Lubbock Christian University Men’s Soccer – Coach Collin Cone
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Collin Cone from the Lubbock Christian University Men’s Program in Texas. We talk about how he likes to have a roster that brings cultures together. He describes how it’s the school’s people and community that makes it special. Lastly, we discuss how he works to create buy-in from the players. Learn more about Lubbock Christian 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 Collin Cone from Lubbock Christian. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you. I appreciate you, uh, having
Matt: me on, nah, I appreciate you being here. Um, you know, I I’ve, Lubbock is not a city in Texas. I have actually visited before, so I’m interested to hear all about it, but, but let’s start, uh, really off on the, on the recruiting side, but you’re, you’re fairly new to the
school.
Coach: If I’m not mistaken. Yeah, I actually, uh, accepted a job about three months ago. Um, so yeah, totally, totally new to Lubbock. Totally new to Lubbock Christian and, um, yeah, it’s been awesome so far that people here are wonderful. Um, most friendly people I have ever met, honestly.
Matt: um, well, that’s, that’s good to hear.
Well, so some of these questions, I guess, will, will. Be kind of what you’re gonna do in the future, or maybe you can lean back on what you did at your previous coaching jobs. Uh, but you know, for you as a division two school, when, what, when are you really starting to get [00:01:00] focused on talking to players? When are you hearing from players?
Kind of when is your recruiting process really
Coach: start? Yeah, I’d say, um, a lot of times, you know, hearing from players is, is contingent on them, obviously. Um, so they’re, they’re. We get emails from sophomores and even freshmen. Um, but we really, we really probably start focusing in and keying in, on players come junior year, um, is where we probably really start, I would say identifying and saying, Hey, these are some kids we really want to target.
Um, and then, and then obviously come senior year. We’re trying to, trying to lock it in. Um, but obviously too with us, we, we do a lot of international recruiting. So it kinda, it kind of looks a little bit different sometimes, you know, you’re, you’re, you’re keying in on. Some of the players you want domestically, that you think are, are at the level that can play, uh, division two soccer.
And then, you know, we also spend a lot of time, um, trying to scout players internationally through agencies and things like that. But then also being able to go, [00:02:00] uh, and be able to get eyes on players, um, from countries that we feel like are good fits and things like that for, for
Matt: LCU. Okay. So in terms of domestic recruiting, how much of it do you think is.
You, you know, going and finding a player or hearing from a club coach, or you, you know, there’s somebody that’s brought to your attention versus a student reaching out and, and building your pipeline that way. What do you think is maybe the mix
Coach: there? Yeah. Um, I would say with the, with the domestic kids, um, we.
I rely pretty heavily on club coaches that I know reaching out, obviously. Cause I, I, I build the pipeline there. I have a, a mutual trust. Um, but I, I spend a lot of time out recruiting. Um, I, I go to showcases and things like that, especially obviously the ECNL and, and MLS next. And, um, so we we’ll spend a lot of.[00:03:00]
At those events, um, obviously to be able to see for ourselves, and then also be able to see some kids maybe that have reached out to us, because obviously at your, at your program, you want, you want guys that want to be at your university. And so sometimes, you know, there’s players that’ll reach out to you and you watch ’em on film and you go, Hey, that’d actually.
That’s a pretty good player. We like what we saw. And so then going into, getting to see them is, is obviously huge for us. Um, but you also get those emails where there’s a lot of kids that maybe just don’t understand the level or whatever and, and you just can’t pursue. Um, so there’s, there’s, it’s a little bit of a mixture I’d say of all that a little bit.
Um, but I, I firm believer in, in definitely going out, getting your eyes on, on the players, um, And almost every email we get, we do read and we do look through just to see cuz you, you never know, you know what I mean? And um, we’re, we’re our coaching staff is very much so like, Hey, let’s try and have to leave any rock unturned.
Let’s figure it out. Let’s find the diamonds in the rough let’s let’s doesn’t matter [00:04:00] where they play. Let’s get eyes on ’em. Um, and let’s give ’em a chance. And if we think that they’re good enough, then we’ll definitely. So you,
Matt: you mentioned ECNL and, and MLS next are there, but I mean, I’m assuming you’re going to those events, but, but are there other events or are there other leagues that, that you tend to look at as.
Coach: Yeah, we’ll, we’ll spend a lot of time. Um, especially in Texas, we’ll spend a lot of time at like the lone star event. Cause it’s quite large. Um, sports source is another one. That’s quite large that, you know, um, it, when I was coaching a division three school before, and obviously those were huge events for that.
Um, but it, you know, I think still going to them, there’s still players there on teams that, that have the potential to be able to play division two soccer. And so, like I said, it’s, it’s important for us to leave no rock unturned and to be able to compete in this conference. I think you have to be that way.
Um, and so, you know, trying to find those kids and, and I’m also a firm believer and just, I grew up overseas, my whole. Um, so I, I love having international guys it’s is actually probably what I’m more [00:05:00] comfortable with. Um, but I think that there’s a lot of value in the mixing of cultures. You know what I mean?
And I think having domestic guys on your team is super important to the success, even for an international guy, they have family here and your, your family becomes family. Um, so, you know, yeah. Recruiting, recruiting, domestically, super important to us. Um, and, and it’s also. Like I said, not, not leaving a rock unturn and we go into these events and, um, but lone Star’s a big one.
Sport source is a big one. Um, the events that they host at MoneyGram are, are big ones as well here in Texas.
Matt: Okay. What about camps? How do they fit into your, your whole recruiting process? Do you have ’em there at your school? Do you and your staff work? Others? How, how does that work?
Yeah.
Coach: Um, so we, we do.
Other camps. Um, part of that whole theory just don’t leave a rock and turn. Um, and for some of the coaches, it’s an opportunity also to make a little extra money. Um, but the reality for us, for our camps that we’re gonna be hosting here, [00:06:00] um, is we don’t, we don’t want to just make it a thing where. We’re trying to create revenue for the program, but it’s more of an actual opportunity to identify players.
Um, obviously we open it up for people cause I think that’s the right thing to do. And it’s a fair thing to do for people to be, have an opportunity to come and play if that’s what they want to do. Um, but we, we really try and key in on the guys that, Hey, we think this kid might be a good fit for us athletically, um, and academically and fit well at LCU and then we’ll try and bring them in, um, and let them.
Experience a university, have a training session, be able to train, um, and, and show what they can do and, and things like that. But we really want it to be more of a personal. A personal thing rather than just, Hey, let’s just invite a thousand kids and collect the money. And then at the end of the day, say, Hey, you know, we’re not really interested in people.
I don’t, I don’t really think that’s fair to the kids really. If, if you don’t have any interest. Yeah,
Matt: absolutely. Well, whether it’s, you know, at a showcase or a [00:07:00] camp or anything, you know, what, what are kind of the key things that you’re looking for when you’re evaluating players to decide whether you wanna, you know, recruit them further, whether it’s on the field attributes or off the
Coach: field.
Yeah. Um, I would say first and foremost is just high character guys. Um, guys that you think that when, when the times get tough, they’re gonna keep competing and they’re gonna keep finding a way to try and be successful. Um, guys that, you know, when, when they score a goal, they celebrate with their teammates.
It’s not about themselves. Um, And, and then obviously on the academic side, high academics, our, our team has a really high team GPA and it’s been traditionally that way. Um, So just guys that are gonna fit that, you know, that are gonna, they’re gonna make us better and they’re gonna push that as well. And they care about that.
Um, and then in terms of, in terms of just ability and talent and things like that, obviously results matter. Um, and so you want to bring in guys that are gonna compete immediately, and they’re gonna challenge for [00:08:00] positions and they’re gonna push the guys that have been here to be better. So I’d say soccer, just having a high soccer IQ, um, guys that are motors, like they just don’t stop.
Um, That those are part pieces for us. I think that are important in our philosophy and things like that. Um, so yeah, just, just good high character. People care about their academics. People have a growth mindset and just want to get better and better coachable, um, but solid IQ and good technical players that, that are also kind of blue collar.
I think that’s, I think that that’s important and it’s something that a. Players lack, you know? Yeah. If it’s, it’s an intrinsic thing to decide, Hey, I’m gonna track back or I’m gonna put an attack or I’m gonna work hard. So finding those types of players is really important to us.
Matt: Yeah. Well, when, when you, you know, find some players and you know, whether you get ’em to camp or, or other ways to get them, you know, Checking out the school, kind of what, what’s your guys’ process around, uh, [00:09:00] official visits, you know, how many kids usually bring in what kind of expenses are usually taken care of there for you guys?
Is it more unofficial visits? How does that whole process work for, for you?
Coach: Yeah, we. To be honest with you. We, we, we do a lot of unofficial visits. Um, they’re just so much simpler logistically and just everything involved in it, how long they can stay on, you know, on campus and just things like that. Um, we can do official visits.
Like we can cover the costs and things like that for a lot of the stuff involved. Um, but we, we tend to stay with unofficial visits for the most part. Um, especially with our recruiting internationally, a decent amount, um, Obviously a lot of guys aren’t visiting. So what we do is we have like PowerPoints and videos and things that we really try and give them a good understanding of, of the university and things like that.
Um, but yeah, we, we can definitely do ’em. Um, I would say that, you know, we’re not opposed to doing ’em by any means. Um, But it’s not something that we, we, we do a ton just because it’s not [00:10:00] really a necessity, I guess.
Matt: Yeah. No. Makes sense. Well, you know, you mentioned, uh, you know, giving people idea about the school.
So let’s talk little bit more about the school, you know, some, I know you’re, you’re fairly new to it, but, um, I guess in your short time there can give, gimme some of the, the awesome things about LCU that maybe I’m not gonna find just by, by clicking around the
Coach: website. Yeah. I’ll be very honest with you.
I’ve worked at a lot of universities in different positions and, um, I’d say that the, the people here are just what make it, what it is. You know what I mean? The, the, the people are so welcoming. Um, and, and so kind, and everyone here is willing to, to do anything to help you. And it is genuine. Like there’s not.
It’s not just saying, it’s not just a facade. If you, if you really, really need help with anything from, from homework or running to Walmart for an international guy or, or whatever people will drop what they’re doing. And they’ll do that for you. Um, and I’ll be honest, like to be able to [00:11:00] bring the players that we bring in, especially our international guys, the amount of work it takes to, to make that a possibility, um, with visas and everything like that.
As a coach, you, you, you are 100% dependent upon an awesome international admissions person that can guide these guys through these process. And we have that, you know, and she comes to all of our games. She’s at every single one of our games. She’s the first person to help ’em get their social security card to be able to get jobs.
And I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s genuine people really, really, really care about you. Now, the results matter. You know what I mean? Like we wanna win, we want to be successful, but it’s incredible to have that support, you know, beyond just you as a coach, trying to figure out all these pieces and running around, trying to figure it out.
You have people that are really good at what they do. Um, so that’s, that’s a big thing. Um, I think that the, the people here are just incredible. Um, we want, we won our first, uh, a home game last night and, and it was super special and it was cool just to see, like, these people that have played these [00:12:00] parts and all these guys’ lives, getting them here, you know, reaching out and saying, Hey, it was really fun watching you guys play.
It was fun. Seeing this guy’s score, whatever, you know, that that was special. You know what I mean? Like they’re not just they’re, they don’t just get ’em here. And then it’s like, oh, we’re done. It’s to get ’em here in your family and we try and help you. And I think that’s what makes the place special.
Matt: That’s great. Well, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s also about what happens in the classroom, right? So what, how do your student athletes kind of really balance the rigors of, of athletics and academics and kind of what support systems are there in place at LSU to help
Coach: them with that? Yeah, we have tutoring obviously, um, that they can go, they can go get, um, we have a rule that’s simple, but we have a rule on our team that if you’re a freshman in your first semester, um, you have to do three hours of study hall.
And we have a, like a study hall room in our, in our office area here. Um, so we can help monitor that a little bit, check their grades, things like that. Um, and then we also have a rule that anybody below a 3.0, uh, GPA cumulative GPA [00:13:00] has to also do study hall if you’re a returner. So as long as you’re above a 3.0, you know, we kind of trust you and we let you do your thing.
And if you drop below that, um, You do study hall again, and we try and supply you with, or help you with a tutor or whatever. Um, cause obviously that’s, that’s a big reason why you should be here if you’re, if you’re at, at this university. Um, but yeah, I mean there’s access to everything. I mean people and like I said, the people are what make it and they’ll just, they’ll put down whatever they’re doing.
Even professors that are teaching the class will say, Hey, come see me and I’ll stop doing whatever I’m doing to help you try and be
Matt: success. That’s great. Well, you know, can, you’re obviously you’ve had the first game of the season, uh, under your belt, congrats on, on the dub. Um, but can you give me what, uh, a typical week’s gonna look like for a player during the season, in terms of when’s class, when’s practice, winter games, meals, just kind of, what does it all look like for an average week per se?[00:14:00]
Coach: Yeah. So this year was a festival year, uh, for us. And so obviously, um, so we got to come back a little bit earlier, quite a bit earlier than even usual. Um, so preseason, we did two practices a day, um, morning and evening. Um, and then once school starts, I think this is where you’re asking me the question more.
So is once school starts, we go to, we go to one practice a day. Um, and we usually train in the evening at the end of the day, just cuz the class schedules and things like that. Obviously Texas, a little cooler in the evening, which is, which is. Um, and so we, we, the guys usually go to class throughout the day.
Um, and then, and then in the evening we train, um, and there’s a time there before practice where they go spend time with the trainer and do recovery stuff and rehab and all that type of stuff. Um, And then we usually in season our lifting one day a week. Um, and what we’ve been trying to do is the day after a game, we take all the guys in, we do a workout in the gym and then the guys who play, we have GPS trackers and stuff, so we can see kind of how much [00:15:00] their legs have been taking.
Um, So, what we’ll do is we’ll have those guys, uh, do more of a recovery type day. And then the guys who, who haven’t been playing, obviously want them to sustain, you know, their, their fitness and things like that. And you’re missing out during games. So we’ll usually do some kind of fitness as well with those guys.
And then we’ll usually let them play and get after it a little bit. Um, since they, they didn’t play as much in the game. Um, but yeah, Monday Tuesday’s usually training. Wednesday’s a game. Um, Thursday’s usually kind of a recovery day, Friday. We kind of work through what we’re gonna do on Saturday’s game, obviously, uh, with playing two days a week.
And then Sunday, we give them the day off just to rest and recover and get ready to go for the next week.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about, about the, the soccer side. So, you know, is there, is there a roster size, an ideal roster size as you’re trying to hit every, every.
Coach: Yeah. So we want to keep our roster right around 28 30.
Um, I we’re, we’re not doing the whole, uh, like JV reserve [00:16:00] team thing. Um, which, which I really like, you know, it lets you have a personal relationship with your players, which I think is super important. Um, And so, yeah, we, we that’s, that’s our ideal, um, a college soccer with just with just the rigors of it playing two games, you know, two games a week.
And you’re, it’s such a short season and you’re practicing a lot. You do have injuries sometimes and things. So you do keep that in the back of your head. Like how can we make sure that we’re we’re deep enough? And so I think that number puts you in a good spot to where. If you have some injuries, you can still play 11 aside and you can still do some things.
Uh, you might not be able to do if you had a smaller roster. Um, but yeah, I think the, the, the bigger roster size has become a little bit difficult. Um, and I think it just changes the whole dynamic of the culture. And I think cultures, everything, I, I think sometimes you can win games that you probably shouldn’t win.
You know what I mean? Just based off culture and guys that are bought in and they, they care and. Yeah. So I’d say that’s the , that’s how we, that’s kind of [00:17:00] our philosophy, I guess, on that. Yeah.
Matt: No, that makes sense. Well, you know, I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask the question on most parents’ mind and that’s unfortunately around dollars and cents, right.
Um, can you just give me a, a general overview of what kind of the, the financial aid situation is like at the school with, with athletic money, with academic scholarships? Other scholarships, grants and kind of things. What’s an average player kind of looking at when they
Coach: walk in. Yeah, it varies quite a bit.
Um, on our roster, um, tuition, tuition is around 30, something like that thousand. And so. For a, for a private school, that’s probably pretty reasonable. I mean, there’s a lot of private schools that are 40 plus. Um, and so we’re also able to stack, uh, our athletic with our academic and some other scholar, you know, like FAFSA money and things like that, which is obviously a huge help.
Um, but we probably have, we have guys paying from [00:18:00] zero all the way to, you know, 20,000 a year, just to kind of depends on, on where you fall on the spectrum. Um, So I would say, you know, we have, we have eight scholarships is kind of what is, what we’re given and full is not, are fully funded and considered fully funded in division twos nine.
Um, so we’re, we’re well supported in terms of the aid we have and things like that. And then obviously the being able to stack it’s a, a huge blessing, allows it to go a little further and things like that, so. Sure.
Matt: Okay. Well, how, you know, when. You had a, like say you got a game in last night. So if I, if I, if I pulled one of your players aside, what, what, how would they describe kind of your style of coaching and, and the team style
Coach: of play?
Uh I’d I think, I think they would say that first off, man, we’re cared about here, whether we’re we’re number one player on that roster all the way down to 30, um, we’re were cared and we’re valued and we’re wanted. Um, [00:19:00] and then I would say that, I think they’d say. You know, off the field, a fun person to hang around and be around and interact with.
But once we get on the field and we cross the lines, like it’s, it’s time for business. Um, and so I think they would say pretty intense and pretty, pretty, you know, keeping the standards of our program high. And, you know, I require a lot out of the guys and, and push them quite hard. Um, cuz I always wanted ’em to get better and you wanna push ’em to.
Every day you wanna make ’em a little bit better. And so, um, I would say intense, um, I think too, that I’m, uh, sometimes I don’t know when to shut it off, you know what I mean? So like, I’ll, I’ll go home and I’ll think about it and I I’ll stay up later than I probably should. Just thinking about the game.
What could I have done better? Um, but I, I think the big thing is the guys know that we love ’em. We care about. And that’s, that’s regardless of where they stand on the roster and athletic ability. Um, but we’re gonna, but when we get out there it’s business and it’s team first and we’re gonna make [00:20:00] decisions based off, how can we, how can we perform at our best
Matt: what you, well, besides, you know, you, you, and you mentioned it earlier with the, with camps and stuff, but you’re.
Uh, your staff. So can you kind of gimme a little bit more about your staff? How big is it? What role does everybody play? What other support staff does, does the athletic department have that soccer utilizes? What does that look like?
Coach: Yeah, so we’re, uh, I have, um, Two, two coaches that, that are on the day to day coaching with me, um, uh, Jonathan Woods and he played here was a captain here for four years, actually.
Um, very good player and very good leader. Um, excellent, excellent coach. Um, so he he’s involved in a lot as. With recruiting and the day to day and film and getting prep for practice and, and does a lot with that. And then, uh, we have a volunteer assistant coach who actually spends a lot of time here as well.
Um, Jose Alvarado and he, he, uh, he does a lot with our goalkeepers, um, specifically, and then he, he’s [00:21:00] also, he’s a really good soccer mind as well. So he, he spends a lot of time talking with the guys individually and things like that. Um, And then we, we kind of have a unique thing on our coaching staff. I added a guy named Dean, uh, mu Bevo.
Who’s a, who’s, uh, our director of discipleship and we’re obviously a faith based school. Um, and so we want our guys to, to grow, you know what I mean? And you don’t have to be a Christian or anything to come to LCU, which is, which is beautiful. Um, But we wanna, you know, we wanna challenge guys to just think and ask good questions.
And, um, you know, he, he plays a huge part in that for our team. And we, we usually meet with him about once every two, three weeks. Um, and he’ll, he’ll, he’ll challenge our team and give a short little message. And he does a lot of things. Like he, we works at a local church right up the road and he’ll come and get coffee with the guys and just hang out and chat with him.
He graduated from LCU. So he is done it, you know, He’s actually even taught Bible classes at LCU. So a lot of guys that are taking, you know, Bible classes and things like that, he can spend time with them and [00:22:00] kind of help them and guide them through, through some of those classes, um, which is a huge blessing.
And then, um, we have, we have, uh, uh, Ashton, uh, who works with us as well. And she’s, she’s an assistant on the softball team, but she’s also a strength and conditioning coach. So during the off season, she, she does a lot of stuff with strength and conditioning for our program as well. Um, so that, that, that’s kind of our main.
Probably our main core group other than like SIDS and athletic directors and things like that. Sure.
Matt: Okay. Well, you know, you’ve, you’ve given us a bunch of info covered a lot of ground, but, uh, I always like to end these with what didn’t we cover? What else would you like? Uh, anybody to know whether it’s about the program, about the school, about the recruiting process or, or anything else that you think would be helpful for folks
Coach: out.
Yeah. I mean, I, the three, the three big things I’d say, I guess just pop into my head immediately, um, is, you know, for the kids, the, the kids that want to be recruited and care to be recruited first off, I guess, just to find. Find the right fit for ’em. Don’t just [00:23:00] look at division one, division two division three, AI like figure out really where you fall, you know, in, in those, in those categories.
Um, and find a place that you’re truly gonna be happy, even if soccer didn’t exist. Um, the second thing I think is, um, Just monitor, especially with the recruiting side, monitor your, your social media and things like that. Coaches check that they care about that. Um, they want to know, you know, regardless of Christian school or not, they wanna know that they’re getting a good player, that that’s not gonna embarrass the program.
Um, so, so do things the right way there. Um, and then I’d say, um, In terms of recruiting, I’d say, you know, you, you, do you do your recruiting, like as you communicate with the coach, I don’t wanna talk to parents. I don’t wanna deal with that. Um, that, I mean, obviously the financial side maybe, but the, the, the main recruiting should be between me and you.
Um, and, um, I I’d say that’s a big one. Um, obviously, so those are the big things [00:24:00] that, that I would probably harp on. .
Matt: I, I couldn’t agree more well, coach, uh, really appreciate the time, wish you the best of luck in this first full season. Glad you got that, that first, uh, win in, in the book. So you don’t have to worry about that anymore.
And yeah. And, uh, hopefully you can bring home that conference championship. So coach, thanks again. And uh, if you’re ever down, uh, in Bradenton recruiting, uh, down here in Florida, gimme a
Coach: shout. All right. Sounds good. Enjoy the weather. all right, thanks.
Matt: All right. Appreciate
Coach: it. Bye bye.
