Midland University Women’s Soccer – Coach Cody Bartlow
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Cody Bartlow from the Midland University Women’s Program in Nebraska. We talk about the key attributes in players he is looking for when recruiting. He tells us about the school’s unique suburban location. Lastly, we discuss how culture is the key ingredient to his team’s success. Learn more about Midland.
[00:00:00] Matt: Everybody welcome to discover college soccer. I’m lucky enough to be joined today by coach Cody Bartlow of Midland University. Coach, how are we today?
[00:00:08] Coach: Doing well and doing well. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:10] Matt: No, thank you for being here. You, uh, you guys are an NAIA program in Nebraska, um, and you’re on the women’s side of things and.
[00:00:18] On the women’s side of things, you know, I talked to both men’s women’s coaches and you get different answers here. So when do you start looking at players when to stop players start reaching out? So you kind of, what year in high school are you kind of averaging these days?
[00:00:32] Coach: Yeah. So I think probably the average for us is junior year.
[00:00:37] Typically we start getting most of them. Um, but I mean, I have sophomores and freshmen in my inbox right now. Um, and so we’re kind of all over the map, you know, not having the restrictions NCAA does about when we can talk to players kind of opens it up a little bit more. Um, but yeah, typically junior years, you know, everybody kind of falls along the NCAA kind of timelines, quite a bit.
[00:00:57] Yeah.
[00:00:58] Matt: Well, you mentioned your inbox. So how many, how many inbound contacts would you say you get in an average a week or month? Um,
[00:01:08] Coach: I think it depends on kind of time of the year. Um, when we’re in showcase season, you know, you’re getting 30 to 70 when, when you’re kind of not in showcase season, are there kind of in those holiday season and you may get 10, 15.
[00:01:20] Okay. So just depends
[00:01:21] Matt: where we’re at. Yeah. What do you like to see in those first communications
[00:01:25] Coach: from a recruit. I think most coaches are probably the same. Um, you know, we don’t, we, I know we don’t send out mass emails. Um, so getting the ones that you know are definitely math, where there’s no coaches name, there’s no school names of no, like, you know, at that point it’s like, okay, they’re not really interested in the school.
[00:01:44] So just someone that shows interest in the school, um, and interest in the program so that we have a conversation. Equated a lot to dating where it’s like, you know, if you’re doing online dating and they give you nothing to go on, you’re probably not going to pursue that. Uh, very similar, right? Like you need some information to be able to go on some interest shown to be able to move forward with them.
[00:02:06] So that’s kind of the things that stand out for us. Yeah. No,
[00:02:09] Matt: it makes perfect sense. So besides talking with, uh, the players themselves, I mean, do you talk to a lot of club coaches? Uh, are they our club coach reaching out to you high school coaches, anything like that? Yeah, you get a
[00:02:20] Coach: little bit of club. Um, I wish it was more if I’m honest.
[00:02:24] Um, I would like to see coaches advocate for their kids more just to be completely transparent. Um, high school, I get a lot more, um, Jugo coaches always do a tremendous job of getting out and putting their kids out there. I love it. Um, and so, so you kind of get those. No, I’ll talk to club coaches. I was in the club scene for, for a very long time in the Dallas area.
[00:02:47] So I have a lot of connections through that. Um, and so I’ll talk to coaches, but a lot of times, for me, it’s, you know, that kid and getting to know them and family, that really matter for us.
[00:02:57] Matt: So you mentioned jucos how did transfer players kind of fit into your recruiting, uh, agenda?
[00:03:06] Coach: Yeah, so for me, so I have a, I’m trying to take our program to be more of a.
[00:03:12] Wide versed, um, geographical kind of landscape. Um, so it kind of fits into every year. We’re trying to bring in, um, a Juco kid or two, because typically they have, they bring a more competitive nurse. They have, they know what it’s like to be a college athlete. Um, obviously it depends on the year, but for us, it’s, it’s an important aspect is to be able to bring in kids that have gone and done it and competed at high levels and the.
[00:03:38] And then, you know, some of the Juco programs across the country are phenomenal. So to be able to have kids that are there been in that environment, Honestly prepares them better than anything else?
[00:03:51] Matt: No, absolutely. Absolutely. And it gives you a chance to kind of fill in some gaps if you’ve had players leave for any reason or anything, and you’re not start from scratch.
[00:03:58] That’s good. Um, what about international players? I was looking at your roster, not, not a huge, uh, international bent there, which is sometimes different for NAI programs. Um, so what’s it like for you guys? On the international side.
[00:04:13] Coach: Yeah. So this is my first season, um, here at Midland. So the previous coach didn’t recruit internationally from everything that I know.
[00:04:21] Um, I do. Um, so we have two internationals joining us this year. Um, we won’t ever be super heavy internationals. It won’t be like on the men’s side wards, you know, predominantly international. Um, but I do like to have international players because again, for us, it’s about creating that, those lifelong relationships with also understanding how to.
[00:04:42] To learn and live in this, in this world and in this culture where it’s different all over the place. And so the more cultures I feel like our girls are exposed to and can live within, um, the more well-rounded they are once they leave college, they’ll have the real world.
[00:04:56] Matt: Yeah, no, that’s that’s good stuff.
[00:04:59] Um, in terms of tournaments, uh, places you go to recruit what, you know, what are your must must attend events or places you like to go to.
[00:05:12] Coach: Yeah. So, I mean, big for us is, is surf cup and silver lakes. Um, we have a heavy recruiting, um, land or heavy recruiting mark in California. Um, again, I’m from the Dallas area.
[00:05:25] So going down to Texas is big for me. Um, he’s in those connections as well. Las Vegas, um, is good for us as well. We bring a lot of players out of. And so those are the big ones I’m looking forward to hopefully hitting PDAs, um, coming to summer, um, and getting a little bit more into the east coast that we have than we have been previously.
[00:05:45] Um, but yeah, those are, you know, the big, major showcase is always a warm personally. I stay away from the east, you know, showcases. Um, I think it’s just too much competition for us, but the ECRs, the national league, um, even some of the GA showcases were big. Okay, well,
[00:06:02] Matt: that means you should be, you should be on a plane down here to Bradenton.
[00:06:05] Cause I think that GA, uh, champions league thing starts at, at IMG tomorrow. So, um, but anyway, um, what about camps? How to camps fit into your whole recruiting, uh, style in terms of whether it camps you guys hold, are you at camps at other schools, anything like that?
[00:06:24] Coach: Yeah for us. So again, it’s one of those things we’re just trying to get that kind of started here.
[00:06:28] Um, so it wasn’t really something that was done previous to me getting here. Um, so ID camps are huge for us, you know, being able to recruit local talent, especially, um, is massive. Um, uh, like having a foot more in the local scene and people having kind of ownership of our program a little bit, you know what I mean?
[00:06:48] Um, and so. Having that as vital for us. And so it’s something we’re moving forward. So we’ll have ID camps this summer. Um, my, my goal is always to assign someone out of an ID camp, you know, for it to be a truly worthwhile pathway for them. Um, and then obviously, you know, not recruiting lives, but having youth camps and just kind of helping build that buzz and educated.
[00:07:11] Next level players that are coming up in, you know, four or 5, 6, 10 years, whatever it may be. Um, but again, just building into the community is important for us as well.
[00:07:20] Matt: That’s great. So when you’re, when you are recruiting, whether it’s, whether you’re at a tournament or your own camps or anything like that, what’s kind of your, your hierarchy of attributes that you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field or off the field.
[00:07:35] Coach: Yeah. So first thing I look for is first touch. Um, we’re very much a possession side, um, team. So first touch the ability to orient your body before the ball ever gets to you is huge. Um, I’m watching what you do off the ball more than what you do on the ball a lot of times. And then obviously those moments that stand out that we all look for, you know, the, the nice goals, the great threw balls, the great switch of play, whatever.
[00:07:59] The difference of effort. Um, that’s huge. The other part is in listening. So I’m looking to see how you communicate, but then also how you take direction from your teammates, um, kind of body language from that. Are you open? Are you receptive or are you closed off? Um, and then honestly watching to see kind of how your parents are, you know, are your parents joysticking you from the sideline?
[00:08:21] Cause if they are, that doesn’t work for us and yeah. Your adjustment to how we play and kind of the freedom and the soccer IQ part that you have to have here is probably gonna be pretty steep. So all of that kind of comes into it as well.
[00:08:36] Matt: Love it, love it. I think I may have to isolate that and send it to some parents, uh, that I know, um, in terms of.
[00:08:46] You know, you’re an AI. So, so you do have some athletic money. What’s, what’s the overall scholarship situation at your school between athletic academic money. Um, and how does, how do those things kind of co-mingled to, to help you get to your
[00:08:58] Coach: roster? Yeah, so we have a pretty good set up here. Um, so everyone that comes to Midland, if you are eligible, if you apply and you get into the school, get some academic money.
[00:09:11] Um, so that kind of sets what we call our floor or our base. Um, and then after that we put athletic on top of that. Um, but everything’s packaged together as one. So, you know, it’s not necessarily a stacked Scott scholarship. So when you get a scholarship offer here, it’s a Midland scholarship. Um, so for instance, if you stopped playing sports per se, or you get an injury, like I’m not going to pull that from you or anything like that.
[00:09:36] Um, it’s just more of a scholarship that shows that you’re desired here at Midland to be a student. Yeah. And if that’s not the case and to be a student. And so we really try to take care of the kids and understand that, you know, they’re coming here for four years, but it’s, you know, part playing the sport is just part of it.
[00:09:53] Um, the education is, is paramount and what’s most. Uh, that’s
[00:09:59] Matt: fantastic. I wish I wish more schools looked at it through that lens. Um, speaking of school, you know, uh, there’s probably a lot of people out there who are not familiar with Midland. Uh, and so besides me going to the website and clicking around and learn, give me the inside skinny, you know, what, what are some things that are awesome about Midland that I might not learn by?
[00:10:20] Just, just go onto the website.
[00:10:23] Coach: Yeah. So we’re a suburban based campus. So we’re in a city of about 30,000 people. Um, what’s really nice. We’re about 30 to 40 minutes outside of Omaha, depending on what part of Omaha you’re going to. So you have that kind of slower pace lifestyle of Fremont. Um, but then again, you have the city, um, with Omaha right there.
[00:10:41] Um, we’re really big with business majors and then with health science majors. So Chi um, hospital system out of Omaha is massive for medical reasons. So having connections to there is, is always really big for our medical kids nursing or whatever it may be. Um, and then businesses in Omaha, you have five fortune, 500 companies headquartered there, which is the most of any city.
[00:11:05] Um, so again, business connections there, and the relationships that you’re able to to learn are, are massive. Um, from a school standpoint directly the school, we’re the largest athletic department in Nebraska. We have 33 sports, um, And so always something going on, always some kind of game to go represent that and have fun and enjoy.
[00:11:28] Um, Fremont actually asks the largest Y YMCA in the country. So kids that come here and get free, um, access to. And so there’s, I mean, there’s literally a Olympic sized swimming pool. There’s an ice hockey rink. There’s everything that a typical Y YMCA has. So just a bunch of these little, extra hidden gems that you wouldn’t actually realize.
[00:11:48] Um, and then honestly, the best selling point for Midland is, is some Midwest. So it’s the people, um, just super nice people who really care about, about you and your wellbeing and want to see you do. No, that’s,
[00:12:01] Matt: that’s, that’s awesome. I, I haven’t been out to, to Nebraska, uh, but, but it’s definitely a, you know, a place I’d love to see.
[00:12:11] Uh, I got good old coach, Bob warming there, uh, now, uh, Nebraska Omaha, I have to go visit him sometime and, and, and visit you guys as well.
[00:12:22] Coach: Yeah, our men’s team, our men’s team played them this past year, so it was great to be. And so we were out there and supporting, and I remember he had a, they had a food truck out there instead of their concessions.
[00:12:32] Danny bought everybody free stuff. Yeah, Bob’s amazing. He’s, he’s, he’s a great ambassador for Omaha and for UNO and then just for soccer in general in the state. Absolutely.
[00:12:43] Matt: Absolutely. Uh, love that guy. Um, so, you know, in terms of, of the soccer and academic side, you know, how, how do student athletes really balance the academics and the athletics specifically at Midland kind of what support systems are there to help them do that?
[00:13:00] Coach: Yeah, so, I mean, we’re an athlete, heavy campus. Um, and so our academic resource center or arc as we call it is available to students all the time. Um, so one, one way that we do it within the team is study hall hours, making sure that, you know, we’re on top of grades and things like that. Um, but our academic resource center has free tutoring, um, supplemental instruction, which.
[00:13:22] Which is any kind of like very difficult class. They organic Kim to, um, the students get in and go, go in and get tutored, not only just by a general tutor, but someone who’s been in that class with that professor. Um, so they’re able to kind of walk you through the strengths and the weaknesses of that professor, maybe in a lecture, um, how they grade, what they look for when they’re building their tests, all that type stuff.
[00:13:44] So it’s just that more personal personable built-in, um, success. Um, and then, you know, again, average student to teacher ratio is 14 to one here. So you have personal connections with your professors. And we put, we put academics first. So, you know, I had numerous times this year where we didn’t have full practices because we had kids that SSI supplemental instruction, or getting ready for a test.
[00:14:10] Um, another little small tweak they do here is a lot of times, instead of taking a quiz in a classroom, you’ll take it in a quiz lab, which is in. So instead of getting back from a road trip at 2:00 AM and having an 8:00 AM class with a quiz, you’ll have two or three days to go take that quiz when you’re fresh and recovered and set.
[00:14:30] Um, so again, small little thing that just really helps make sure that you’re at your best academically, as well as that. No, that’s that’s
[00:14:38] Matt: great. Well, you kinda mentioned the, the potential, you know, not having everybody practice or, or stuff like that. So what, what would a typical, you know, week look like in terms of, from waking up to going to bed and how practice fits in games fit in?
[00:14:54] How does that all, how it all look during the
[00:14:56] Coach: season for you guys? Yeah, so, I mean, if we’re in the hardest season, we’re playing Wednesday and Saturday. Um, so typically Mondays are heavy practice. Um, so we’ll have a heavier practice. There will be about two hours. Um, Tuesdays would be a walkthrough session, game prep session.
[00:15:14] So that may be an hour, hour and a half. Um, along with the team meeting, just kind of going over our match plans and stuff like that. Wednesday, we play Thursday would be a recovery session, maybe a little bit of film. We keep filmed so that 30 minutes or less to keep them engaged and not over overstimulate them.
[00:15:32] Um, Friday again, you’re back into a game prep and stuff like that. And then Saturday, again, your plan, as far as your classes, typically we have it set up to where classes are in the first part of the day. Um, and then we typically practice somewhere around three 30 or so, and then some of the kids, especially our nursing students and stuff like.
[00:15:50] Well may have night classes at six 30 to eight 30 or something like that. Um, this is a school where you can play sports and do nursing, which is, you know, huge. Um, but I think that’s, uh, that’s something that as a faculty and then coaching staff, we try to work really hard to make sure those kids are, are really well supported and enabled to do what they truly love on both ends academically and athletically.
[00:16:14] Matt: That’s good. So you guys are in the great Plains athletic conference. So, um, what does that look like? Uh, geographically in terms of how far you usually travel, um, are most of those distance games are Saturday games. How does the schedule kind of look with your travel
[00:16:32] Coach: overall? Yeah, no, everything’s pretty, pretty local to whether it be Kansas, um, Iowa or Nebraska.
[00:16:40] So we do have presentation. We do have Jamestown, which is South Dakota, North Dakota. Um, so when we go up there, that’s a Swain. We call it a swing. So for instance, this year, we’re going up there. So we’ll play. I think we play presentation on Thursday or on a Thursday. And then we’ll play Jamestown on a Saturday.
[00:16:57] So we’ll just kind of go for a four day swing and then come back down. Um, but other than that, everything’s, everything’s pretty local. It’s within two, two hours, three, maybe the most besides the Jamestown in presentation swing. Um, and then non-conference wise, we’re, we’re all over the place. So we’ll be out in California this year, um, for two non-conference games and then just kind of trying to always go out and play a tough schedule that gets us nationally recognized as well.
[00:17:24] Good. Good, good
[00:17:24] Matt: stuff. Um, well, how many players do you typically carry? How many or many you’re trying to bring in a set number every year? Does it fluctuate? What does that look like from a roster
[00:17:34] Coach: building standpoint? Yeah, so we were at 28 this year. Ideally the school would likes us to carry 34. I like to carry 34 as well.
[00:17:44] Um, the reason is, is we have that allows us to have a reserve team, um, you know, 28 last year. Honestly, if you look at, I play a lot of players, um, per game. So we average 20 players that play in a game. Um, you always have three or four that are injured for whatever reason, right? So if you have, if you’re playing 20 or traveling 21, you have four that are injured.
[00:18:05] That means you’re leaving three home that aren’t getting. Um, so the ability to have reserve games and have that, that reserve team that helps us develop, um, kids is, is vital for us, um, in order, just to make sure that everyone’s always pushing and competing for us. I always talk about, you know, I balance calm competition and culture.
[00:18:25] Um, you know, we don’t have set teams. There’s not a first team and reserve team. It’s very, it all floats. Um, it’s all very fluid. And so. The ability to keep, keep, keep kids getting developed through game time is vital for us, and that’s why we run a reserve. Um, if we didn’t have that, then I don’t think we’d be as competitively balances, competitively strong as we are within the conference.
[00:18:52] Matt: Makes sense. What about your, I know you said you, you you’re fairly new to the school, but how do you have other staff? What’s that look like in terms of roles of staff and how everybody works together?
[00:19:06] Coach: Yeah, so I have a graduate assistant, um, that’s on staff. I have a volunteer assistant coach. That’s out of the Omaha area, such as at the club level out there.
[00:19:15] Um, and then I have another, um, assistant coach who. Is this not a graduate system, but he played on the men’s program last year was with us as well. So we have, we have four on staff for this coming year. Um, and then, you know, everything’s set up for us again, you know, we have two teams technically, but we’re always together.
[00:19:35] We train together everything’s together, schedules are set up. So where I’m at all, all the games. So, um, just really about being a big family and, and making sure that we’re all developing and pushing. Uh, how
[00:19:48] Matt: many games would that reserve team have generally scheduled in a season?
[00:19:52] Coach: Yeah, we have eight scheduled right now.
[00:19:54] Um, on the men’s side of our conference, I know they do kind of a tournament, um, for those reserve teams. Um, so we’ve talked about setting that up on the women’s side of. Because most of the teams now in our conference do have a reserve team. Um, and so I think that’s coming in as well. So, so we’ll probably add two more if we don’t set up the conference tournament this year.
[00:20:14] Um, but if we do then why the eight plus that tournament. Okay.
[00:20:19] Matt: Now you mentioned a little bit before, uh, about the way, you know, you like players the first touch cause you want to possess, but how would you describe your style of coaching and your team’s style of play?
[00:20:33] Coach: Style of play. I mean, we want to control everything. We’re very possession oriented. We’re very high pressed out of, out of possession. Um, you know, we’d like to build through each phase of the field and then understand kind of what it is to play, um, defensively again, very high, high pressure, very aggressive.
[00:20:53] Um, I believe that. Always going out and given everything and being full tilt, which is why we play so many players is because if you’re going to play 90 minutes in our style properly, you better be in the best shape ever. Um, and so we just, you know, for me, I’ve never kind of, I kind of pushed back against the more direct style in college.
[00:21:16] You know, it’s a higher education institution. I think you should learn higher, higher levels. Um, I know it’s affected. At places, but for us, we, we want them to learn how to truly play and develop a love for the game and really love what they do and, and watch a game and know what’s happening no matter what level they’re watching.
[00:21:34] So, um, coaching style is, is very personable is very, you know, positive. You know, I, I don’t want negative mindsets. I want them to understand. One, it is a game, right? Ultimately it is a game and it’s supposed to be there for their enjoyment and for their love of it. Um, and so, you know, we try to make sure that we’re constantly building people up, giving good critique to make them make sure that the best player they possibly can be helping the team the best they can.
[00:22:02] But really just focused on, on making sure that they understand that they’re valued way more than as a player. Um, both from us as a staff and then from their peers, their teammates as well. Um, and then just making sure that they understand the game is just a part of what makes them special. It’s not what makes them special.
[00:22:19] And so everything in our coaching style and how we relate to players and how we talk to them all goes off of that kind of. That’s
[00:22:28] Matt: a great message. Um, you know, we’re talking in March and NCAA has their off season restriction, depending on what division you are and those kinds of things. So what, what does your off season program look like?
[00:22:41] Uh, specifically as an AI
[00:22:43] Coach: school? Yeah. So in, in AI, we have, we call it the 24 week rule. Um, so basically within the school year, you have 24 weeks that you can practice as a team. Um, and I say, as a team, anytime it’s a coach and a player it’s considered a practice. So there’s no necessarily limit and practices within that week, but you have to get everything in within those 24 weeks.
[00:23:02] Um, and so we’re kind of in that, in that right now, the way our Springs are set up is very individual. Um, so we’re very big on competition and then individual development. So every player has an individual development plan that we put together for them, um, where they have time in each practice to work on something from that plan.
[00:23:24] Um, we do a lot of small sided games. We have competitions on the huge fan of a Anson Dorrance. So we have a competitive cauldron that we do where the kids can, can go and they’ll compete. And whoever’s at the top actually wins a trophy. So this is their little trophy they went in. Right. Um, and then even again, it’s about competitiveness for us.
[00:23:46] So our small sided games where we’re changing the teams all the time, but we keep track of who wins. Um, so you get points for a win and they get points for a goal differential for their teams. And everybody on the team gets those points and whoever’s winning at the end, you had a trophy for points league champion.
[00:24:03] So again, just kind of giving them that, that knowledge of going out and competing, working hard for themselves, but for their teammates as well. Um, and then those ones towards the end of the, the spring that maybe not, may not have the chance to win the trophy. Can they sacrifice for their teammate and help their teammate out that may be able to have that chance?
[00:24:23] Push in. So it’s all about life lessons for us. It’s all about, again, trying to use this sport to develop them for what they’re going to see when they leave college. And when they’re, you know, living in this world where anything can happen at any time, as we’ve seen over the past few. Ah, that’s
[00:24:39] Matt: great. Love it.
[00:24:40] Um, well, I mean, we’ve covered a lot of ground, uh, but you know, my last question for you really is, is just the catch all, you know, what, what else would you like prospects, families, players, anybody to know that we haven’t covered or anything you want to reiterate or, or anything else, this is your chance to give that final plug.
[00:24:59] Coach: Yeah. Um, for us the biggest thing, and honestly, the, the thing that makes every recruit for us is based off our. Um, so our culture is, is defined by the word family. Um, so every coach, I think, wants their team to be a family, but that word can have positive or negative meanings for people, um, depending on kind of their background and their lifestyle.
[00:25:21] So a few years ago I saw PJ Fleck, the Minnesota head men’s football coach, um, to find the most, forget about, forget about me. I love you. I’m a huge PJ flight plan. But that meant that just kind of accomplished everything for me. I’d never seen it that way before I saw him speak on it. Um, and it’s just kind of defined everything we do.
[00:25:42] So for us, it’s, you know, can you fit into our culture of being a servant leader of, of serving your teammates? Um, and then can you fit into the culture of, you know, truly developing each other, not just through the game, but in those relationships, we have very. Very long-term viewpoints on how successful our program is based off of stuff, even after you leave our leave the school.
[00:26:07] Um, and so we’re constantly working and recruiting and coaching with that viewpoint of looking at those longer term, um, metrics that we measure our program’s success rate out. It’s not just wins and losses for us. Those are important. I like trophies a lot. Um, but ultimately, you know, are we producing. And helping produce the best people we possibly can that come out of here.
[00:26:34] Matt: Love it, love it. Well, coach, I appreciate the time. I wish you the best of luck this coming season. Uh, hopefully I can get myself some, some somewhere near Omaha sometime soon. Uh, but if you get down our way to Florida, give me a shout. We’d love to catch up. And, uh, we really thank you for your.
[00:26:52] Coach: Well, if we cannot tell you what we will do, everything we can to make the national tournament, which is in Alabama, and then you can come watch us.
[00:26:58] Love it,
[00:26:58] Matt: love it, get their coach. And, uh, and I’ll be there with bells on. All right. Sounds good. All right, thanks.
[00:27:05] Coach: Thank you.
