Montreat College Men’s Soccer – Coach Ryan Griswold
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Ryan from the Montreat Men’s Program in North Carolina. We talk about their focus on character in recruiting. He describes the small, community-centric campus in a picturesque environment. Lastly, we discuss their typical in-season schedule for an average week. Learn more about Montreat College Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Ryan from Montreat. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you for having me.
Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. Um, well, let’s just jump right in, I guess. Well, you got a, a good, uh, background going from being the GA to now the assistant coach, so congratulations.
Thank you. Um, But let’s first start off talking about recruiting. Uh, you and I are talking here beginning of June, uh, just a couple weeks from that fame, June 15th date that kids are always hoping they get phone calls. Although for you guys, you don’t have to worry about that, uh, those rules. So that must be nice.
Um, but. Can you give me just an idea of the, the rough recruiting calendar you guys follow? So, so we’re here in June. Um, uh, you know, how deep are you into your 24 class? Are you talking at 25, 26 is what, what all does that look like for you guys?
Coach: Yeah, that’s a great question. So, um, you know, like, like most of the other coaches as well, you know, recruiting is, is pretty much year round.
Um, so we. Currently still have a few roster spots available for 2020 threes. Um, so to any of the listeners out there, uh, feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to have a conversation. Um, as far as 2020 fours go, um, Yeah, we, uh, currently have a few guys lined up, uh, already, you know, if, if they’re already lined up at this point, you know, it kind of means they, they’ve been on [00:01:30] top of things on their end and, uh, so, so we’re really excited about those, uh, prospects that are, that are looking at joining us next season.
Um, obviously, you know, we wait until after the, the FSA opens up. Um, that kind of helps, uh, gauge a little bit more. Uh, What type of financial package we could offer them. Um, as far as beyond that, um, I actually had a meeting this morning, was gonna meet with a 2026 kid. Um, obviously, you know, at, at those, with those conversations, it’s mostly just, you know, planting seeds, you know, hope, hopefully answering questions for them.
Um, And establishing, uh, a relationship. So, um, so yeah, as of right now, 2023, we’re still, we’re still grinding. Probably gonna, we’ve got a few showcases coming up for the summer, so, um, we’re just gonna keep, keep knocking on doors and, and, um, hopely the right guys will, will join us next season.
Matt: Okay. Well, when it comes to, to your recruiting, how much of it is folks reaching out to you guys saying, Hey, I’m interested in Montreat, versus how much of it is you guys just, you know, looking at different recruiting websites or talking to coaches or going to events or, or that outbound kind of recruiting.
Coach: Yeah, definitely. Um, you know, and, and, and I’ll preface everything by just saying, you know, this is just my second year in, in collegiate coaching, so I’m, I’m no expert. You’ve had some great coaches on here that have much more experience. So, um, in my experience though, in the last couple years, um, [00:03:00] we’ve had a lot of success.
Of course, if, if the guys reach out to you, um, you know, it, it just kind of, uh, we we’re recruiting, you know, thousands of kids, you know, and so the kids that actually reach out to us, um, You know, form, formulate a good email and, and are interested in our school specifically. Uh, you know, that, that definitely, um, takes precedence, I’d say, as to maybe putting a percentage on it.
Um, I’d say a lot of our guys come through, uh, like national recruiting websites and stuff like nnc, s a field level. Um, Puddles on there. They, we see guys, uh, player profiles on their national scouting report. So there’s a lot of, um, success that we’ve had with that. And, and, um, sometimes it is just reaching out to them and, and seeing, you know, Hey, are you interested?
We saw your video, we saw your G p A, you know, things like that. Um, and then of course, you know, the, the in-person, uh, recruiting events as well. It’s always nice to, to see them play kind of with their, with their high school team and. Um, and maybe get a chance to talk to them there. So, um, so yeah, I’d say it’s a, it’s a pretty even mixture across the board.
Matt: You just mentioned high school team, are you guys looking, I mean, do you go to high school soccer games specifically, or is it, usually it’s, it’s cuz you, you’re going to see a player you’ve kind of already been talking to and already already have a feel for. You just wanna see [00:04:30] him in a different environment.
How, what, what’s that balance between club and high school for you guys?
Coach: Yeah, that’s a great question. So, you know, I think, um, the high school games I’ve gone to normally have been. With kids that I’ve already been in communication with, um, you know, they, they’ll send me a, a schedule or something. Um, and, and it kind of, you know, we already have an established connection there.
Um, I haven’t personally, I haven’t, uh, gone to just a random, uh, high school game. You know, it’s definitely on the agenda. I think. I think, you know, there’s always, uh, some diamonds in the rough. You can, you can find late in the season as well. Um, But yeah, I, I’d say, you know, mostly if, if there’s already talks with the kids, then we will, uh, we’ll definitely make it a priority to go see them, uh, speak with their coaches.
Of course. That’s a really important one. You know, these, they, um, they have a unique, I think you had a, you had a coach on there say they have a unique, uh, Here for their players, you know? And so it definitely kind of helps give us a little bit more insight into the right guys. We’re bringing in things like that, so.
Okay.
Matt: Well, in terms of events that you guys go to, I mean, are you more of a, would you say kind of local recruiting base, regional recruiting base, or national recruiting base? What kind of events? What, what are some of the hit or you know, ones that you gotta hit every year?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah, great question. So I, I’d say honestly, [00:06:00] uh, local and regional are, are kind of more, uh, in the vein for Montreat College.
Um, the furthest I’ve personally gone has been, uh, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. Um, so within maybe an eight hour. Timeframe, but that’s not a, that’s not a regular thing. So some of the showcases that we hit, there’s one coming up in, um, in Atlanta, uh, you probably heard of on Future 500, uh, ID camps.
Mm-hmm. Um, for the coaches that don’t know about them, it’s fantastic. They do a really great job putting these events together. Um, give you player profiles, send you, send you player videos. So that’s definitely one we want to hit. Um, cuz you get guys coming in from all over the, the country. Um, you know, at Montreat we have a unique pool of, uh, internationals and so of course we speak with, with, uh, agents, you know, overseas and stuff.
Um, but we don’t really make the trip out there. Um, at least I haven’t. Um, and then, you know, some of the other, you know, obviously Jefferson Cup, I, I kind of have a list here. You know, there’s any, any, um, you know, tournament like E C N L tournaments that we’re. Brought to our attention. You know, of course the Raleigh showcase is awesome.
Um, you know, there’s, you know, there’s a few on here, you know, capital Fall Classic in Richmond. You know, there’s, there’s, there’s usually there’s tournaments, especially during the fall, uh, during the spring, I mean, pretty regularly on the [00:07:30] weekends. So, um, so we try to make it a point to go to that. I’d say the majority of our guys have been through, uh, through the, the online reaching out.
Um, we’ve, of course we’ve had some great guys come through, um, meeting in person, but, um, but yeah, I, I’d say mostly it’s, um, you know, we’ve had a lot of success with online databases, so. Okay.
Matt: Well, when you’re looking at all of those things, right, and, and you’re making your decisions, who do we want, maybe who don’t we want, what is that hierarchy of things that you guys are looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field stuff or off the field stuff?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. And you know, there’s, there’s probably not much more I can contribute than what some of the other coaches have already already said on, on your podcast, which is just so awesome. Um, you know, of course character is, is, uh, essential. You know, you can have a really good soccer player, but.
If they don’t have strong characters, strong moral values, um, moral compass, I think, um, you could, you could run into some trouble with, uh, building the, the right type of culture that you want to have. And as a former player, having coaches that, that were intentional about that, I, I’ve, I’ve seen it firsthand.
Um, so of course character, you know, um, We’re in a unique position at Montreat where we have a first team and a reserve team. And so we are willing to, if somebody is interested, um, if they’re interested in our school and the academic programs [00:09:00] that we offer, um, if they want, if maybe they have not had so much success with one D two, D three or, and, and they’re interested in, in playing collegiate ball, um, You know, we we’re definitely open to having a conversation with them, so ideally our roster.
Between our first team and our second team is over 50 guys. And so it allows us the opportunity to, to, you know, reach out to a wide array of talent and, and things like that. So if it was just one team, I think it’d be a little bit different, um, specific recruiting, but at this point it’s, it’s, we kind of cast a wide net, um, for the guys that are interested in us, of course, that, that sets ’em apart even more.
Um, you know, of course, you know, when we look at their, their soccer ability, you know, Do they have a good touch on the ball? You know, the basics, doing the fundamentals correctly. You know, do they work hard? You know, I will tell you, and for any, any players that listen to this, um, you know, you can tell a lot about someone’s character by, you know, when, when you get a bad call by a referee or your teammate makes a bad pass, are you pointing a finger at your teammate?
Are you, you know, what’s your body language out there? Are you cursing out the referee? Um, those aren’t the right. Caliber guys that we’re looking to bring in and we’ll, we’ll actually scratch, scratch them off our list. Um, it just is, um, something that, you know, it’s a [00:10:30] simple thing, but it’s, it’s something that we we’re always looking at.
Um, you know, of course doing the, doing the things right, soccer, iq, you know, reading the play, things like that. Um, you know, many of the other coaches on here have, have, have kind of hit all the, all those bases. So, um, so yeah, I mean, That’s why it’s also important to have a, a conversation with them, you know, to kind of gauge, you know, who they are as a person.
You know, kind of, kind of get a feel for their energy, you know, talk to their coach, uh, as well, you know, are they coachable? You know, what, what, what type of person are they? Things like that. So, and then of course, academically, you know, we, you know, a good GPA speaks for itself. So, so we, we have, of course we consider that, um, as well.
So kind of, kind of, Uh, a broad answer there, but
Matt: No, it makes sense. Well, one of the things I noticed on your guys’ roster is, uh, a few, few international players too. So how does, how does the international recruiting work, uh, and do you guys, are you looking at the transfer portal at all? Do you guys have people coming in?
What does that look like for your recruiting?
Coach: Yeah, I mean, as far as international guys go, um, You know, as of right now, we’re pretty full on, on the international scholarship guys that we have. You know, it’s obviously we’re, we’re in June, um, so we’re, we’re kind of approaching, um, you know, fall coming up.
And so we’ve, we’ve already been in, in talks and signed, uh, a lot of the international guys, um, [00:12:00] and kind of the way that works, um, it, it might range from. Maybe they are a transfer. We just signed a kid, um, uh, a Serbian kid, uh, from a school in another N A I A school and um, and he’s a transfer as well. So as far as the transfer portal, I’ve heard a lot of coaches and, and that’s kind of been in the, in the main talks here recently.
Um, I’m, I’m still unfamiliar with, with the ins and outs of the transfer portal. Um, but we’re, we’re always open to, to kids if they wanna. If they want to transfer, if they’re interested in joining us at Montreat. Um, you know, of course, you know, there’s certain requirements, gpa, things like that. But, um, but we’re definitely open to that.
And then of course, you know, the, um, speaking with agents, um, there’s, there’s so many inter international recruiting agencies out there, Spain, south America, Germany. I mean, it’s, it’s a wide range of, of, uh, You know, all over the world. And so, uh, we’ve been fortunate to have good connections with, with guys internationally as well.
But, you know, we love having the international guys. Of course. It, you know, recruiting wise, I think it’s a little easier, uh, to recruit some local kids. They can get federal aid, you know, in state, um, tuition discount, things like that. So, um, but yeah, we, we have a, a good mixture of, of guys really awesome culture here.
So,
Matt: [00:13:30] Okay, well, let’s shift gears. Talk a little bit more about the school. I’m sure there’s some folks not familiar with Montreat there in North Carolina. Um, just drove through North Carolina this just two days ago between Florida and DC on my, on my travels. Uh, but, um, you’ve been there a couple years.
Kind of give me your thoughts. What makes the school just a great place that, that, that you enjoy? What, what are some things we may not know about the school just from clicking through the website? Yeah.
Coach: Yeah. That’s awesome. I, I’ll tell you, I have been so blessed and privileged to be at Montreat. Uh, I mean, it’s, if you were fortunate enough to come through Asheville area, that’s, that’s about where we’re at, Asheville.
We’re in the, the, uh, smoky Mountains here. And, um, So currently Montreat is about 20 minutes. Our campus is about 20, 25 minutes north of Asheville. Um, about two hours from Charlotte, um, about, I’d say three and a half, four hours from Raleigh, but really beautiful part of the country. Um, and as far as our school, our community and things like that, um, It’s a smaller, uh, college.
We have about a thousand students, um, which I, I, I like, I went to a small college, uh, as a player, but also as a coach, you know, you really get a feel for the community. The community is really connected with Montreat as well, and so, you know, you can ask anybody, you know, pull somebody aside on campus, you know, what’s, what’s your favorite thing about [00:15:00] Montreat?
You know, Guaranteeing the top three answers is gonna be community years. So the community has been wonderful. Um, some things that maybe people don’t know about, about Montreat, obviously we’re a, we’re a Christian liberal arts college, and so, you know, you don’t have to have a faith background to come to, to montreat.
You know, many of our guys don’t. Um, Which, which is wonderful. We, we, we, we love everybody and we wanna bring them in and, and accomplish something together, no matter your background. Um, but we just ask that our players, you know, adhere to, to the moral set by our college. You know, obviously I tell people if they’re looking for a party school, Montreal.
It’s probably not the right place, uh, for them. Um, but you know, in addition to that, you know, we offer a wide range of majors. Um, we’re, we’re the, we host the best, uh, cybersecurity program in the country. So, uh, we actually have a partnership with the National Security Agency. So we’ve had, uh, guys go on and, and get solid jobs, uh, doing cybersecurity and things like that.
Um, Uh, after they leave us. So, um, so that’s pretty cool. Of course, if you’re familiar with Billy Graham, the great evangelist of the 20th century, uh, he raised his family about five minutes from campus here. Um, so, you know, got married in the chapel that we all, you know, that we all worship in. And so it’s a really, uh, a really great history here of, of Montreat North [00:16:30] Carolina.
But, um, but the, the community of people, of course the climate, um, and the culture is just wonderful. So, Okay.
Matt: Well, in terms of the academic side and the athletic side, how do your players really make sure they’re balancing those two things? And what kind of support systems does a school offer to help them with that?
Um,
Coach: Yeah, that’s, and that’s an important question too, and I think, uh, for parents as well, you know, um, future players and parents, you know, they want to know, you know, ultimately you’re here, you’re a, you’re a student before you’re an athlete, you know, and so that’s, that’s why you come to college to get an education.
And so, um, so yeah, specifically with Montreat, we, uh, were really intentional. Uh, From the start on when we have our guys sign a, uh, agreed upon contract, um, so everything is, is on the table. There’s no, no surprises as to if their GPA starts dropping. Um, you know, we have, um, We have team study hall twice a week, uh, for one hour at a time.
Um, all underclassmen and anybody with I think below a a three oh uh, is mandatory attendance. There’s just so another layer of, uh, another safeguard for them. Um, we are. And, and especially, uh, our head coach, coach Bruce, um, is in constant communication with the professors and things like that. So we are, [00:18:00] uh, very aware if our guys aren’t going to, uh, class, if they, you know, if academically, if they’re struggling with certain things.
Um, as far as resources go, you know, we, um, we have a great academic support center. Um, I think pretty much every college has something of that to that effect. Um, but. It’s just another resource for, for our guys. I know as a player I was in the writing center, uh, I mean, almost every day. They, they, they knew me as a regular there.
So, you know, it, it just helps having that, um, you know, especially kind of balancing, uh, your academics and athletics. Um, it’s just good having those extra resources available. So,
Uh,
Matt: do me a favor. Walk me through, uh, a typical week during the season in terms, you know, what’s practice, when’s practice, classes, meals, games, travel, all that kind of stuff. What’s a normal week look like?
Coach: Yeah, so normal week, pretty much for us, um, we play, if we’re just looking at varsity, we, we play two games a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays usually.
Um, and, uh, Sundays are pretty much our only day off, especially during the season. During the fall, it’s, it’s, uh, pretty rigorous, uh, time. Um, and that’s why I tell guys, you know, you gotta love it. You know, you, otherwise, it, it might be easy to get burnt out, you know, cuz we do soccer in school and, and it’s, it’s a lot.
So, um, average week, um, during the season we will, we’ll train Monday, Tuesday, play Wednesday. Um, if it’s [00:19:30] an away game, you know, obviously, uh, just gonna depend on the scheduling, but, um, We try to get week games, uh, during the evening as much as possible. But, um, but then, you know, we play Wednesday, Thursday we train again, uh, Friday as well.
Might be a lighter session. Um, you know, recovery for the guys that play a lot, 90 minutes, you know, se 70 plus minutes. We, we will do kind of more dynamic injury prevention stuff. The guys that maybe aren’t getting their game fitness quite yet, um, we will help. Um, You know, make sure that session is tailored for, for their needs as well.
Um, sometimes we do six ams, especially during the spring, you know, we’ll, we’ll have some 6:00 AM trainings and, um, and those are, those are a joy. They build character for sure. Even, even in myself as a coach. So, uh, so yeah, it’s, it’s been good though. That’s, that’s kind of a, in a nutshell and average week, especially during the fall, um, one day off is Sunday, uh, training all the days besides Wednesday and Saturday.
And, uh, and yeah, that’s, you’ll definitely be busy as a, as a player.
Matt: Yeah, for sure. And uh, that was one of my things as a coach, we’re not having 6:00 AM practices cuz I’m not gonna be up and moving at 6:00 AM But anyway, uh, although I did participate in several, uh, you shouldn’t be, uh, just running until the sun comes up, that that’s not, uh, very, very, very helpful.
Anyway. Um, well let’s talk a little bit more about the soccer side of things. Um, [00:21:00] You know, we, we mentioned you were a ga, now you’re assistant coach. Can you tell me more about, about the staff, what all roles everybody play? What’s that look like? Especially with the reserve team?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, um, currently we have a staff of four coaches.
Um, it’s, uh, coach Bruce. Um, he’s from Scotland. Uh, awesome guy. Uh, he’s our head coach, uh, and then myself. And then we have, uh, um, two grad assistants. One’s kind of a ga slash goalkeeper coach. Um, and, uh, As far as the reserve team goes, um, our, uh, ga kind of, kind of heads that up and then obviously I, I’m there to help support him, uh, also help support Coach Bruce and, and, and varsity as well.
Um, and, uh, and yeah, I think it, it helps having, having four guys on our, on our staff, you know, we’re able to, you know, help combine all our strengths and, and be stronger together. So, um, so yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s been really good here. That’s great.
Matt: Well, can you talk to me about, uh, the kind of. Overall, the, the coaching philosophy you guys employ and the style of play that you all guys are looking to play?
Yeah,
Coach: yeah, sure. So, yeah, we, um, you know, as far as coaching philosophy goes, you know, and, and this is one reason I was, uh, I was really fortunate to join Coach Bruce and, and his coaching staff. You know, he, he recruits character I’d say before anything else. Um, I had a coach like that [00:22:30] in college as well, um, who just really helped shape, um, The importance of, of getting the right, the right guys there.
So mostly that is, um, at the forefront of, of everything that we do. Obviously, you know, we, uh, we’re at a Christian college and as coaches, we, we do everything through, through, uh, lens of faith. Um, and so that, that plays into, and that factors in. You know, how we, um, treat our players and, and kind of, uh, establish the values.
Um, you know, we, we are a family mostly, you know, with our team. You know, we have to be, I think, you know, it’s that that old teamwork makes a dream work thing. You know, we, we have to come to together as a family and as a team. So it’s real important for us to, to, uh, establish a unit and not just have, you know, individual clicks or anything like that, or, or, Those are very important to, to make sure that we, we can gauge.
And then, um, yeah. As far as our style of play, we’re, we’re, we try to be as attacking, uh, based as possible. Uh, positionally disciplined, um, so we want to keep possession of the ball as much as possible. Um, We, we like, uh, high fitness guys who are able to get into the attack as well. Um, and also track back on defense.
Um, you know, each, each position requires focus and, and discipline. Um, And yeah, we [00:24:00] like to build from the back. I, I’m, I’m trying not to share too much about our philosophy here. Any, any fellow n A I A coaches are, are gonna gonna see. But yeah, I think, you know, mostly we, we like to have possession of the ball as much as possible.
Keep the ball on the ground, um, you know, make sure our guys are staying in the right position. You know, we’re trying a few things out next season, which is gonna be pretty good with the personnel we have coming in. Um, you know, we, um, we try to, You know, play the game as beautifully as possible, not just lobb it for it and, and hope for the best, you know?
So, um, so yeah, it requires, you know, we do a lot of rondos in our, in our team, you know, it’s, um, you know, high, high intensity, high focus sessions. But, um, but yeah, that’s, that’s in a nutshell, kind of our, our style and, and, uh, things like that.
Matt: Okay. Well, coach, you’ve given us a lot of info and I appreciate that, and I always like to end these with what is the one nugget piece of information, something you want any parent player or, or anybody that’s looking at college soccer to know as they go through this process?
Coach: Yeah, what a great question. So, yeah, I, I’d say, um, You know, as, as I mentioned before, I, I think if you, if you don’t have a love and a, and a commitment to, to improvement and playing the game of soccer, if you don’t have a love for it, man, it’s, it’s. Collegiate athletics is, is pretty demanding on you’re, you’re, you’re well aware of that.
[00:25:30] So it’s, you know, I’d say mostly, you know, how serious are they? You know, are they, is it just, yeah, they wanna check it off the list cuz they might get burnt out after a little bit. But the other side of things is, um, given the fact that most of the college coaches in the country are talking to thousands of, of players, it.
So I can’t stress this enough for, for future collegiate athletes, for their parents, um, being on top of things like their, their fafsa, um, you know, reaching out to us, you know, wording a good email. You’d be so surprised how we get guys who email us and it’s not even the right college. Um, you know, and, um, And so, yeah, just, just making sure that the details are, are right with that.
It don’t have to be perfect, but, you know, just, um, shows, it shows a lot, um, demonstrates a lot about you. And so reaching out to us is, is, um, would be ideal, I’d say for whether they want to come to Montreat or they want to go, you know, Pfeiffer or wherever they want to go. You know, uh, I think it, it sets them apart in a wide, uh, number of, of recruiting class each year.
Um, the ones who are, who are willing to put in that extra effort. Um, the other thing I would say is obviously, you know, a lot of the decisions come down to to money. And so there’s so many, there’s a plethora of scholarships available out there, uh, for the kids willing to put the work in. You know, write a, write a simple essay, you know, a thousand word essay [00:27:00] or something.
Um, and maybe they’re the only one that does it, but they get an extra $5,000, you know, so, uh, there’s a lot of resources available out there, um, for, for kids. Um, and so yeah, I, and then of course, you know, finally playing collegiate sports helps shape and mold me into the man that I am today and, and still becoming, and, um, Uh, you know, and so as parents out there, I think there’s, you know, considering, you know, it’s important, you know, what, what is the culture of the team?
You know, who talk to the coaches as well, you know, um, ask, ask the right, ask the hard questions, you know? Um, and, uh, and, and so I, I think that’s really important cuz they’ll be spending a lot of time under these coaches in, in this team environment. So, um, So, yeah, we ultimately, and I hope that every coach on here would have the same I’m, I’m sure they do by the time they graduate.
College, hopefully we’ve added some value to their life. Um, helped them prepare them, uh, for life beyond, beyond soccer, whether that’s professional or, or the corporate world or something. So, um, so yeah, I’d say kind of in a nutshell, those are, those are some important, uh, final closing remarks I’d have. But thank you so much, Matt, for, for the privilege of being on here and.
For the platform, man, you’re doing a good job
Matt: here. I appreciate that, Ryan. And, uh, thank you for coming on, sharing all that info about Montreat with us. Really appreciate it. Wish you the best of luck this upcoming [00:28:30] fall and, and if you ever stretch past Jacksonville, down to Bradenton on any of those recruiting visits, let me know.
And, uh, yes, sir. And we’ll get together, have a cup of coffee or something. All right.
Coach: Like that. That sounds good. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you Ryan. Ryan. Take care. Take care. Bye bye.
