University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Soccer – Coach Anthony Adams

In today’s episode, I speak with Coach Adams from the UMBC Men’s Program in Baltimore. We talk about their roster mix of international and domestic players. Coach also shares about their high academics for a public institution. Plus, we discuss how their full staff of alumni helps with program loyalty. Learn more about University of Maryland, Baltimore County Men’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I am lucky enough to be joined by Coach Adams at UMBC up in Maryland. Welcome coach. 

Coach: Thank you for having me. 

Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. Uh, like I was saying, I’m, I’m coming up to Baltimore next month, hoping I get some time to swing. Is Bertha’s muscles still there on, uh, fells Point?

Do they still got that? Uh, 

Coach: no. No. There’s been some changes down there. No, there’s, there’s some new good spots though. The Oyster House you’d love. 

Matt: Okay. 

Coach: All right. Uh, right on Tame. So I would recommend that, um, if you’re looking for some good seafood, but, uh. You know, some of those original places of, uh, are, some of those owners have moved on, so, 

Matt: ah, bummer.

Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve been down there, but I’m sure, uh, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll find something, some, some good, good crab cakes, some old bay somewhere, uh, up there. 

Coach: Absolutely. 

Matt: Well, hey, we’re, we appreciate you being on, we’re, we’re sitting here end of February. Um, you know, as a. As a D one men’s program, you know, I, it seems everybody’s saying how the, the, especially on the men’s [00:01:00] side recruiting is happening later and later.

Right. Just with, with all the things going on with roster limits, internationals, transfer port, all these things. So this time of year, where are you sitting in your recruiting classes? You know, class 26 are, are you done, have you been done for a long time? You still working on some things? What’s that look like for you?

Right now, 

Coach: I’d say we’re about 80% done. Um. I think we’re down to two to three more guys, um, that we’re looking at. I think we try to have a balance of, uh, young and old. I think you can’t, you know, the days are bringing in seven or eight, 18 year olds are over. Uh, if you wanna compete at the top level, unfortunately, I would say, um, I do miss those days at times.

Um, but, um, I think, um, I, I think our staff actually, we were joking, like we worked harder after the season sometimes enduring, you know, I think that transfer portal. Just ramps everything up and you’re kind of in it. And, uh, while that’s going on, um, there’s multiple stateside events. Going on. And then of course there’s the [00:02:00] overseas, uh, agencies contacting you around the clock.

And, uh, I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong way to do it, but you’re just coming and work hard every day and, and, uh, and, and see, see what shakes off the tree. 

Matt: Sure. Well, I mean, you looking at your roster, I mean, you got a, it seems like you get a good blend of, of international, local guys, and you mentioned stateside events.

What, what are some of those stateside events that you like to go to, to each season? 

Coach: We try to hit the, the MLS, uh, next event in December. Um, a lot of times we’ll hit the ECNL event in, in January. Um, but we’re fortunate in our area that we have a lot of really quality youth programs right around the corner, and that’s always kind of been a, a cornerstone of our program is the local player.

So, uh, we don’t have to travel far sometimes I, you know, I joke I’ll, I’ll fly to California to watch. Teams from Maryland and Virginia and Pennsylvania. But um, you know, we we’re very fortunate to, to be in that kind of, uh, high quality soccer area. 

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, uh, having lived lived in the DC Metro for a long time, uh, I could [00:03:00] definitely attest to that.

Um, what about ID camps? They, they’re seem to be a big part of folks, uh, recruiting these days. Do you guys do ID camps? Do your staff work external camps? Are they part of your recruiting at all? 

Coach: Yeah, definitely. Obviously they, um, some of my assistants will do a couple external camps and I was an assistant for 26 years, so, uh, I’m sensitive to, uh, you gotta, you gotta make ends meet.

So I, I encourage them to do that and they get the network a little bit. Uh, we do have our own ID camps as well, and we, I think on average, we, we grab about one kid a year, um, from, from the id. So sometimes one or two. But it is good for us, um, to get the kids, uh, on campus and, and see them. And I think. You know, the kids that actually have a genuine interest, uh, are, are coming up.

We, we try not to have ones that are like 200 kids, but they’re pretty, you know, we keep it in that 30 to 40 range, a few hours. Our whole staff’s there, and we actually get, really get to work with the kids and, and, and try to learn about them. 

Matt: Now when you say you grab one or two, you’re from the ID camp, does that mean you, [00:04:00] you, you weren’t really, like, the first time you’re kind of seeing him or talking to him is at the ID camp?

Coach: Uh, sometimes we’ll get like some local, we’re, we’re very fortunate, you know, to get a lot of good local kids and, um, and sometimes we just haven’t had a chance to see them yet. Or we will get a call when we’re in season. Hey, there’s this kid, you know, he is really coming on. He is really taking the next step.

And, uh, but their club team just played their last game for three weeks last weekend. So we always try to have an ID camp like early January to kind of where it’s a little bit dead and, um, sometimes we’ll get a chance to see a kid and then even from the ID camp maybe within, they’ll have some games.

Back end of January, we can try to go kind of follow up with them, uh, after that. 

Matt: Okay. That makes sense. Well, whether it’s an IT camp or an event or whatever the case may be, what is it that kind of makes up that hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player both on and off the field? I, 

Coach: I mean the traits that we look for, uh, high character, uh, talented, uh, selfless, competitive.

Team [00:05:00] centric guys. And, um, that’s typically our five boxes. And, um, if you don’t check one of those, um, we, we probably got a problem, especially the high character piece. So we, that’s really, really important to us. Um, I just think all it takes is one guy to wreck your locker room and, uh, so, so the guy, and I don’t want, we don’t want robots by the way, but I think having guys that, that genuinely care about their teammates genuinely will put the team first.

And are super competitive and you get a whole locker room full of those kind of guys. Um, it, it can be a really enjoyable experience and um, obviously you wanna win every game, but I think a testament to what the guys that we’ve had, um, the last five or six years, they’re great after a loss. You know, like the next practices are focused or locked in, they’re ready to go.

They’re ready to get after it. And, um, you don’t want that to happen too often, but, uh, I think that’s a real test of your, your team’s character. 

Matt: Oh, yeah, for sure. Well, you know, one of the questions I always get from, from players is, uh, you know, hey, uh. [00:06:00] Should I expect, uh, an official visit as in, during my recruiting, like where they pay for everything and what, what, and, and I try to say, well, hey man, everybody’s budget’s different, so you don’t know what that looks like.

So for you guys, do you do official visits? What does that look like? Who gets ’em, when do they happen, that kind of thing. 

Coach: We do do them not as much as we used to. I think that used to be just part of the cycle. Um, I think we’ve kind of. I try to like earmark more of our dollars for travel, uh, with recruiting.

I think that’s important. I think the, um, traveling across the country to these big events, which, which weren’t around 20, 30 years ago. And, um, you gotta, you got a budget for European travel as well, so most of the kids that we bring in are outta state kids that, that, and what I mean by outta state is like outta region.

Um, I think that they’re the, they’re the, they’re the kids that we’ll bring in, uh, so they can actually see the place. A lot of the local ones, they’ll come up and, and just spend two or three hours. And then maybe catch a game. And that seems to be good enough for them. I, I think the overnight experience isn’t quite as important as it used to [00:07:00] be, just because of the, of the, of the speed at which things are happening nowadays as opposed to the past.

Matt: Yeah, I could see that. All right. Well, well, let’s talk a little bit more, uh, about the school. Uh, like you said, you’ve been there a bit, uh, so you probably have some good perspective for, so, so what are some of the things you, you find awesome about UMBC? Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know about going through the website.

Coach: Well, I think it’s a, it’s a, it’s a medium sized school. Um, but it’s, it’s the com the, the campus is, uh, is really convenient, you know, so like the furthest place to walk, you, you can get the class eight minutes from the furthest place you can walk to training. Um, but we’re definitely, we’re not a city campus.

So when people see the word Baltimore, I think they really think city campus. And we’re in the suburbs, uh, called Catonsville, which is about 15 minutes, uh, south of the city. So lots of trees, lots of grass. But we do have access to the city. Uh, we do have access to DC in about 35, 40 minutes into your old stomping ground.

So as you know, we’re a couple hours from the beach, [00:08:00] couple hours, uh, from the mountains. So for me, it’s a, it’s, it’s a really good location. Um, and, and it’s become a really, uh, I think academically, it’s almost in the image of a public ivy. Now. I, I joke that people would’ve to get me in Now, as a former student in the early nineties, uh, my, the, the, the worth of my degree has gone up every year.

Um. But, uh, it, it, it is really, it’s a great education and, um, we don’t have American football, so, uh, and I, and I’m glad we don’t, I love American football. I’m a big Ravens fan, but I’m glad we don’t have it on this campus. 

Matt: Yeah. Always, uh, always helps the, the fall sports especially to not have, uh, that competition.

So, um. Well, you mentioned the high academics, and I know that can be one of the biggest challenges for student athletes, right? Especially the, the high school kid or, or maybe even the international coming over and really needing to balance the demands of being a student athlete, both the student part and the athlete part.

So what, what kind of support systems do you guys have in place to try to [00:09:00] help students be successful both on and off the field? 

Coach: Well, I think like most programs, you know, we have a, a really strong academic support center. Uh, I’m talking to you right now from a $90 million. Building, um, called the CEI arena.

And our guys spend a lot of time in here between the, the medical space and the strength space and the academic space. And, um, you know, like, like most D one schools, we have a full-time counselors. Uh, so anyone that gets here is gonna have study hours and meetings, uh, as they acclimate. And then once they, uh.

GPA hits a certain point and they feel good and, and the department feels good about where they are, then we’ll back off. Um, but everything you would need, uh, to be successful is here. The only way you wouldn’t be successful is if you chose that at some point. Like you just chose, chose that, uh, that option, which, uh, not many kids do.

Matt: Yeah. Well. Rewind back, uh, to fall, October, heart of that conference season. Walk me through what’s a, what’s a typical week schedule for a player in terms of wins, training, meals, classes, game [00:10:00] cadence, all that kind of thing. 

Coach: So this past fall, we trained at like 10:00 AM so the guys would, would get up and, uh, they could squeeze the class in, but more than likely they wouldn’t.

And they’d have breakfast. Uh, they’re usually down here by nine, uh, about an hour before. Doing their treatments or whatever they need. Um, usually hitting the field probably quarter, quarter of, um, and then if we don’t have video before, um, our sessions are about 75 to 90 minutes, not, not trying to be out there two to three hours.

Uh, I do like to allow the guys to have time on the pitch before and after to work at their game. I think that’s really important, uh, in the sign of a. If any really good player, uh, after that they’ll probably grab a lunch and then have a couple afternoon classes, um, then have dinner, maybe do some study hours, and then they may have an occasional night class.

Um, but these guys have gotten slick lately. They, their Friday schedules are amazing. They, they somehow have worked everything into Monday through Thursday, and they may have like one class on Fridays, uh, and then they’re, they’re pretty much good to go after lunch. 

Matt: All right. Nice. Well, let’s, let’s talk a little bit [00:11:00] more, uh, about the team.

Um, I know the, the, the roster limit stuff has come into play. Uh, are you guys opted in? Are you sticking to 28? You have DSAs? Is that kind of the, the number you’re, you’re working with these days? 

Coach: Our university hasn’t opted in, uh, at this point. I mean, there, there’s talk of it, but, but nothing, uh, for sure yet.

Um, that number has never really bothered us. We’ve always been in that, you know, 26 to 28, 29 range anyway, so I would never want to have 30 some players, uh, for, for our program. There’s no, there’s no need to, we’re, we’re not a real, we’re not like, uh, admission dependent in terms of like being a small private.

So that, that number doesn’t really affect us at this point. So if we opted in tomorrow and had to be a 28, it would be no problem. 

Matt: Okay. Well. The other part of the roster is the staff. So talk to me about your staff. Who’s there? What are they working on? What are some of the maybe support staff at the in the department that help out as well?

Coach: Sure. I [00:12:00] mean, my, uh, my entire staff is alum, uh, that played here, including myself. And, um, so from a, from a loyalty trust standpoint, uh, that, that’s really strong. Uh, um, uh, Pete EY iii, uh, who I, I played for his, I played and worked for his father. So there’s been an Adams and a EY here since I think, I guess 92.

Um, but, uh, Pete’s been here now 11 years coaching. Um, he was our. Our, our first and currently only division one, first team, all American. Uh, and he was drafted in, uh, by Montreal in the MLS, played some USL. So he is a really good forward. He gets to work with our, our front group a lot. Uh, we have Bill Kerr, who was interesting pathway.

He was a first team all American, um, at a school called Lycoming Division three. 

Matt: Mm-hmm. 

Coach: And, uh, and then transferred here for his last two years and started like 33 games. His last two years. Um, and then Quatre Jones, who was actually a residency keeper at IMG Academy of the US National team. And we were really fortunate to get him, uh, at UMBC and after a, [00:13:00] uh, a, a brief pro career, he’s fully divulged in the coach and he works with our goalkeepers.

Um, uh, beyond that, I mean, uh, I really, I work closely with Whitney Ames, um, who’s head of compliance and also my sports supervisor. So. Um, I’ve known her since she got here, uh, about 10 years ago. Um, and, uh, have a really good relationship with her. And obviously, you know, compliance is a really important piece, uh, to having a successful program.

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. Well, what about you? Talk to us about your coaching style and, uh, style of play. You look to play there. 

Coach: I would say, uh, my, my coaching style is, is balanced. You know, I, I feel like, um. You know, the, the, the best teams defend really well. They attack well, you know, I’m not gonna die on any hill.

You’re never gonna hear, my guys are never gonna hear me say, Hey, we’re gonna build out no matter what. Or, Hey, we’re gonna play this way no matter what. For me, every game presents different challenges. We have a philosophy of how we wanna play. Um, but for me, um, you know, we definitely wanna be uptempo. Uh, we definitely wanna play in the other [00:14:00] team’s half.

Um, I think there’s a reason that retriever soccer park’s been ranked, uh, top 25 in attendance the last 13 years that. You know, win, lose, or draw. Not many people ever leave there saying That was boring. You know what I mean? So, uh, we just try to, we try to recruit two way guys. You know? Um, even if you’ve got 15 goals, you’re still gonna sprint back and, and help the team.

And that’s, that’s kind of part of our, our team centric culture. 

Matt: Okay. Well, like I said, we’re talking here February. Talk to me about that off season. What’s the non-traditional season look like for you guys? 

Coach: Well, we’re entering like our fourth week, um, of practice. Uh, we’re, we’re gonna play our first.

Scrimmage in a couple days against Navy. Um, and, uh, they have a, a really fantastic, uh, new coach, uh, John Hackworth. 

Matt: Yeah. 

Coach: And I’m sure he is gonna have them rolling. They, they, they had a two week head start on us because of when they start. But, um, we have a great relationship with Naval Academy. We’ve been doing a tournament with them during the year for the past, uh, over 20 years.

Um, so it’s always a great, great game between the two programs. So I think our guys [00:15:00] are, are tired of kicking each other and they’re, and they’re looking forward to, uh, to playing somebody so. We’ve got, uh, if we had four guys transfers that came in, uh, in the spring, 3D one and a, and a juco, and they’ve all fit in really well, and I think we’re all, we’re all excited to, uh, to get them on the field and, uh, and see how the game goes.

Matt: Yeah. In terms of those spring numbers, like, I mean, your seniors that are done, are they still, are they still practicing and playing and, and helping the team out just to, to help with numbers or are they. Done and they’re looking to just graduate? Or how does that always work? ’cause you always see some spring roster numbers and it looks like, man, what happened?

Coach: Yeah, no, I think, um. For me, it’s, it’s every, every situation’s different, but like, we have a, we have three guys in particular, um, that they’re all kind of bouncing in and out, uh, at, at different pro trials like, uh, bj, Johns, uh, Andre, jt, uh, and Ricky Siler, who are all seniors and, uh, and, and great stewards of the program.

Um, BJ [00:16:00] just gotten back from a USL championship trat, where he, he came really close to making the roster. So these guys are coming in and out and I’m helping them stay sharp. They help us in training and then if they have a chance to go and, and try to, to get a look somewhere, we’re, we’re gonna let ’em go.

But I think, um, to your point about the roster numbers, I think mid-year transfers, um, and you’re even seeing some freshmen now start late, um, like maybe they don’t get a spot in the fall, they come in the spring. I think that’s absolutely part of it. Now you have to bring in, you know, a, a number of guys in the spring, um, and, and get that and get ready for the fall.

That way you don’t have. You know, 10 or 12 guys in the fall, maybe you have seven or eight plus four or five that came in the spring. I just think that’s part of it now because of the timing of the portal. 

Matt: Yeah, yeah. It’s, uh, it’s making things a little different, that’s for sure. Uh, 

Coach: new team every semester, man, 

Matt: man, I, I, I’m glad I.

Glad it’s you and not me right now, going through, uh, some of this coaching stuff. It was hard enough when I was doing it. I can’t imagine doing it now. Uh, well, coach, I really [00:17:00] appreciate it. I’m gonna leave you with one last question. Uh, I mean, if you had one piece of advice for, you know, somebody going through this college recruiting process right now, what would that be?

Coach: I would just say that the right fit is, is out there for you and to keep the faith. And, uh, you’re, you’re gonna, you’re gonna hear a lot of nos. You’re gonna have a lot of disappointments. Um. Trust in the people, uh, that love you the most. Trust in your parents, trust in your, your club coaches and your advisors, and there is a right fit for, for every student athlete out there.

Just gotta find it. Just stay at it. 

Matt: Yeah. Love it. Well, coach, really appreciate it. Wish you all the best. If you get down to any of the recruiting events down here in Bradenton, make sure you gimme a shout so we can get together. All right. 

Coach: Awesome. Matt, thanks for your time and thanks for having me. 

Matt: Thank you.