New College of Florida Women’s Soccer – Coach Deb Pekel
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Deb from the New College Women’s Program in Florida. We talk about what it is like to start a new program from scratch. She describes the unique, tailored academic pathways students receive. Lastly, we discuss the team’s fun, but competitive environment. Learn more about New College of Florida Women’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Debbie from New College of Florida. Welcome
Coach: coach. Thank you. Glad to be here.
Matt: Glad to have you. Uh, you know, it took me a year and a half to get echoed on, which was the geographically safe. Closest program to me at the time, but now that new college has a program, you are my geographical closest person.
So, uh, it was great. We even got to see each other in person last week. Um, so welcome and and congrats on on a, on a 1st season.
Coach: Thank you. Yeah, it’s, it’s exciting to have something based in Sarasota because like you said, it’s. St. Pete or I mean you’re going inland or obviously way south. Um, so it’s nice to have something, um, around here in Sarasota because it’s a beautiful, beautiful location and athletics I think will help the community in general.
Just have something around outside of high school athletics. Yeah,
Matt: for sure. And so you, you completed your first season this past fall. And when did you get to put your boots on the ground and really start as coach of the program leading up to the fall season?
Coach: So it started May 1st, technically, but I was still in South Carolina finishing where I was former, uh, coaching formally and, uh, had about two weeks to try to recruit.
Um, you know, in basis of South Carolina, before I was able to physically move to Sarasota and then had about 2 months to recruit for [00:01:30] the fall 2023. so, um, a short timeline for sure, but I’m thankful that it all worked out and had a really great, um, you know, roster this year of just really great student athletes.
Um, and it was a good, you know, good first season to kind of lay the foundation.
Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, congrats on, on pulling that together quickly. I know, uh, you know, when I had my coaching job, it’s kind of the same thing. I, I, I didn’t, my contract didn’t start till, till June one. And you’re trying to, trying to put things together.
Luckily I had a returning players, which you didn’t have the, uh, The benefit of but so how many players did you get for this first fall season? And what are you? Is there an ideal number that you have in your head that you’re looking to have on the roster
Coach: moving forward? Yeah, so this year we had we started with 16 Um, and then the first week of pre season two decided that it wasn’t for them.
Um the competitive collegiate aspect And then we uh gained another uh current student that joined the roster kind of halfway through the season So we’re at 15 Um, which is low by the standard of, you know, having 11 on the field. So ideal roster for next year for the varsity team would be, I would say, between 2628 enough to go 11 aside and practice.
And, um, of course, sometimes. You have to navigate injuries and, and other variables that might limit, you know, players being able to play, um, or be eligible in games. So that’s a, that’s a pretty, [00:03:00] um, you know, fair roster to be able to manage.
Matt: Well, and, and I assume as a, a new program, obviously you don’t have like.
Eight kids in each class and a normal rotation of seniors graduating and freshmen coming on and that sort of stuff. So are you looking more at, you know, junior colleges and, um, you know, maybe transfer portal, you know, even though that’s kind of stuff with kids transferring and, um. And internationals, do internationals figure into that at all?
Coach: Yeah, so, um, well, for this summer, it was really primarily, um, you know, seniors graduating in 2023, so freshmen, uh, first time in college students. Um, so that was, that was the bulk of our roster this year. We had two international players from Germany. Um, they were actually committed to a Division II school in New York, and that closed suddenly in July, so.
Fortunately, I was able to connect with them and they decided to come here. And so what it’s going to look like moving forward for the 2024 recruiting class and probably thereafter will be kind of a mix between. I mean, transfer students, they do would be coming in for at least a year, primarily 2 years of experience, college experience.
So, um, I think every program is looking at that if they can. We don’t have access to the real transfer portal because we’re NAI. So. Um, uh, verified athletes is a really great [00:04:30] resource that we have, um, to be able to have those conversations with those. Most of them that are in the portal, I would say, based on kind of the cost of attendance and what we’re able to do here so far, it will be a mix of in state students with bright futures or Pell grants.
That would make it a pretty affordable to come here. And then, um, actually international students from like the Latin American regions, or there’s about 30 countries that would be able to be gifted in state tuition as well. So those are kind of the main 2, but, um, there are some really great local talented kids, um, you know, in the state of Florida, especially in this region here in Sarasota that, um, you know, have like 3 and 4 as well.
So I think there’ll be kind of 3 different demographics.
Matt: Well, more on that, the, to that last point, you know, uh, you’re, you’re lucky in that you’re within a few minutes of the, the premier soccer complex and IMG and, and not, you know, within an hour of the Tampa sportsplex where all these big tournaments happen year round.
So, um, are you primarily just kind of getting yourself to stay local or are you venturing out to other places? What are some of the tournaments and events that that are kind of on your radar that you want to hit to, to see
Coach: players at? Yeah, so fortunately, like you said, premier sports campus is 30 minutes down, um, down the street.
Uh, Tampa’s an hour north of us. So fortunately, all of the major showcases and tournaments that happen, especially in the wintertime into the early [00:06:00] spring are here in Florida. So, as far as a recruiting standpoint, it’s nice to be able to guarantee heading out there for the weekend to discount local talent or teams that are coming out of state.
For those specific tournaments. Um, so we’ve, we’ve done a few the last few months. Um, and moving forward. There’s a few in January that are starting up. There’s two coming up the weekend into the new year. A DPL showcase and I believe another one in Sanford and then there’s of course the Disney showcase.
That’s happening a weekend after that. So, um, fortunately, most of the recruiting has been in state in Florida, just from a cost effective and logistic standpoint, but there are going to be some out of state ones up north in the Midwest area, probably California coming up soon as well. So we’ll kind of branch out there, but as far as being able to be able to find the recruiting.
Showcases that are going to produce the most fruit for us as far as being able to start conversations and hopefully get them to, um, get on campus and that whole process would mainly be in Florida.
Matt: Okay, now I know you worked, uh, the, the exact camp, uh, back in November, but are you guys going to host your own I.
D. camps, uh, at new college or just kind of look at other camps or how important our camps going to be to this whole recruiting process.
Coach: So we do have 1 scheduled for the winter. Um, it’s on January 20th. [00:07:30] Um, the, it’s always kind of balancing out, um, you know, what tournaments or showcases are happening on certain weekends and then trying to balance that out with the times that aren’t going to, you know, naturally overlap where we can guarantee enough, um, players able to come out and, um, potentially come to ID camp.
Um, what I’m finding is on that that day, there’s also a, an ID camp at St. Louis University as well. So, you know, I might have to maybe change the date just because I’m allowing students the, the true platform to go in and get as much exposure as I want. Um, so that might change. So I’m working on those dates, but, um, we’ll have a winter ID camp whether in January that day, or maybe a little bit later into February.
And then of course in the summer we’ll also have one of the men’s team is doing the exact same thing. So that’ll be nice just to kind of build a brand, allow student athletes to come in and get an experience of meeting the current players on the team, um, meeting all the coaches, and just being able to get a better feel for what the new college, um, program would look like.
Matt: Well, whether it’s camps, tournaments, uh, wherever you’re seeing players, kind of what makes up the hierarchy of things that you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field attributes or off the field stuff.
Coach: For me, it’s, um, you know, I think a lot of. Local players or even those out of state or internationally have a basis of a foundation of technical ability, uh, physical stature is important to, um, as far as a college game, it’s a [00:09:00] physical game, higher speed of play.
Um, so really it’s finding, finding players that, um. You know, are willing to embrace the physical part of that part of college soccer, um, willing to go into tackles hard, um, you know, are aggressive in both regaining possession, um, you know, and just being able to keep possession. Um, but outside of that, too, is just, I think it’s a mentality, a true competitive nature where they want to come in and they want to get better.
They want to develop. They want to do what’s right in their role for their teammates. And so if I can find, you know, players that are going to work hard, they’re going to work hard for their teammates, they’re committed to the team above self, and they have a really great character where I don’t have to worry about them, you know, off the field, they’re going to do the right things, they’re going to go to classes, they’re going to take that seriously, um, you know, they’re going to, again, be a great fit for the program as we continue to build a culture here and the environment here.
So, um, those are really what I’m looking for, because the technical aspect, the tactical elements that can be developed over their time here as well. Okay, that’s
Matt: awesome. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. I’m sure there’s folks out there not familiar with with new college. I mean, I guess it’s been in the news some down here in Florida over the last year.
But, um, what was it that kind of drew you to the program? What are some of the awesome things about the school that you found in your time there so far? Maybe some stuff we wouldn’t know just by going through the website.
Coach: Yeah, [00:10:30] so New College has been around since 1960. The, the name might confuse some people because they assume it’s a new college, but of course it’s been around since 1960.
And, um, really historically New College has been a really, really great, well renowned, Uh, public liberal arts college and so producing some of the best, um, students to go on for higher, you know, either graduate degrees or a lot of doctorate, um, degrees and able to do to be, you know, leaders in their field.
And so, since we are a liberal arts college, we offer so many different, we call areas of concentration for similar to majors and minors. And so, um, I think our academic model is, is really innovative and really allows. After students or student athletes to come in and be able to get a degree that’s tailored to them specifically specifically that’s going to allow them into what career or field they want to work for.
So, um, it’s. It’s kind of created in a way where someone can come in and say, hey, this is what I’m interested in. And they’re going to be worked with a, um, a academic advisor and a career coach. That’s going to walk them and love them to create a contract. So the contract is basically a semester where they’re choosing handpicking the classes.
With help and guidance from those 2 to be able to formulate again, their degree path and being able to pull from different to tailor it to them specifically. So, [00:12:00] it’s not only just the tailored design for that student. Um, but it’s also then the hands on experience experiential. Experiential learning that’s involved.
In that process, and then, um, every January, we do an, which is an independent study period. And that’s where each student can go. And within whatever field or they’re pursuing go and get hands on experience or start to do research or whatever. They’re created. Whatever they would like to to use that time for.
Um, so, again, I think that stands. makes a stand out as far as a true academic model. So students are coming here and they’re getting a really, really valuable education that’s gonna prepare them for the future.
Matt: Okay. Well, I mean, it’s one of the hardest challenges for especially freshmen going into college is really learning how to balance the demands of the classroom versus their sport.
So how do your student athletes really maintain that balance and what support systems as a school offer to help them, especially being a new athletic department?
Coach: Yeah, so because we are part of the State University system, we do have a lot of resources on campus. So we have student success coaches, we have writing labs, we have every resource that’s going to help the student academically here.
Um, as a student athlete, you know, this is the first year we’re concluding our first fall semester, um, navigating what that looks like. And [00:13:30] so, you know, women’s soccer and men’s soccer were, were. Kind of the 1st student athletes to be introduced to that. And so, um, we’re still kind of creating a process in place.
We are going to be adding, I believe, athletic admissions coordinators or advisors that are going to be able to kind of come along and make sure that the student athlete is being successful in classes. And that’s going to be kind of mediator between, um, their professors and then us as coaches. And so I think that’s going to be helpful moving forward just to make sure that we’re, we’re guiding and making sure that.
Again, the student athletes under our care are, um, being successful in their contracts, being successful in their academic coursework. And then, you know, the sport would come secondary to that. Um, so we, we definitely have a lot of resources, which, which is great. And then every student or student athlete can use those resources as much as they want.
And then, you know, study halls and things of that nature, the, the programs can implement on their on their own as well.
Matt: Okay. Well, and, and you, I’ll let you choose whether you either go back in time or look forward in time, but, uh, kind of take me through an average week, uh, for, for one of your players, whether that’s next season or what we just did this season, what, you know, when our classes and practice times and, and games and meals and, and all the things.
Coach: Yeah, so, um, since we are joining the same conference in the fall, which is really exciting for us, um, we will have games on [00:15:00] Wednesdays and Saturdays, unless there’s a bye week. So what a typical, um, week would look like in the competitive season. We would, um, we’ve been training in the morning, which has been really nice.
So, uh, we’ll continue to train in the morning, usually an hour and a half or so, 7 is kind of the sweet spot. So that allows students, our student athletes to be able to go, uh, get back to campus, shower, eat breakfast, get ready for the classes. If they have 9 a. m. classes, that’s when the bulk of the classes start and then classes can range from 9 a.
m. to all the way to, you know, block classes. I mean, at 9 p. m. depending on the day. So, uh, based on their schedule, but once practice is done in the morning, they have obviously classes as priority and then, um, most of the day is. Is left to them to be able to make sure that they’re going to the cafeteria, the ham, uh, which is open, uh, basically all day, uh, making sure that they have time to do other, you know, student events on campus.
A lot of them would like to go off campus and, you know, go downtown Sarasota, which is a few blocks away down to the beaches. Of course, especially if they’re not from Florida. There are always wanting to go to the beach, um, and just kind of, you know, getting off campus or staying on campus and, you know, studying, uh, our, um, four winds cafe.
And being able to just kind of engage in community there, so. Um, on Mondays and Thursdays coming up in this season, we’ll also have weightlifting twice a week in season. So that will be again, based on [00:16:30] schedule, either early morning, or maybe later in the evening, depending on again, when all the student athletes are, you know, not in class.
Um, but yeah, there’s, there’s a lot of flexibility between, you know, coming to practice early doing what we need to do to be prepared to move us into Wednesday and Saturday and then Thursdays are most likely going to be. When, um, we will either have a light recovery session or they might have, um, you know, that morning off to rest and then weightlifting later in that evening.
So, um, kind of a nice balance so far. We’re going to continue to implement things are there. Of course, you’re going to be some. Opportunities to go over film scouting reports, things in that nature that most likely would be that Tuesday and that Friday leading into those matches. But, um, a nice balance because again, the workload here is a little bit more rigorous.
And so I want to make sure that my student athletes have enough time to seek out those resources, be successful in classes, but we can also do that still balancing what we need to do on the field. Okay.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about on the field stuff. Um, you know, you mentioned trying to get that roster up, uh, to, to the 28 ish number, but, uh, Probably don’t want to do that all by yourself.
So do you have other staff that work with you? Are there other athletic department support staff that help out with the team during the year kind of what’s that look like?
Coach: So I do have an assistant coach. Um, she graduated from ut martin And her and her family actually moved here to lakewood [00:18:00] ranch. And um, so she works full time for her dad’s company consulting company Um, but she’s my part time assistant coach right now and she does a really great job And so what we’re looking for right now is we have an open position for um JV head coach, uh, full time position.
Then also, you know, Supplementing time as being an assistant coach for the varsity team as well. And then we have 1 more position that could either be a grad assistant position or another part time assistant coach that we’re looking to fill as well, leading into the fall 2024. And so those are postings are on our website.
Um, and then right now, um, the community of coaches here. Um, we’re, we’re creating opportunities where we’re, you know, helping one another in their programs, whether it’s again, little things or admin tasks or things of that nature. So, that community has been helpful, but as we go into the spring, um, you know, we will, you know, since our roster is still, you know, going to be between 15 to 18 in the spring, maybe closer to 19.
That’s still pretty manageable between the 2 of us, but again, the hope is to be able to bring on 2 more additional coaches. And then being able to manage, um, you know, a first team and a second team potentially next fall.
Matt: Okay, so that was actually going to be one of my questions. I know a handful of those Sun Conference teams field those developmental teams, JV teams, whatever you want to call them.
So you’re, you’re looking at even with 28 kind of potentially have that two team balance. So, [00:19:30] the
Coach: goal is actually to get to 40 around 40 as a roster within the program. And so then it’s kind of designing, you know, the 1st 2nd team or the varsity varsity reserve team. And for us, it’s going to be a little bit more fluid.
It’s going to allow everyone the opportunity to get as much game experience and exposure. And then, you know, fluid enough where someone that’s pegged as the first team or varsity team, if they’re not doing what they need to do, or they’re not taking costs seriously, they’re not meeting our standards or performance is dropping, you know, being able to, again, adjust or, you know, someone that comes in that might need a little bit more time to get used to the speed of play and the physicality of the college game, you know, allowing them that opportunity and then, you know, potentially earning minutes on the first team.
So that is, that’s the goal. So that means there’s about 25 to 27 players. Yeah. To recruit for the fall 2024. So, um, definitely, uh, um, a, a big recruiting year for us. And then hopefully then with retention and, and having that additional full time JV coach, we can manage the team well and be able to, you know, have more.
Of a regular recruiting cycle that most other programs have where you’re bringing in maybe five to ten, depending on who’s graduating and who’s leaving. Okay.
Matt: Well, that makes sense. Well, all right. Now we get to talk about you though, specifically. Uh, so how would you describe kind of your style of coaching and that style of play that you’re looking to implement on the team?
Coach: So, I really like kind of the indirect, um, kind of [00:21:00] hybrid, it’s not Tiki Taka style necessarily, but it’s, you know, using width as much as we can, um, you know, using combination play, link play to, to progress the ball forward, um, from, you know, the defensive third into the attacking third, um, finding our moments to naturally overload in certain areas of the field.
Just so we’re successful with keeping possession and, you know, being able to, to move opposition and then five moments to break those lines and move forward together as a unit. Um, so the principles will stay the same as far as the formation of the system. We’re playing, uh, we’ll kind of, you know, adapt based on who we’re playing, uh, the personnel, the players that I have.
But, uh, this year we played a 4 3 3, that was, that, you know, did seemingly well for us, and then with the addition of some really great players coming in the fall, you know, I’d like to be able to not only learn the 4 3 3 well, but be able to switch between other systems, whether a 3 5 2, a 4 2 3 1, um, even, you know, a 4 4 2 potentially, again, matching up.
Uh, the skill set of our players and then also, you know, the opposition that we’re playing, um, but yeah, it’s going to be a mix of, you know, indirect possession, um, and then, uh, counter pressing, pressing and in certain moments, so, um, the players are going to definitely have to be fit, um, and hopefully we have enough depth where we can kind of rotate through if we’re going to be a pressing team or counter pressing team, um, in majority of the games.
Um, but yeah, and that’s kind of how we would like to play and what we’re building towards, and we have a good foundation of some players that are really [00:22:30] buying into that. Um, or coming from club or high school that play a similar, similar style. I do know that the college game can be very direct. Um, and there are going to be moments to be able to do that as well.
So it’s just making sure that the players understand when those moments are. And as far as the coaching style, you know, I really believe in creating a, um, you know, fun, competitive, high intensity, um, atmosphere. But where there’s going to be a sense of joy and alignment within, you know, peer to peer or teammate to teammate.
Where they’re able to you work hard for one another. They’re bought into, you know, creating a foundation and opportunity to compete, but doing it again for one another, not for themselves. And, um, you know, for me, it starts with my coaching staff myself and those around me. To be intentional with building relationships, intentional with creating them the, you know, having them have a sense of autonomy and decision making and making sure that we’re encouraging where.
You know, motivating them. We’re creating a space where, you know, we’re stretching them and challenging them. We’re doing it in a way where they, they know that they’re safe and that they can, um, you know, enjoy that process of developing. Um, and so that’s, you know, kind of the environment that we’re, we’re looking to build and have started to build because, um, sadly, most student athletes, when they’re looking for a program, they want a place where they belong.
They feel like they belong. They feel like it’s a family. There’s no clickiness or divisiveness. And sadly, sometimes most programs, whether it’s high [00:24:00] school club or other formats that exist. So for here, you know, can we separate or be set apart where you love it. You love your teammates. You have really great relationships with your coaches and your teammates, but we’re working hard.
We’re competing. And I think both can exist.
Matt: Absolutely. Coach, you’ve been awesome, and I appreciate your time. I want to leave you with one last question, uh, and that is if you had one piece of advice, one nugget of information that you wish every kind of player going through this college recruiting process would know, what would that be?
Good
Coach: question. I would say, um, It’s never too late in the recruiting process, and there’s always going to be programs that are looking for people, even if you’re in your senior year, and you’re a few months from graduation. I mean, I built a team on, you know, 15 individuals that didn’t know that they’re going to be playing college soccer or, you know, didn’t have that same exposure.
So I’d say, you know, being able to start early, obviously, is helpful, but keeping an open mind into the programs that are reaching out to you, um, don’t buy into this narrative that it has to be division one, or it has to be a certain status or level, because, um, sometimes reality is. You’ve either missed that window, or you not, you might not be able to play in that system.
Um, and so being open to what you want your college, you know, soccer experience to look like, and that might be a different college or different [00:25:30] program than what you may have considered in the beginning. So, just be open in the recruiting process, hear out coaches. And just, you know, make sure that you’re allowing yourself all those, all those opportunities and, um, you know, to continue, um, you know, starting, even if you feel like it’s too late.
Matt: Absolutely. Well, couldn’t agree more coach. Uh, really appreciate the time. It’s, uh, been great talking to you in person as well as on here. And I’m sure I’ll see you, uh, over at one of these tournaments or somewhere else here soon. All right. So have a great holiday and, uh, thanks for being on.
Coach: Thank you. I appreciate it.
