Westfield State University Men’s Soccer – Coach Christopher Streeter
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Christopher Streeter from the Westfield State University Men’s Program in Massachusetts. We talk about how he likes to find recruits that would be good role models for younger players. He describes the program’s long, and storied tradition. Lastly, we discuss how his team will play a system that maximized their strengths. Learn more about Westfield State University Men’s Soccer.
[00:00:00] Matt: Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Streeter from Westfield state up in Massachusetts. Welcome coach.
[00:00:08] Coach: Great to be here, Matt. Thank you so much for
[00:00:10] Matt: having me. Nah, thanks for being here. Uh, you know, not, not. We’ve had a lot of coaches I’ve interviewed who have been alums of the school, but I don’t know how many who, whose parents were also alums of the school.
[00:00:23] So you you’ve got all kinds of experience and, and insights. I’m sure you’re gonna share with us. Uh, even though you just got hired, uh, just about, about six months ago or so, so welcome aboard or welcome back to Westfield state, I guess. So, let let’s just get started by talking about recruiting as a division three school.
[00:00:43] You know, when, when do you really start digging in to, uh, to, to looking at players, putting names on lists and when are you hearing from players? Uh,
[00:00:52] Coach: yeah, you know, it, it’s a, it’s a multi-tiered approach a lot, like, uh, many of my coaching colleagues across the country, you know, we, we, uh, We tend to, to tackle players, uh, their junior year and, uh, and begin to develop lists.
[00:01:07] And, and then, uh, I do everything I can to, um, get out and see ’em play at a variety of showcases and tournaments, uh, uh, obviously, uh, through their, their, their high school and their club programs. Um, Lots of showcases here in new England. And so we try to hit a few of those, um, obviously with the transfer portal.
[00:01:29] Now that’s an opportunity to recruit, uh, players who are looking to transfer. So I spend some time digging through there weekly, um, and then recruitment databases. You know, the, the world of technology is a wonderful thing. And, and, uh, you can look at player profiles and, uh, academic interests and GPAs and, and player statements, uh, right through these recruitment databases.
[00:01:51] And so I spent some time on the databases developing these lists, um, and, and then, uh, you know, we try to do, uh, do our due diligence and get out and watch players, uh, as frequently as, as our time allows, um, Really, uh, ideally, um, you know, developing, developing a list of, of 50 or 60 players that we really, really like.
[00:02:16] I feel like if we can get 10 of those, we’re in pretty good shape each year. Um, and developing that list is a process. It takes some time and, and some, and some leg work. Um, but it’s all part of putting the puzzle together, putting the puzzle pieces together each year. Every, every team is different every year.
[00:02:32] And, uh, uh, and so I, I, I really enjoy the process. I really.
[00:02:37] Matt: Yeah. Well, you mentioned, you mentioned seeing them in tournaments and a couple, uh, that are up there in, in the new England area, but can you, can you gimme some specifics? What are some of the gotta get to events for, for you each year that you’re looking at?
[00:02:50] What, what leagues are you looking at? Are you going to any high school games that, that, anything like that?
[00:02:55] Coach: Yeah. In, in the, in the fall, I’ll certainly I’ll attend some high school games, high school soccer doesn’t have the same value. It did 30 years ago, but there still is value. Um, and, and so as we’re developing our, our list of, of kids that we like.
[00:03:09] Uh, I, I do make an effort to go to high school games in the fall, obviously from November to, to June that cycle, the club cycle. I spend a lot of time looking at club players, CNL players, MLS next players. Um, but here in new England, you know, we’re fortunate, Massachusetts youth soccer has a beautiful, uh, complex.
[00:03:28] They host a lot of different, uh, showcase. Um, and we’ve got a lot of really strong clubs in this area to, to identify players from FSA, uh, in Connecticut and AFC runs some nice showcases. Um, the, uh, the us youth soccer regional showcases are held at, uh, Lancaster at the Massachusetts youth soccer complex.
[00:03:48] So a lot of opportunities to see some great players and. Where, where we’re lo where we’re located here at Westfield state, we’re surrounded by a, a lot of really strong clubs, both in Massachusetts, uh, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and, and Western New York. Um, so lots of players, eh, within a hundred, 200 miles of us.
[00:04:09] Um, and it’s a fun process. It really is. You know, it’s not a bad day when you get to go to a soccer complex and watch a couple hundred players play.
[00:04:17] Matt: exactly job. For sure. For sure. Well, what, what about camps? Do you guys run camps or will you be running camps at, at west where maybe you did in spring and, and how do camps kind of fit into your whole recruiting
[00:04:28] Coach: process?
[00:04:29] Yeah, great question. I was brought on board in January, so no camps this year. Um, the plan moving forward is, is to, to put into play some ID camps and to get some kids on campus in bulk, uh, and to, and to run them through some sessions with our coaching staff. And, and again, not unlike my, my colleagues across the country that, that run ID camps that they’re at their.
[00:04:52] Um, facilities and at their schools, it’s, it’s another, uh, another tool in the recruiting toolbox, um, that, uh, I certainly hope to implement in the next year or so. Okay.
[00:05:03] Matt: Well, whether it’s at a showcase or a camp or high school game or anything, kind of, what is your, your hierarchy of what you’re looking for in a player?
[00:05:12] Um, whether that’s on the field attributes or off the field stuff.
[00:05:17] Coach: Yeah, well, specific to next year. We’ll, we’ll be, I’ll be looking for strikers and backs. We’re loaded with midfielders for the next couple of years. Um, and, and so we’ll, we’ll, you know, we’ll focus on midfielders as well, but, uh, goal keeping position is we’re, we’re pretty comfortable with right now.
[00:05:33] And, and so we’ll, we’ll try to identify some strikers and some backs. And I, you know, I’m, I’m looking for athletic. Athletes guys who can run, uh, guys who are technically sound. Um, you know, again, you hear this from, from coaches at every level, you, you, you wanna base, uh, you want a soccer player with some foundational, some technical base.
[00:05:57] Um, obviously tactical awareness is a wonderful thing. If, if, uh, if, if they can read the game and they understand the game and, and that’s, you know, those are added bonuses, but, um, We’re looking for athletes, guys who can trap and pass and run and are fit and are strong and, and who are hungry to play, you know, who wanna really compete.
[00:06:17] Um, and then the second big piece is, is when we bring them in or when we speak to them, uh, it’s that character piece. You know, are they a nice person? I, you know, I have a 12 year old son and I talk to recruits all the time that look, I’m gonna bring into this program, but I need to, I need to be sure that, uh, you’re a role model for my 12 year old son, because he’s gonna be at a lot of the practices and games and he will be around the team quite a bit.
[00:06:41] And so that for me, my 12 year old son and my 10 year old daughter, those are, those are, that’s a gauge for me, you know, is this somebody I want around my children? Uh, and that’s important to me. As a coach and it’s important to us as a university. Nah, I love that.
[00:06:56] Matt: Love that. Especially with a seven, 12 and 14 year old myself.
[00:07:00] That’s, uh, that’s a big, that is definitely a big thing. Um, well, you know, you’ve, you’ve kinda mentioned camps, getting kids on camps and identifying players. I think there’s a lot of misconceptions out there for parents who, who aren’t familiar with the process around official visits. And can you tell me how your official visits work as a D three institution or, you know, are you doing them?
[00:07:25] Are you paying for anything at all? How would, how would one of those look like if they were coming to Westfield state?
[00:07:31] Coach: Sure. T typically I try to leave it unofficial. Uh, it, it allows for more flexibility on their. Um, they’re not locked into a flight or a weekend or unofficial visits are easier. They can come it’s a little bit more informal.
[00:07:47] Uh, they can schedule it, uh, kind of what works for them. Um, and, and honestly, budget wise. Um, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to be flying players in from all over the country. We we’ve got, um, thousands and thousands to look at here in new England. It’s all, they’re all within driving distance. Um, and so what I do is I ask them what works for them.
[00:08:07] We set up a time, I bring ’em on a campus for a couple of hours. They meet some of the guys we give ’em a tour. I. They spend a little one on one time with me talking about the program and our vision and, and kind of what our, our calendar year looks like in our program. We talk a bit about academics and their areas of interest.
[00:08:24] Uh, often I’ll have them meet with admissions or, um, a professor or two in the department, um, of their academic, um, area of interest. Um, and then we send them on their. And then I follow up with them in, in a few days or a week or so. And, um, and we go from there, but we keep it, I don’t wanna say informal, but really flexible and kind of loose.
[00:08:46] And, and I want the families to feel comfortable and, and come at a time that works for them. And, um, and then we try to introduce them to as many different components of campuses we can when they’re. Oh,
[00:08:58] Matt: I think that’s great. Um, well the one question I always gotta ask is it’s on the top of every parent’s mind is around money.
[00:09:06] Um, and I’m not holding you any, you know, any specifics here, but can you just give me a, an overview? What, what does the kind of the whole financial picture look like for student athlete coming in there with regards to academic scholarship possibilities, other aid. Total cost, all those kinds of things.
[00:09:25] What are they looking at when they’re coming
[00:09:27] Coach: to Westfield? Yeah, the new England region. It’s 23 all in. And, uh, if you’re from outta new England, it’s 30 all in, um, really, really affordable, really manageable. Most of our students graduate with very little debt and loan money debt. Um, and then there is some, uh, merit money.
[00:09:47] You know, if you have got a certain GPA out of, out of high school, uh, the school award, some, some academic merit money, um, that you won’t believe this tuition’s only $1,000. There’s then there’s a block of fees, uh, and then there’s room and board, but because we’re a state institution and we’re, we’re supported and funded through the state of Massachusetts costs really are very, very low.
[00:10:13] And this school is a hidden gem. It’s absolutely incredible. When you step on campus. It’s incredible. The dorms are amazing. The academic buildings are amazing. Our athletic facilities are amazing. I mean, it’s an incredible value. And when we bring students on campus there, they can’t believe it. And their families can’t believe it.
[00:10:33] And then they say 23,000 all in, I say, yeah, that’s before aid. Uh, and so it’s a wonderful place to be. It’s really afford. Um, the, the school has an incredible history. It’s, it’s not going anywhere. Um, and so there’s a lot of really great bullet points to talk about in terms of recruiting. Um, and, and the dollars are, are one of those bullet points.
[00:10:58] Well,
[00:10:58] Matt: let’s, let’s, let’s talk a little bit more about the other ones, uh, and, and learn about the school. I mean, you know, I’m down here in Florida. I guarantee you, 99% of the kids in my club, haven’t heard of Westfield state. So, um, you know, get, and you’ve got a whole lot of unique, uh, years of experience, uh, there.
[00:11:17] So gimme some of the inside hidden gem nuggets about the school that maybe I’m not gonna find just by clicking on the website. And, and searching around.
[00:11:25] Coach: Sure. Well, Westfield state men’s soccer. We’ve been a, a competitive team for 59 years. This will be our 59th season of those 59 years. We’ve had 32 championships.
[00:11:34] So it’s one out of every two years virtually. Um, it’s a long story, traditional, uh, um, uh, program with a lot of tradition, uh, lots of championships, thousands and thousands of alumni have played for this program. Um, And, you know, and, and, and the dollar figures again are, are at attract are attractive to a lot of recruits.
[00:11:56] You know, it doesn’t cost a lot, even as we are not a state player, it doesn’t cost a lot to attend there’s academic money available. Um, and, and, you know, we’re real optimistic about the direction of the program. I was hired in January, been here eight months and we’ve, we’ve worked really, really hard.
[00:12:14] Tweak our schedule bring in a new batch of players. We’ve we’ve got 12 incredible EC and L players coming in this fall that we’re excited about. Um, there was 24 returners. We’ve got another 10 walk-ons. I mean, we’re, we’ve got a lot of wonderful players to pick from, and I think. We’re ready to, to turn the corner and turn this program back to what it used to be, which is a championship caliber, regionally recognized.
[00:12:40] And for several years, nationally recognized program, um, all at a really, really affordable price. Um, so we’re excited about the direction we’re going and we think we have a lot to offer for. Players from all over the country, if they’re willing to, to endure the snow of new England, uh, once the season ends.
[00:12:59] Um, but even with the snow of new England Westfield, state’s a pretty amazing place. The campus is, uh, conducive to, uh, lots of winter events. We’ve got an incredible campus green that the, the, the students, uh, spend a lot of time on across the street from the school is in an incredible park Stanley park where a lot of our students hike and spend time over there.
[00:13:21] Um, so year round really, it’s a wonderful place to be.
[00:13:25] Matt: Well, in terms of the academic side of things, you know, what, uh, you know, how do your, your players kind of balance their studies and sport commitments and what kind of support systems are in place there at the school to help them on that
[00:13:37] Coach: journey?
[00:13:38] Yeah. Great question. Well, the, the, you know, one of the, the big proponents of, of division three is, is this idea of balance. Um, you know, I’ve, I’ve been fortunate to have coached at division one and, and while that experience was wonderful, the, the players, if I’m being honest, didn’t have a lot of balance.
[00:13:57] It was soccer in school virtually all the time. Um, not a lot of opportunity to, to work, not a ton of opportunity to socialize it. It was, uh, it was rigorous. Um, and there was some burnout there. The nice thing about division three is that this idea of balance, they can have a part-time. They, they, I, I don’t have access to them year round.
[00:14:20] Um, and, and so they can be a college student. Um, they can, uh, go home and see their family. They’re still there. There’s a lots of balance with, you know, division three athlete. And, and we talk a lot about that with our recruits and with our guys. Uh, and with that balance comes their academic responsibilities.
[00:14:39] There’s plenty of time to do their. There’s plenty of time to, um, get their work done. Um, there’s really no excuse not to do well academically. We have a variety of, of systems in place to help our student athletes. We have a couple of assistant athletic directors that do nothing but monitor our, uh, student athletes progress.
[00:15:00] There’s study halls available, there’s tutors available. Um, and then the other piece is I’m a full-time college professor. And so my guys know that I’m all over them about academics. It’s a very important part of my life and it’s an important part of, of my coaching philosophy. Um, and so they know that when they’re signing up to play for me, then I, I, I, I teach, uh, sports psychology for a living and I’m gonna be all over them about grades.
[00:15:29] Um, so there’s, uh, you know, there there’s a lot of pieces in place. Here at the school to monitor their progress. And, um, and that idea of balance is something we, we really try to, um, keep at the forefront, um, throughout the, the student athletes academic year.
[00:15:50] Awesome.
[00:15:51] Matt: Um, what about, uh, A typical day. I know this is kind of your first fall season and, and you’re probably just getting kicked off now this time of year, but can you give me a rough idea? What walk me through a typical week during the season, in terms of when’s practice win’s class meals, games, all that kind of stuff.
[00:16:10] What’s that gonna look like?
[00:16:12] Coach: Preseasons a little different from the regular season preseason we’re together pretty much all day long for 10 days, they eat together. Uh, they’re living together, uh, we’re training together. We have classroom sessions together. Um, we have some other built in team activities together.
[00:16:28] Um, but once preseason ends, um, I, I don’t touch the guys, um, really until about five o’clock. I, I let them have their day, um, I have my responsibilities in, in terms of, of teaching and planning and preparing for the courses I teach and for, um, our practice sessions. So I, I, I leave them alone so that they can attend class.
[00:16:51] They can be a college student, they can take a nap, they can go to their meals, they can play video games with their buddies. Um, and then once five o’clock rolls around, we’ll typically, um, And we’ll have some team meals throughout the season that I’ll ask the guys to go to. We’ll have some classroom sessions in the evening.
[00:17:08] And then of course we have, uh, a couple of hours of training, uh, whether it’s on our grass practice field or on the, the, the turf stadium. Um, so they’re, they’re a traditional college student till about five, and then we switch gears and now they’re an NCAA student athlete, post five o’clock and we go to.
[00:17:28] Matt: Okay. In terms of the games, what’s kind of your cadence, like, uh, you know, are, are you playing mostly Wednesday, Saturday? You know what, what’s kind of the travel look like, uh, in, in your, in your season.
[00:17:44] Coach: Yeah, great question. And again, that comes back to balance. You know, I’ve worked hard to, to reorganize our schedule this year.
[00:17:51] We’ve dropped some teams and added some other teams and, and moved some things around since I’ve, um, uh, since I came on board in January, uh, and again, it’s with the student athlete in mind, we’re trying to minimize S travel. We do have some Tuesday and Wednesday games. We play almost every Saturday. Uh, give the guys pretty much every Sunday.
[00:18:10] Um, and so depending on, um, the day of the week, you know, it, it will depend, but. The, the farthest we travel really is a couple of hours. So, you know, to go two hours away for seven o’clock Tuesday game isn’t too, too bad. And we, we plan and we prepare for that. You know, the guys know that, uh, we’ve got a road game on Wednesday, so by Friday, The the, the, the Friday leading up to that game and that Monday, and that Tuesday leading up to the game, we’re, we’re talking about, um, communicating with their professors and, and organizing their work and preparing because we will be out of town for, you know, 10 hours that day and that they need to.
[00:18:53] Be thinking about that and, uh, and organizing their studies and, um, and their activities around that travel. Uh, so we’re really proactive about the travel. It’s not overwhelming. I feel really good about our schedule. It’s competitive, but it’s super manageable. Um, and there’s a lot of communication that goes into talking to the guys about, all right, we got a couple of road games coming up.
[00:19:14] Let’s let’s plan ahead. Let’s be ready for.
[00:19:17] Matt: Okay. No, that’s great. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about, about the team, the soccer side of things you, you mentioned earlier, kind of your, your recruiting returners walk-ons, et cetera. So is there a set roster that you’re, you’re hoping to get to as you kind of evolve the team, uh, being, being new at the helm
[00:19:35] Coach: there is, and it’s funny.
[00:19:36] I, I spent some time listening to a few of your other interviews with some of my colleagues and there was a, there’s a pattern there of, uh, having to manage injuries. And from time to time, some, some discipline issues. Um, I hope it’s, we have no discipline issues. We’ve, we’ve tried to put some rules in place and change a few things.
[00:19:54] So we’ll, we’ll see how that goes so far. So good. But in terms of injuries, um, yeah, you’re, you’re looking at anywhere from five to eight injuries. At any given time. And, and so we’re, we’re gonna bring in a roster 30, potentially 31, 27 field players, potentially four goalkeepers. I wanna make sure we have some depth in that we’re not scrambling for players.
[00:20:16] Uh, and I want the depth to also be quality and that’s where the recruiting piece comes in. And, and so right now we feel like we’ve got two strong players at every position. I’ve got 24 returners. I’ve got 12 new guys. We’ve got 10 walk-ons, I’m gonna have some tough decisions to make. For our preseason beginning next week, uh, to get that number down to 30 or 31.
[00:20:37] Um, but that’s about where we’re what we’re looking for. Um, in order to keep the team healthy and competitive and, and be able to manage the, the inevitable injuries.
[00:20:49] Matt: Oh, that makes sense. Um, in terms of, you know, obviously you’re, you’re new are, do you, do you have a staff, uh, set for this fall? Are there other support staff that, uh, in the athletic department that kind of help with the soccer program?
[00:21:04] Coach: We do. There’s three of us. I just finalized my, my staff this week. Actually. I, uh, I’ve spent the last several months interviewing people. I’m pretty picky. Um, and, and, and I’m picky because I really care about this team. You know, you alluded to it earlier, Matt, I’m an alum. Um, Played for the program. My father played for the program.
[00:21:25] He, he still, uh, holds records as a goalkeeper at Westfield state. My parents met at Westfield state. Um, I enjoyed my career at Westfield state. I was recently inducted into the hall of fame. Thi this program means a lot to me. And so I’m picky about our recruits that we bring in. Um, and I was picky about my staff, so we, we we’ve just finalized.
[00:21:46] I’ve got a. Two assistance on board. One of ’em is specifically for goalkeeping and then the other one is, uh, a field coach, uh, and who will help me, uh, organize the practices, uh, technically and tactically and, and will help with, uh, data analytics and, uh, and video. And, um, we’re really excited, really excited about the direction of the program.
[00:22:08] These are great guys. One of them is an alum of, uh, one of our competitors who he played at Bridgewater state. The other, our goal keeping coach, uh, is an alum of Westfield state. He was actually my goalkeeper when I played. Um, so we’ve got three Masco guys coaching, uh, for Westfield state. One of ’em is from the enemy.
[00:22:30] Two of us are from Westfield state. So there’s already some fun ribbing going.
[00:22:35] Matt: Yeah, I bet. I bet what you mentioned, uh, data analytics and video, kind of what, what technology are you guys implementing? Uh, either at practice or games
[00:22:44] Coach: or both? I’m the son of a mathematician. So numbers are important to me. I, I track me too.
[00:22:51] Me too. yeah. Great. Cool. Well, so you, you know where I’m coming from? I mean, numbers don’t lie, they just don’t. They are what they are. For better or worse, but I like to present the guys with concrete numbers so that they can see th this is, this is what it is in terms of possession or turnovers shots on goal, um, shots in general tackles, MIS tackles.
[00:23:15] You know, we do our best to track all of that. A lot of it is manually. We don’t have the budget, uh, to purchase the statistical software yet. Uh, but that is in the works, um, so that we can get more accurate numbers, but we film every game. I spend a lot of time, uh, reviewing film, um, and, and, and picking up on these, some of these important, um, data analytics that, uh, that can only help our team.
[00:23:43] And again, numbers don’t lie. And so I like to. Some of those pieces together to present to the guys. Um, so that we can just say it is what it is. And let’s see if we can, we can build on this. You know, this is where we’re at. This is where we would like to be. Um, this is too many turnovers. This is where we’d like to be.
[00:24:02] And, and, and we go from there. So it’s a, you know, again, the ability to record the, the, the, the university has done a good job of putting us in a position to be able to record all practices, all trainings, all games. We’ve got a couple of cameras up on the booth. Um, and so we’ll, we’ll, uh, certainly use that to, to the best of our ability.
[00:24:23] Matt: Oh, that that’s awesome. Well, you know, obviously new, new season, new new coach, but how would you describe the, the, the style of play you’re gonna try to put together out there. And how would you describe your, your style of coaching?
[00:24:38] Coach: Yeah. Great question, Matt. Great question. Fun question. We we’re gonna put a team on the field that maximizes our strengths.
[00:24:49] I’m not a, I’m not a set. We’ve gotta play a 3, 5, 2, or a 4, 3, 3 kind of guy. I, I, I’m going to organize our team tactically based on the strength of our players, I have a pretty good idea of. What we might look like in terms of athleticism and technical ability and, and soccer IQ. I won’t know the final, uh, outcome obviously until the whole group is together and we’ve solidified our 30 or 31 guys.
[00:25:16] Um, but we’ll, we’ll play a tactical formation that best suits the abilities of our players. Um, and I’m, I’m comfortable implementing a variety of them. Um, and there’s an opportunity to do some, some wonderful teaching with the team and based on what the strengths of our team are. So, you know, I, I, I wanna play a possession based game.
[00:25:37] I, I love playing the ball wide. I love stretching the field. I love delivering balls into the box and challenging and putting pressure, um, on their back for, um, but that being said, if the strengths of our players. Don’t meet that formula, then I’ll have to rethink how we, how we attack the game. Um, but so there are some principles in place that, that, you know, I’d prefer not to divert from, but, um, you gotta maximize what you have and that’s what we’re gonna try to do.
[00:26:09] We’re gonna try to maximize the, the players that we have, that, that we feel really good about and, and see if we can put this thing. Awesome.
[00:26:18] Matt: Well, you know, we, we’ve talked about a lot of different things, covered a lot of ground, and I, I like to end these all the same way. Uh, what didn’t we cover? What else do you want to talk about?
[00:26:27] Anything, whether it’s the school, the program, any advice to recruits, anything at all the floor’s yours?
[00:26:32] Coach: Oh, that’s that’s nice. Thanks, Matt. I, you know, I’ll talk a little bit about gratitude and, uh, and just, um, trying to be positive, you know, this. I’m so grateful to have this job. I, I get up in the morning.
[00:26:48] I talk about sports all day long and, and, uh, I’m so grateful to have these opportunities. I’m so grateful to be able to teach sports psychology and, and then work with the guys out on the, out on the field as a, as a college soccer coach. It’s just the greatest thing. And, and I. I talked to my players about that.
[00:27:06] You know, I’ve, I’ve had so many bad jobs in my life that I know when I, when I have a good one, I, you know, I embrace it. And I, and, and so we, we spend some time this spring talking to the team about being optimistic, being positive about, uh, embracing challenges, about being grateful for all that we have.
[00:27:25] And we’re playing on a $2 million soccer field that seats 4,000 people under the lights. I mean, really, it just doesn’t get any better. Um, and so, um, you know, we’re, that’s the culture we’re trying to build this, this idea of being positive, about being excited about embracing challenges, uh, about being grateful for each other and for the environment that we’re in.
[00:27:48] Um, and, and I talk to the recruits about all of those things as. And that’s the culture we’re trying to build. I feel like we’re going in the right direction in the eight months that I’ve been on board. Uh, and we will see this fall, how it all shapes
[00:28:01] Matt: out. Awesome. Well, coach, we wish you the best of luck, uh, in that first season and, and getting them back to, to those championship ways.
[00:28:09] So thanks again for the
[00:28:10] Coach: time, Matt. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
