Point University Men’s Soccer – Coach Mark Wozniak
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Mark Wozniak from the Point University Men’s Program in Georgia. We talk about how they recruit players with a high work rate and good non-verbal communication skills. He describes the school’s high percentage of student athletes. Lastly, we discuss their use of technology during the season. Learn more about Point University Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Mark Wosniak from the Point University Men’s Program. Welcome coach.
Coach: Thank you. Thank for having me.
Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. Uh, you know, you guys are located, Point University is for West Point, Georgia, if I’m not mistaken.
That’s correct. And uh, crazy thing is you guys are on the west side of the river, but you’re technically still in Georgia. So, uh, and so for those of you who, who don’t know that part of the country, check out a map. It’s kind of interesting to see the little, the little nugget there that you guys are sitting on.
But, uh, But anyway, um, let’s, let’s start talking out first about recruiting. Um, you know, as an AI program, when are you really starting to, to talk to players and build your recruiting class? What your players, what, what do you tend to tend to start really?
Coach: Yeah, so typically we start, uh, in their junior year kind of just identifying targets and players that we [00:01:00] think would fit our profile of a, of players we’re looking for.
And then as they get into that senior year, we’re really kind of nail down the players. We’re really interested and then try to obviously get them on campus and, and try to make some offers and, and really finalize who we really wanna bring in. Uh, but that’s really typical when we start. Now
Matt: is, I’m guessing you guys have a development side, correct?
We do, yeah. Okay. Um, when, you know, is there a particular roster size that you’re, you’re looking to hit every year and, and how does that kind of work with your recruiting?
Coach: Yeah, so typically we have a roster size around 40 to 45, just depending on the year. Um, and every year’s a little different with, you know, who we, who we need to bring in.
Um, like most development sides are, ours is predominantly, um, domestic based kids. We feel like there’s a lot of need for them to still get [00:02:00] game time and things like that, especially while they’re transitioning from high school to college life and trying to manage their time and laundry and, and then training and even sometimes, yeah.
Obviously playing against much older guys. Um, she had typically, like this year we’re looking to bring in a bigger, um, domestic, uh, class for that reserve. Um, predominantly because we’re graduating six players from that reserve team. So, um, most of the time it’s kind of split 50 50 on our, on our numbers and first team, reserve team, and then even domestic and international, but that’s typically about our size.
Okay. That
Matt: kinda answered my next question is what that split looks like, uh, on domestic, international. So in terms of your recruiting efforts, On the domestic side, are there tournaments that are kind of, you know, the, the, the must ctv for, for you that you gotta get to each year to, to help identify players?
Coach: Yeah. There, there are obviously [00:03:00] some, some of the ones in Georgia that we typically try to go to. Um, but I think for us it’s more of trying to identify the, the ones that are gonna be really good fits for athletes we’re looking for. So, um, I would say we don’t really typically go to the big nationwide ones.
Um, I think oftentimes we get kind of lost in those, in those players, and they don’t really see us at that point. So we found a lot more success in, and I would say the, the smaller to medium size tournaments where you’ve got, you know, three or four brackets maybe and, um, quality teams, but not, you know, hundreds of 19 teams.
And you’re, you are one of, you know, 300 coaches. So we don’t typically go to, to Disney or things like that, just cuz I feel like we end up not getting the exposure we need to then try to introduce ourselves. Um, so a lot of the lo local southeast ones we really go to.
Matt: And how do you [00:04:00] generally recruit your international players?
Are you going overseas or are you working with agencies? Just looking at video? How does that
Coach: work? Yeah, it’s definitely a little bit of both. Um, so well if we can, we like to go and see in person, but obviously the, the cost and everything like that makes it difficult. Um, with the pandemic, it’s been a little bit more challenging in that aspect.
So more of really working with agencies to try to then see film and see the recommendations. And a lot of it is based on. A previous experience. So we’ve had really good success with an agency and a country and you know, we tell them, Hey, we really like this person who’s sent us. Do you have someone similar to that?
And then they’ll say, Okay, you like them, Here’s someone you’d like as well. So, and then obviously we do a lot of, um, interviewing and communicating with those recruits to kind of try to get to know them, see if they fit as well.
Matt: Makes sense. Uh, do you guys do your own camps or work other camps? Does camps fit into your recruiting process?
Coach: Yeah, so, uh, we, we do [00:05:00] other camps. Um, a lot of the insurance stuff that goes with doing your own camp is just an extra hassle and tricky part. So we end up kind of partnering with other big camps. So we’ve done stuff with exact, um, another camps kind of in those natures where you go and they’ve, they bring all the coaches in and then we get to, you know, watch and, and kind of recruit and from there, which is nice.
Okay.
Matt: In terms of whether it’s camps, film tournaments, wherever you’re seeing players, how do you, how do you judge them? What kinda, what’s your hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player, whether that’s on the field, attributes are off the field stuff.
Coach: Yeah. Um, I think for us, a, a big one is their nonverbals, uh, their attitude, so, I, I know a lot of players will mess up.
Uh, that’s just normal. And especially when they go from high school to college, there’s gonna be a transitional period. So for me, I’m always looking at what happens [00:06:00] after they make a mistake, um, what’s their response gonna be? And so obviously they need to be able to perform well and in certain positions we look for certain technical, tactical attributes.
Um, we want them to be comfortable and play on the ball well and be able to play a two touch and one touch that they can. But I think probably towards the top of that list, like I said, What do they do when they mess up? You know, are they the, a kid that gets mad and for the next 10 seconds is not even paying attention, or they’re the one that, you know, they mess up and they’re the first one to try to recover and win it back and try to help their team in that way?
So for us, that’s kind of a big indicator of their overall character, which is huge. Okay.
Matt: And this, you know, the question a lot of parents always want to know is, you know, how much is this whole thing gonna cost? Right? So, and I’m not holding you to, to hard numbers here, but can you just give me a rough idea of, you know, what is a typical student athlete looking at when, as they walk into point?
[00:07:00] And whether it’s a mix of academic, athletic, what other money is available and what, just kind of what the whole picture
Coach: looks like. Yeah, definitely. Obviously it changes for each student, um, depending on what their GPA is and their S A T A C T scores. Uh, for the kids that are from Georgia, which is where we are, then they’re, they have a 3.0 above.
They can be eligible for the HOPE scholarship, which is really great, uh, cuz it gets them an additional $5,000. Um, in academic kind of helping with that financial aid. Um, we do stack academic and athletics, so that is a benefit that students can combine. Um, so obviously the, the student that has, you know, a good GPA and a good s a T scores combined that with their HOPE Scholarship and potentially an APPELL grant money, um, it, there’s gonna be a cost for the investment import university.
Um, but obviously part of it does depend on some [00:08:00] of those factors of the gpa. And then obviously, um, you know, what their overall. Expenses are gonna be in terms of how well they’re done in school, and then obviously if they’re able to receive any assistance from the government in that way. Okay.
Matt: Well, let’s, let’s talk more about the school.
I’m sure there’s some folks out there not familiar with Point University. So, um, besides what I can find on the website and, and learn about the school, kind of gimme the behind the scenes, what are some, some other awesome things or, or some really great stuff about your school we may not
Coach: know about? Yeah.
Um, well, you kind of hinted in the beginning we’re really right on the border of Georgia and Alabama. Um, so part of the school is technically in Alabama and. Your, your phone will change from eastern to central time zone if you’re not careful. . Uh, so we, we have to tell everybody, go eastern, cuz then you’ll be either an hour late or an hour early, depending on what you’re doing.
Um, the school is a, is a smaller Christian school like you’ve probably seen online. Um, I think probably a very unique [00:09:00] thing is that there’s about 85% of the students are student athletes. So almost everyone’s gonna have that same. College life feel where they’re balancing school and practice and travel and they know what it means to be a student athlete.
So then the teachers really do understand that as well, because most of the school, like I said, is a student athlete as well. So there’s that really opportunity to develop community because everyone else is doing the same thing you are. Um, and then obviously we have kind of the benefit of being in a small town.
Without being too far away from any big cities. So we’re only about 20 minutes from Auburn and then only an hour south of Atlanta. So close enough to go do everything on the weekend or even at a nighttime if you want, but not so close to where you have to deal with traffic and all the headaches of very high priced rent and all that stuff.
So it’s kind of a nice balance between the two.
Matt: Oh, that’s great. Well, [00:10:00] In terms of the academic side of things, uh, can you talk a little bit about how do your, your student athletes kind of balance their studies and sport commitments and what kind of support mechanisms does the school provide?
Coach: Yeah, so part of what we do within a team is we have mandatory study hall once a week for.
Um, any of our student athletes when they first come as freshmen, just to kind of help with that transition. And then also anyone who doesn’t have a 3.0 above we have, we have that time set aside for them that they need to come. Spend that time working on it. Uh, the school also has free tutoring, um, and support services like a writing lab where students can turn in a paper, you know, a couple days ahead of time and, uh, basically almost guarantee getting a much better grade than if they just turned it in by themselves.
Uh, so really a lot of help there. Um, and so there’s definitely a lot of support from that side. And then also I would say from the teachers where they’re gonna help, you know, Hey, you have to miss cuz you’re [00:11:00] traveling next week. Okay? Hey, take your test when you get back on this day and you can come take it at that time.
So they’re gonna help you in that process instead of, uh, basically being the other way where they’re gonna say, Well, that’s on your fault. You gotta figure out like they’re gonna work with you knowing that. , they want you to be successful too. Okay, great.
Matt: Well, can, even though there’s never such thing as a typical week, uh, of the season, can you, can you do your best to, uh, to walk me through what maybe an average week might look like in terms of when, when are you getting up, going to class, eating meals, practicing games, just kind of a, an overall picture
Coach: of what that might look like?
Yeah, definitely. Um, Uh, every day’s gonna be a little different depending on the student’s class schedule, but typically they’ll have, um, classes probably two to three a day. Um, so we only have classes Monday through Thursday, so every Friday, uh, there’s no class, which is kind of nice. Um, [00:12:00] so typically a student will have, um, if they get up for breakfast, if they want to, um, you know, probably around eight or nine, and then they’ll have their class, um, let’s say they have a 10 o’clock and.
12 o’clock and a two o’clock. Um, and then two days a week we have training in the afternoon at three 30. And then, uh, the other two days we’ve got training, uh, late in the evenings at eight o’clock at night. So we kind of rotate between afternoon and evening. So, So students, depending on those days, we kind of balance their schedule if they need to have more time to do homework and stuff like that in the evening, or if they need to get it done early in the day cuz we train.
Um, and then normally we’d have, uh, games on Saturday and Wednesdays, so we kind of have that championship league schedule where we’re, we’re then doing that. So then a Thursday it’d be a a, our training session, more a light recovery day. And then Friday’s more of a pre-game. If we’re not traveling and then we play again on that Saturday.
Um, so [00:13:00] typically during the week, uh, we’ll we’ll train one time a day. Um, Sundays are typically days that are off and due for recovery and seeing athletic trainer and things like that if needed. Um, which is nice to have that day for them to relax and obviously catch up on homework. But a typical day is gonna have that one time of.
Probably a couple classes during the day, depending on, on their schedule. Um, and then obviously meals are kind of depending on when they’re free to go, uh, to the dining hall and, and go eat. Okay.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the team and the soccer side of things. Um, you, you already talked about kind of your, your roster size and the development team.
So what about the rest of your staff? How many, you know, how many other staff do you have? What roles does each of them.
Coach: Yeah, so I have a, a full-time assistant and then a graduate assistant as well. And so, um, both of them are very, uh, helpful and obviously assisting and working with the first team. And then obviously, uh, part of their job is, is to also be in charge of that development team as [00:14:00] well, to help them in that transition and help them grow and, uh, hopefully be able to make the jump from that development team to be a part of that first team and provide the impact that we look for, you know, as they go out through their career.
And so, Um, obviously it’s a, a lot of time that we spend together in the office and traveling and, and recruiting and talking about players. Um, we, we wanna make it an environment where the players feel like they can come in and talk to us and have that connection where they can feel, uh, like they can voice their opinions, but also about at the same time that, you know, if they’re going through a difficult time, that it’s a safe place for them to come and have that opportunity to talk as well.
Um, I’m very fortunate that, uh, really enjoy working with my assistants as well, and I think it helps the team know that we’re all on the same page and we’re all trying to, to really enjoy the process together. But then also, um, it’s not one of us trying to be more important or push down the other person.
So we’re all kind of. Really [00:15:00] unified as a coaching staff, which I think helps, uh, the players know that they can talk to one of us and get the same answer. Uh, not think like, Oh, well that coach likes me and this coach doesn’t, There’s not like a, a disunity there. Oh, that’s
Matt: great. Um, in, in terms of that development team, so would, would you say most freshmen, uh, coming in are gonna start there and move their way up?
Or, or how does that dynamic work in terms of the ebb and flow between the two teams?
Coach: I would say probably most, um, most domestic freshmen probably do spend their, their first year there. Um, I’ve seen freshmen need a year. I’ve seen them need a, you know, 18 months. I’ve seen some come in and a month later then be ready within that first team.
So a lot of it just, Does depend a little on, obviously a position as a player, you know, who’s in front of them and the experience that’s there, but then also how well they transition and handle the adjustments of college and college soccer. So, um, we’re [00:16:00] pretty open to know that it’s, it’s not a, a one step formula for everybody.
And so every person’s gonna have their own individual journey and we wanna kind of help them in that process and be the best place they can be while they. Okay. Do you
Matt: guys employ any sort of, of technology, uh, whether it’s film, uh, trackers, anything like that? How does that kind of play into everything
Coach: you guys do?
Yeah, so, uh, we have huddle, uh, which breaks down our, our games and obviously we have the for training as well. Um, and then we also use Insta. Um, and they’re really great cuz they give so much detail into the reports about. The passes and where your average position is and you know, the ratings and the passes completed.
Challenges one, um, you know, very 20, 25 page printout from every game. You know, giving all the details an individual one. So [00:17:00] what we do after the games is we’ll put that, uh, individual evaluation that that gives us from each player and put it in their locker, um, so that the players have the chance to really go over and look at that.
Evaluate themselves and then even look over the time and go, Wow. Like I can tell in that game I pre played really well and I, I want all of my aerial challenges. And I was, you know, 80% in my past completed. And my positioning was really good because I could tell it was actually in my spot and I wasn’t playing left mid and supposed to be playing right mid.
And so, um, that’s probably our biggest one that we use. And obvious. Um, we have the Veo a camera as well that we use for, for getting film and all that. So we really try to utilize that technology to, to give us proper feedback. Oh, that’s
Matt: great. Um, well, how would you describe, you know, your style of coaching, the team style of play and just that overall culture of the team?
Coach: Yeah. Um, so I’m a big relational coach. Uh, so I really enjoy. [00:18:00] Having that personal connection with the players and being able to, to talk to ’em, uh, whether it’s about a girlfriend problem or what they wanna do with their, you know, life when soccer ends. Uh, for me, that that aspect of who they are is important.
And if I can have that connection with them off the field, then that’s gonna have a better connection on the field. And so, um, that goes into how I like to coach them as talk to player. I like to, to ask them questions. So if a player is. Dribbling down the field and they look to, to have a shot and they missed the goal.
Um, you’re not gonna hear me scream and yell because I, I know they know they missed up. They know they missed me. Yelling at them for that doesn’t help them get better. But instead I try to then through that relation, say, Hey, you know, what was another option? What could you have done instead? And that kind of challenges them to think and be a better thinker in that process.
Um, so that next time now they’re trying to think what their options are and try to make the right choice the right moment. And so a lot of what our coaching is, is trying to help [00:19:00] them become better thinkers by asking them those difficult questions of, Hey, what could you have done instead? Or, What was another choice you could have made?
And now they start to process through that instead. Being yelled at cuz they missed the goal. Well, they know that. I know that. Like, well, why did you miss, you know, can, how can we fix it and do better next time? Um, so that’s a big aspect of it. Um, in terms of how we play, I would say we’re a possession based, attacking minded team.
Um, we wanna keep the ball, but we wanna attack as much as we can. So if we can break a line of pressure and and go forward and go forward, then we wanna do that as quickly as. If we can’t, then we wanna keep the ball and play one, two, touch and play out from the back and have players be comfortable playing under pressure knowing that, you know, they can find a solution instead of just kicking the ball down the field and, and then hoping something positive comes from it or sitting really deep, uh, we wanna be on the front [00:20:00] foot and kind of go at teams and, and try to take it to ’em.
So that’s, that’s our overall approach. Okay.
Matt: Well, We’ve covered a lot of ground here, uh, talked a lot about different things and I always like to end these the same way and that’s what didn’t we cover? Whether that’s recruiting school, the team, the anything in general you want folks to know. Uh, the floor is yours.
Coach: Yeah. Um, I think the biggest thing is, um, what I love to do is help players develop so, I think if I’m doing my job well, players will be developing and getting better every year, uh, both in the classroom and all in the field. Um, and ultimately whenever they’ve finished with their soccer career that they’re gonna look back and see how much they’ve grown and, and change and become a better person and a better student and better athlete, uh, because of their time at the university and in the program and.
Um, I know every, every student athlete’s on a different developmental journey, and I [00:21:00] want to do my part to help them grow as much as they can in that process, to be at their best. So by the time they’re juniors and seniors that they’re playing the best soccer and doing the best in school that they’ve done before, and.
Um, then making my job hard by trying to place them with other players who are equally just as good and ready to develop as well. So, um, I focus on the whole person, not just the student athlete.
Matt: Oh, that’s great. Well, coach, we wish you nothing but the best, uh, the rest of your season and, and with next year and, uh, hopefully, uh, we’ll be able to connect again and, and see how you guys are progressing.
Coach: Perfect. Thank you so much. Awesome. Thank you, coach.
