Greenville University Men’s Soccer – Coach Chris Swift

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Swift from the Greenville Men’s Program in Illinois. We talk about how they are a unique D3 in that they recruit internationally. He describes the small, walkabout town with a family atmosphere. Lastly, we discuss his staff that helps with periodization and recovery. Learn more about Greenville University Men’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Chris Swift at Greenville. Welcome coach. 

Coach: Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Matt: Yeah. Thanks for being here. I’m excited to talk to you today. I think, uh, you know, as a former D3 player, I got a soft spot for those D3 men’s programs.

Uh, but I’ll say just. On the surface, yours is a little bit different, uh, than a lot of the ones I talked to, I’m sure we’ll, we’ll get into that more, um, but the, the season’s kicked off, we’re underway, it’s the beginning of September, um, tell me how, just in a rough percentage term, how much of your week is spent on recruiting class of 25s, class of 26s right now versus everything else?

Coach: Right. So, we are in the process of recruiting 25s. If I’m being honest, we’re not even. Looking at 26 is at the moment where we’ll we’ll take 26 is and we’ll catalog them in our database, but we’re not. We’re just not there in terms of the recruiting process, but we are full goes on 25 and so we are reaching out contacting people.

People are contacting us. We’re trying to get out. It’s high school season here in Illinois. And the St. Louis area. So we’re, we’re trying to get out to as many high school games as we can, while also being in the middle of our own season. And so, uh, it’s trying to strike that balance, but we are, we’re full steam ahead for 2025.

Matt: [00:01:30] So obviously D3 and men’s skews a little later in the whole overall process of things. So. When do you have an idea or a target as to when you’d like to have your Predominantly your class at 25 locked up 

Coach: Yeah with it skewing later and it skews a little bit later for us too with some of the international recruiting that we do uh We try to have most of it wrapped up by spring break.

Um, We’d love to have it done a little bit sooner But but we’ve tended to to find that that’s the usual timeline for us is to wrap up around You March, mid March. 

Matt: What you mentioned, you mentioned the international thing, and that’s one of the, I would say the differences, uh, not a lot of D3s are as heavy internationally as you guys are.

So, so how does that happen? What, what kind of makes your school unique in the ability to draw that many internationals to your roster? 

Coach: Yeah. So we just, we, we’ve partnered with the international department here on, on campus, and we’ve been able to, uh, reach out through the years and have contacts. Around the world and been able to find people that are the right fit for the university and for the soccer program.

And so it’s been a lot of fun. We have a lot of different countries represented on the team, which makes it a very unique experience, especially in the D three. Uh, setting where, uh, we have players from all over the U [00:03:00] S we have players from, from all over the world. Uh, and you really get to learn a lot off the field, culturally, not just on the field as well.

Matt: Yeah. Well, whether it’s at a high school game or a club tournament or with international players, what is it that you’re looking for in a player? What makes up that hierarchy of things, maybe on the field attributes as well as off the field stuff? 

Coach: Yeah. I. First, we’ll start off the field because that’s, that’s one of the things that.

Uh, is, is very, very important within the culture of the team. Um, is we’re looking for selfless players. So, uh, we, we have a thing in our team. We, we put team awards and team trophies ahead of individual awards. And so we don’t nominate players for player of the week in our conference. Um, which, uh, is just something we, we.

A few years back, we had somebody who we felt got snubbed for a player of the week when he, it scored a lot of goals in the week and everything. And it became a topic of conversation at practice. And I said, man, our priorities are just in the wrong places. Uh, and so we just, I met with our leadership group and I said, I just think we just nip it in the bud and we just.

Don’t even worry about it. It’s not even going to be a topic of discussion for us anymore. Um, and so we tell that to recruits up front, we’re looking for people who will come in here and put the team first. And if you’re coming looking for individual accolades, this isn’t the program. Uh, [00:04:30] so, so we’re looking for that on the field.

We’re looking for versatile players. We play. Uh, a very attacking three, four, three system. And so a lot of times when you’re out recruiting, there’s not teams that are playing the exact system that we’re playing. So it’s not like I can go out to the field and say that player there plays this role and it’ll translate exactly to.

To the way that we’re playing. And so, uh, we’re looking for versatile players who have a wide range of skill sets and can play multiple positions, uh, within, within, uh, our system. And so, so we have a history of converting players that come in as one position and trying to fit them within our system in a different position.

Matt: Okay, well, um, do you guys do ID camps or they’re at the school or do you or your staff work other ID camps? Are they part of your recruiting process at all? 

Coach: We we work a lot of ID camps around the area And so and around the country, so we’re my staff and I were flying around the country To do ID camps.

We do a lot of local ID camps. And so Yeah, we’re always out and about looking for Transcribed by https: otter. ai For the best tires we can find. 

Matt: Well, besides high school games, I’m assuming you’re going to showcases and other tournaments and events. What are some of the ones that are kind of a must, must hit list where some of the places you’re going all over the country, whether that’s tournaments or ID camps?

Coach: Yeah. So, uh, I have some real strong connections in California, so we try to [00:06:00] get out to California. And find some showcases out there. We do a lot of the Midwest circuit. So we’ll be in Indianapolis. We’ll be in Memphis, St. Louis up in Chicago. Uh, so, so we kind of hit that Midwest circuit for the big tournaments in and around the area here.

Uh, and then we also get down to Florida a little bit as well. 

Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. Some folks I’m sure not familiar with Greenville, uh, you, you’ve been there a number of years now. So what are some of the things that you found are, are really, uh, excellent things that stand out about the school?

Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website. 

Coach: Yeah, Greenville is is a great place. It’s it’s a small city. It’s a small rural town. We’re 45 minutes east of ST Louis. And so you you really get the best of both worlds. There’s there’s not a lot of distractions here in Greenville so you can focus in on the important stuff and between soccer and school.

That’s going to dominate a lot of your time when you’re here on campus. Um, and so that really allows you to focus in, but we’re only 45 minutes from St. Louis. And so we have a handful of players at the St. Louis city MLS game on Sunday. Uh, and so there’s, there’s always that ability to get that big city feel and all of that as well.

So there there’s that piece of it. Greenville itself is about 7, 000 people. So it’s, it’s a really small, safe community. Uh, everything’s in walking distance. I, I live [00:07:30] half a mile from campus. I walk to work every single day. Um, and it’s, it’s just, it’s a beautiful town. Our guys are able to walk to practices.

Uh, we practice just about half a mile off campus. And so, uh, everything here is, is within walking distance. Um, and so, yeah, it, the, the town itself is amazing. I’ve lived here, this is my 12th year, uh, started my family here. It’s, it’s, it’s the place we want to be. 

Matt: Oh, that’s awesome. In terms of. The other part of student athlete, right?

So we get the student part. So what kinds of things does Greenville do to help make sure their athletes are successful off the field and on the field, kind of what support systems are there in place? 

Coach: Yeah, so I’m, I’m in the library right now as, as we talk. And so, uh, the student success center is here. We offer free tutoring for all of our classes.

Um, there’s, uh, academic coaches who will meet one on one and we will set that up with some of our incoming players to, uh, it’s an older upperclassmen student who has kind of been through everything and they serve as a mentor. And you can meet weekly with that student and, uh, really kind of Get that that mentorship and that leadership to help you navigate through that transition period from high school to college.

Uh, so those are some of, uh, the academic pieces. We also offer [00:09:00] study tables or we mandate study tables within our program. And we’ve won the United soccer coaches. team academic award all 11 years that I’ve been here. So that’s something that we’re very proud of is our academic record as well as our on field success that we’ve had.

Uh, off the field, uh, as it relates to soccer though, uh, we just built a brand new state of the art, uh, weight training facility. And so, uh, it is absolutely phenomenal. We have two full time coaches. Strength and conditioning coaches in there that handle all of our workouts. Um, and so we’re in there twice a week during season and up to four times a week out of season.

So we spend a lot of time, uh, in the weight room, uh, trying to prevent injuries right now. And then get stronger in the off season. 

Matt: That’s great. Oh, excuse me. In terms of, you know, what, what a typical, uh, week looks like for a player. Can you, you know, put us in October that conference season, walk us through what does a week look like in terms of practice games, meals, all that kind of stuff.

Coach: Yeah. So we, we typically will have games on Wednesday, Saturday, especially once we get into conference. It’s kind of the natural rhythm of our, of our week. So that means we’re training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Uh, with Sunday being our day off. Um, and then we’re in the weight room Tuesday, [00:10:30] Thursday, uh, in the morning before classes start.

We typically train from 4 to 6. Classes end at 3. 20. That’s the latest class. Uh, offered during the day. So classes end at 3 20. We don’t have to worry about scheduling practices around classes and trying to navigate that issue. So, uh, it’s, it’s a really good, uh, set up for that. And so we’re, we train in the afternoons, four to six, and then the guys are able right after training to go get dinner.

Uh, and do whatever the evening requires academically or socially. 

Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the team there. Um, One of the other unique things about you guys as a D three is that you do have a second team, uh, JV reserves, wherever you want to call it. So what is that like? What is the overall roster size between the two teams that you’re, you’re, you’re looking to, to hit?

Coach: Yeah. So typically we carry about 45 to 50 in the program. And the way that we operate with the two team structures, we don’t have a set first team reserve team or varsity team, JV team. Uh, we, everybody trains together. Um, and we are. It’s a very competitive environment. And so, uh, if you’re performing well and you, you’re in the reserve team, then you’ll get called up into the first team.

And if you’re in the first team and you’re not [00:12:00] performing or you’re off, you get injured or whatever, you’re, you’re going to slide down into the reserve team. Um, and so, so there is a lot of fluidity and movement, um, within that, that we play a reserve game typically every Thursday. Um, so anybody who doesn’t play in that Wednesday.

Uh, first team game, uh, we’ll go and get their, uh, minutes, uh, following day that Thursday. So that helps us separate out the players who need recovery on that Thursday and the players who need work on that Thursday. Anybody who needs work is going in and playing that game. Anybody on the recovery side of things is.

Staying in and doing recovery session there. So, um, that’s, that’s typically how it works. We will dress between 25 and 30 players for, for, uh, first team game. Um, and then yeah, anybody who doesn’t play is in with the reserve squad the next day. 

Matt: I’m guessing, uh, to manage a roster of that size, you need a good staff.

And I think another unique thing is just based on the website. You got a lot of staff, which is awesome for a division three program. So talk to me about your staff. What role does everybody play? Are there support staff, maybe an athletic department that help out with the team as well? What does that all look like?

Coach: Yeah. So we, as you said, we have a great staff and I’ve been able to bring in a lot of good people to work around me. And so we have. 3 graduate assistants, uh, [00:13:30] who handle various roles within the program. 1 does our goalkeeping. Uh, 1 works with more with our midfielders, defenders, and 1 works a lot more with the forwards when we kind of do those specialized training sessions.

Um, and so it’s really helpful to have. Uh, those three and they’ve been fantastic for me. Um, and then we bring in a volunteer coach from Mexico who is a professional fitness coach, uh, and he’s done that, um, down in Mexico at the highest levels in Mexico. And so he handles all of our on field fitness. For us, and that’s been probably one of the biggest impacts for our success the past couple of years is we’re able to get the periodization exactly spot on, we’re able to get the recovery stuff spot on all of that.

I, the, the best example I can go to is last year. In the final week of the season we had. Our last conference game was away at Mississippi University for Women, which is about an eight and a half hour bus ride for us. So we, we put the guys on the bus. Went down there, played a game on Saturday, won that game, last game of the conference season, came back home, got home super early Sunday morning.

We had a quarterfinal on Tuesday night, uh, so Saturday, [00:15:00] Tuesday, we won that quarterfinal 2 1 late in the game. And then we had a semifinal away in Louisville, Kentucky, which was about a 4 hour bus ride for us on Thursday. So we went Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. And when we were playing Spaulding, they didn’t have a game on that Tuesday.

They had a home game on the Saturday. We went to them, beat them 3 0 at their place. Turnaround came home for our conference championship game on Saturday. So four games, eight days, we were able to win all four of them. And I really put that down to the work that we’re able to do with our fitness coach.

Matt: Yeah. It’s a, it’s a blessing to have those guys there. And it seems to be. Back, back when we played, uh, there wasn’t, those positions didn’t exist, uh, but it’s nice to see them becoming more the norm, uh, at schools across the country. Um, well, what about you, Chris, how would you describe your coaching style, the style of play that you’re, that you’re looking to play there?

Coach: Yeah, so we are, we’re a very proactive team. We want to be on the front foot. And so, as I mentioned earlier, we play in a three, four, three. We attack with five or six players at all times. Um, we’re, we’re looking to, to get forward, be exciting, be dynamic on the ball. Uh, and so that back into the recruiting side, that’s really what we’re looking for.

We’re looking for adventuresome players, players who are not afraid to make mistakes, brave players, um, And so, uh, within [00:16:30] that, it’s, it’s a lot of fun coaching. We do a lot of work, uh, on the practice field about the movement that we want, both offensively and defensively, uh, trying to get ourselves organized, trying to get ourselves set up for how to defend, how to attack within that.

Um, and so, uh, I, I kind of view my role as a coach is. Can I get the, can I get my job done on the practice field and then game days for the players and can they execute what we’ve been working on on the practice field? 

Matt: Yeah, I love that. Well, in terms of, um, you know, there’s tends to be two seasons, right?

You got your fall competitive season and the spring off season. So walk me through what players would expect, uh, or what, what people would expect to happen in that spring off season there. Yeah. 

Coach: Yeah. So the NCAA division three just changed the rules last spring for us to have more practice opportunities.

And so we will typically practice now three to four times a week, uh, in our spring season, as well as being in the weight room three to four times a week. Um, so, so it’s, it’s a little bit less, but it’s still a demanding schedule. Um, and we use that time. Really to try and focus in on incorporating some new players that might come in in January, uh, into the system, we, we can use that time to work on some technical stuff.

Cause in the fall, it’s near impossible to concentrate on the technical side of the game, because you’re [00:18:00] focusing so much on the next game and in the previous game and breaking down film and doing the tactical side of things. And so you can really dive in a little bit more on the technical side of. Of cleaning some things up in the spring and so it’s less intense, but it’s still a very time consuming Uh experience as well.

Matt: Yeah, I can imagine well coach You’ve given us a lot of info But I do have one last question for you And that is if you had one piece of advice for any player going through the recruiting process today If there’s something you think they should know or or be aware of What or one like I said one piece of advice, what would that be?

You 

Coach: I would say that there is a fit out there for everybody and, and you just have to look to find that fit and When you find that fit, go for it. Um, and so I also coach high school girls, and so I help them on that recruiting side of the process. And it’s a matter of just looking and finding what you want, and then, uh, it’s out there, it’s out there.

And so when you find it, go for it and make it happen. 

Matt: Absolutely. Love it, coach. Well, really appreciate your time. Wish you the best of luck this season. Hopefully, uh, you’ll be hanging that conference championship banner again this year. And if you get down to any of the recruiting events down here, uh, liquid ranch, Florida, please, uh, give me a shout.

All right. 

Coach: Sounds good. We’ll do. Thank 

Matt: you. 

Coach: Thank you.