Gillette College Men’s Soccer – Coach Alex Machin

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Machin from the Gillette Men’s Program in Wyoming. We talk about what it is like recruiting players to Wyoming. He describes the great facilities and supportive community. Lastly, we discuss how the entire athletic and academic staff is supportive of one another. Learn more about Gillette College Men’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Alex from Gillette college in Wyoming. Welcome coach. 

Coach: Thanks, Matt. Look forward to being here. 

Matt: Yeah, glad to have you. I’ve, uh, I’ve been lucky. I’ve got to go to Wyoming. Uh, well, it’s been a while now, but, uh, just beautiful country had a blast out there.

So I’m sure I’m sure you’re doing the same. But, uh, but let’s talk a little bit about the program. You’re you’re a 2 year college and JC. A a, um, you know what, what’s it, what’s it like recruiting to, to Wyoming, right? I mean, it’s not like, uh, you guys are in the hustle and bustle of a major metropolis or anything, so, so talk to me about what it’s like recruiting there.

Coach: Um, well, yeah, Wyoming, I mean, I’ll be honest, when, when I first thought of it, I’m originally from Florida, so when I first taught, I was like, wow, who wants to move to Wyoming? And now that I’ve been here for a little bit. You know, over a year. I absolutely love it. Uh, and you’re right. We’re far from major cities.

I mean, the biggest city closest to us is Denver, and it’s about 5 hours south of us. So you can imagine. So we’re in a very rural area. Let’s just say that. But recruiting, you know, surprisingly. Juco is a good route for a lot of players from different levels. Um, and it becomes easy, um, to recruit Juco, especially when you’re a D1 Juco.

Uh, on an international level, it becomes easy. You know, a lot of players are not so much interested in the location, but the quality, the things that [00:01:30] we can offer as a program. So I think that goes a long way. We have great facilities. We probably have some of the best facilities in the nation at the junior college level.

So that’s a big selling point for us recruiting wise and the biggest thing when the guys actually get here They they just fall in love with the town. It’s a great community. So Big selling points for recruiting is the community where we’re involved in, um, the facilities that we have. Also, obviously the financial side of things is, is a huge plus being able to give out scholarships, being able to stack with academic and stuff like that.

It helps. Um, and in the state of Wyoming, there’s only one four year school, which is university of Wyoming, and they don’t have men’s soccer. So a lot of local kids are looking for junior college to go that route. So recruiting locally. helps a lot. And as you, as you mentioned, Matt, like, uh, being in a state that’s very, very low populated, you know, the quality of soccer may not be as high as, you know, cities like Los Angeles, Texas, or, you know, even Florida, but you have those local kids that are looking for the junior college route.

So that’s how kind of recruiting entails, you know, we recruit domestically, we recruit internationally, and those are selling points. 

Matt: Yeah. So what is, what is a target roster size for you, you know, each season, what’s, what’s the number you’re looking for and, and how does the, the mix of domestic international work for you specifically?

Coach: Yep. So we luckily for us, we don’t have a target number that we have to hit for, for our roster size. However, I like [00:03:00] to keep it anywhere between 28 to 35. And the reason I meant I do that is because in our conference, we play back to back games. So we play Friday, Saturday. So, you know, we got to rotate a lot of players and there’s injuries, then there’s eligibility issues.

And then on the international side, you know, some guys don’t get their visas approved. So I try to over recruit. To physically have anywhere from 28 to 35 guys. This lab, the first year we had 30, this second year, we’re looking at about 33, 34, give or take. Um, but to answer your question about how does the internationals mesh with the domestic kids?

They actually have a great relationship. These domestic kids help these internationals adapt to the life. In a place like Wyoming, you know, being not your typical place that you look at if you’re in an international, but I’m an international. I want to go to L. A. I want to go to New York. I want to go to Miami and these kids help them adapt, but I think it all goes with the culture within the team.

You know, we set the culture at the very first day, um, that preseason starts and these guys just learned to love each other and they just, you know, They have each other’s back. So we’ve had the blessing that we never had any type of issue conflict between internationals and domestic players. 

Matt: No, that’s good.

Well, whether you’re recruiting internationally or domestic, uh, you know, what is, what kind of makes up the hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field stuff or off the field stuff. 

Coach: So when I’m looking at players, you know, I look. For a lot of things. You know, obviously we want to find the top guys.

We want to get the best players. [00:04:30] Um, but I, I judge a lot in character, how the players speak, how they talk to you on the phone calls. Um, we want good guys. We got guys that are going to come in, do their jobs in and out of the classroom, um, in and out of the field. Um, and they’re just going to be good people in the community.

You know, this school is full of Fully funded by the community. We have the second largest booster club in the state of Wyoming after UW. So we want guys that are going to be leaders. We want guys that are going to lead by example within the community, not cause any trouble. So I’d rather take a guy that’s just a good kid and it’s going to come in and do well and work hard that, excuse me, then get the star of the player that’s going to cause trouble.

So that’s what we’re looking for. We want, we want, that’s part of our culture. We want good kids. We want guys that. That excel, you know, not just on the field, but in the community, in the classroom and are just good people. Yeah, no, I appreciate that. Makes sense. 

Matt: Well, and this, I know it’s only your second season coming up, but what is it like for the kids who, you know, are graduating, looking to play other places?

How have you been able to kind of help those folks make their next step if that’s what they’re looking to do? 

Coach: Yeah, so I think it’s a. It’s a joint work. So it’s, you know, the effort between me, the effort between the players as well. So, you know, we record every game, they create their own highlights and it all comes down, you know, at the college level, you know, for your schools are looking for guys that played guys that have good stats and did well as an individual.

Um, so my job [00:06:00] is I connect them. I have a huge network of coaches. All my sophomores transfer this year, whether it was D1, D2, NAI, D3, they all transferred. I strongly believe there’s a home for every player. You just got to find your niche. You got to find the right place. So it’s a, it’s a joint task. You know, they do their part.

They reach out to coaches. Um, I reach out to coach. I share videos and I try to tell them, Hey guys, you know, you got to start early on after the season’s over, start reaching out. You know, start pushing by and see, and on top of that, I, I share my players, um, you know, four year level schools, they recruit a lot of juvenile players because they come with that two year experience, right?

You know, it’s having those two years coming in as a junior, being able to play at this level two years, goes a long way. You know, sometimes for an 18 year old fresh out of high school, it can be a, An adaptive period if you go to a four year school. So, so we work together. I work individually with each player, each sophomore.

We work together. They give me a list. I try to reach out to the coaches. We work on it together. And at times I have coaches that reach out to me and say, hey, Alex, what sophomores do you got? And I share them or hey, I’m looking for a goalkeeper. Hey, I got one. Check out this video. So on and so forth. So it’s part of the process and we work together on it.

Matt: No, it makes a lot of sense in terms of the school itself. Um, you know, what have you, you know, obviously you’re, you’re not from Wyoming. So, so what have you found to be kind of the, the outstanding things about the school? What drew you to school? What, what, what should people get excited about? 

Coach: So, well, number one, I [00:07:30] have to say the facilities, you know, we have a basketball arena.

That’s it’s unreal. We have the best soccer field in the conference. And I say that confidently, um, but number 1 is the people that surround you here. You know, we’re a community college, whereas 2 year school or a small school, you know, I can easily pick up the phone and call financial and say, hey, can you help me with this?

And they’re always willing to help sometimes in big schools, you know, to get a hold of financial aid can be can be tough. So those are things that stick out for me, not only just the facility, it’s just the people. That are part of, of this college. Um, and it’s, that’s been a blessing, you know, I feel comfortable just calling admissions, calling financial aid, calling the registrar that sticks out.

And I mean, if you’re talking about the town of Gillette, the infrastructure in this town, I mean, it’s unbelievable. It’s a 40, 000 people town, but it’s unbelievable. 

Matt: No, it’s great. Well, you know, Whether it’s domestic or international kids, they know it can be hard transitioning to the college environment, especially as an athlete.

So what kind of support systems does a school offer to help those kids be successful in the classroom as well 

Coach: as on the field? So outside of, you know, athletics, you know, we have. Free tutoring for every single course, you know, is not just a math center or math or science center. They have a schedule built out for every single class has a tutor.

Um, we also have 1 of the biggest things that I like to share with. Um, that [00:09:00] recruits, um, two things. Number one, our director of housing and student life, they plan activities for the students outside of, you know, their scope. So, for instance, they bring paintball twice a year when the weather permits slip and slide stuff.

Um, the other thing is we have a program called adopt the pronghorn, and it’s basically, basically where. Host families in town, families in town are involved with these kids and it goes a long way with the international. So, for instance, I have a kid from Africa who can’t go home for Christmas or can’t go home for Thanksgiving.

So, these families invite them over and give them a homemade meal and they become very close. So we have that program. We obviously have a counselor, mental health counselor on campus, which. Definitely goes a long way. I don’t think, um, you know, sometimes people don’t realize the importance of that. Uh, there’s kids that need it.

And it can be confidential or they can come up to me. It’s like, Hey coach, I need help. Um, so that’s there. So I think those few things just go a long way here, you know, and, um, the good thing about Gillette too, for community college, we have like strength and conditioning staff, so they work with the players outside, like, Hey, you know, I want to work on this.

So there’s little, those are little things that are just there that help the players. 

Matt: Well, let’s fast forward to the fall. Let’s just say we’re, you know, in the heart of that season. Kind of walk me through what’s a typical week look like for the players, you know, winter classes, practices, game cadence, all that kind of [00:10:30] stuff.

Coach: So we check in on July 31st and we hit the ground running August 1st. We get a, we get a pretty long free season. Um, you know, cause school doesn’t start till the 26th. I think it is that Monday. So during preseason, you know, we’ll train two to three times a day for about six. We’ll give them one day off on Sundays.

Um, obviously we’ll manage the load. You know, we’re not going to do three times a day every day. Um, we’ll play about three scrimmages in that, in those three weeks of preseason. And then once school starts, you know, our season starts during regular season, before conference play, we’ll usually play Wednesday, Saturday, try to get two games in a week.

Here, the seasons are very compact. Because of the weather, right? You know, November here is. You’re looking at like 10 degrees. So, um, we try to get those games in. So during the week when we had those games, we’ll train every day. Obviously we’ll manage the load before game day. Um, and then we’ll give them rest periods on Sunday.

Once school starts, they go to school. School here is done. The last class ends at 3 45. So they typically go to class from three, 8 a. m. to 3. 45, obviously schedules vary, and then we train every day 4. 30 to 6. 30, um, here. And then, you know, when conference play starts, like I mentioned, we play Friday, Saturday, which is not great for the legs, right?

So we’ll train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, manage the load as we go, play Friday, Saturday, recover Sunday, rest Sunday, get back after it Monday. [00:12:00] So that’s what it looks like typically, obviously subject to change, you know, based on weather and stuff like that. Okay. 

Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about, uh, the team.

I mean, you mentioned, uh, what the roster size is that you like, but what is the rest of the roster in terms of your coaching staff or support staff within the athletic department, who else is helping out with the team? 

Coach: Yeah. So I actually have, so I have a full time assistant, which is a blessing as well, because usually junior colleges, those assistant positions are not great.

And I have two volunteers. From the community. So, and that’s a blessing as well, because one of the volunteers is a teacher and speak Spanish as well. So that helps. And then the other volunteer is a gentleman that’s been part of the community for, you know, 40 years. He runs the youth club here. So he just volunteers in time and work with our keepers and they travel to games and everything.

Outside of that, we have a full time athletic trainer, and we also have a full time strength and conditioning coach, which also goes a long way. He manages. All the weight room stuff in preseason, all the off season type of stuff, summer packets, et cetera. And then we’re a small athletic department. Um, and the best thing about this department is that we all get along.

I I’ve been in programs where I never had conversations with the men’s basketball coach because he didn’t like me for some reason or vice versa. And here we just all get along and that goes a long way. Um, but that’s our, that’s our staff. That’s our men’s soccer staff. 

Matt: Okay. Well, in terms of. Your [00:13:30] coaching style and the style of play that you’re looking to implement there.

What can you tell us about that? 

Coach: Yeah, so I look at two things when I talk about my philosophy or my style of play. Number one, the quality of players I got, you know, I need to know what type of players I have because you need to have certain players to play a certain way. And number two, the opponent in front of me, you know, I always say the example, like I’m a big Arsenal fan.

Arsenal is not going to play Man City the same way they’re going to go play Sheffield United. Right. So I taken those two things into consideration, but my preference is, uh, Possession based style football playing out of the back. I’m not a, I don’t like playing direct unless it’s a, you know, a diagonal pass, it’s going to be on, I like playing out of the back building into the midfield and then in the final third, getting creative, giving the wingers the freedom to take those one V ones, find penetrating passes.

Um, And have our wingers and strikers make movements, breaking the lines. So that’s my style. But again, there’s times where I had to play against a team that I maybe have to go more direct. Cause they’re just, they’re just that good. Or sometimes I just have to play the counterattack game, but I like to play possession out of the back.

I like to keep the ball. I like to keep the ball on the ground. 

Matt: Okay. Well, in terms of. The off season, um, you know, obviously you mentioned you guys, the weather’s a little rough come November and, and, and well into the spring. So what does your kind of spring and off season program look like? 

Coach: [00:15:00] So the spring we’re allowed six games.

We try to play six games. But obviously, sometimes the weather does not permit and something I failed to mention. So we have a rec center here, which is phenomenal rec center. I mean, it’s unreal. So we have access to that. So the reason I mentioned this is because in those months of February, March, when it’s very cold, we have the ability to play indoors.

So we are able to train the whole spring, whether it be indoors, whether it be in the weight room, um, and stuff like that. Once we can get outside, we’ll go outside. We’re allowed a certain amount of hours that we can train and do stuff with the team. So we, you know, obviously we follow those NJCAA guidelines, but in those colder times, we’ll train indoors.

We actually play a couple of indoor tournaments. We You know, one in Rapid City and then one here locally in town that don’t count towards our games because they’re just they go on their own. I tell them, Hey, guys, go play. Um, but yeah, well, we’ll do a lot of weight room stuff in the spring. We’ll try to get those six games.

Usually in the spring. I play for your programs. Um, with the, with the purpose, um, of my players showcasing themselves. So, you know, we played, uh, against South Dakota School of Mines, Montana State Billings, and then they ended up texting me after the game, like, hey, I like that guy. So I do that with that purpose.

Um, but yeah, that’s what our spring looks like. And then once we play our last game, after our last date, then we stop, graduation comes, and the guys go home for the summer. So our spring is short, cold, and to the point. [00:16:30] 

Matt: Uh, it could be worse things. Could be worse things. Yeah, absolutely. Totally. Well, coach, I really appreciate your time.

You’ve given us a lot of info, but I got one last question for you. And that is, you know, for, for anybody going through this college recruiting process, if there was one piece of advice you had or one thing you would want folks to know, what would that be? 

Coach: Um, I would tell students do your homework. And what I mean by that and make sure you find the right fit for you just because the school has a label of N.

C. double a division. 1 doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for you find the right for you. Will you fit in academically? Does it have the degree you want to go towards? Will you fit in socially? Is it a school that you think you can adapt financially? Does it work out for you and your family things like that?

Do your homework, study the school you’re interested in and get to know. Your coach have a conversation, get to know them. We as coaches want to get to know you guys too, more than just a soccer player on a personal level. Do your homework, get to know your coach, make sure it’s the right fit for you.

Matt: Absolutely. Well, coach, I really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck, uh, this fall. And, uh, hopefully you guys can, uh, can continue to build on, on what you’ve been doing there. Absolutely, man. Thanks for having me. Thank you, Alex. Take care.