Special Episode – Hear From Penn State Senior Player Michael Gaines About His Journey
In this special episode, I talk to Michael Gaines, a Senior player from Penn State University who is getting ready to graduate having played his soccer career at PSU. Hear about his journey and what led him to PSU with zero student debt.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by special guest Michael Gaines. Welcome Michael.
Michael: Thank you. I’m glad to be on joining with you.
Matt: Yeah, I was lucky enough to meet Michael at the, uh, United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philly. Mm-hmm. , I think you were proud.
You were, you were getting an award. What, what award did you receive?
Michael: Uh, no. So I was just there. Um, My mom is joining the board
Matt: actually. Okay. All right. Well, I’m sorry. I just, you know, I noticed, you know, when you look at your, uh, your stats, you were, you were all Big 10, uh, academically, so I figured maybe you No, no.
Michael: I was always picking up that there, I was just there to, um, network with people and hopefully get into the coaching industry. Oh, all. I got lucky enough to get invited. Nice.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, and, and your mom was, was, was just a smart enough woman to walk by the Discover College Soccer podcast booth and, uh, and introduce herself and you, and, and, and I’m glad to have you on.
Um, you know, I, I’m, I’m, . I’m an Ohio guy cuz that’s where I was born and raised. But then, then, you know, those are the first 18 years of my life and the most of the next 18 were in DC So I’m, I’m also a DC guy. You’re, you’re a, you’re a DMV man as well. Uh, haven’t gone to Gonzaga High School. Mm-hmm. down the street from my alma mater Catholic U and then I got a bunch of friends who went to Gonzaga.
Mm-hmm. . Um, so let’s, let’s talk a little about maybe your, your high school. Aged, uh, soccer career a bit. Um, now who, who did you, uh, play club for when you were in, in high school?
Michael: [00:01:30] Yeah, so I spent, um, all four years in high school. I was actually still playing at DC United. I started at DC United when I was in seventh grade.
Going into seventh grade. Yeah. And I went all the way through, um, uh, 12th grade at DC United. So I, uh, played there for six years in all four of my high school years as well. Um, so like I would’ve loved to have played high school soccer. Um, I was really good friends with the guys on the team at Gonzaga, but it was never something I did.
I dedicated all my time to dc, United Middle School and high school. Yeah.
Matt: And that, now at that point, that was still all Development Academy, wasn’t it? Mm-hmm. . Yeah.
Michael: It was still the U S D A.
Matt: Yeah. So that makes sense cuz they, uh, you know, that U S D A came and, and didn’t like that high school soccer stuff.
That’s all right. Um, so when, you know, six years through DC United, but, you know, for folks who don’t know Gonzaga High School, I mean, just a well regarded academic institution mm-hmm. , uh, there in dc but you know what kind of, uh, What, what were the steps you took or, or what was kind of going through your mind as you’re playing about, Hey, you know, I think I wanna play in college.
Um, how did you go about starting to seek out college programs and, and, and really start honing, you know, that search as high school went on? .
Michael: Yeah. Um, so I mean definitely like growing up it’s, you go to the, some of the college local teams, Maryland, um, we, my parents are both UVA alums, so we would sometimes watch games there.
Um, and it’s like you’re just think like, oh, that’s be something that’s really cool to do, but it’s like kind of a far [00:03:00] dream. Um, then you get to high school and it’s like, okay, um, I’m in the academy. Maybe this is something I can do. , I’m doing well here. Um, it’s something I wanna do. So, um, how do I pursue this?
And then, um, you know, you go to different college camps or whatever ID camps and you try to get yourself seen, you talk to different people. Um, and then kind of my, I’m say my junior year, um, You know, I was playing at the U seventies at a time under Ryan Martin, who’s now the head coach at Loud in United.
Um, and you know, we were just talking and he said, yeah, maybe he’s telling me like, I mean, this year I think you’ll get some interest from the coaches as long as you continue to do well, um, and play well. And we had the GA cup that fall. It was the first round. Philly, I believe. Yeah. Um, and I had played well in a few games and then, um, after that my, the first school I heard from was, uh, Naval Academy out in Annapolis.
Yeah. Um, and that kind of started the whole process for me.
Matt: Now, were you, you know, I’m, uh, , you mentioned your mom earlier, so, so was mom in your ear saying, uh, all right, Michael, I, I want you to, you know, here, here’s some, here’s some schools I want you to look at, or, or were you reaching out to other schools and colleges or how, how did that work?
Michael: Yeah, so I, it was a collaborative process. Um, I know me, between my parents and, um, me, I, we made a list. Kind of schools that I wanted to go to and really schools that my mom wanted me to go to. Um, she big more on the academic [00:04:30] side. Uh, um, she could, she’ll tell you that she could really care less about the soccer side.
Um, and so, and that really became like a struggle kind of later on in the process when I started talking to some of the Ivy League schools. Cause that was her dream for me. Like I was talking to Yale, um, for a long time and had a, um, had a good conversations, good visit. With the co head coach there, and Columbia was a little bit in Brown.
Um, and she was like, that’s perfect. Like, that’s exactly where I want you to go. And I was like, uh, I don’t know if I see myself fitting in there as much. And I had other ideas of places I wanted to go and visits I had taken where I enjoyed other places. Um, tho those great three great institutions as well.
Um, and I, uh, upmost respect for the coaching staffs there and the people that I talked to. But I just kind of had like a different idea of what I saw for myself. And eventually, like we. Came to an agreement that, you know, I could, um, find the best of both worlds, um, on the academic and on the athletic side and found them, and that worked out for us.
Awesome.
Matt: Well, you, you mentioned camps earlier. How many different college ID camps did you go to during your high school career, do you think?
Michael: I mean honestly like I was probably going every, at least once a summer. I usually went to the Maryland one that was like right down this road. I’m about 25 minutes from College Park.
Um, and so that was like an easy one cuz we enjoyed it. We’ve been going to that one though since I was like little before I was in like elementary school. Um, and then like, so, but [00:06:00] Marilyn was a good one cuz there was, uh, their staff there and then there was other coaches there from other programs. Um, and so that was the one I would really go to in the summer.
I, um, I’d been to UVA’s camp before, um, and I had, actually had been to one of Penn State’s camps as well.
Matt: Okay. And then you mentioned visits. Did, did you use all of your official visits to, to check schools out or how did.
Michael: So I actually only took one official visit. I did a few unofficial visits, um, and I think just.
I think, I wanna say Penn State was my last unofficial visit, if I remember correctly. And kind of after took that unofficial visit, I was kind of like in the mindset of this is where I want to go. Um, and I had seen other places, talked to other coaches, and I had enjoyed it all, but I think I. After I took that last visit to unofficial visit to Penn State, I was like, I don’t really see, see anywhere else being better so far.
And I don’t think I need to take any visits anywhere else. I’m kind of like, this is what I want. And then, so I didn’t take an official visit until my senior year. Um, and it was just at Penn State and by then I had already committed to Penn State. Okay.
Matt: Now, along this journey, you know, you talked about making lists with mom and dad and, and going to camps and stuff.
Did, did DC United, I mean, you mentioned your coach, but did the, did the club at all, were there any. Ways that they helped you or, or navigate anything or make contacts or, or any of that kind of thing? Yeah, definitely.
Michael: Uh, like I said, Ryan Martin. Ryan Martin was my head coach at the time. And, um, between him and [00:07:30] another coach, uh, who was at the club at the time, Nate Kish, um, they both made a lot of calls on my behalf and talked to coaches on my behalf and like sometimes I would.
Get text messages from coaches out of the blue so I can only, you know, figure that Ryan or Nate must have given them my number and said good things about me if they want to send me text messages. Not like I had, you know, seen them somewhere stopped and exchanged numbers. Um, so I, you know, I owe like a lot of gratitude to both of them for, uh, my process and for the different interests I got from all the different schools.
Okay.
Matt: Now I know you, you didn’t play high school soccer at Gonzaga, but I know again, great academic institution and I’m sure they have guidance counselors who help, uh, students get in through the college process. Did, did, mm-hmm. , did you talk to the folks through your high school at all? Did they help in, in any way during a, any part of the process?
Michael: I mean, I, I did talk to a college counselor. Um, I was probably less hands-on than most of my peers were, just because I was kind of handling the process myself with my family. And so in the end, I only applied to Penn State. Um, and so I like with applications I didn’t really need help with like the common app stuff.
Like I, to be honest, I have no idea how the college application works because I only applied to Penn State through their application process. Um, . And so I, I was, had an open conversation with my college counselor, like telling ’em, this is what I’m doing, this is where I’m at. And you know, they gave me advice on like, they would look up different programs for me or that was at Penn [00:09:00] State that I could do.
And they, um, looked at different things and kind of looked at my applications I was submitting. But um, other than that it was more hands-on between me and my family, my family and I.
Matt: Okay, well, in terms of. I’m assuming you, you’re happy with the choice you made, you, you made it through, uh, your four years and, and, and had to endure the, the, the fun covid years.
Uh, but you know, you, you sell it. I think it was, uh, you know, I know one of your seasons, like I said, you got the academic all Big 10 honors. So, so you’re doing well in the classroom. Um, so overall, how would you, uh, How would you describe your, your soccer career at Penn State as it comes to a unf, you know, a wrapping it up here with graduation only a few months away?
Yeah, definitely.
Michael: Um, I mean, it’s been, it’s been, um, it’s been a ride . Um, you know, I, I’ve learned a lot about myself, um, and then I’ve learned kind of. a lesson, just how to put things in perspective. Um, you know, after my, I didn’t play a lot my freshman year, and then going into my sophomore year, I was excited to like, um, get back out there, um, prove point, prove that I belong and I was doing well.
And then before the, right, before the covid season started, I tore my Achilles, um, in pre-season training just a few weeks before the season started. And so I missed a whole spring and I missed almost the whole entire fall. So I missed two. Um, seasons in college and then playing. My senior season was the first time I had stepped on the field in competitive [00:10:30] games in 2019.
Wow. 2022. So, um, yeah, a lot of time had passed and um, you know, just my whole attitudes on things had changed and a lot had changed just with the injury and, um, but you know, and I was. Talking with Jeff about this a couple months ago in a exit meeting. Um, when I put it on to perspective, it’s that like I’m super grateful for the opportunity to play at Penn State.
I, I remember like when you’re like, Granted, and like you’re in a super competitive environment in the academy, um, where goals are different, where you’re gonna make the first team. But just like between my friends there and my friends that played high school soccer and club soccer at different clubs and different academies, like there’s so many people that wanna play division one soccer and division one sports in general, and that so many people don’t get the chance to.
And I had the chance to, no matter how it went, no matter if I played one minute or every single minute of every game, like I had this experience that’s open. A million doors for me in other areas of my life. And you know, for that I’m super grateful. And I even through the ups and the downs and the goods and the bads, I enjoyed, uh, playing here.
I’ve enjoyed being under this staff. I’ve got, uh, a lot of great coaches, a lot of great people, resources on the field, off the field, outside of soccer, inside of soccer. So, uh, it’s been a great experience.
Matt: Well, that’s that’s great to hear. And I’m, I’m gonna ask you a hard question and, and, and, But don’t worry, I, you don’t, don’t feel like you’re throwing, uh, anybody on the bus or anything here.
But [00:12:00] one of the things that’s big these days is, is the transfer portal. And, and one of the things I always like to talk about, I know there’s a lot of folks in the college of soccer recruiting space talk about folks trying to find the right fit. And I know there’s another person who talks about what, what they call the broken leg test, or maybe in your case the Achilles test.
Um, you. , do you, it, it certainly seems like you really did find your right fit. Did you ever question that after, uh, your injury, like, okay man, I, I don’t know if, do, do I wanna stay here? Is this the right fit for me, even though I don’t have soccer?
Michael: Mm-hmm. . Yeah, I know. There’s definitely moments I, I’ve questioned it.
Um, you know, I, like I grew up right outside. The city. Um, I went to high school in the city, and so like I’m, I’m a city kid and being in state college, if people that don’t know, like where state College is, it’s literally smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, in the middle of nowhere. And there’s no, like, the closest city, quote unquote, is Harrisburg, which is about an hour and a half away.
Pittsburgh is about two and a half Philly, two and a half to three hours away. So like you’re really just here. Um, With the college. It’s a, it’s a, the definition of a college town. And so like, that part was hard even before I was injured. Um, you know, you’ve like, you just, even though it’s a huge school, you just feel like you’re in such a trapped space sometimes.
Um, and so I can’t say that I thought about transferring though. Um, at the same, like while I’ve had doubts about being here, I’ve transferring [00:13:30] is not seriously crossing mind because just kind of I’m in the, uh, nature of like once I start something I want to see it through. And I also like felt I was.
Regardless of what was happening on the field, I was in a really good spot academically, and I still had lots of resources on the field athletically where it would not make sense for me to transfer somewhere else. Like, you know, the saying, the grass is not always greener on the other side. I, I feel like.
I could have maybe left and gone somewhere and tried and then played every single game my senior year and started every single and played every single minute. Um, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I would’ve been happier or in a better situation for myself than what I am now.
Matt: It’s, it’s an amazing answer and I, and I’m happy for you that, that, that that was the case.
Cuz I know there’s, you know, so many people who, who Yeah. Who don’t have that end result. So, no. I mean, with that being said,
Michael: I, I do, I’m not, uh, one to critique the transfer portal or people that transfer. I, I think, um, that, you know, I think. , it’s actually a good thing. Um, you should be able to get up and go if you feel like there’s something better for you out there.
I think it’s like we should not be restricted as athletes, college athletes to, um, one place, especially when coaches have the freedom, um, to get up and go as well. So, um, I think everyone’s situation is different. I just think for me, you know, transferring was not the best option.
Matt: Absolutely. And, and, and I a hundred percent agree.
It, it, it, it. [00:15:00] Def it has its place, especially, uh, like you said, if with coaches and it, it’s just an interesting time, right. Uh, these days and, and nowadays, uh, you know, I’m ha I’m just happy to hear that you went through the process, you know, with major lists, went through stuff with mom and dad, you looked at other places.
You found the one that you felt was, was a good fit for you both academically from a soccer perspective, everything. And unfortunately, the, the, the injury happened. Right. But, but you. In the right place. So, so you’re able to, to continue make the best of it. And, and hopefully you feel like you’re graduating, uh, here soon and having, you know, uh, an, an eventful but fruitful and, and gratifying four years, right?
Michael: Mm-hmm. . Yeah. No,
I have a great degree. I’ve made some of my best friends being on this team. Um, they’ll be my best friends for the rest of my life. I’ve met amazing people, so I, I really can’t complain about the decision. I.
Matt: Well that’s, that’s great to hear. Well, well, speaking of that, let, what did you study, uh, on the academic side of things and what are you hoping to accomplish here, uh, after graduation?
Michael: Yeah, so I, um, came into school. I’m doing broadcast journalism. I have a minor in Spanish and sports studies. Um, kind of since I’ve been little, I wanted to. Be on TV, work in tv. Uh, you know, I used to watch sports centers and see people like the late Stewart Scott or, um, Scott Vanel and who’s actually a local guy, a DC guy.
Um, yep. But [00:16:30] I, I used to look up to them and now I, like, even now I still watch the NBC people and, uh, Fox Sports people. Like, I was like, that’d be like such a sick job to sit on TV and talk about sports and talk about soccer specifically for hours and hours on end. And so, That’s what my degree is on and working in tv.
Um, but like one thing I found when I was injured, um, it’s something I’ve never actually told Jeff. Uh, just watching him coach on the sidelines inspired me to be like, I think like, wow, this is something that I really wanna do and think I would be good at. And so it was like kind of towards the end of my sophomore year, I went home for the summer.
And, um, I got a chance to coach a U 23 team in the summer. Um, and I was like, yeah, I actually really like this and I think this is something that I’m gonna try to, you know, push for full-time once I graduate. Um, and I still have, me and my mom still go back and forth about this now. Um, she’s like, you went to school for four years and you have a degree and you’re not gonna even use it.
And so I still have a degree in, I’ll have a degree in journalism and I would still like to use that in some capacity, um, in some way. Um, but I. , do you wanna do coaching once I, uh, graduate school here in May?
Matt: Uh, that’s all right. I, I have a, My undergrad’s in human resource management and I haven’t done, uh, been a true HR person in 25 years, so don’t worry about it.
It’s fine. Uh, , but, well, hey, you know, my first job outta grad school was, was a college coach, and I had coached high school and club and stuff before that. And it, it’s, it’s a rewarding career. I’m, I’m helping my daughter’s high school team [00:18:00] and, and her club team and it’s a lot of fun and. , uh, wish you the best of luck.
Hopefully you find a good situation, find a good, some good mentors, uh, and. And if that doesn’t work out, you still got a great Penn State degree and, and can, you can be the, the guy who’s coaching but also announcing the World Cup games. Right. ?
Michael: Yeah, that that’d be awesome one. I’d love that.
Matt: Great. Well, Michael, I, I wish you the best of luck.
Good luck the last semester of school and with graduation and, and find, find whatever next for you. Really appreciate your time and your insights, and hopefully some of the, the, the players that listen to this can, can get some inspiration and, and also really hear, you know, that, that, that does take work, right?
It doesn’t just happen. Uh, both work on the field becoming the best player you can be, but also work off the field in terms of reaching out to coaches, having those conversations, sending highlight video, doing all the things you gotta do mm-hmm. To end up where you want to end up. Uh, so really appreciate the time and, and wish your luck.
Michael: And on that, I would say if, like, if I could give some advice. Yeah, no, please. Um, I would say the biggest thing you can do while you, like a lot of people say, I wanna get recruited to play division one, or whatever, whatever I say, the biggest thing you could do is. Grind in the classroom. I think it makes it so much easier for you to find a fit if you have, if your grades are not an issue.
I think like for me, as part of my deal was here, that I have, not only do I have an athletic scholarship, I also have an academic scholarship, and that’s pretty much paid for school, even [00:19:30] though I didn’t have a full athletic scholarship. And so if you. do your best in the classroom and you’re just a good person in general.
People will look out for you and things will kind of, a lot more doors will open if grades are not a worry. So definitely for everyone, anyone that’s listening like definitely do as well as you can in the classroom and that makes life so much easier.
Matt: Amen. Yes. Thank you for that cuz uh, as much as I can say it, uh, it’s great to hear from someone else.
So I appreciate that. Awesome Michael. Well thank you for your time. I wish you the best luck my friend.
Michael: Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Having me on take.
