, um, you know, looking for a specific, you know, specific experience and, and that’s tied a little bit more to division three.

[00:11:18] Um, they’re looking, you know, both the guys actually are looking for engineering degrees, so that’s something that, that we offer and, um, and we may be able to do it at a higher. Um, you know, uh, higher academic standing then than some, some higher level schools that potentially could be on their radar. So.

[00:11:37] Matt: That’s great. I mean, you, you mentioned engineering and kind of the whole Benedictine, uh, thing as well. So let’s talk a little bit more about the school in general. I mean, I can click around the website and learn all all about it and see what’s out there, but give me the inside scoop. Right? What, what’s the, what’s the awesome things about St.

[00:11:55] Vincent that maybe I’m not going to find by, uh, by clicking around the website.

[00:11:59] Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So I think, uh, certainly, I mean, I’m a, I’m a kind of a history, a history nerd. So I think the history tradition of the college, um, uh, is something that I, I did a lot of research on when I was in the interview process and, um, certainly being the first Benedictine institution of its kind in the country.

[00:12:15] And, um, I don’t know the exact number. I think it’s somewhere between 12 and 15. Um, maybe even more institutions in the country. Um, college institutions trace, trace their roots back to St. Um, so, um, there there’s the traditional, I mean, father Myron is my boss, the athletic director here. And, um, and, and I think, you know, we have the, uh, you know, we certainly have that religious backdrop, but I think the biggest thing that that’s carried through for me, and being here for a few months with, with the Benedictine tradition, Um, it’s more of the community outreach campus ministry, um, you know, uh, mission, you know, community service, mission trips, those types of things.

[00:12:53] Um, it is what’s carried through. Um, we certainly don’t have a college that is, you know, full of, you know, a hundred bucks. Um, you know, uh, students of, of Christian backdrop or, uh, or even a religious backdrop. Um, so it is a very diverse campus, but, um, I think the, the mission of the college and, um, you know, what, what they’ve, uh, you know, you know, stayed true to over the years, um, it is still very evident in the day to day life.

[00:13:20] Um, valuing the individual experience of each student. So, um, I think that’s, that’s what a lot of, you know, smaller, private, liberal arts college, you know, hanging their hat on and in terms of the, the student experience. But, um, I think what drew me, um, probably to, to sum up the answer to that, to the question you just asked, but what drew me to St.

[00:13:38] Vincent was just the, the, the quality of student outcomes. So a lot of, again, a lot of schools throw percentages around like 98% of our students. You know, employed or working, but I think the quality of, of where seeing St Vincent students are attending medical school, graduate school, um, you know, or into, or right into the career, um, career field is, is, is really top-notch.

[00:14:01] And then, uh, I think the professors here and the, the career center in particular, Um, I’ve been around a number of different division three schools. I think this is among, among the highest that I’ve been to. So, um, that, that would be, you know, w one of my pitches, every time I talked to her recruit is just, you know, what, what your ROI is.

[00:14:20] Um, in, in this day and age, you know, you’re putting in a lot of money for college and, um, and, and, you know, me being of the belief that St Vincent does a really good job in terms of, um, you know, getting our. And a really good opportunities. Post-college

[00:14:34] Matt: uh, that’s great. Well, and, and as an, as a, an alum of the Catholic university of America, uh, I can definitely, uh, get behind all those things you just said.

[00:14:44] So, um, you know, like you said, strong academic background, so what, you know, what is available for student athletes in terms of support and how do they balance really their school and their study? I mean, the sport and their.

[00:15:01] Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So each of our, each of our players, um, would have an academic advisor, um, that would be a full-time professor on campus.

[00:15:08] Um, and they would meet with that. You know, that advisor as early as the summer, before they enter St. Vincent to schedule their first semester courses, um, you know, if everything’s going well from an academic standpoint, No any hurdles in the process, then they may only see their advisor once a semester to check in schedule the next semester courses.

[00:15:28] But, um, you know, and I think a lot of college students particularly early on have some hurdles with, with the adjustment and, uh, and the change in workload at the, at the college level. So, um, you know, that, that’s what the, the advisors there for, if they’re, if they’re having any type of academic issues, those types of things, um, we certainly have a full, you know, full tutoring center available in our library.

[00:15:49] Um, which for me is great. It’s black centers right here. You know, I can, I can walk out our door and get to the library and 50 steps. So, um, you know, and, and you go in there and, you know, tutoring available for students, um, in, in all different subject areas, both, um, you know, student, you know, peer tutoring and, um, and more of the professional, you know, tutoring.

[00:16:11] Um, you know, from college professors. So, um, you know, that that’s available for our guys. Um, we have an academic system in place, you know, really, uh, positive thing here at St. Vincent, where I can, uh, at any point I could log in this morning and see, um, what our guys class attendance was last week. Um, what their most recent assignment grades were and then what their, what their class standing does in each course.

[00:16:32] So it just keeps, you know, lines of communication, open. If they are struggling in a course, you know, if we have a, you know, a, um, an accounting student has got to take his one, you know, gen ed science course, um, you know, and, and it’s just a tough, tough, uh, of course, for him to take, he’s able to keep lines open and make sure he’s getting the tutoring early in the semester, you know, that he needs to be successful.

[00:16:54] So, yeah, that’s one of the positives of being an athlete at the college level is, um, You have a few more people, you know, coaches, um, you know, advisors here in the athletic department, just full-time staff in the athletic department that are here to, uh, to help and guide the guide, the guys on the team.

[00:17:12] Matt: Well, that’s great. So walk me through what a. We’ll call it a typical, uh, week is, you know, during the season, in terms of, from, from a student waking up to going through the day, going to bed kind of day by day. What’s what, what would be a standard week

[00:17:29] Coach: at St. Francis? Yeah, so there’s, there’s no, uh, there’s no standard week, but in the fall, uh, you know, we’re, we’re typically playing two matches a week, so usually a week match, um, and a weekend match.

[00:17:40] Um, and then typically, you know, six out of every seven days a week, we’re getting together as a team. Uh, you know, one day off that’s NCAA mandated and, uh, in a good, just a day for the guys to kind of refresh, catch up on academic work. Um, just recover from, from the grind of the season. Um, but yeah, in those, you know, we, we will have four training days, um, you know, throughout that week.

[00:18:02] And, um, for, for us typically in season, you know, two of those days, at least, or, um, more of your kind of full-on training sessions, you know, typically day before a game or two days out from a game where you’re, you’re getting prepared. Um, and then, you know, in season a lot, you know, if we’re playing on Saturday and Wednesday, we might be meeting, you know, Sunday, um, and doing a recovery session, maybe getting a weightlifting session in maybe a session over at our.

[00:18:28] Um, maybe a yoga session. Um, again, a lot of, a lot of recovery for the guys who, who played a lot, um, maybe, maybe a session down at the field for the guys who didn’t play, um, and that Saturday match. And then, um, yeah, Monday might be a day off and then Tuesday is more of a full on session. So, um, our guys would typically in season in our competitive season, we would train, um, somewhere in that kind of forward.

[00:18:50] 7:00 PM, um, range for, for, you know, an hour and a half to two hours, um, in season. So your typical daily schedule, you have most of your classes as an athlete would have to be early morning, early afternoon, um, you know, head out to the, to the field for the session. Um, and then, you know, dinner with the team and, and rest of the night for, for your academic work or, you know, to socialize those types of things.

[00:19:13] So, um, yeah, and we certainly mixing in throughout the. Um, you know, a film session at the start of, at, uh, at the start of our training session. We’re, uh, we’ll, we’ll at least lift once, if not twice a week, you know, in terms of weightlifting to, to maintain in season. So, um, all of those things are, are mixed in, you know, throughout the week as well.

[00:19:34] Matt: Now in terms of the schedule game, schedule, you guys, your conference, you’re lucky. It seems like you’re, you’ve got a pretty tight radius in terms of travel. You don’t have to travel too much, but what, what does your typical travel look like and how does that work with, with classes and things? Yeah,

[00:19:49] Coach: so, so we’re fortunate.

[00:19:50] I actually, the two previous schools I was at, we had multiple teams in our conference at each institution that were five plus hours away. So, um, I mean, those games are always on the weekend. It does, um, you know, it does hit when you’re, you’re leaving Friday at four o’clock and maybe getting back late, late Saturday night, early Sunday morning.

[00:20:09] Um, so I think the positive thing with the PAC, the president’s athletic conferences, um, I think our farthest trip in conferences is two hours and change, you know, away from our campus. So, um, even when we’re traveling to, uh, you know, teal college for a Wednesday night away game at seven o’clock. Um, you know, we’re, we’re, we don’t have to leave campus until maybe 3, 3 30.

[00:20:29] So guys can go to pretty much go to all their academic classes. Um, you know, and then we, we obviously arrive warmup, have the game. Um, and we’re still, again, we’re getting back maybe at midnight, you know, from the latest trip, um, which, which for, I’ve been at some places where you’re back at at 2:00 AM, sometimes even for a midweek or certainly the Saturday matches you might be getting in, you know, uh, past midnight.

[00:20:51] So, uh, harder to, um, you know, to recover during season when you’re doing those things and get proper sleep and, uh, and, and those types of things. So I think that’s, uh, something that probably all the coaches in our conference enjoy. You know, they don’t have, we don’t have any overnight trips, um, you know, in conference place.

[00:21:08] So, uh, I guess it does give us the freedom, um, out of conference, if we want to travel a little bit further as a team, you know, have a little bit of an experience. Um, that’s, that’s something that, you know, I’ll try to do here, whether it’s playing, um, you know, matches in DC or Philadelphia or New York city.

[00:21:25] You know, in and around those areas and giving our guys kind of a weekend trip experiences, um, you know, something I would, I would probably plan out for 20, 23 and beyond. Yeah. Well, I gotta

[00:21:35] Matt: get you out of Catholic. You, I mean, it would make perfect, perfect, uh, segue there, but, um, well, let’s talk a little bit more about the team and the soccer side of things.

[00:21:43] So, you know, I mean, I know you’re, you’re, you’re new to the program, but do you have like a typical or not a typical, an ideal roster size that you’re looking to get to each year?

[00:21:54] Coach: Yeah. So, um, you know, in the division three environment, you’re, you’re certainly, um, you’re certainly, usually not usually having a required roster number of those types of things, um, you know, and, and important for a few different capacities.

[00:22:07] I think, you know, I’m always of the belief right around, you know, 30, um, guys on the team, you know, as an ideal roster number. Um, you know, I think if you’re, if you’re having three or four keepers and, you know, 26, 27 field players, Um, you know, give or take a couple and in a given year it’s never a, uh, you know, it’s never a, an exact science with, with division three, um, not having athletic scholarships.

[00:22:30] So, um, yeah, that, that would be an ideal number. It keeps, you know, uh, I’m a coach that typically I’ll play. You know, 16, 18 guys in the course of a match, um, and, and play a deeper bench particularly early in the season. Um, so, you know, it keeps the majority of the roster engaged throughout the course of the season.

[00:22:47] You know, every guy, you know, at some point is probably called on to, you know, play major minutes during a certain stretch or something like that. So, uh, I think it’s a number where you still continue to have your, your depth. Um, really have able to have effective training and competition at each season in each position.

[00:23:04] Um, but you’re not getting, you know, um, you know, so many guys on the roster in the forties and fifties, which some schools do that, um, it’s just really hard to, to, you know, be able to focus individually on each player, um, and give them the attention that they, that they deserve. So, um, yeah, that would, that would be our number is right around 30, you know, give or take a few, depending on, you know, the year and what our senior class is looking like.

[00:23:29] Matt: So, do you have, uh, any other staff at this point? Or what does, what does the staff look like? You know, overall at the university for the men’s soccer team.

[00:23:39] Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So we’re um, so I got here and, um, obviously it was a coaching change transition. So we’re hiring, we’re hiring an assistant coach for the program.

[00:23:49] Um, and that will be, you know, we’ve actually done, you know, uh, just preliminary work for that, but there’ll be on board this summer. Um, you don’t have to prepare for the fall. And then we also have a senior, uh, who was on the team last fall, um, who will be continuing, um, here at St. Vincent in the graduate school program.

[00:24:07] Um, so he is, uh, and eventually his, his goal is, is to be a high school coach, uh, at the level of. Um, he’s actually been helping me out this spring, um, just with training sessions, a bit of recruiting, those types of things. So, um, so yeah, our staff, you know, by, by the, uh, you know, by August would be, uh, myself and assistant coach and, and a graduate assistant.

[00:24:27] And, um, you know, that, that, uh, gives us a pretty good training environment where, um, we can have different coaches running sessions. Guys can hear different voices. Uh, the keepers will, you know, the goalies will certainly have a coach. They can, you know, have a few lengthy sessions with each week. So, um, yeah, that that’ll be what our, our staff will look like.

[00:24:45] I think right now I’m the only coach for men soccer listed on our website. But, um, that’s just part of the, uh, you know, the trends, the transition here when, when I started in a few months ago. So,

[00:24:56] Matt: no, it makes sense. Um, well, how, how would you describe your style of coaching and the style of play that you want your team to have?

[00:25:05] Coach: Yeah. So, um, uh, I think from, uh, even previous schools that I’ve coached that and, and, um, you know, how I, how I see the envision, the team structure forming, we already did a lot of. Um, towards that in the springtime, that was the advantage of when I got here and early February, I was able to have a full spring season with the guys and starting to implement like how we want to play and some of the staples of how we want to play.

[00:25:27] So, um, very, uh, always been a very structured, uh, structured coach from a defensive standpoint, um, in terms of guys having their, their roles responsibilities in terms of, um, our press, uh, you know, when, whenever possible. You know, we’ll prefer to be a higher pressing, you know, outfit and try to, uh, turn teams over in their defensive third.

[00:25:47] Um, I think that’s at the end of the day in late season, college matches post-season matches. Um, it’s typically what wins, you know, despite, you know, if you’re not having a great game from a technical standpoint, knocking it standpoint, if you can kind of stay true to always have you in a very organized defensive structure and defensive press, you’re going to give yourself a chance regardless of the opponent and how well you’re clicking on the ball.

[00:26:12] Um, and then I think on the, on the flip side, um, you know, certainly want to, uh, give the guys a lot of freedom. So it’s more of an interchangeable. Um, you know, guys can, um, you know, move, move about the attack as they see fit. And, uh, and certainly, you know, trying to play a very, uh, quick decision-making, you know, a lot of coaches put touches on it, you know, two, three touch soccer, um, quick, decision-making get on the ball, get off the ball.

[00:26:37] And, uh, and I don’t know. You know, it, it’s pretty rare that I’ve coached, coached the team where we’re really just relying on one guy to score, um, and finished. I think, you know, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s called squaring by committee. And again, that makes you a little bit more dangerous and Lacey’s and games. Yeah, for sure.

[00:26:55] Matt: Well, um, we’re in the off season, right? I mean, it’s April. What, um, what is your typical off season program?

[00:27:05] Coach: Yeah. So, so when I got here, that was a big thing of just, um, stabilizing, like what the guys were doing. They were playing flips all a couple of times a week, just, just letting you know internally by the team.

[00:27:15] So, um, so they’ll, they’ll always be a piece of that where the team, um, inherently is going to be. Um, you know, training on its own and, and plane, uh, late night sessions in the gym, some foot Saul when the, when the weather’s poor, uh, you know, St Vincent’s actually getting a brand new athletic center, um, that’ll be built, uh, by, uh, late summer 2023.

[00:27:36] Um, so that would be huge to actually have an indoor turf surface. Um, that’ll give our guys an awesome place to train in particularly December, January, February, um, or if we get inclement weather, Um, but yeah, in terms of the, the off season program, um, particularly the winter months is a heavy focus on strength and conditioning.

[00:27:55] Um, so our guys will be with, uh, we have a full time strength and conditioning coach. Um, there’ll be with him three days a week, typically, um, you know, on a program. Um, they’ll, they’ll play a couple of times a week just again, led by the players and, um, you know, when fits their schedules and, um, yeah, that that’ll lead into our non-traditional spring season where, you know, we can have, you know, 15 sessions and, um, you know, we, we had an alumni game this spring, we played, uh, another local squad this spring in a, in a spring match.

[00:28:23] Um, so there’s a couple of matches that they can train towards in the spring. Um, essentially it’s a development season for us to get guys, you know, stronger, more fit. You know, training sessions are a little bit more designed for, um, you know, individual skill work and, uh, and player development, as opposed to the fall where it’s, it’s much more tactically based and player combination.

[00:28:44] Um, team structure. So, yeah.

[00:28:47] Matt: Okay. Well, we covered a lot of ground here. Don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’ll, I’ll leave you with one last question and that’s just, you know, what didn’t we talk about? What did we miss or what’s something you want to reiterate or anything more, this is your chance to, to kind of close it out and, and let us know anything more you want us to know about St.

[00:29:04] Coach: Vincent? Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, certainly the, uh, uh, you know, uh, has. Recruits, you know, um, you know, people in the area are following the team and, you know, it’s, it’s certainly not, um, you know, not a, a shock that the, the program here hasn’t done well in recent years. And, um, you know, I, I tell, I tell guys, as I’m meeting with them in the recruiting process, Uh, the first coaching staff, I was a part of, uh, we, we inherited a program that was, that was, uh, part of the longest losing streak in the country.

[00:29:33] The team had lost over 70 games in a row, um, and within, uh, within two, and I think it was going, had been two and a half years, three seasons. The, we went from, uh, last place in the conference to, you know, first place national tour. Um, played Calvin college, pretty, pretty tough in the first round of NCAAs at my previous school.

[00:29:52] So, um, yeah, the, the, the team has gone through some struggles and, uh, and some tough seasons. And I think, um, we’ve already seen a lot of, you know, results in dividends in, in the few months I’ve been here from guys just, you know, taking it up a notch in terms of their commitment level and, and, and how they’re approaching being a collegiate student athlete.

[00:30:10] Um, yeah, our, our goals are pretty higher to compete in a conference that is fairly, fairly strong from top to bottom. There’s there’s not, um, you know, there’s probably not one perennial team that, that wins the conference. It’s, um, there’s, you know, 6, 7, 8 plus, you know, really strong squad. So, um, we know we have our work cut out for us, but, um, you know, we already have some, some high level guys set to join us.

[00:30:32] And I think the current current team on campus. Um, it has really bought into to a much higher commitment level in terms of our environment. And so, um, yeah, I’m really excited to see, you know, see, see where things lead here. And, um, and I think a lot of our spring sports lacrosse, baseball, baseball just had a 15 game losing streak snapped.

[00:30:51] Um, lacrosse is, uh, I think 10 and one. So, um, yeah, teams can certainly win and win at a high level here. Um, and, and, you know, excited to start that for men’s soccer on the campus. Awesome. Well,

[00:31:04] Matt: coach, we wish to wish you the best of luck there. Um, I, you know, I grew up in Ohio. My wife’s family’s was in Michigan, so we drive through that area on the way back north many times.

[00:31:14] So if I, if I get near there, I’ll have to swing by, especially after that new facility is built. Check it out. So we thank you for your time. Best of luck in the fall, and we’ll be in touch. All right.

[00:31:24] Coach: Awesome. Thanks Matt. Thank you.