Newman University Women’s Soccer – Coach Dylan Gruntzel
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Dylan Gruntzel from the Newman University Women’s Program. We talk about what off the field attributes he looks for in players. He describes the school’s most popular academic areas. Lastly, we discuss how his staff helps the program, even in a non-soccer related capacity. Learn more about Newman University Women’s Soccer.
[00:00:00] Matt: Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Dylan Gruntzel from Newman university in Wichita, Kansas. Welcome coach. Yeah, thank you for having me. Ah, thanks for being here. Uh, you know, I, one of the. One of the things we do, uh, here is try to introduce folks to schools they might be aware of.
[00:00:18] And I’m an east, more of an east coast guy. I went to school in DC and there was a Newman I think, in the Philadelphia area. Um, and so, but you guys are the Newman out in, in Kansas. So, um, before we talk more about the school, let’s talk a little bit about the recruiting side of things as a division two school.
[00:00:36] So when do you, when do you really start looking, uh, at a player? So this is the perfect time, right? We’re. We’re just, we’re past the June 15th deadline. You’re starting, you know, you got a season coming up. So when are you really spending time contacting players, looking at players, et cetera? You
[00:00:55] Coach: know, I think, you know, for us is, you know, we start, you know, right at June 15th for anybody that’s going into their junior year.
[00:01:00] Um, you know, I think with being an NCAA school, you know, that. Something you have to, to, to keep up with, with everybody else. Um, you know, we’re in a, in a good conference in the I a a, which I, you know, I think is one of the best in division two. Uh, so we have to keep up with them. There’s a lot of very good schools.
[00:01:16] We sent four, four teams to the national tournament out of our conference. And, uh, you, you have to keep with them cuz they’re doing it. So you try to. You try to get a good start with, you know, your relationship building with recruits and, uh, you know, with people that you think would be good fits for your program right away, whether that’s from seeing them at ID camps, seeing them at showcases, seeing them at a high school game, since we’re in Wichita, we’re at a, you know, we’re in a big city.
[00:01:41] So we have that luxury to be able to go watch a high school game. That could be five, 10 minutes from campus. So, uh, we started as soon as we’re able to, um, would be, would be the, the short answer. Now you
[00:01:51] Matt: mentioned showcases what for you guys specifically, what are some of those tournaments and showcases that, that are on your list to attend every, every year to make sure you’re there and, and checking out
[00:02:02] Coach: players for sure.
[00:02:03] Um, you know, I think we, I, I’ve always been a big believer in that you should try to turn over every rock to find players. Um, whether that’s me coming from Anai and having to do that there. Um, or just, you know, knowing that there are players that do get lost in the shuffle that cannot play on a high caliber team, whether it’s a location standpoint, a financial standpoint, there’s still good players out there.
[00:02:29] Um, so I think, you know, we’re gonna be doing stuff that’s regional. Um, but we’ll also look into attending like the CNL showcases or. Um, you know, some of the GA events, so those are the right things we try to do. And we try to try to create a schedule now of what we’re looking for that can fit within a recruiting budget and, and make it happen.
[00:02:48] Um, and so that’s, that’s kind of what we try to do. I usually let our assistants try to handle some of the, the closer ones. And then I’ll, I’ll do the travel, um, to deal with that, um, and kind of go to the more high profile events you could say. Um, but we try to, we try. Um, do it anyway we can. Um, like, so I think there’s good players in any event you go to, it’s just a matter of getting to those events and finding them.
[00:03:10] Matt: Okay. Now you mentioned ID camps as well. I mean, how important are camps in, in the, your global kind of recruiting scheme, whether they’re your camps or, or, uh, camps at other schools that you might work or the, or the kind of, uh, you know, for-profit camps, if you will, the, the bigger
[00:03:29] Coach: ones. I think they’re important cuz you get a chance to work with players.
[00:03:34] Um, I think that, you know, for me, there’s certain players. I won’t recruit based on their work ethic. And so you, I, I like to do the ID camps, cuz it gives me a chance to work with players and see, you know, what they do, you know, in certain activities or certain environments. Um, and then when you host your own, like we, we host a high school camp.
[00:03:54] We host an ID camp in the winter as well. And you get a chance, like you said, obviously, to work with those players, but kids that go to those are usually players that are gonna be interested in you. Um, especially, you know, our camp in the summer is just us there. We don’t invite anybody. Um, it’s just a traditional camp.
[00:04:12] And then our ID camp in the wintertime is like I said, it’s us in an AI school. That’s just across the street. Um, so we keep ’em very small. It’s not like there’s 40 coaches coming to those. So we know that those are kids that could be interested in us. Um, yeah, that’s why they’re Covey. So I think that’s from our standpoint, and then I, I try to attend the ID camps of schools that are, are close to us that are regionally easy to get to, um, you know, help out with some that are just, like I said, your for-profit camps and, and go to those.
[00:04:41] And just through connections as being a college coach to being a club coach to being a high school coach at one point. So, uh, just using those relationships and, and attending those camps, I think have been really beneficial. Um, So that’s why I think why I like doing those is it gives you a chance to work with the players.
[00:04:59] Okay.
[00:05:00] Matt: Now, whether it’s at camps or at showcases and tournaments, you know what, what’s kind of your hierarchy of what you’re looking for in a player, uh, whether that’s on the field or, or
[00:05:10] Coach: off the field. Um, I think for us, you know, off the field, you know, I like kids that are gonna be good people. Um, I think any, any coach.
[00:05:21] You’re always gonna have your fair share of things you gotta deal with off the field. So I think we’re always looking for the people that are gonna cause us minimal issues when they’re away from the team, whether they’re in the dorms, they’re out in public, out in the community because we always try to make our players recognize that you’re.
[00:05:36] You’re a representation of not only yourself, but your teammates, your coaches, your school, your parents, your family, um, and some of those are kids. We look for, I think from an off the field standpoint, you’re gonna be a good person when you’re not playing soccer and same thing. Are you gonna be good in the classroom?
[00:05:51] Um, I think we’ve voiced ourselves from an academic standpoint to stay above a three, five team GPA. And we’ve done pretty good at that so far. Um, so I’d be from the off field on the field. I think every coach is gonna be different in that regard. I’ve always looked at players’ work. Great. I think that’s always been important to me cuz it shows me how they’re gonna develop over four years here.
[00:06:13] Are you gonna be a player that comes in and yeah, you’re really good as a freshman here, but you don’t work hard enough and therefore. The freshman that came in with you, that works three times as hard as you is probably gonna pass you at some point. Um, so those are things that I, I think, are the number.
[00:06:28] One thing I look for for players on the field is what’s their work rate when they’re off the ball, when they’re defending, you know, like with strikers strikers, traditionally don’t defend a lot, you know, do we have strikers that defend, um, cuz those, those can create goal scoring chances for you that can catch other teams off.
[00:06:44] So I think that’s probably the number one thing we look for, um, in players is what’s their work rate gonna be like,
[00:06:51] Matt: okay, well, in terms of the, kind of the last question I have on the recruiting side of things, you know, what, how do, uh, International players kind of fit into to your recruiting and, and what has kind of the transfer portal, if anything done, uh, in terms of your, your recruiting?
[00:07:11] Coach: Yeah. Um, internationally, you know, we have a few internationals, I, I would say we’re not a school that’s set up from a financial standpoint to carry a ton. Um, so we carry, I think we’ll have three this year. Um, and all of those are transfers. Two that are junior college, and one is from the transfer portal.
[00:07:30] So those are the three that we have. And then we have another one that did come in as a freshman. So we have four total. She came in a year ago. Um, so we’ll have four total on the roster. So I, you know, we’ll have a few, but we never carry like a mass amount. I think we’re traditionally, you know, mostly regional kids from the Kansas Oklahoma area.
[00:07:49] And then we’ll get a few, like we have a kid from Las Vegas, a kid from California, a kid from Texas. So, uh, we start to kind of open up that realm a little bit, but you know, it’s traditionally the regional kids, as I think a lot of schools are
[00:08:03] Matt: Sorry, one, one other question. You, you mentioned the financial side of things, you know, And I’m not, you know, holding your feet to the fire with specifics here, but can you just give folks a general idea of what the scholarship and financial aid situation is like specifically at Newman, uh, for a typical player coming in the door in terms of either academics or athletic scholarships and just kind of how that all, what all that looks like for your school?
[00:08:29] Coach: Yeah, I, I think it’s, you know, I did at the end of the day, we’re, we’re a four year private school, um, is what I, I tell players is there’s always gonna be a. Um, to attend that. And there’s, you know, those are things that you have to expect and we try to be very upfront with players in the recruiting process, like right away, like, Hey, there’s gonna be a cost here.
[00:08:45] This is not a, you know, we’re not a headcount sport where everybody gets a full ride, it just doesn’t work that way. Um, so we try to, you know, we try to be upfront with players at the very beginning of the process. That way we’re not wasting their time. Um, and we’re not wasting our time on a kid that thinks they’re getting everything.
[00:09:00] Um, so that’s that, I think it would be a general idea of what we are trying to say. ’em so obvious there’s advantages of, you know, different things you can do off campus, you know, different ways to live as far as being off campus. Those are things that Newman provides if you can live off campus after two years, you can go anywhere you want doesn’t matter.
[00:09:17] Um, so there’s a lot of different intricacies when they get into it. And we try to. Kind of show them those paths that they can take from a, uh, from a long term standpoint, if not, don’t look at it just as your freshman year, where the cost could be more, look at it as down the road of how it could be.
[00:09:35] Matt: Okay, well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school.
[00:09:38] Um, you know, obviously I can go to the website and learn all kinds of things, but, but since I’ve got you here, I’ll give you the stuff I’m not gonna learn on the website. What makes Newman, uh, a great place for, for a student athlete to
[00:09:50] Coach: be. I, you know, I think, like I said, in any school there’s gonna, you’re gonna have to find your fit.
[00:09:55] I think one thing we offer is that a lot of people wanna go to a small school, but sometimes they don’t like to go to a small school in the middle of nowhere. Um, that’s, that’s, you know, I’ve been there as a coach. You’re right. That’s something that kids often say, well, I wanna be in the big city.
[00:10:11] Well, we’re in a big city. We’re in, you know, Wichita, Kansas, where, you know, the Wichita Metro area is about 600,000 people. There are malls, there are. Every fast food chain, there are 48 million Starbucks. So, you know, we offer that small school atmosphere in a big city life. Um, so I think that’s something that’s unique about Newman is you just don’t see that a ton.
[00:10:33] You don’t see a lot of, uh, private schools in big cities, at least in the Midwest. Usually they’re in, you know, a small town. Um, so I think that’s something that kind of separates us, um, you know, from the school standpoint. And, you know, I think from a major standpoint, our big bread and butter is probably anything medical.
[00:10:53] So anything from pre-med to nursing, to pre-vet, um, those are kind of the. Our our, our big majors, like, you know, we have the, the big, nice, bright, shiny science building on campus that everybody loves to be in. Um, so that’s kind of our bread and butter from an academic standpoint, um, I guess from the school.
[00:11:12] So those are things that I kind of right out the gate. I’m like, look, small school, you get that private education, but you’re also in a big city where you’re gonna have things to do. Um, so I think that’s always been a good thing for me.
[00:11:25] Matt: So, you know, you mentioned some pretty tough majors there in terms of nursing and, and all the medical stuff.
[00:11:32] So specifically at your school, how do student athletes balance the workload, you know, between their academics and the athletic side of things, what kind of support systems does Newman offer to help them along that journey? For
[00:11:45] Coach: sure. Um, I think the balance between academics and athletics, there’s a very good relationship between the groups.
[00:11:52] I think sometimes you’ll go to schools and like, they don’t talk to each other. They’re like, yeah, we’re gonna do soccer here and you’re gonna skip class or they’re gonna be like, no, you’re never gonna skip class for anything, even again, um, Whereas, I think we have a great relationship, even with the, you know, the majors that require clinical hours, which are just, you know, you’re hard to move those things.
[00:12:11] So I think our relationship with those programs has been excellent. Um, you know, an example, we had a professor email me a month ago about a girl for this fall trying to make sure. She’s in the right clinical rotations to fit her soccer schedule and academic pair them together as best we could. So like, I didn’t do that.
[00:12:31] The player didn’t do that. The professor went outta their way to do that early. Like it wasn’t. The day before class, it was in June. Um, so I think that’s a great relationship there. Um, I think from the support on campus, I think, I think we’re very similar to a lot of campuses. You know, you have tutors, you have academic help.
[00:12:50] You obviously have teammates. We have a lot of people that are involved in the medical piece. So your teammates are able to help. They have a lot of different types of services that can help from the academic side. And then from our actual school, our school’s big on academics. And so, you know, we try to hold them accountable from an academic standpoint of a GPA.
[00:13:10] Like, look, our team GPA has been above a 3.5 for a really long time. Let’s not let that drop. And traditionally, most of the girls are at least 3.0 higher. And if they’re not, and. We have things like, okay, you have study hours, you have grade checks. And at the end of the day, there’s other things they wanna do besides coming to coach and give ’em grade checks.
[00:13:27] So they do a pretty good job of keeping their grades above where they should be. Okay,
[00:13:33] Matt: Well, can you walk me through what a, you know, what a typical week kind of looks like? I mean, I know there’s no such thing as a typical week, but, um, you know, just, you mentioned clinical rotations and, and, you know, there’s a lot of stuff that a student athlete has to go through with their schedule.
[00:13:49] So what would a typical week kind of look like during the season in terms of practice, time, school, time, all game time, all that kind of stuff,
[00:13:57] Coach: for sure. Um, so. Usually we play Friday, Sunday, um, and we carry a bigger roster and we do, we do run a reserve team here. Um, and so reserves usually play on Mondays after a Sunday game, if they did not compete on Sunday.
[00:14:12] Um, and obviously in the mornings, there’s always class, uh, Tuesdays is, uh, is more of a recovery film day. For both groups. So they’ll recover. If they like our goalkeepers they will go through a goalkeeper session, cuz they don’t need to recover. You hope. And if your goalkeeper needs to recover after a game, you probably need to work on some other things.
[00:14:31] um, but the goalkeepers will have a session. The field players will usually have a recovery session and then we’ll film. Um, and just kind of some things pick one or two things that we struggled at and go through that. Okay. That’ll be our focus for the week. Um, classes are usually in the mornings, usually in that 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM block.
[00:14:52] For most, like I said, there’s always a few different ones, but that’s usually what it’s like. Uh, so that’s Tuesdays, Wednesdays, same thing from a class standpoint, we’ll train, we’ll have a big focus for all the players together. Training on Wednesdays, Thursdays, we go early in the morning. We go at 6:00 AM, just because of our facilities.
[00:15:10] Um, like we go in the morning cuz nobody else is so we’ll go at 6:00 AM, get it outta the way, be done. And they go to class and they have the rest of the day to kind of, you know, do whatever they like, whether it’s study, hang out with friends, work part-time jobs, whatever they want to do. Uh, Fridays are game days.
[00:15:26] Um, usually in the evening. Um, Saturdays are for the players that played a lot. It’s a recovery day, um, for the players that did not play a lot. And the goalkeepers it’s, uh, usually like a technical session. Um, and then Sundays are game days as well. And then we kind of repeat the process and we usually try to throw two times a week of weights in there in some capacity, whether it’s, you know, it’s, uh, You know, trying to build a little bit or just maintain, um, we try to put those in probably Tuesday, Wednesday, or Tuesday, Thursday in some capacity.
[00:15:55] Um, but that, like I said, I’m trying to work those out. Only being here since November of like, what type of what times we’ll do those out. And we have a new strength and conditioning coach. So we’re, we’re working through that right now. Okay. So that’s a typical week. Awesome.
[00:16:09] Matt: Well, let’s, you know, let’s talk a little bit more about that, that soccer side of things.
[00:16:14] Um, you mentioned you have a JV reserve team. So what, what, how many players are you looking to carry overall? And, is it just kind of fluid? Does everybody train together?
[00:16:26] Coach: How does that work? Uh, training they’re always. um, roster size is usually about 35. I think, you know, most schools that I’ve been at, are you like you wanna be around 30?
[00:16:38] I think the problem with that is we all know that the bottom 10 kids that year are not probably not gonna play much. And so by adding an extra five kids, you’re able to play those reserve games. Yeah. If you pick up a lot of injuries, then yeah, you gotta cancel. But. Hoping that we stay fairly healthy.
[00:16:55] Those kids are actually gonna get a chance to play against outside competition and not train against their friends. Cuz we always try to make, I think we always try to make a game environment in our training, but at the end of the day, nothing can really replace the game against somebody else that is trying to beat you.
[00:17:09] Um, so we add those extra five players and, and train ’em all together. Um, and then they’ll play in the reserve game. Yes it can. I think it can add. More players to deal with. But I think from a long term goal of trying to get players to understand that you’re playing and you’re developing and that’s the end goal, then I think it can be worth it.
[00:17:30] Yeah. There’s gonna be some years or better than others, but I think that’s kind of our goal. Why do we carry 35 instead of 30?
[00:17:38] Matt: Okay. Well, you mentioned your assistant earlier. So how, how big is your staff? What role does everybody play? Uh, there at the school.
[00:17:48] Coach: Uh, so our staff, so obviously I’m the head coach.
[00:17:51] And then we have an assistant who is also our goalkeeper trainer. Um, she’s there part-time, we have a volunteer assistant being in Wichita. You have a lot of coaches that are like younger coaches that wanna get involved in the college piece at some point. And so, you know, we’re able to have a volunteer that can help out and be there from time to time.
[00:18:10] Uh, we had a grade, a. Uh, that, you know, they live on campus, school’s taking, they have a good, it’s a good setup for grad assistance. And then we have, what’s called a spiritual companion, which is something that’s a little bit different. Us being a Catholic school. We try to, um, have someone that’s involved with the players that doesn’t really have anything to do with soccer.
[00:18:30] They’re more of a. A person they can go to, um, whether they wanna talk about their religious side of it, right? We’re a Catholic institution. You don’t have to be Catholic, but if you want to be involved in some capacity, then you have that option to talk to this person. Um, it helps that our person is a former player from Newman, um, you know, coached the club for like 20 years.
[00:18:50] So she’s got a background in soccer, which is great. Um, but she’s there just to help them with things I’m homesick. I need help with this. She’s there to help. She brings us snacks. One of our girls loves slim gyms. She brings her slim gyms. Uh, so it’s, uh, you know, she does a great job. I think, you know, she, that whole entire, like having that big of a staff, um, I think is great, cuz you can kind of delegate some of the smaller tasks out to them to help.
[00:19:16] Um, and then the spiritual companion, I think that’s just irreplaceable from a staff standpoint, cuz she’s there to help with all the, all the things that. You know, me being a male coach in a female sport, sometimes girls don’t wanna talk to me about certain things. Our assistant she’s a female, but like I said, she’s part-time, she’s not there all the time.
[00:19:35] Our spiritual opinion is another avenue from a female standpoint that they can talk to about certain things. So I think that she’s just irreplaceable. Like I, if she ever leaves, I’m gonna be like, we’re gonna get in trouble.
[00:19:47] Matt: no, that’s awesome. Um, So, how would you describe, you know, your style of coaching, your team, style of play, kind of that culture of the team.
[00:19:55] I know you haven’t been there that long, but, but kind of gimme what, what you got .
[00:20:00] Coach: Yeah. Um, you know, we’re gonna try to, we’re gonna try to keep the ball and build. Um, I think that’s always been big for me is you, we wanna have technical players that. Know, to take their first touch before they get it. Um, have the ability to clip along, pass correctly, not just hit a ball and hope it gets there, um, and have ideas.
[00:20:18] I think that’s something we look for in a team, um, from a playing style, uh, from a coaching standpoint, like I’m, I’m a pretty laid back guy. I’m not the coach. That’s screaming on the sideline, the entire game or during practice. Uh, I’m more of a communicator in like, Hey, this is what you’re doing wrong.
[00:20:36] This is why it’s wrong. This is what I want you to do. This is how we fix it and so on. So we try to really put that message into players. And I like to have fun. Like I’m the guy that shows up with it, I had a cup of coffee right before practice. I’m very energetic. Um, and so like, I always challenge my players to match my energy because I will always be energetic.
[00:20:53] Even if I had two hours of sleep, I will still be energetic cuz I really enjoy it. It’s fun. Um, you know, trying to put the puzzle together per se, from a tactical standpoint and even from a technical standpoint of putting the puzzle together for the player. Um, it’s just building those that, that whole, the player.
[00:21:10] And then the team has been a big thing for me. And then, uh, I think ultimately how can we make the players be successful in the afternoon? Um, are they gonna get things from a soccer standpoint, from the academic standpoint, they’re gonna help them be a good person in society. And those are the things I think that as a coach, I think we all love to win games.
[00:21:27] We all love to see players get over that hump of a, of a certain success that they were failing. I think you see them, you know, they get married, they have a family, they get the job, they went to school for. Um, you know, I think that’s the ultimate success for us as coaches, is seeing that like, oh, we have a good member of society.
[00:21:44] That’s great. So that’s awesome. That would be, yeah.
[00:21:49] Matt: Um, So, I, I mean, I know we’re you and I are speaking here in July, but what, what is the, what would you say your typical off season or non-traditional season that spring looks like for you guys in terms of what players are, are doing then for
[00:22:02] Coach: sure. Um, We’re in the weight room a lot more we’re in there three times a week with a strength conditioning coach.
[00:22:08] Like, so with us being an NCAA school, we have to have a full time one. Um, so we have one that’s in there a lot. And then from a soccer standpoint, you know, in the first part of it, we have limited hours. And so we try to really build the players from a technical standpoint, maybe even more position specific.
[00:22:25] So we try to put them in those small groups and let ’em work together and then try to build from there. And then once you get into the spring, you have your five play dates. Um, and we do those, we play pretty much locally. You play a mixture of, uh, other division twos. Andis junior college, um, is kind of what we try to do, except it flies like this spring flew by.
[00:22:47] I couldn’t believe how quick it was. Um, but I think it’s a. It’s a big focus on developing the player and making them bigger, faster, stronger in the weight room, and then making them a better soccer player when we’re on the field. That would be a typical spring for us.
[00:23:02] Matt: Okay. Well, I, I try to end these all with the, the last question and that’s what didn’t we talk about?
[00:23:07] You know, what else is it that you want folks to know? Whether it’s about the team, the school, uh, the college recruiting process, anything at all, this is your, your chance to. To, to have a blank slate of, of whatever it is you wanna talk
[00:23:20] Coach: about. Yeah. I think as players always think about what you want at the end of the, at the end of the road, like, what is, what is your goal for your career or what do you want your life to look like?
[00:23:32] Um, I think that’s what you have to figure out. Not only as an individual, but as a family as well. Um, you know, cuz you always have questions. Okay. What do I want out of a soccer experience? What do I want out of an academic experience? What do I want out of a financial one? Right? That’s a big thing that you see on Twitter all the time is, well, you should go here because it’s cheaper.
[00:23:52] Well, some people that may not matter, right. If somebody has a million dollars in the bank, $20,000 is dropped in the bucket. So it’s, you know, I think those are things that you have to sit down as a family and as a player and decide what you want out of those three things. And then start to identify the schools that you want.
[00:24:09] Um, I think that’s, that’s something as a, like me having, you know, two kids that are one going into college. And one about going into college is like, we’ve had those conversations. Like, do you want that? What do you want out of this experience? Do you wanna play, do you not wanna play? Do you not care? Um, does it have to be this fit?
[00:24:27] So it’s just trying to really dive into yours. You own once as a player on your own, once as a family and try to find the answers to those and then try to identify schools that’ll fit that. Um, I think that would be the biggest advice from a recruiting standpoint, because every coach in every school’s gonna offer you something different.
[00:24:47] If you don’t like coaches yelling at you, you probably shouldn’t go to a school that the coach yells at. If you like, if you like the coaches that do that, then yeah. You need to identify those coaches and you have to do that with research. You have to watch games. You probably have to go to a game. Um, I think those are, that would be my biggest thing for recruiting is find out what you want and then start to identify those things.
[00:25:09] And that’s not gonna just fall into your lap or you’re not gonna find it on Twitter. You’re gonna have to go out and explore a little bit. You know, do your due diligence to find the perfect fit for yourself. Awesome.
[00:25:20] Matt: Well, coach, I appreciate it. Uh, wish you the best of luck in this first full season for you.
[00:25:25] And, uh, we’ll keep an eye on you and, hopefully you’ll be one of those four ma M I a schools in the tournament.[00:25:32] Coach: I hope so. It’d be nice. All right. Thanks a lot. Yeah. Thanks for having me.
