Missouri University of Science and Technology Women’s Soccer – Coach Matt Perry
In today’s episode, I speak with Coach Perry from the Findlay Women’s Program in Ohio. We talk about building a network of coaches that can help in recruiting. Coach also shares about needing player who are strong students, particularly in STEM fields. Plus, we discuss the staff that cares and that the school has everything a big school has. Learn more about Missouri University of Science and Technology Women’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I am lucky enough to be joined by Coach Perry from Missouri s and t. Welcome coach. Thank you very much. Thanks for being on, and if you’re a, if you’re a long time listener of this podcast, be like, wait, you’ve had Missouri s and t on before. And that’s true.
I’ve had the men’s coach and I had, uh, the predecessor to Coach Perry on the women’s side. But it’s good to hear from the new coach. I think you’ve been there a year now, is that right?
Coach: Just over a year. Yeah. Yeah, just over a year. Yeah.
Matt: Okay. So, uh, it’ll be good to get your perspective. So we’re talking here, you know, mid-June, uh.
You guys are, you know, I feel like you guys are unique, uh, especially on the girl side, right? ’cause it’s a heavy engineering program, uh, school, uh, just outta cur. Are you, are you done with 20 fives? You still looking for a couple more to finish out the class or what’s that look like for you right now?
Coach: Yeah, you’re essentially done. Um, [00:01:00] so we’re, we’re kind of, we have a roster CAPA 28, which sounds familiar for a lot of people right now. Um, but just for title reasons, obviously the. School is male heavy compared to female. So we have to try and get the numbers right with the, with the amount of female athletes compared to male athletes.
So we’re at 28. Um, so we are able to go to 29 and 30 if we find someone special. So if that player is still out there right now, we’re, we’re looking for that. But other than that, we’re pretty much done with 20. Yeah.
Matt: So then looking forward at the class of 26 is kind of what’s your normal timeline? When do you, when do you look to wrap up?
That next class.
Coach: Yeah, that, and that’s a question that a lot of players are asking now, which is great. Um, and the answer that we always give them is that the timeline is just so different for each individual person, each individual program. Obviously I came in late last year, so when I came in May time last year.
I was still looking for 2024, so I was still looking for players to come in around June. I [00:02:00] think I signed two players in June last year. That’s how late we were going, but I, I would like to get mine done sooner rather than later for 2026. So we’re kind of looking from now until January. Um, that’s kind of the timeframe we’re trying to get players finally committed, but obviously some people wanna make their decision a little bit later and we’re not gonna hold that against them.
Um, but yeah, sooner rather than later is the goal, but obviously sometimes later is the way it has to be. So.
Matt: Yeah. Well, in terms of looking for players, what are some of the, the places you like to go, whether that’s events or leagues or, or, or that kind of thing. Where are you, where are you out and about looking for players?
Coach: It, it’s a good mix to be honest. It’s a good, it’s a good mixture of, um, trying to go to lots of different places. Obviously the ECNL showcases and the GA showcases are, are easy ones for us to go to and try and find players, but. Also everybody else is there. It, the big, the big schools are there. You know, the schools that are competitive in division two as well are [00:03:00] there, so we, we have to be creative about it.
I like to go to a lot of high school games and local high school games is kind of something that I’ve tried to really emphasize this spring as well. Um, it’s also trying to build. My network in the community as well and trying to increase social relationships with coaches at local. Um, so that, that’s kind of been a big push for me this spring.
But, but there’s also plenty of other ID camps that we can go to. We host our own ID camps and we, we kind of pick up a lot of players from our ID camps. ’cause our school is so unique in the STEM field, most of the time, if they’re coming to an ID camp, that means they’re interested in your school rather than just trying to get their name out there and all that kind of stuff.
Matt: No, that makes, makes a lot of sense. So whether it’s at an ID camp or an event or a high school game, kind of what makes up that hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player both on and off the field?
Coach: There’s lots of different things. I mean, obviously the academics for us is super important and we don’t, we don’t try and hide that, you know, we don’t try and hide from that fact that you have to be [00:04:00] academically gifted really to get into the school, but also to stay.
At the school as well. You know, you, you, you get a lot of very good academic scholars, but unless you’re maintaining solid grades, you’ll lose those scholars quite quickly. So, um, we, we don’t try and hide from that, you know, and obviously we’re a STEM based school, so a lot of our degrees are STEM based.
And there’s obviously some other degrees here, like business and psychology that aren’t, they don’t fit in that mold. But 90% of our roster is kind of engineering and STEM based stuff. So we try and, um. Look for players that are interested in that first, because that also helps speed things up for us. If they’re interested in a major, we’re able to sell it a little bit better.
Um, but, you know, I, I recruit really, really on personality too. I want people that have good personalities. I want people that, you know, can have conversation with coaches and make eye contact and kind of, um, be confident in their own ability. Um, and obviously there’s, there’s different positions We’re looking for where your characteristics fit those different positions too, which.
I could talk about forever, so I’m not gonna go over every [00:05:00] single position. But, but the, um, but yeah, the education side, the academic side, the, the kind of GPA side is really important because it just helps us help you get, you know, more scholarships, uh, make school more affordable for you as well. So that’s kind of a big thing.
And then personalities and, and make sure that you fit into our kind of culture and our foundations we’re trying to build.
Matt: Yeah. Well, in terms of. Maybe what, well, what I call non-traditional recruiting, but it’s very traditional these days is, you know, international students. Uh, especially on the D two side, maybe not as much on the women’s, but, but D two is kind of famous for having, especially on the men’s side, a lot of international players.
And, and I don’t think that’s a Missouri accent I’m hearing from, from you right now. Uh, but uh, and the transfer portal, right? So do you guys look at any of that kind of thing? Uh, when it comes to recruiting?
Coach: Yeah, so, so international is obviously really close to my heart. I was an international student. I came over from [00:06:00] England like nine, 10 years ago now, and I want to hopefully give people that are in the same position as me, that same opportunity.
Obviously back then, it wasn’t as common as it is right now. So a lot of schools are trying to do the same thing and trying to give people those same experiences. Um, you know, our school is so unique and so specific to the degrees. Um, it’s hard to find those internationals that. We can make it as cheap as maybe some other schools are, because a lot of the time the international, just like whichever place has giving you the best fellowship, that’s where I’m gonna go.
Rather than with the Americans and kind of more local kids, they’re like, they know the value of our degree from a University of Missouri system school, so they’re kind of willing to pay a little bit more to get that degree. Whereas I was the same when I was an international student. I was like, which place is gonna be the cheapest?
Which place is gonna gimme the best scholarship? I’ll go there. Rather than trying to find the best about my education. So, so the international side is difficult here. Um, obviously it’s just, it’s just expensive. So, you know, we don’t try and hide from that and we’re not able to give them those academic scholarships that we’re able to [00:07:00] give the local kids.
Um, so, so that’s kind of something we’re trying to explore and trying to figure out. But yeah, that’s definitely something that’s on that radar. And yeah, the, the, the, yeah, the international side is something you want to try and push for. I just don’t know whether we’re gonna make it happen, um, as much as, as usually as other schools.
Obviously on the guy side, it’s a little bit more different. There’s a lot of guys that want to come and do it. On the girls side, there’s less, and obviously there’s, that means that the scholarships have to be really competitive for them as well. So,
Matt: yeah. No, that makes a lot of sense. Well. Let’s talk a little bit more about the school.
Obviously we mentioned a little bit about the academics, but what was it about the school that kind of drew you to it? Um, what are some things over that year that you found that are really awesome about the school? Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know about going through the website.
Coach: Yeah, I mean, lots of different reasons.
So there there was personal reasons. My, uh, wife’s family’s from Missouri and we were living kind of in Knoxville, Tennessee and in Atlanta before that. So we were quite far [00:08:00] away. So that was kind of a big factor and, and not the only deciding factor, but one of the, one of the perks of coming was being close to her family.
So that was kind of a, one of the things. But also, you know, the, I I, I was a interim head coach before, um, and then went back to being assistant and then kind of wanting to go back into being a head coach. It was kind of like going from being head coach, being in controlled and going back to an assistant was kind of a struggle ’cause I was in control and now all of a sudden I’m.
Not that it was an issue, but now I’m having to answer to someone else and not fully be in control of the decisions that I think is best. So, so becoming a head coach was also something that was really attractive. And the area is really great. You know, the school is, is growing. It’s, you know, since I’ve been here a year, they’ve already built for brand new buildings.
They, they, we get a lot of donor, um, donations. We get a lot of them putting money back into the school, which is really cool. So, um. That was another thing that was attractive when I came was, it sounds strange, but the, the amount of construction that was going on whilst I was [00:09:00] here on my interview kind of helped me understand that the school is growing and, and the school now is gonna be completely different than the school in 10 years time, which means the degree’s gonna mean a whole lot more intent this time as well.
Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, and. With those strong academics and the, the demands that a student athlete’s gonna have, especially at your school, can be tough for, for incoming freshmen, especially adjusting to life as a college soccer player too. So kind of what support systems does the school have in place to help your student athletes be successful both on the field and off?
Coach: Yeah, so there’s plenty. There’s obviously the. You know, the kind of counselors and then there’s the, uh, student instructions that have taken the class here before that can help you with the classes. There’s obviously tutors as well. Um, but what we like to say to recruits that you have a ready made support system with the team when you come in.
You’ve got 28 girls that are, they also, if they’re not struggling now, when they’re freshmen, they were struggling. [00:10:00] You’ve got people that are coming from far away that if they aren’t homesick now, at one point they were homesick as well. Some people that kind of struggle with the, um, the class load and, and kind of waking up early and practicing and then having to go to class and then having to go to bed early.
Some people struggle with that ’cause you have to wake up early the next day. So we, we like to use our team as a kind of the support system because you’ve got a lot of people that are, or maybe actively in that situation and you can help them get through it. Or you’ve been in that position maybe two or three years ago.
And they can give you advice on how to get through it, but we have great faculty here as well that are also really willing to kind of work with the team. Um, you know, we get, they get to take tests on the road. They get to do online classes on the road if they’re really, if we’re away for a couple of days.
Um, but our schedule Friday, Sunday doesn’t really, um, matter that much. We kind of only miss maybe one Friday. Uh. Every now and again, and, and maybe a Thursday, once a season. So we’re not having to struggle with that too much. But, but the link between the faculty and the, and the academics and the [00:11:00] athletics is really strong too.
So, um, yeah, there, there’s plenty of, there’s plenty of things that can help with girls, but, but most of the time it’s your teammates that are gonna help you out the best.
Matt: Okay. Well you mentioned the schedule, so let, let’s rewind to October, kind of heart of that schedule. Um, what does a week look like for a player in terms of when are practices, classes, meals, games, all that stuff?
Coach: Yeah, so we play Friday, Sunday, so our kind of games are Friday, Sunday, which for means we start the day, uh, start the week, sorry, with a Monday off. So you get Monday off. Um, obviously you still have to go to classes and all that kind of stuff, but you don’t have practice, you don’t have, wait, so that’s your kind of.
Day off. Once you’re done with classes, you can be a college student. Um, our schedule for this year is gonna be, we do 6:00 AM on Tuesday and Wednesday in the morning. So, um, with the class schedules and with the class load, we either practice at 6:00 AM or we go at 6:00 PM So we kind of decided that we’re gonna go 6:00 AM two times a week.
[00:12:00] Um, we trialed it this spring and I was honestly concerned and worried about maybe these girls should wake up at that time, but. Some of our best sessions were at 6:00 AM Um, and for the girls it’s nice ’cause once the session is done and over when you’ve got the rest of the day for yourself and in the evening, you don’t have to worry about, now I have to go to practice after a long day of school or when can I eat when I’ve got practice at 6:00 PM Like that’s, that’s another challenge that they found.
So, so we go at 6:00 AM um, um, on Tuesday, and then they have wait straight after. So they go from practice to wait, waits is 45 minutes. Um, and then the rest of the day is classes. To themselves. Um, Wednesdays is the same without, without a wait session. So we’ll go at six, we’ll finish around eight, and then the rest of the day is yours.
Go to classes, um, spend your evenings doing homework and, and just being a regular college student. Um, Thursdays we go in the evenings, so we’ll do a film session. Um, well, they have their wait session in the morning as normal. We’ll do a film session before practice for about 30 [00:13:00] minutes, 45 minutes. Um, then we’ll practice around six to 8:00 PM.
Then Friday’s obviously a game day. So if we’re on the road, um, we even do, we even have two games on the road, Friday, Sunday, or two games at home. So if we’re on the road, sometimes we may have to leave Thursday. Um, if it’s a long journey, we’ll get hotel Thursday night, um, play Friday. Uh, but if we’re at home also, we get sleep around bed and we, we’ll go to classes on Friday as normal so you don’t have to miss anything.
And then we’ll have the game in the evening. Saturday is kind of like a recovery day slash prep day for the Sunday. Try our best to recover from the night before to get ready for the next day, um, and do a film session where, whether that’s at home, whether we’re on the road, we’ll find somewhere to practice and obviously we’ll play Sunday, um, drive home if we’re away, if we’re, if we’re at home, we’ll, we’ll kind of gather our thoughts again and then have you start again with a day off on Monday.
So it’s very set schedule, which is nice. Once, once you are into the Friday, Sunday games.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit [00:14:00] more about the, the team and what’s happening there. We talked about your roster size, but who else helps fill out that roster? Talk to me about your, your, the rest of your coaching staff.
What role does everybody play? Maybe what other support folks are there from the athletic department that help out with the team?
Coach: Yeah, so I mean, you’re looking at the, you’re looking at it really. We, we don’t, we don’t have an assistant coach right now. Um, there’s obviously talks and hopefully we’re trying to bring one in.
We’re, we’re, um, you know, we’re looking at. Exploring that between maybe splitting it between men’s and women, just trying to have someone else there extra. Um, but for me, I’m quite lucky. I have quite a lot of student managers that, um, helped me out. Um, I’ve got some girls that kind of wanted to stay involved in, in soccer, but maybe, uh, you know, they weren’t quite ready for the level.
So they, they, uh. They come round and they, you know, it is just easy stuff. Like sometimes picking up the codes for me. If I forget something, they’ll go and run and get it for us. They, they help set the field, they help set other goals so I don’t have to do it all by myself on game days too. Um, so we’re [00:15:00] really blessed with those, with those kind of, uh, managers that help out.
And, and I have a student assistant that will also a goalkeeper in high school that wants to get into coaching. So she comes down every now and again to, to rubber keepers through some sessions as well, which is really cool. Um. So yeah, just all, all, all kinds of people chipping in and helping out. And that’s kind of menti that we have, you know, is we, we all want, reach these goals and if we do it, it’s because of everybody, not just because of one player or because of the coach or whatever.
So, yeah.
Matt: Okay. Well, what about you? Talk to us about your coaching style and, and the style of play you’re looking to play there.
Coach: Yeah, so I mean, I, I, I’ve, I’ve had to change and adapt a lot. Obviously this year I was coming in quite late, so I wasn’t, um, familiar with the team. A lot of players, I met them the first day on preseason.
So, um, the kind of biggest struggle we had was trying to get my standards and my culture and across the team whilst also prepping to start a season in, you know, how long pre-season is here. It’s not [00:16:00] very long, so it’s kind of trying to. I also get my playing style across as well. Um, so, so I mean, we like to get the ball down.
We like to play, you know, we kind of, we kind of toyed with different formations in the fall that, um, we we’re trying to explore in the spring. We kind of nailed down what we want to play, not trying to give too much away, but we like to get the ball down. We like to, you know, invite pressure and then try and find a spare player and, and beat, beat the press and then get forward at pace.
Um. And that, and that was a, that was a struggle because obviously I was the third coach for a lot of those players. Um, yeah, the, the previous coach before me also was only there a year and a half, two years, and then moved on as well. So I was the third head coach for, for the senior class. So you could see they were kind of like, what are you gonna do any different?
You know, like, why should I listen to you if you are just, you know, so it, it was, it was a, it was difficult. Um, but, but we had the spring season to kind of really nail down standards, culture, that kind of stuff. And, and now the freshmen coming in kind of have that. But they can [00:17:00] kind of come straight in and see.
Matt: Yeah, I had, I had three coaches in my four years, so I can, I can relate to that. Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. Well, you had, you, you did get to have a full, uh, spring off season with them. So what, talk to us about that. What is your spring off season look like? What are you guys getting into there?
Coach: Yeah, so I mean, it’s more, it’s more relaxed, I like to say, uh, more relaxed for me for sure, but also more relaxed for the girls.
So, um, you, you know, we don’t have. As many games as obviously we do in the fall. So, so coming back, the goals at the school, they get quite a long winter break, um, which is great for them because the class schedule is kind of exhausting and obviously the full schedule is exhausting as well. So we don’t tend to come back kind of till late January.
Um. And then in February we can start doing our eight hours. So we kind of the first week, two weeks, kind of let them just get used to being back at school. So we’ll just touch the ball once a week, maybe just do some small sided stuff. And obviously the Missouri weather’s pretty inconsistent then. [00:18:00] So we try and go inside in our indoor dome if we can and play there.
Um, but then obviously once we start our 45 days, we treat it very similar. Um. To the fall. So we’re kind of using the spring to prepare for the fall, not using the spring, just to practice random things and try and just go out there and play. So we’re basically treating it as our full season, getting ready for, for full 2025 today.
So, um, you know, we’ve, we tested ourselves. We played against Mizzou, which is really awesome experience for the goals. You went up there and played against them. Some local junior colleges as well. And, uh, we played against Linwood University too, which is obviously another Division one score now as well.
And we were really competitive. We, we didn’t, we lost to Mizzou. We played against Linwood and then won the rest of the games against the junior colleges. So we almost matched how many games we won in the four as we, uh, in the spring. So it was, it was, it was exciting. It was good. And, and like I said, we took some big steps culture wise.
We had some difficult meetings. We had some, you know, kind of conflict resolution meetings and um, kind [00:19:00] of. Why you are here, all that kind of stuff. We were getting a little bit vulnerable and, and it really brought the team closer together, so it was a really good spring for us.
Matt: Yeah, it sounds like it.
Well, I really appreciate, uh, all the insights you’ve given us and, uh, I, I do wanna leave you with one last question and that is, if you had one piece of advice for any girls going through this recruiting process right now, what would that be?
Coach: Yeah, I, I say this to most recruits and some, and, and sometimes I think I maybe lose recruits because of it, and sometimes I gain it because of it.
But I always try and encourage these kids to get on as many canvases as you can, rather than just making decisions based on how it looks online. Because a lot of people come and they say, wow, I didn’t realize that the canvas was so beautiful. But ’cause the school doesn’t post a bunch of videos and you know, they don’t do a good job of selling it.
But at the same time, some schools do an amazing job of selling it and then when you get to the campus you are like, oh, this is not really what it’s like. Obviously we are [00:20:00] division two, so we’re able to get girls in and they can come and do that practice session with us as well. Um, so again, encouraging those to do that because.
Obviously I’m the coach. I’m gonna tell you how amazing I am, how amazing the school is. When you get on campus and you’re able to have these little conversations with the team, and maybe even stay in the dorms with the team and kind of see what the dorms are like and get coached by the coach, that’s when you’ll know whether that’s where you wanna spend the next four years there.
So many kids make their decision and then literally a year later you’re seeing ’em in a transfer portal because they didn’t get on campus, they didn’t meet the coach, they didn’t get coached by the coach, you know? So that’s what I always try and encourage girls to do. Get on campus, you’ll know whether that’s where you wanna spend the next four years.
For sure.
Matt: Yeah. Great advice for sure. All right, well coach, really appreciate it. Uh, wish you the best of luck this fall and if you get to any of the events down here in Bradenton, let me know. All right,
Coach: will do. Thanks very much for having me. Take care.
