Indiana University of Pennsylvania Women’s Soccer – Coach Kernell Borneo

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Borneo from the IUP Women’s Program in Pennsylvania. We talk about his transition to IUP and how he hit the ground running with recruiting, including what he looks for academically and athletically when finding the right fit for the program. He describes the strong academics, college atmosphere, and resources available to help student-athletes balance the demands of the classroom and competing in the PSAC. Lastly, we discuss his possession-based style of play, his approach to developing players during the offseason, and the program’s emphasis on confidence and mental toughness.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today, I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Borneo of at IUP, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Welcome back, coach

Coach: Thanks. Thanks for having me back. Appreciate

Matt: it. Yeah, yeah. The last time we talked was, believe it or not, four years ago, which is crazy. I think you might’ve been one of my first interview…

first early interviews- Right … back when you were at Fairmont. So, uh, you’ve now moved on, uh, up the road a bit into, uh, IUP up there in the, in the PSAC conference, so congratulations.

Coach: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you.

Matt: Um, so you’ve been there about, oh, six, seven months now, taken over a pretty solid women’s program.

Um, you know, and, and we’re talking here August 13th, so, uh, have, have, have the kids reported yet?

Coach: Yeah, yeah. Uh, we, we started on the 10th.

Matt: Okay.

Coach: Um, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s been great. It’s been going well. Um, I have a good squad that’s buzzing. [00:01:00] Obviously, last year they had a, a great year, um, and, and did some fantastic things, and had, had I think was the most wins, um, in a long time.

Um, we had the, the assistant, the… Well, she was the head, head coach then. Um, she filled in and, and did a fantastic job, and, um, kind of inherited a squad that’s, that’s already kind of well-established. And we lost, uh, one of the top goal scorers. She had about 20 goals. Um, but I think what we have and, and, and the way we’re trying to play, you know, we expect to get some goals from, from, from a few more players.

Yeah. Um, so really excited and looking forward to the season.

Matt: Yeah. So, uh, uh, coming in in January, I, I mean, how much… h- how many recruits were already locked and loaded for you for the fall versus how many did you get to bring in, and, and what was that process like?

Coach: Well, I believe there, there were, um, uh, three recruits, uh, that were given, um, spots on the team.

And then, um, when I came in, [00:02:00] um, we brought in about, uh, about four or five more. Yeah. So, so we kind of added, um, to what, um, to the players, uh, that got spots on the team. Um, one of them ironically was, was one of the girls that I’ve coached through since she was about, about eight, eight or nine years old . So, uh, you know, she ended up…

You know, she accepted a spot here for us before I even came here, so it kind of worked out for her, and, and looking forward to that.

Matt: Very nice. Very nice. Well, now that you’re in season already, you know, talk to me about w- how much time during the season will you be spending on recruiting, y- you know, versus running, running the team, right?

‘Cause, you know, kids are right back in club now. Right. All those seniors who don’t have spots, they’re gonna be sending out emails. Like, so- Yeah … so what has that been for… What’s that like for you right now?

Coach: Well, um, when I came here in, in, in January, kind of, you know, hit the ground running. [00:03:00] Um, apart from the players that we brought in, we already signed…

We already have five commitments for, um, 2027. Um, and obviously we’re still looking for more players, goalkeepers and, and as you know, and, and a couple other field players to kind of solidify our roster. But kind of went after it straight away so we can kind of get things going. We have a lot of interest here from players, honestly.

Like, it’s way more than when I was at my previous school. Um, it’s a, it’s a good area. It’s a, it’s a good university. Different bunch of, uh, majors and academic, um, they offer here, a lot to choose from. So I think it’s, it’s a little bit easier to recruit here, to be honest. So that’s why from the start we kind of went after it and, and got some players with some players that I’ve, I’ve kind of, um, been looking at and, and kind of when I came here, just kind of like, you know, went after them even harder.

Matt: Well, sp- speaking of players you’re looking at, so, so where do you like to go to look at players? You know, what tournaments, events, what kind of things are you doing, uh, spotting players?

Coach: You know, they, [00:04:00] they got players everywhere, you know. You, you have the ECNL events, you got the GA events. You might find a player at a local club and a, a national league.

You know, it’s just kind of a player who can kind of fit the style that we are trying to play. Um, and, and sometimes that player might not be an ECNL player, right? That player can be from a, playing on a good club team and, and, uh, not because they’re, they’re, they’re not playing ECNL, that doesn’t mean they’re a good player.

You know, we have… I’ve, I’ve had players that were never play at that level and turn out to be pretty good players. So I, I… for me, it’s, it’s kind of like the right fit, the right mix. Yes, the ECNL and GA players, they bring that day in, day out type of competition. Um, but, but we go after the right fit.

Matt: Yeah.

Okay. Well, what about, uh, ID camps? Is that something you’re looking to do there, or do you, your staff work ID camps? Is that a big thing?

Coach: We already had an ID camp. Uh, we had an ID camp here. It went well. Um, we signed two players from that ID [00:05:00] camp already. Um, and, uh, we had a, a high school camp where we had, we get- we had about five different high schools on campus, so we went after it and get to see some players there.

Um, so it’s, it’s, it’s, we kind of putting things in place. You know, we, as I said, we hit the ground running here. My assistant, um, Lizzie, who has been here, um, kind of helped get things organized obviously, you know, ’cause she kind of know the ins and outs here, and that, that helped a lot too as well.

Matt: So whether it’s at a tournament, high school, ID camp, whatever it is, y- you know, what i- what makes up that hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player both on and off the field?

Coach: Well, academic first, obviously. You know, we wanna make sure, make sure you wanna be here. Do we have what you want to pursue, the degree, your major, what you wanna study? Do you actually really wanna be here? Those are the first things. You know, we wanna make sure someone actually wanna be here, um, before we go after them.

And, and then, then the football piece comes in after. [00:06:00] Um, and you know, with us, we, we, we work with our players. We have girls that are nursing majors, which is a tough major to, to, to really play on a team because their, their, their senior year, it’s a lot of rotations and, you know, we have girls who might miss practices, and we kind of have to work with that.

At the end of it, they have academic first and, and if we want them, we’re gonna have to kind of work with their schedule. So that’s what we do. I mean, I get kids who play, so I understand from the parents’ standpoint and the coach standpoint, I get it. So we, we, we, we try our best to work with the players and, and not to hold it against them, um, as well.

Matt: Yeah. No, that’s, that’s a good way to look at it. W- in terms of your roster, you know, obviously D1 has that 28 cap. What kind of roster size, uh, are you looking to have there a- as a D2 school?

Coach: We, we trying to, you know, around 30. 30, 32. Yeah. You know, that’s a good number. Um, based on my experience, you know, we have had like 26 [00:07:00] before, and then midway through the season you get five, six injured girls and it’s like, whoa, and then you’re down to 20, and then tired legs and everything like that.

So it’s about bringing in a good solid number, um, where it’s competitive, create the competitive environment where you can rotate players too as well. Uh, I think if you ca- if you have a good mix where you can get players in and out and rotate players, especially as the season kind of comes down, coming down to the, to the back end of the season, uh, you wanna make sure you got fresh legs and players who are ready to play.

With that said, players gotta show up to practice day in, day out, because you never know when you’re gonna get called on to, to get on the pitch.

Matt: For sure. For sure. Well, you know, there’s been a lot of changes, uh, over the last 12 months just in, in everything NCAA land. It seems like every week something changes or changes.

Right? Yeah. So, uh, so we got five and five first with D1, and then D2 signs it just, uh, I think last week- Right … and, and things. So h- how are you, how are you managing your recruiting [00:08:00] with- A fifth year this year, transfer portal, internationals- Right … all the different things that could be in. Right. How, how do you look at those and, and how do you, you know, help- Well,

Coach: with-

Matt: Help guide yourself?

Coach: With the, with the five for five rule, obviously it’s, it’s, you know, a player have to wanna come back. Um, you have some players who already said like, “Look, I’m gonna move on academically because I wanna go to med school,” or, “I wanna, you know, I, I don’t know if I wanna play a extra year.” Um, and then you have players who are considering that, and, and, and then you can go from there with regards to recruiting, right?

Um, okay, this player’s coming back. We’re gonna have her for a extra year, so you might hold off on another player, or you might still bring another player in as like, “Hey, we have this player who’s, who’s gonna be returning. You know, she’s played with the program for X amount of years. We know what she can do.

You can come in, you can learn, you can… and you can still come in and get to play.” Um, you know, we don’t close the door on anyone. A freshman can come in and do well and earn a starting spot But the five for five, I think it c- it, it move [00:09:00] and shake a lot of things up, right? Because now y- you’re kinda like, okay, you might have been looking for a, a center back or outside back or midfielder, and then you have someone that’s returning.

It might kind of shift things a little bit. Yeah, we still want you. You might come in, and you might really have to work hard, and your first year could be a learning year where you get a couple games in. And who knows, you can start, and you’re not, not, not, not counting anything out. But these are some of the things you’re gonna have to consider, um, with the five for five.

Matt: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, let’s talk a little bit more, uh, about the school. I know you’ve only been there, you know, six months now, but there was, there’s had to be some, some big desirables for you to wanna make the change, uh, to move north there. So what are some of the awesome things about the school that you’ve found in the time you’ve been there?

Coach: Well, it’s, again, academically, it’s great. Um, it’s a nice campus. It’s a bigger campus. Um, I think it’s a good mix for, for, for some of the student-athletes that we’re going after. It’s not a s- small campus [00:10:00] with, like, 2,000, 3,000 kids. It’s not a 20,000, uh, uh, student population campus. But you get, you know, you know, 9,000 to 10,000 students, which is still a, a really good mix, um, where you can get that kinda, uh, uh, at least a good kinda college vibe.

Um, so I think that, that, that was a draw, um, for us in terms of academically. Got really good programs, as I said. And also, it’s a big state to recruit from. In state here is, is very, you know… In state PA kids, that’s, that’s, that’s, that in itself is a draw. They got so many kids that play here in PA and that are quality players too as well.

They got so many clubs. You know, you get Penn Fusion, you get PA Classics, you get the River Hounds. Um, um, y- you, you, you get, you get Bee Lane, you get, you get, you know, you got a whole lot of different clubs in and around the area and within the state. Um, I, I think there’s plenty enough to find talent here.

And although we have looked outside, but, you know, we are talking to some players that are in state right now too as well.

Matt: Yeah. [00:11:00] Well, in terms of, I mean, you mentioned the academics and, and, you know, especially nursing and things like that. It, it can be really hard for new student-athletes to really balance the demands of being a, a college soccer player, especially in a tough conference like the PSAC, along with making sure they’re successful in the classroom.

So what, what kind of support systems are there at the school to really help everybody be-

Coach: Yeah …

Matt: successful?

Coach: We, we, th- there are, there are, um… We have tutors available. You get study halls. You know, we, we implement, um, with our program, once the girls get going, if you’re a freshman, you must do six hours of study hall a week.

No matter how your grades came in and, and, and once you can maintain, um, um, a certain GPA for us, then you don’t have to do study hall. But there are other type of resources where, um, you can get help, uh, within the library and within our, um, academic setting that we have here, where they can get help with certain subjects if needed.[00:12:00]

So, so that’s one of the good things, um, um, we have here. But everybody kind of, if you don’t meet the certain GPA, whether you’re a sophomore or junior, you have to hit that study hall. Um, so we kind of encourage that, um, from the jump.

Matt: Okay. Awesome. Well, I know it’s your first season, but, uh… And it looks like, uh, if I’m not mistaken, because the PSAC is so big, you only have, like, one non-conference game, uh, anyway, but- Yeah, we- So what, what, what is, what…

Let’s just say it’s October, you know, in the middle of the season. What… Walk me through what does a typical week look like for a player. When are games, practices, that kind of stuff?

Coach: Well, we, we, we have, um, we- We had 17 games. We could have picked up a- another game that didn’t work out. But we have a little break kind of midway through the season if you look at our schedule, which is good for us, kind of reset, and the players that were…

had a little injury, it will help them get back sooner, and it’s, it’s a little rest period. But we have a different type of schedule here, [00:13:00] whereas, you know, we have, um, we have… we play on a grass pitch. It’s a nice little grass pitch, and then we have access to the turf too as well, where we’re gonna be training.

So we set our schedule up where, um, we have access to both fields no matter what. So if it rains, we can go on the turf. If the grass is, is good, we can go out on the grass. So we kind of set the schedule like that. So we get early morning practices, um, for us. Um, you know, on a Monday, we go at, like, 11 o’clock.

On a, on, on, on a Tuesday, it’s 6:30 in the morning. And I’ve always done 6:30, um, even at, uh, even at, uh, where I was at before. Um, I’ve always done 6:30, uh, the day before the game, so in that way we are done with a early practice on Tuesday. The rest of the… after your classes, you got the rest of the day to rest.

If you have to do homework, you get done with your homework, and then you get the rest of the day to kind of get ready, uh, uh, get focused, [00:14:00] rest up. And it’s not like a 6 o’clock in the evening practice and then we have game the next day. So Wednesday when you wake up, you go to class, and then, and then we get ready for the game.

Um, Wednesdays are games for us, and then Thursday we go at 11 again, 11 AM. Obviously, the good thing about it is that, uh, the, we get to pick your classes here ahead of time, which kind of helps with practices. And then on a Friday, we go again before the game. We go another 6:30 practice. So we really don’t have practices in the evening time.

Our kids are, are free, um, in the evening time apart from our games on a Saturday and, um, on Wednesdays.

Matt: Okay. Awesome. Well, talk to me a little bit more about the team. You mentioned y- y- your assistant, kinda what, what other staff are there? What other s- people are there helping out with the team? What are- Yeah

Coach: other staff are playing? So, so, so Lizzie, who, who, um, came in as a, as a graduate assistant, she’s, she’s now the assistant. She’s gonna be our assistant here. And again, I said she’s done a fantastic job, you know. Um, wherever you’re at, you know, you just can’t do this [00:15:00] on your own. You’re just like, oh, you have a team with your soccer players.

You need a team with your staff too. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some good assistant coaches who have done well, um, and, and, and helped build a program. And as I said, coming in here with Lizzie, you know, I think, I think she is a, a good resource, you know. Um, um, she’s known the girls and, and through, through her it has helped me kinda come in and adjust smoothly too as well with the players that we have.

Um, we have her, we have another kinda student assistant who will be working with us. Um, so it’s assistant Lizzie Ma- who’s Lizzie, myself, and then we have a student assistant who’s gonna help us as well. In addition to obviously you have our strength coach, who’s working specifically with, with women’s soccer.

Um, we have our trainer. So we have, we have a good core staff, um, um, to help us.

Matt: Okay. Well, how about y- you? Talk to us about your coaching style and, and what you’re trying to do there.

Coach: Well, I, I, um, what has worked [00:16:00] for me, it’s, it’s we, we play possession-style, um, football. You know, keep the ball, uh, move the ball around the back.

We don’t force things. It’s more, uh, a, a nicer tactical game too as well. Um, whether we, we, we press a team high up the pitch, mid-block, it depends. It depends on the opponent, but, but we do adjust. But, uh, we, we, we are not gonna be adjusting for every team because we wanna play our style. You know, we want players, we want teams to adjust to us.

Um, I believe in confidence in the ball. Um, having that confidence and, and being able to play. You know, uh, you’re allowed to make mistakes. You are gonna make mistakes. My players know that. But it’s how you act when you make that mistake. How do you recover? Do you put the work in to win the ball back?

These are all the things we’re looking for in players. But we are gonna be playing a style where it’s, it’s gonna be enjoyable to watch, I would say. Mix it up a little bit, you know. Depends on who you’re playing, but we are gonna come out to play good football. [00:17:00]

Matt: Okay. Awesome. Well- What about your first six months?

It was the off-season. You, how do you approach the off-season? What did, what do you guys do? How do you- Well- … see that working?

Coach: It was good, right? Because in the off-season, I kind of, you know, took the time to, you know, to try and get to know the players a little bit. Um, who can do what, um, type of players. You know, you get some players a little more skillful than others, some players a little more fitter, some players a little more faster.

And in the spring, you know, we did well. I, I think, you know, we had some good games in the spring. You know, we, we played, uh, Youngstown. That was a good test for us, a Division I school. They came off a good season, and we, we had a tie against them, so that was great for us. You know, something to build on. It kind of gave all the girls a little bit of confidence too as well, and they’re a good team, good coach.

Um, we were happy that they, that they invited us up there to play. So that, that was good for us. I think we ended our spring season on that game, which was great for us. But the spring gave me a chance to, [00:18:00] to get to know the players. And for us in the spring, we play, man. We play a lot. I do things a little bit different.

You know, some places it’s, uh, it’s run, run, run, run, run and, and get fit. You know, we play, play, play, play, play so the kids can really get touches on the ball and, and work on, on, on certain aspects of your game. And yeah, we implement some of the fitness too as well, but for the most part, that, that’s not our focus.

Because when the kids are done and you, you run them to death, they, they, they don’t wanna r- they don’t wanna run. They take three weeks off, you know? So, but we play a lot. We– lot of small-sided games, lot of touches on the ball. That’s what our spring is about. Okay. It’s about playing.

Matt: Awesome. Well, Coach, really appreciate it.

I’m gonna leave you with one last question, and that is if you had one piece of advice for anybody going through this college recruiting process right now, what would that be?

Coach: Well, the advice is, is I think it’s finding the right fit for you as a player, you know? Everybody wants to go to a certain school, to a certain division.

Um, [00:19:00] one, academically, uh, the major you, you are getting into, you need to take into consideration how much is the travel. Can you keep up with all the travel and the academics? You might go into a conference where you have no overnight trips, you know. You need to decide what you want to do as a player. And the other thing is this, is, is do your research on, on the school, um, on the coach, on the style of play, you know.

You want to go to a certain school. That school might be going over the top all the time, and you might be a possession-based player. It’s not a good fit for you. Or they might force you to be playing into a lot of possession, and, and you’re probably not good enough in tight spaces. So it’s, it’s… Searching out a school is one thing, but really, um- Looking into the program and the way they play and, and how the coach, um, run his program too, I think it’s, it’s very important.

A- again, you know, I get kids who are in college right now, and, [00:20:00] and, you know, it’s, it’s a lot of factors, uh, that go into picking the right school and, and getting the right fit. Whether it’s D1, D2, D3, or NAIA, at the end of the day, I think what a lot of players and parents need to, to realize is most kids, 98%, 99% of the kids, after the four year is over, you’re done playing.

You’re out into the working world. You’re, you’re moving on with m- more academics. You’re studying. So you gotta go somewhere where it’s the five years now, where you’re gonna really enjoy that five years and, and, and really look back and say, “You know what? I had a, a good time here. I played for a good program, um, contributed, did well.

I won something.” Um, you know, and, and I think, and I think that’s, that’s, that’s what it should be about. It’s finding the right mix and the right fit.

Matt: Yeah. Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more. Well, Coach, really appreciate it. Wish you the best of luck this first season there. Hopefully you’ll, uh, you’ll be hanging that, uh, PSAC banner.

Coach: Yeah, I’m [00:21:00] looking forward to it. And you know, one of the things we did here too, it’s different, it’s, you know, we, we implement a, a nice little mental coach, um, i- into our program too as well. Uh, Coach Naseem, she’s doing a very fantastic job. I kinda, kinda get into that a lot too as well. I think, I think for our players, I think the mental piece of the game and that confidence is what here at IUP is, is what we’re really working on too.

We want our players to be mentally tough. We want them to be brave. We want them to take chances. Just go out there and be yourself. And I think part of that is what we offer here too as well, that’s gonna help players reach to the next level.

Matt: Awesome. Well, really appreciate it, Coach. Again, good luck and, uh, I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon.

Coach: Yeah. Thanks.

Matt: Thank you.

Coach: Take care.