Wright State University Men’s Soccer – Coach Alex Van der Sluijs

In today’s episode, I speak with Coach Alex from the Wright State Men’s Program in Ohio. We talk about how he decides between traditional recruits and transfers. Coach also shares about all that the Dayton area has to offer. Plus, we discuss how his coaching style comes from his Dutch background. Learn more about Wright State University Men’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I am lucky enough to be joined by Coach Alex at Wright State in Ohio. Welcome coach. 

Coach: Yeah, thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Yeah, 

Matt: thanks for being here. I think, uh, so I, I went to OU for grad school, uh, and even though I did my four years of undergrad playing, I, I played one year club, uh, for ou and we went and played up at Wright State.

Uh, yeah. So, so, and, and then in my high school. Basketball team. We went to the state championship, uh, and played at the Nutter Center. So, so I’ve been on campus several times, uh, back in the day. So, yeah, 

Coach: it’s a, it’s a nice place, man. 

Matt: Yeah. Good. So good to have you. Well, we’re, we’re talking here end of March.

Uh, you know, it’s the peak recruiting season, uh, showcases. I just got back from Jeff Cup myself. So, uh, where do you guys. Stand right now in terms of, uh, class of [00:01:00] 25, class of 26, kind of what’s your recruiting normal timeline calendar this time of year? 

Coach: Yeah, it’s changed. It’s changed quite a bit. Um, it’s hard to get ahead with, with the portal and international, um, players that kind of open up from exit trials and things late and so.

You know, we’re about 95% done, 90% done looking for maybe a couple more, um, you know, s specific positions right now. But, you know, overall pretty in a pretty comfortable position. But also like I. We need one more. Um, that’s, that’s, you know, a really important role for us. Stryker. Everybody’s looking for it.

It’s kind of what happens late is everybody hopes to find that that little diamond or, or maybe has a little bit of scholarship money late to, to have an edge. Um, yeah. It’s hard to get ahead just with, with a new portal window in May coming up and, um. And the international pool on the men’s side is just now, it’s so crazy and it’s hard to, um, [00:02:00] explain the, the amount of available athletes that that happened late.

Um, and so at, at high quality. So it’s, it’s, um, you know, we always try to leave a little wiggle room late, which, which gives me a little bit of anxiety, but, you know, um, that’s, that’s just part of the game and gotta be patient and, and wait for the right guys for your team and, and your culture and system.

Matt: So with the new roster limits, does that, I’m guessing it just makes it even harder, right? ’cause you could always say, well, I could just add one more if it falls into my lab, but now you don’t have that, that ability, right? 

Coach: Yeah. And, and it’s, um, yeah, sometimes you, you know, you feel a little bit more like a GM than a coach.

Right? Because I love, I, I, I enjoyed the, the roster fluidity or list flexibility, because I think you can, um. Take a risk on somebody that you see potential in that may take a minute to, to really get into the division one game physically, or the, the pace, but has the tools or has something that inspires you, that you want ’em on your team.

Um, so the, the [00:03:00] assessment process has to be a little bit more critical about how ready are they now. Um, and so that’s hard. ’cause I do like that art form of like, there’s something there with this, with this player. And I’d like to take that on. Um, so, you know that, that, that does affect it quite a bit. And, and now you do have to really assess your current roster and where they are in their development.

Um, and so, um, yeah, it’s made it, it’s made it harder. Um, and, and honestly lately feel more like a gm, um, because the question is less about development and, and more about. You know, readiness, uh, immediately. And so, um, ’cause we were at about 32, 33 and those, sometimes those last four or five guys are, are great guys and you love them.

Um, but you have to be really critical now and a little bit ruthless. And, and that’s hard, um, because they’re humans and, and you do want ’em, you some, you know, a lot of these guys, you [00:04:00] still want them. But, um, you do have to think about the process different now with the caps. 

Matt: So how did, with that GM cap on, how do you decide between, I’m gonna get this high school senior versus this JUCO transfer versus this other D 1D two transfer versus an international guy, you know, how, how does, how do those decisions happen?

How, how fluid are you with those decisions? 

Coach: Yeah, I think, you know, for me, um, this was, this was my second season and I wanna still build. A culture and a team. I want guys that take a lot of pride in our school, take a lot of pride in our team, um, and become family members for life. And, and I still wanna stay true to that.

And, and so the bulk of what we wanna try to do is still have guys that mostly have three and four years that they are gonna spend here. Um. And, and that’s that. Yeah. That’s hard. That’s hard. [00:05:00] We are a young team, so we do need some experience in this, in this, you know, with maybe one or two guys left some, some good experience, but the bulk of our team is freshmen and sophomores right now.

And so, um, I’m excited for the future, but also I. You know, you have to, I think, have a, a bit of a hybrid model, um, because we still want guys that graduate from here that, that love their time here and they’re a part of something and have careers and, and have like real soccer careers at, at, at colleges and, and within our program.

So, um, I think it’s, you have to be flexible, um, knowing like your squad specifically, like we are young, so it’s hard to find that leadership. Sometimes in a young, on a young squad. So finding, you know, maybe a, an older guy or a leader that fits our culture, um, is, is, um, is, you have to be really diligent about that.

Um, you can’t, you can’t go all freshmen. That’s hard. I don’t even think that’s the landscape. I don’t, I don’t, I don’t know if anybody’s doing that [00:06:00] anymore, but, um, guys outta high school. But, um, we’re still, we’re still trying to find that. You know, group of players that really wanna have a career and take pride and grow from freshman to senior year.

Um, and that process, um, I’m not saying that’s the only thing we’re doing, but uh, we still value that part of it. 

Matt: Okay. Well, whether it’s, uh, se, high school, senior, a transfer, whatever the case may be, kind of what makes up that hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player both on the field and off.

Coach: I mean, uh, when you’re recruiting a guy, you or, or you see a guy the first like eye test, right? You, it, it has to be at the level of, of skill, technical ability, um, soccer, IQ and athleticism of division one soccer, right? There has to be this kind of threshold that you see that and kind of know that, um, pretty quickly of yeah, this is the level that is comparable to what we’re playing at.

And so you have to. You know, I have a really good sense of that [00:07:00] right away. Um, and then, you know, when we’re recruiting, uh, I just, I love players that express themselves. I love players that their personal personalities come out in the way that they play. And, and, and honestly, like when we recruit, I, I, you know, I tell our assistant says it has to be a guy we want to coach.

We’re around them so much having a good player, but maybe a guy. That isn’t a high character individual, isn’t super positive, um, doesn’t support his teammates, um, doesn’t have good grades. Like he could be really great. I don’t know if we’re gonna, I don’t know if we’re just gonna take a gamble on that.

And so we’re around these guys so much. They’re around each other more than any person. Um, you know, we’re in six to eight hour bus rides together. Uh, we’re in film sessions, weight room together. We’re, we’re around each other so much. You have to want to coach them, you have to want to get to know them and, and get close to them and have a relationship, um, from that standpoint.

So they’ve gotta be doing something on the [00:08:00] field within their teammates structure, the way they talk to their teammates, their coaches, the refs, uh, and the way that they play. For us to go, oh gosh, I wanna coach that guy. Um, and that’s kind of skill aside. Um, that’s kind of the level aside. There still has to be this element of, you know, I, I want to coach this individual and I want this person to, to really enhance what we’re doing.

Um, so it’s kind of two parts. Are they at the level technically, physically, athletically, skillfully to play division one soccer? And then is there, is there something about them? That inspires me, or I’m really inspired by the way that they play and work and the passion they have for the game. And I do, I wanna do, I wanna coach this person.

Matt: Ah, I love that. All right, well, well let’s learn a little bit more about the school. Uh, you know, yeah. I obviously know about Wright State, but I’m sure there’s some folks out there who don’t. So you’ve, you’ve been there a couple years now. Yeah. What, what stands out to you about the school? What are some cool things?

Maybe some stuff we wouldn’t even know by going through the website. 

Coach: [00:09:00] Yeah, Dayton’s a cool area. Um, you know, a lot of people don’t know, you know, Wright State is, uh, kind of the Wright Brothers invention of flight and uh, there’s a huge Air Force base that is a stone’s throwaway from the university. And so there’s a lot of really cool connections with.

The Air Force, um, and Wright Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University. So, um, that’s a really cool area. A lot kind of going on, A lot to do around here. A lot of restaurants, small stuff like that. The Nutter Center has great events. Um. There was bull riding this weekend, and so I think some of our, some of our guys, you know, paid the 15 bucks to go watch some bull riding.

Um, we, we went to some WWE and preseason here, and so the Nutter Centers got great events, which is a huge arena on campus. Um, but Dayton Dayton’s a cool area, kind of medium sized city, but then we’re right in between Columbus and Cincinnati. So a lot to do within this hour radius. School is great, man. The, the engineering program is getting a lot of, [00:10:00] a lot of hype lately.

Um, a lot of our guys will, will do leadership kind of in business majors. They wanna stay in the game in some way. Um, but it’s a state school. It’s really affordable here. And, and that’s a lot of draw, um, from, from kind of local people. Um, and so that’s, that’s nice. It’s a really affordable college. I mean, um, so, so we’ve got that going for us.

’cause the cost of college is, and universities, especially private, is, you know, it’s getting crazy. Um. For people, but you know, we’ve got great, you know, great facilities that we’re constantly enhancing. Um, you know, just got a, a brand new turf, which was great. Um, but yeah, I mean it’s, it’s, uh, I think the best part of college anyways is you get to hang out with your boys and grow together and, you know, you train hard, you study hard, you play some FIFA at night and, and, uh, get, get, get close and, and build lifelong friendships.

And so, um, I think college is, you get out what you put in, right? And, and. The more you invest and the more you engage around campus, [00:11:00] the more you engage in the university, and the more you pour yourself into a soccer, uh, program, the more you’re gonna get out of wherever you are. Um, and so, um, but it’s a great university.

They’re always, you know, doing, you know, trying to do new things and, and, um, and build us forward. Um, you know, after Covid, I know everybody kind of. It wasn’t a little bit of limbo, so Right. State’s coming out of that on, on, uh, on the high end, which is, which is nice. So a lot of big things going on around here.

Matt: Awesome. Well, one of the biggest challenges of players can have, especially if they’re coming from overseas or transferring from another school, or even being a high schooler going into college, is that transition of the demands of being a D one athlete and. A college student. Right? Yeah. So what kind of support systems does the school offer to help students be successful both on the field and off?

Coach: Yeah, I think, um, a lot of, a lot have resources in terms of, you know, academic [00:12:00] help and academic aid. For us, we’ve got, you know, we’ve got three full-time people. That are, that bridge between athletics and academics. So they’re full-time just with athletes here. Um, and, and that part is great. Um, you know, we, we, we try to make sure, um, that they have every resource that they need, but really these people, um, Morgan, Zach and Kim and in our office, um, you need anything, tutor resource help, help communicating with a professor sometimes is hard, especially.

You know, for a young, for a young person, it’s like, oh my gosh, this person’s a PhD in this and this and this, and I, I need help in something very minuscule. And so. That communication bridge is really, is really nice, but also the resources to get tutors, um, to get help. We have student success coaches here, which is somebody that helps you organize your life and, and organize your week ahead and, and, um, and so, you know, we have a student success [00:13:00] center here, which, which it’s, it’s basically a lot of grad students, a lot of student workers that, that are high academic that really can help.

Guide you in, in maybe those first or second year struggles. And so that part’s great. I’m incredibly hands-on in our academic checkups. So, um, I request every two weeks updates on grades and, um, attendance and study tables. Um, because I want to know everything that’s going on with our guys, if they’re missing anything because.

I’m a firm believer in, you know, how we do anything is how we do everything. So if a guy’s skipping class, he’s probably cutting corners on the field somewhere or, or in the weight room somewhere. So, um, I want to know, um, if I got, our guys are doing everything well. Um, part of I. Part of my vision was to become the gold standard in, in this athletic department, and we had the highest team, GPA of any sports this past semester.

And so we achieved that this past, um, this past semester, um, the highest cumulative [00:14:00] GGPA. So, um, that’s the standard that we’re setting for ourselves. And so, um. You know, guys, typically, uh, I get so annoying to them that they just do everything. Um, and then they get why. Right? But at first, it’s, it’s, Hey, if I find out you missed a class or you missed a little bit of study tables, um, I’m gonna be so annoying to you that it’s not gonna happen again.

Um, and then sometimes a little fitness maybe helps, but, uh, that’s, that’s for another day. But, um, but yeah, so there’s so many resources and I’m, I’m, I’m about as involved as I can be to know how each class is going. 

Matt: Okay, well let’s rewind to October. Heart of that conference season. Mm-hmm. What, walk me through what a typical week looks like for a player in terms of winter practices, classes, meals, games, all that stuff.

Coach: Yeah. Yeah. And so I’m in year two and, and, um. Finding that right pocket of training time is, is hard, you know, and, and, um, so this coming fall, [00:15:00] we’re going eight to 10 in the morning. Um, kind of first thing. Let’s, let’s do it. Let’s get up, let’s train. Um, let’s get, you know, I. Get the bulk of, of our soccer stuff done for the day and it’s gonna free up, um, I think the rest of the day for film weights, classes, all those things.

Um, the individual meetings, individual work, all that stuff. So I wanna start getting training done first of, you know, first thing in the morning. Um, but this year we trained 12 to two, so right around kind of lunchtime, so guys would have some morning classes. We would train, then they’d have some afternoon classes, maybe a night class.

And then depending on where we are in the game schedule is when, is how often we’ll have weights. Um, when you get into that two game a week kind of cycle, it’s, it’s, it’s a lot because of the travel. Um, and so if you play a Tuesday away, you’re typically leaving Monday. Um, play Tuesday night. Get back probably late Tuesday night.

You [00:16:00] know, Wednesday classes in the morning, recovery day, Wednesday train Thursday. Prep for the game, pregame, uh, Friday and another game Saturday. And so it’s, it, it can be a lot. Um, which is why it’s so important to just, uh, time manage well, um, and to get ahead, right? If, if, if you’re constantly just treading water, it’s, you’re gonna get tired.

Um, and so we, we tell, we just talk to our guys about playing the week ahead, make sure, um. We’re checking our boxes in terms of the habits that we want, waking up early, organizing our day. Um, and so, um, it, it’s a lot, it is a lot right away because in a fall we don’t get enough time to acclimate the new guys.

Um, you know, it’s 16 days, right? Um, and so that’s not enough time for preseason. That’s not enough time. Really to kind of bridge everybody and here’s how it’s gonna roll a fall. Sports man in any division, they are just thrown in the lions den. And so, um, we try to do our best to get these guys [00:17:00] ready and to make sure that they’re ready and they have appropriate schedules for their first semester.

Um, but yeah, there’s a lot that goes on and typically that’s why we try to recruit high academic, uh, individuals anyways. So guys that already kind of understand that balance, um, and that rigor. Um, but. We also try to lay it out for them and plan pretty much their entire day. Uh, so they know what they know, what’s, what’s required of them at any point.

Okay. 

Matt: Awesome. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the team. Obviously we got a, you got a roster limit now? Uh, yeah. Coming into play. Yeah. But let’s talk about the other part of the roster. Your, your support staff. Yeah. Talk to me about, uh, what your, your, the rest of your staff looks like. What roles does everybody play?

What maybe other staff are in the athletic department that help out. 

Coach: Yeah, so, you know, my boss, my sport oversight, um, Robert Ray, he’s great. He kind of just is like the bouncer of everything, like making sure everything’s going well. Um, if there’s issues, he helps us address those. Um, I have, uh, [00:18:00] my, my first assistant, Chris Garcia.

Um, so good. Um, incredibly hard worker. Um, headlines a lot of our, our tactics, our scouting reports, um, tactics in the training sessions. Um, we hired, um, we brought on a, a young kind of hungry guy named Grant Ham. He was the director of soccer ops at Xavier the last two years. Um, so he’s stepping into an assistant coaching role for us.

Um. Young and hungry heart, really hard worker. Um, but it’s gonna organize us from a director of soccer ops, uh, side, but also help us do some functional work at the end of training. Um, help us run some positional things, um, but also do some scouts and film. And, and, and Matt, um, goalkeeper coach Adam Maloney.

He’s, he’s fantastic. Um, he’s actually been with me, um, with here and, and he was with me at Wilmington as well. And so he’s great. Um. Uh, but works with our goalkeepers every day goes with us, [00:19:00] you know, on, on away trips. Um, and, uh, so yeah, I mean that’s pretty much, you know, the staff we got going on, uh, here.

And then we have our academic people that I mentioned earlier that, that really help us. Um, we have our head athletic trainer, um, and then we also have, um, a head strength and condi conditioning coach that’s, that’s with men’s soccer as well. Um, the nice part about. State two is we have, um, sports psychologists that’s available to all our players.

Um, and so that’s, that’s fantastic. Um, fantastic resource to have. She’s fantastic. And so yeah, that’s kind of, it’s a lot when you think about it. Um, then the one man show I was kind of used to about 10 years ago, but um. But yeah, so it’s, you know, we’re spoiled out. And honestly, to have the resources we have, it’s just whether you, you take a, take advantage of it and, and, and use these resources.

Matt: No, that’s great. Well, let’s talk about you though. Uh, how would you describe kinda your coaching style and, and the [00:20:00] style of play you’re looking to play there? 

Coach: Yeah, I, you know, I want us to share the ball and move the ball. Um, you know, I’m a Dutch guy at heart and, and, uh, you know, grew up my dad, uh. You know, got us watching total football and, and, uh, you know, some old VHS tapes of refe and, and so I just kind of grew up loving that freedom and then re’s influence at Bara.

Um, just got really, really obsessed with, with that. And, um, just that ball movement of those Barcelona teams and the way that they shared the ball and how simple they made it look, but how complex it was at the same time. So I love a heavy passing style, um, valuing possession. Um. And I love, I just really love the fluidity of multiple positions.

You know, the wingers can come internal, the outside backs can come in, the nine can drop down, the 10 can become the forward, that fluidity in the way that we play. I love, I, I just love that part of the game because I think soccer’s art and I want to keep it artful for our guys. Um. [00:21:00] And then defensively, you know, we’ve gotta be really structured and rigid, um, and understand our principles really well.

Um, but, you know, I, I just, to me, I want us to play joyfully when we have the ball and express ourselves. Um, I think those are the teams that always end up scoring goals and, and, um. And, and I think making it incredibly hard to defend. And so, um, you know, we were in the top 15, I think in goal score this year, division one.

Um, and, and so I think the fluidity and the freedom that we gave our guys, I. They really enjoyed that part of it. And, uh, I think that’s why we scored a lot of goals this year. Um, from, from that, that standpoint. Obviously we had had some really good players in the attack and so I’m not gonna take any credit for that part, but I think the fluidity and the freedom that we give them of, Hey, we’re not, we don’t have to stay here.

Where’s the half spaces? Drift into the pockets that you feel are necessary, as long as we have [00:22:00] balance within the game. Doesn’t matter what position you are in the moment. And so I think our guys like that. But I love our guys. I just love our guys. Um, our culture we call TPS tough, positive, and selfless.

Um, those are the values that we coach around every day. Um, are we tough? Can we endure hard things? Do we have good body language? Um, are we ready to face adversity? Um, that’s, that’s that value for us. Positive is simply a what’s next mentality. Um, you know, a lot of people think positivity is like, everything’s okay, everything’s gonna be okay.

Like, it’s not that for us it’s, Hey, this happens. What’s next? Um, you know, things are gonna happen in life. Things are gonna happen on the field. What is next? What’s the next action that we can take? Um, that’s what we think is, is positive. Um, and then selfless is, um. Are we putting the team first and do we celebrate each other?

And so I want us to celebrate everything in training, every tackle, every good bout of possession, every nice combination that we have, every goal. I want us to celebrate each other, um, [00:23:00] quite a bit. Um, and so we call it TPS, um, may, some people may think it’s corny, but those are the values that we coach around every, every single day.

And so, um, yeah, it’s a little bit about. A little bit about us. I, 

Matt: I think it’s only corny if you ask the players to, to, to provide a TPS report, right? 

Coach: That’s right. That’s right. They, none of those guys know that reference, so it’s.

It kind of stuck and then I’m realizing like, oh man, how many these guys have seen office space? Probably zero. 

Matt: That’s all right. That’s all right. Well, coach, I, I really appreciate the time. I’m gonna leave you with one last question, and that is, if you had one piece of advice for, for any guy going through this college recruiting process right now, what would that be?

Coach: Yeah. The word fit is the, is the biggest thing, um, fit. Everybody gets so hung up on division or, or what it looks like or what their buddies are doing or, or what they’re seeing on social media. Um. I, I, I went to Wilmington College, small division three school, had the time [00:24:00] in my life. Um, you know, I’ve got great friends for life.

Um, had an incredible career, had a great mentor, um, and, and really like, just learned a lot about who I wanted to be and that path. And so, and, and I ended up playing a couple years of pro and from the division three level in USL back then. And, and, um. You know, which is great, but, but the word fit, um, is, is, you know, I would just be for, for anybody looking, be way more process oriented than outcome oriented or, or these finite things.

I have to play division one, right? Um, find the right fit where you’re gonna get exactly what you want out of this college experience. And who are you gonna become over four years? Um, and if you’re only worried about saying, I play division one, rather than, Hey, what are the values that are gonna be instilled?

Do I have a a, a, a leader as a coach that’s gonna help me become a better man? Am I gonna have lifelong friendships? Am [00:25:00] I gonna have a career path? Am I gonna have a ton of student loan debt? Um, how far am I away from home? All of those things then encompass. Your college experience rather than, oh, I just achieved this one thing where I, I’m on a division one roster.

Well, there’s way more that goes into what a, an experience should look like. So, um, and I’m a, I’m a perfect example of that is, is the fit is, is, is truly, I. Critically thinking about what you wanna say in four to five years about yourself and about your time. Um, if it’s just division one soccer, that’s not really gonna go well.

Um, if it’s division one soccer and this, and friendships and career path and the values that you have as a young man and, um, what’s gonna propel you in life. Um. All of those things, if you’re asking yourself those things, you’re gonna have a, a, a way more success about maybe not hitting the portal, you know, once every two years, um, [00:26:00] or, or, or getting burned out.

Um, and so I think the fit is the most important word that you can use in the recruiting process. Yeah, absolutely. 

Matt: Well, coach, really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck finding those last one to two pieces of your, uh, recruiting puzzle and, and wish you nothing but the best, uh, for the fall season.

If you get down to Bradenton, uh, IMG or, or Premier for any events, please gimme a shout. 

Coach: Dude, I am gonna hit you up. My in-laws have a place in Bradenton. Ah, uh, so we go down to Siesta with the family all the time. I got a, I got a five and 6-year-old. I think we’ll be down there in May. Um, 

Matt: all right, well, my daughters can babysit if you need a night out with it, you know, go, 

Coach: maybe, maybe we’ll be down there for generation Adidas here.

I don’t know yet, but, um, but yeah, man, I’ll hit you up, man. We’re down there all the time. Really appreciate you reaching out. All right, 

Matt: sounds good. Take care. See you, man.