Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer – Coach Saad Mohacht
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Mohacht from the Fort Hays Men’s Program in Kansas. We talk about their recruiting as a new staff. He describes the new facilities in a great college town setting. Lastly, we discuss how they look to play as a team. Learn more about Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach sod at Fort Hays state in Kansas. Welcome coach.
Coach: Hi, thank you, Matt. Thank you for having me.
Matt: Yeah. Thanks for being here. Uh, you and, and, and the rest of you, uh, your staff, you guys just took over, uh, in January is, is my understanding.
So I guess it’s been a pedal to the metal since then, huh?
Coach: Yeah, yes, we did. Uh, it’s been it’s been great so far. It’s been five months since we took over the program. Me, Coach Nichols and the other assistant, uh, Edward Jabari. Stuff is great. Fort Hayes is a great place to be. And, uh, yeah.
Matt: Okay. Well, as, as you know, you and I are talking here, June, June 20, right.
So as a division two school, June 15th, that’s the magic date. You could start talking to those 26s, but as a, as a new staff coming into a program. Kind of what, what was your timeline? I’m, I’m guessing you, were you still wrapping up some 20 fours when you came on? How much of the 20 fives are you, how far along are you, the 20 fives or even talking to 20 sixes?
What kinda, what’s the timeline for you guys right now?
Coach: So basically the first months when we took over the, after we took over the program in January, we focused only on 24 because, um, coach Nichols, uh. Had a, had an experience in Florida. He coached a team in Florida. Before that he was in Missouri. Where he won, uh, two national championship [00:01:30] in NAI.
Uh, so yeah, I mean, for the first, I’d say a couple months, three months. Yeah, until the end of March, we focused more on 24, trying to bring in the, the players we need. to to reach our goal, which is being competitive at a national level. And, um, and yeah, it’s been great. It’s been very challenging because the first the first couple weeks, uh, nothing was working.
But then after that, we’re starting. We started having like good news and and thanks to the contact. We have myself and the other coaches with agencies in Europe and Uh, South America and us, uh, we were able to, to create a great, a great roster for the upcoming season. And yeah, we’re very positive. We’re very positive.
We think we’re going to be very competitive. And, uh, and yeah.
Matt: Okay. Well, you, you mentioned agencies outside, both inside and outside the U S and if you look at last year’s roster, you guys were maybe about a 50 50 split U S or international. So kind of talk to me about what it’s like recruiting internationally versus domestic.
And then on the domestic side, are there, are there events you, you like to go to there that you went to the spring or the summer that you feel is kind of the best place to see kids.
Coach: I actually just got back from Rome for a, for a showcase. because we [00:03:00] need, we still need a couple of players for 24, but mainly for 25.
But yeah, I mean, we don’t only focus internationally. I mean, of course we like to, to have our, like to look for every good player internationally, but, uh, also Americans. Um, we, we think that the level in us has grown. a lot. Um, me, I’m personally from Italy. I played, uh, I played in Italy and Belgium, so I was able to create some contacts with agencies while I was playing, uh, while I was playing there.
The other assistant coach is English from London, so he has contacts in North of Europe and coach Nichols, he has a lot of context context in us. So that’s that’s how pretty much we split our focus. But but yeah, I mean, as I said at the beginning, we don’t really care where you from. We don’t really care where you play.
We want good players who are humble, who are coachable, who are talented, of course, and was the same vision that we have, which is win. And, uh, and yeah, again, it doesn’t matter where the play is from. Uh, this year we have a heavy international roster just because we tried to create a more mature team, but we, we think we have a good balance.
Uh, between mature, mature players and, uh, freshman’s [00:04:30] and, uh, we have, we have some good, uh, talented Kansas kids, uh, which are, we’re very, we’re very happy about that played high level in us, MLS next level and ECNL. So yeah, we look, we look everywhere, we look everywhere. We receive, we receive a lot of emails, a lot of videos, a lot of highlights.
Uh, yeah, we try to be, we try to be as fair as we can and. Yeah, we try to sign the players that match our vision. Okay.
Matt: Well, has the transfer transfer portal come into play at all for you guys? I mean, was there, I mean, I know this is maybe a, a source subject, but did with the new coaching, uh, staff coming in, did that, did some players wanna leave?
Did you wanna replace those with kind of the same level? Did you guys dip into the transfer portal at all? Or, or, or how does that, how has that affected you guys at in this timeframe?
Coach: It happened. It happened. Uh, transfer portal was, is very, is a very helpful tool. Of course, that coming from a NAI school, like coaching in a NAI school, we were not able to, to have, uh, but yeah, very helpful.
And also the player that we decided to part the way we, we, we helped them to find a team and we gave them the chance to get into the transfer portal early, uh, so they can find a great team. Thank God they all find. The good thing for them, uh, they had all the players, they had [00:06:00] multiple options. So yeah, the transfer portal, very, very helpful.
And, um, okay.
Matt: [00:00:00] So you guys, uh, you know, as a new staff are new to the school, you’ve been in Kansas for, you know, five months now. Uh, what is it that drew you to the job? What is it that you found, uh, that you really like about the school? Maybe some things that you find, uh, that are cool that we wouldn’t even know by going through the website.
Coach: I mean, Fort Hayes is a great place to be, honestly. Uh, I try to, to be very straightforward with the, with the players we talked to and I tell them the truth. Fort Hayes is a, is a good place for international players, for international students and for students in general, because academically it’s, it’s top notch in the Midwest and, uh, and athletic, like for the athletic department, it just.
There’s everything that athletes need. I mean, our, our soccer stadium is brand new. It’s, it’s great. The locker rooms, uh, all the athletic facilities, we have, uh, three weight rooms. Uh, one is actually being built. The new part of the athletic department is being built to the basketball stadium. It’s, it’s D one level.
And me myself, I mean, I played in, uh, in D one in South Carolina, Wofford and facility wise and everything. It just It’s just that level. I mean, there’s everything that, that athletes need and, and it just a great place to be overall, uh, there’s a good environment. People are very friendly. [00:01:30] Uh, when I got there, everybody was, was there to help me out because for housing and this and that, and, uh, it was, it would just, it’s great.
It’s great. And right now I’m back in Europe for, for a couple of months for, for showcases and stuff, And honestly, I can’t wait to be back because even though it’s a small, it’s small town in Western Kansas, it just, it just perfect. It just perfect because. There’s everything that, that, that we need as a staff and everything that, that our athletes would need.
Matt: Yeah. Sounds like it. Well, besides the athletic part, there’s the academic component, right? So what support services and things like that does a school offer to make sure, you know, student athletes are successful both in the classroom as well as on the field, because, you know, especially internationals coming over the school college experience can be kind of daunting.
So, so how does the school help them with that?
Coach: Right. Well, the school helps in any way. They really adapt to, to every situation, to every kid that, that decides to, to come to Fort Hayes. Uh, they, they provide tutors. They can help you out with homework and with, uh, with the language barrier. Uh, they take their time.
Professors are very friendly, are very communicative with us and with the students, um, if there’s anything that, that, that the students need, they can just email them or, or call them. Most of the teacher give their personal number to the students [00:03:00] and yeah, it just. It’s just a great place again, uh, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna be the, you know, I don’t want to say that everything is great just because I work there, but it’s actually very, very good.
It’s just a great place to be and people are there for you if you need anything. And, and yeah, academics are, are just, There’s any program that the students would like to do even the graduate programs. There’s any kind of MBA or Master of Science. There’s anything.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s fast forward to October Let’s put you in the heart of your conference season.
What do you projected that to be? Weekly schedule is going to look like for the players in terms of when is classes and meals and practices and what’s kind of The game cadence and what do you think that typical week’s going to look like right?
Coach: Uh, we don’t have uh, The the of course we have the schedule for the games, but uh, we don’t really have this schedule for classes yet just because uh Some players didn’t like some student athletes didn’t didn’t get their classes done, but we’re working on it.
Um, and yeah, I mean, it’s going to be pretty straightforward classes in the morning lunch with the team and with the other students, and then we attack the athletic part. Uh, it can be personal meetings, team meetings, practice, weights, uh, we’re going to be doing something every day. Um, [00:04:30] but the most important things for us is to have the group always together, because we really believe in that, in the family thing that if you’re ready to, to fight for your family, then everything like it makes the work easier for everybody.
So, so yeah. Pretty much is going to be classes in the morning, three hours, depends on the credits they take in, uh, lunch and then meetings and then practice. And as you know, uh, in us, uh, it’s very, it can get very hectic. So two games every three days. So we have to be ready to roll. That’s for sure.
Matt: Okay.
Well, in terms of the team, you know, is it, is there a roster size that you find is ideal that you’re trying to hit, uh, for your squad?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah, for next, for next semester, I think we’re planning to have about like 34, 35 players coming in, uh, which is balanced freshmen transfers and grad grad students.
But yeah, that’s the roster we’re expecting. And, and yeah, we’re very, we’re very happy about our upcoming players. incoming players and uh, and yeah, I think I’m very positive. I can’t wait to the thing. As you know, when you finish the recruiting process, you just can’t wait for the fall to start.
Matt: Absolutely. So,
Coach: so right now we just, we have a couple more months to wait and then. [00:06:00]
Matt: Well, you mentioned the staff earlier, right? You’re one of the assistant coaches. There’s a head, another assistant, but, but talk to me a little bit more about how you guys envision the roles being during the season and maybe what other support staff are within the athletic department that help out with the team that players should be getting used to seeing.
Coach: Right. So, um, we get in a lot of, a lot of, um, the athletic department really believes in us. Uh, they helping us with everything we need. Uh, they trust us, which is great. Uh, there’s something that you cannot find everywhere. Uh, and yeah, working with coach Alex Nichols is just great because he gives us a lot of responsibilities and, uh, he, he makes us involved in, in everything like recruiting, training, literally anything, uh, even logistics.
It just, it just a great. to learn because as I said at the beginning, it’s my first season as a, as assistant coach. I’m, I’m hungry to learn. I just, I just want to learn as much as I can. And yeah, I mean, he was my, he was my first coach when I moved from, from Europe to us, he’s the coaches that recruited me.
Uh, so we know each other and yeah, I mean, so far it’s been great. And, um, And hopefully it can, uh, it can be the same thing for the next, for the next seasons, you [00:07:30] know,
Matt: no, that’s awesome. Well, you know, we, you, you started in January, so you had an off season with the players. So what is your typical off season?
Look like, what are the players doing in the, in the spring?
Coach: Well, typically we have, we have a small season where we, we set up some, uh, some games, uh, we like to play against the best teams. Uh, so, but for this semester, it was different because we took over the program late, I mean, at the, at the, in January, as I said, so, uh, we couldn’t.
We couldn’t play games, unfortunately, but we, we focused on working with the players that are returning, uh, more specifically, so for each position, uh, every day we were training and, uh, and yeah, just trying to. Be on the same page with them, with the staff, learn more about the place we’re at, um, getting to know each other because we’re, we’re, we’re a staff of three and we’re very different.
So that’s, that’s very important too. And as far as handling like the training and stuff, uh, it just. It’s been great. I mean, we didn’t play games, which is, which can be frustrating for the players, but they know, like we explained them that it’s for a good reason. And, uh, we put, we put a lot of time into training into so for, for strikers, we did only specific training for strikers, for defenders, [00:09:00] same for the keepers, the same, so by the end of the semester, they were all happy because they, they ended up getting better physically and, and technically.
Matt: So. That’s great. Okay. Well, coach, I really appreciate your time. You’ve given us some, some good info on, on Fort Hayes. And, uh, I got one question to end on. And that is if you could give, you know, anybody out there watching this podcast, any potential student athlete out there, one piece of advice as they’re going through this recruiting process, what would that be?
Coach: Well, the only advice I would give, which is the same advice I give to, to my players is to. When you get to the field, forget about anything else. Everything else that happens outside of the field, forget about it. Uh, focus on those two, three hours that you’re with the team. Focus on the family, focus on the field, focus on yourself, visualize yourself doing good things and just stay positive and work hard.
I mean, soccer is a team sport. It’s not like tennis or golf or whatever. So. The part of the thing is to be on the same page as the other players, as the staff to have a same, same vision. Everybody has to have to be the same vision. And when you have these things, I mean, success is just, it just happens.
Matt: Love it. Love it. Well, coach, we wish you the best of luck in [00:10:30] your first season over there. And hopefully you guys can, uh, be in that conference championship mix. And if you get to any of the recruiting events down here in Florida, give me a shout.
Coach: All right, for sure. Thank you, Matt.
Matt: Thank you.
