Dakota Wesleyan University Women’s Soccer – Coach John Hakari

In today’s episode, I speak with Coach John from the Dakota Wesleyan Women’s Program in South Dakota. We talk about the value of getting Juco transfers. Coach also shares about the great pitches and athletic facilities. Plus, we discuss his approach that focuses on game-like training.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I am lucky enough to be joined by Coach John from Dakota Wesleyan Women’s Program. Welcome coach. Thank you. Yeah, thanks for being here. You guys are, uh, an NAI school up there in South Dakota, kind of far from where I am down here in Florida, but I’m sure the weather’s identical, right?

Right. Yeah. Well, you know. Just outta curiosity, we’re talking mid-April here as an NAI Women’s program. What, what is your recruiting calendar? Are you still looking for 20 fives or is that all done and you’re looking at 20 sixes? Kind of what is your timeframe that you’re working with right now? 

Coach: I. Yeah, so I just, you know, I have 15 signed this recruiting class.

Um, I kind of wrapped up recruiting a few weeks ago. I have some offers out, um, that if they come in, great. If not, we’ll be fine. Um, I, uh, so yeah, usually in terms of calendar, I usually finish up my recruiting around March, um, for that coming fall. Uh, [00:01:00] usually most of my, um, you know, the bulk of it happens December, January, um, and then wraps up around March.

Matt: So you said class of 15. Is is there a roster size that you find is ideal that you’re trying to hit each year or what’s that look like? 

Coach: Yeah, so I mean, I try to sit around 30. Um, I’ve been, you know, I coached at a JUCO for three years before coming here to Dakota Wesleyan. And what I’ve discovered is in the college game, you have four to six injuries, um, pretty much consistently at all times.

So then if you’re sitting around 30, you subtract four to six, you’re at least above 22. So you can play full sided at any training. 

Matt: Yeah. No, that makes sense. Now, you know, there’s obviously been this massive, uh, explosion in the transfer portal on the NCAA side. Um, has that affected you guys at all? Are you seeing folks, you know, looking to switch programs or transfers, whether they be JUCO or transfer portal?

Are they a part of your recruiting process at all? 

Coach: Yeah, absolutely. Um, I have [00:02:00] one, uh, NCAA D two transfer this, this class. Um, and then I have two JUCO transfers. I’ve always, you know, even before, well, I guess this NCAA portal stuff kind of happened right around the time I got this job. But, um, I’ve always gone after JUCO transfers.

I love JUCO transfers. Um, you know, I think, uh, there’s a. There’s a lot of value in knowing that a kid has played two years of college ball before you sign them. Freshmen sometimes have the risk of coming in and pooping their pants the first time they touch a ball in a game situation. So, um, I love JUCO transfers, but yeah, the, um, the NCAA thing, uh, has been, has been beneficial as well.

Matt: Okay. Well what about ID camps? They seem to have blossomed, uh, into a big part of most schools, recruiting processes. Do you guys do ID camps or you or staff work ID camps at all? 

Coach: Um, I, I attend ID camps as like a guest coach. A lot of colleges will invite other coaches to come, um, you know, to run sessions or things like that, but we don’t run our own ID camp.

Um, uh, it’s just tough. I mean, with our location, we’re in Mitchell, South Dakota. [00:03:00] Um, there are so many other schools, you know, D 2D one schools in this region, um, that we’re, we’re not really gonna get, we’re not gonna be able to compete to get kids to come to our ID camp. 

Matt: Yeah, that makes sense. Well, what about, uh.

Tournaments, showcases. Where do you guys like to go to to find players? 

Coach: Yeah. Um, I’m fortunate. I mean, we’re, I don’t know if six hours is really close, but we’re only six hours away from Kansas City. Um, so I love to hit those big Kansas City showcases a lot of success there. Um, obviously I try to make it out to that, uh, Vegas player showcase.

I didn’t make it this year. Uh, we, we run a massive SAL tournament every year. Um, and so, uh, we just so happened that our futsal tournament fell on the same weekend as the girls. Uh, players showcase in Vegas, so I missed that one. But, uh, Kansas City showcases and, uh, the one Vegas showcase, I really, we really like to attend there.

Matt: Okay. Well, whether it’s a transfer or a showcase or a camp or wherever, what, what [00:04:00] kind of makes up the hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player both on the field and off. 

Coach: Yeah, on the, I mean for me, my top two priorities on the field are confidence on the ball, um, and then, uh, intensity co competitiveness.

So I think, you know, a lot of other. Aspects of the game can be important. But, uh, I think Pep Ola has a quote where he says, I want Dribblers. Um, you know, we can teach anyone to pass, but, uh, I want, I want people who can dribble. Um, and, uh, the reason for that is I, I just, you know, I want players who are confident on the ball, no matter where I stick them on the pitch.

They don’t care if they’re being pressed. Um, they want to have the ball. They’re not afraid. Um, they’re willing to take risks, willing to take chances. And so for me, confidence on the balls. The first thing I look for, um, you know, you, you can, I think there’s a. Uh, what, what’s Usain Bolt tried out for Byron, I think a while back and got cut.

Right. Um, and, and you know, speed is great, um, but speed only goes so far. Uh, ultimately if the, if speed is all that matters, we would just have a track meet instead of a [00:05:00] soccer game. So, um, confidence on the ball’s. The number one thing for me. Um, even down to goalkeepers. Uh, I use my goalkeeper as an 11th field player.

We play through her feet, so I, I really want players who are confident in the ball. Uh, and then two is competitiveness intensity. Um, I want absolutely everything to be a competition. I want everything the girls constantly fighting to win, um, at training. Uh, heck, we even had a, we had a Mario Kart tournament team bonding the other day, uh, and one of my girls got really angry that she, uh, kept getting hit by shells and she was so competitive.

Um, and I love that, uh, because then that carries into the game. So, uh, confidence on the ball and com competitiveness are the two things I look for. Um, in terms of things that I, you know, off the pitch. Um, non soccer related team culture’s really, really important to us. Uh, you know, I’m, I’m kind of a goofy, fun, joking guy, and if, uh, if a recruit isn’t sort of receptive, bantering fun, joking back with me, um, I know that that’s, that maybe that will turn into, you know, not a [00:06:00] good fit for our team culture and program.

So I look for recruits who are, um, you know, fun, exciting, personable, um, because that’s kind of gonna fit into our team culture. 

Matt: Okay, great. Well, let’s learn a little bit more about the school. I’m sure some folks not familiar with Dakota Wesleyan up there. Um, you’ve been there a few seasons now, kind of what drew you to the job.

What have you found that’s really, uh, awesome about the school? Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know about. Going through the website, I. 

Coach: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it’s, uh, we’re like, like you identified, we’re an NAIA program. Um, we’re in Mitchell, South Dakota. Uh, it’s a, a beautiful campus. Um, we have amazing facilities.

We have, uh, our, we have a grass home field. Our championship field is a shortcut, beautiful grass pitch. Um, but we also have three grass training pitches that surround it. Um, so we’re really, really fortunate. We have, you know, we, uh, we’re great facilities. We have. Um, a locker room out there for the men’s and women’s programs.

So we don’t share locker rooms with any other sports on campus. We have our own locker room, [00:07:00] um, championship field, which is gorgeous grass. And then the three training pitches, uh, the men’s coach and I, we cut, we have the city cut one of the, or paint one of the. Grass pitches, uh, very small like fifa, minimum regulation.

Um, and then we have one of the grass training pitches cut FIFA maximum or painted FIFA maximum. Um, that way if we’re preparing for an opponent who has a small pitch, we can train on the small pitch, preparing for an opponent that has a big pitch, we can train on the big pitch. So, um, we’re really, really fortunate to have that.

Uh, the university has, uh, we’re a top two nursing program in the state of South Dakota. Um, we’re constantly flip-flopping with. Uh, SDSU, South Dakota State for who’s the number one nursing program. Um, so then that’s based on job placement rate, NCLE pass rate, um, and. So it’s really, really, that’s very fortunate for me as a women’s coach.

Nursing is a very popular major, um, among female athletes. And so, uh, that’s a really good boon for us here. Uh, education is another one of our popular majors. We, [00:08:00] it’s, uh, kind of goofy, but we have the local public elementary school is actually physically on our campus. So, uh, the education majors can do their, their required student teaching on campus.

Uh, and so it’s, it’s very cool, very fortunate. Uh, we have a great indoor. Uh, field house. We play lots of foots all over the winter, like you identified. The weather here is South Dakota weather. We have, uh, about two feet of snow, give or take every, every winter. Um, so we’re very fortunate to have a field house on campus where we play a ton of foots.

All, uh, I think it’s really good for the kids. So we stay pretty much training year round, uh, rules permitting. We, uh, train year round and, uh, it’s, we’re very, very fortunate to have those facilities. 

Matt: No, that, that sounds amazing. Um. And you know, not, not every college. Women’s college soccer program likes to have nursing majors, so that’s great that you guys have that ability for folks.

Yeah. But, but you know, that academic side can be really tough for kids. You know, moving into a, uh, the college environment, both the academic demands and the [00:09:00] athletic, uh, demands. How do your student athletes really balance the poll and what kind of support systems are, are in place at the school to really help the, the players be successful, both on and off the field?

Coach: Yeah, I think that’s, I think you, you identified it that first month is always a shock for the kids. And I think, um, there’s the, uh, the shock of, Hey, I’m essentially, uh, being a college athlete is a full-time job, um, being a, uh, a college student can at, you know, depending on your workload, can feel like a full-time job.

Plus, they’re also exploring new friendships, sometimes new relationships. Um, you know, college is a lot of freedom in that first month or two months. Uh, is, is hits like a, a freight train sometimes for some kids. So we, uh, we have a lot of things in place. I have the girls do like a big sister, little sister program, so right, you know, right away, first week, um, I assign the incoming freshmen or in, or in JUCO transfers, uh, an upperclassmen and sort of take ’em under their wings.

Um, I make them hang out once a week, [00:10:00] uh, and then they have to send a picture in our group chat of them hanging out. So there’s a little bit of accountability. Uh. We do study tables. So all incoming freshmen have five hours of required study tables per week. We have a really cool system here at Dakota Wesleyan where the, uh, they check in at the librarian.

The librarian logs their check in at the library. They can then go to study table, study room. Um, they often study together with teammates and friends. Uh, and then they check out and then the. Librarian automatically logs those hours and then it’s in an online database, which is pushed out to the coaches every Friday.

So I can track my, my student’s attendance. We do grade checks every three weeks. Um, I know some coaches just have players send screenshots of their grades. What I do is I actually have a physical paper that I make to kids fill it out, and they have to have their professor sign it. Um, that way if they’re.

Skipping class. They have to, you know, make a, the awkward physical interaction with the professor whose class they’re skipping. Um, but we do all those things so that we can help the kids like you identify, adjust to the, the [00:11:00] rigorous nature of a. Of a, uh, college athlete environment. Um, our university is also really, really good about professors being understanding, um, for ex excuses for away games.

So professors, you know, they, we have mechanisms to allow kids to make up tests, make up quizzes, catch up on lectures if they have to, or when they have to miss class for an away game. Um, the university is very flexible about that. We have a, a faculty liaison who meets with the faculty representatives every year.

To make sure that that relationship continues and that professors are good about working with the the student athletes. 

Matt: Oh, that’s great. Well. Walk me through a typical week for a player during the heart of that conference season. When are classes, meals, games, practices, the whole nine yards? 

Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, we’re, we’re, we’re on a, we train every weekday.

That’s kind of our, our grind. Um, we’re in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, the gpac, uh, so our games are Wednesday, Saturdays, once we’re in the conference [00:12:00] grind. So we’re playing, or we’re training Mondays. Four to 6:00 PM So Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, we train, uh, I block it out four to 6:00 PM Sometimes my sessions, you know, cut short, especially if we’re physically beat up after a, a brutal game.

Um, but we train four to 6:00 PM games Wednesday, Saturdays, Sundays off per the NAIA rules. Uh, so our. You know, classes start at 8:00 AM so we have 8:00 AM classes, depending on, um, what the girl’s schedule looks like. They’re going to class in the morning, going to lunch in the cafeteria, class in the afternoon, uh, classes wrap up around two 50.

So then they’re going back to their dorm changing, heading out to the field, changing into soccer stuff at the locker room. Um, the girl, the captain’s warmup starts about 3 45, and then my session starts about four. So that’s what it looks like. We also sprinkle in team bonding and classroom sessions. Uh, we do a lot of film.

So for example, we’ll, you know, on a Tuesday we might, the girls do [00:13:00] that whole grind of. Class, lunch class, practice dinner. Um, but we’ll also after dinner, maybe we’ll stay and do, uh, hour two hours of film, um, both ourselves and opponents. Uh, I think watching yourself play is a really, really key developmental tool.

So, um, yeah, that, that’s what it looks like and it’s, and it’s a grind. Um, and I think it’s interesting what I’ve kind of heard from my freshman classes as they’ve come in and they get to know me a little better and then we can talk more candidly. Um, they tell me they don’t even realize. How much they’re doing until after the fact.

You know, it’s that second week of November when we’re done with playoffs and they look back and they have so much time on their hands and they’ll say, you know, something along the lines of, oh my God, I don’t know how I did it. 

Matt: Yeah, it, it can be a blur, that’s for sure. Well, let’s talk more about, about the, the team.

You know, we talked about roster size. Who else makes up that roster? Talk to me about your staff. What other folks are in the department that are helping out with the team and so forth. [00:14:00] 

Coach: Yeah, we’re very fortunate here. I have, uh. I have one assistant coach. Um, she’s a, she’s a ga, a graduate assistant, which is very common.

Um, so she’s getting her master’s in education. Uh, and then obviously, you know, helping out with the women’s soccer team as the assistant coach. Uh, but we share a full-time goalkeeper coach with the men’s program. So we, we actually have a full-time position at this, at Dakota Westland. Uh, so it’s a full-time.

Salary job, uh, with benefits. But he is the assistant coach and goalkeeper coach for both the men’s program and the women’s program. So, uh, you have me head coach, uh, you have Sydney Pike, she’s my graduate assistant. And then we have Cole Shriner. Uh, he is the, uh, full-time goalkeeper coach for both programs.

We have a, a robust athletic training staff. I think we have seven full-time athletic trainers. Um, obviously not all seven are assigned to women’s soccer, but we have seven full-time athletic trainers at the school. Two are assigned to women’s soccer. Uh, and then we have a master’s in athletic training program.

So, uh, two to four master’s in athletic training. [00:15:00] Students, uh, will be assigned to a sport, to women’s soccer in this case. Uh, so in addition to the two full-time athletic trainers, we also have the student and athletic trainers that help out. So, uh, you know, between all that, we’re, we’re very, very fortunate here.

We’re very well set up. We have, uh. A full-time strength and conditioning coordinator, and he has two graduate assistants as well. So the girls are lifting, uh, I don’t like to lift during season. Um, what I find is, uh, their legs turn to jelly and then we can’t connect two passes at practice. So, um, lifting starts really hard in November and then we go through the rest of the year lifting twice a week.

Uh, and I don’t, I’m completely hands off with that. I’m very, we’re very fortunate to have the full-time athletic or, uh, strength and conditioning coordinator who, uh, who handles the lift. 

Matt: Okay. Awesome. Well, I. What about you? Talk to us about your coaching style and the style of play that, that you look to play there.

Coach: Yeah. Um, so I was, I was very, very fortunate in my, in my kind of club coaching career before getting into the college game. Um, I coached for, uh, [00:16:00] veal Nebraska Academy. Um, it was a. A genuine subsidiary of V AAL in Spain. Uh, and they, you know, it wasn’t just one of these clubs where you, you know, you pay an amount of money to get to wear a, a team’s logo.

Um, the v AAL coaches used to come, they would come in twice a year to make sure we were implementing the curriculum, make sure we were doing the curriculum. So, um, I’m a real bit, I hate dribbling through cones. I hate passing patterns. Uh, we don’t play against cones, so why would we train against cones? Um, all my sessions are possession based, uh, small sided games, rondos into possessional positional games, and all the way up to full sided play.

So, I mean, my, my training start with five V two. Uh, 63 Rondos tight spaces, uh, expands into some four V four plus threes, five V, five plus twos, drills like that, that are more positional possessional. Um, and then obviously smaller sided games into bigger sided games. Uh, everything is live play, which means you have a ball, you have a opponents, and you have [00:17:00] teammates.

Um, so I, I really don’t like un unopposed drills. I, I’m not a big fan of that. Um, obviously every now and then you need to demonstrate something, and so you’ll line up some cones to demonstrate a drill here and there. Um, but everything is opposed as much as possible. At my trainings, uh, I love, uh, we play small out of the back.

We play possession based football. Um, I love to use my keeper in possession. I. Uh, most, most teams that I encounter in the college game, they really like the direct play. Uh, I think there’s certain safety in it. You know, let’s recruit fast kids, stick ’em up top, um, and then smash the ball away from our goal toward those fast kids.

Uh, and I think that’s a very tempting and, and very, um, it can be sometimes rewarding way of playing, but, uh, I, I would just really like to keep the ball. Um, you know, we draw the opponents. Out of pos, out of position with our possession, uh, before then exploiting spaces and going forward. Uh, I’m a big believer that the game’s the greatest teacher and that mistakes are opportunities to learn.

Um, I do the Yoda voice and I always say the greatest [00:18:00] teacher failure is, uh, my girls hate it, but yeah, the greatest teacher failure is, uh, we learn by making mistakes and that, that sort of notion of the game’s, the greatest teacher, meaning we’re gonna get the most by playing. Against opposition, whether it’s ourselves, um, as opposed to playing against cones, uh, and then learn from mistakes.

So, I mean, every player is gonna come in and make mistakes. Let’s, let’s use ’em to get better. 

Matt: No, I love that. Absolutely. Well, coach, really appreciate the time. Gonna leave you to one last question for everybody, and that is, if you had one piece of advice for any girls going through this recruiting process right now, what would that be?

Coach: Yeah. Um, one thing that absolutely breaks my heart is when I see this obsession with, um, you know, the status of playing at what’s perceived as the highest level. Um, I’m not, you know, I’m, I’m not gonna pretend like NCAA D one isn’t the highest level because it absolutely is, it’s the highest level of play in this nation.

Um, but one thing that I [00:19:00] see in the recruiting process is. At least on the women’s side. I, you know, I haven’t been on the men’s side in the college game, but on the women’s side is this, uh, obsessive pursuit of the D one label, um, to the point where some tragic things can happen. Uh, girls will be happy to be a walkon on a D one roster where they’re paying sticker price to go to the university.

Um, and it sometimes is a university that doesn’t even have their major. Um, and, and that’s a, that’s a heartbreak. Uh, sometimes the relentless pursuit of D one turns into no offers, and then the girl just late in the recruiting process gives up and doesn’t even play college soccer when, you know, they could have been an extremely successful D two NAIA or any other level player.

Um, but they just give up on the process because they’re so burnt out by their inability to, to get an offer from a D one program. Um, and then that even spills into D twos. I mean, I. A couple recruiting classes ago, I lost a player to a D two where I had [00:20:00] spent months in the recruiting process with her.

One day before national signing day, the D two a D two school picked up the phone and called her. Um, and she committed to them based on one phone call. Uh, and, you know, I chatted with her high school coach and her high school coach said, yeah, you know, we, we really like to push our players to the highest level possible.

Um, the implication being that, you know, she. Encouraged her player to sign with this D two as opposed to with me, ironically. Um, I scheduled that division two school and we ended up beating them in a friendly, um, you know, we we’re an NAIA program, which I think sometimes is perceived as a lower level. Um, we’ve played D twos all the time.

Uh, we’ve lost to them. We’ve tied them, we’ve beat them. Um, and, and there’s, there’s, there’s. There’s good schools and bad schools at every level. Good program at every level. Um, my biggest piece of advice to answer your question in a long-winded manner, uh, is go, where’s the best fit? Um, go where the coach genuinely is [00:21:00] interested in you, where you think you have a high percentage chance of seeing the field and getting playing time and where.

They have your major and can set you up for your career. I mean, it’s like what, less than 1% of college athletes go on to play professionally. And I’m, I’m assuming that’s even less for women. Um, so the reality is we’re making, you know, doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, we’re not making pro soccer players.

And so, you know, I, I wish these kids would, would pick the good fit for them as opposed to chasing this, this highest level notion. 

Matt: Absolutely couldn’t agree more. Well, coach, really appreciate it. Wish you the best of luck, uh, as you finish out the school year and go into the summer and get you back to that conference tournament.

Coach: Alright. Thank you so much Matt. Nice to meet you. Likewise. 

Matt: Thank you. Bye.