Special Episode – United Soccer Coaches – Vince Ganzberg

On today’s episode, I speak with Vince Ganzberg, Director of Coaching Education for the United Soccer Coaches. We talk about his coaching background. He describes how helped players with recruiting as a high school coach. Lastly, we discuss the upcoming United Soccer Coaches Convention.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Vince Ganzberg. He’s the director of coaching education at the United Soccer Coaches. Welcome Vince. 

Vince: Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. Funny thing is Vince and I actually worked the old IU camps back 20 years ago, uh, together and uh, it’s, it’s been a while, that’s for sure.

Uh, but great to have you. And you know, this is gonna be a little bit different than most of our other podcasts just because I’m, you know, we’re not talking to a college coach. But I think, uh, it’s great having you cuz you’re gonna give us a little bit of different perspective on some things. So, For folks out there who may not know who you are, Vince, can you just tell us a little bit about yourself, your background and, and how you got to be where you are at this point in, in your soccer career?

Vince: Oh yeah, sure. Um, hopefully not. Uh, we don’t need more time, um, but. Uh, no, I, I’m a high school teacher and coach, um, by trade. I went to Bethel College now, Bethel University, uh, who just won a NAIA National Championship, so shout out to them and, and they’re great Coach Tiago Pinto, um, So, yeah, I, I was a teacher and a coach, uh, did that for 14 years.

I took a little break, uh, as the Indiana State Director of Coaching Education. And that’s actually, I think when I met you, that’s when I was, that’s what I was doing. I just, um, became the Indiana Soccer State Director of Coaching. And, um, [00:01:30] after that, I, I went back into, um, high school teaching for a few years and coaching and.

Uh, after that I was like, well, what in the heck was I thinking because I’m governed by bells and walls. So then I left high school teaching and coaching and became, uh, involved with US soccer. Uh, they asked me to be a coaching education consultant, so my main job was designed the F license online. So I did that and then I also kind of, Oversaw the E and the D license curriculums and the c license curriculum at the time, and taught ’em, you know, everywhere.

So, and then after that, um, I had a choice, um, to go to N S C A A, now, United Soccer Coaches. And, um, they allowed me to work remote. So I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, uh, while our offices in Kansas City. Um, so my, my background’s primarily. . Um, and how I got here today, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve had some, uh, very fortunate people that have come across my life, you know, that, that, um, you know, I think that God put people in my life, you know, just to get me here, you know, and, um, Mike Burelli, the late Mike Burelli being one of them.

Um, and just some other people that I’ve, you know, I’ve had the pleasure of, you know, working with and working alongside. So, as far as you know, my, I, I’m still a high school coach. I coach at a local high school down the street [00:03:00] from where I live. And, and I love it. So, but that’s just a little bit about me, but I’m a high school teacher by trade.

Okay. 

Matt: Well, and uh, now you were at, uh, Was it St. Joe’s High School? Is that where you’re at now? Or is that where you used to coach? 

Vince: No, that was when I, uh, that’s when I used to coach. Okay. Uh, back in the early nineties. Okay. And I probably need to apologize to all those kids that I coached before because I was a yeller, a screamer and

Ugh. I mean, we were successful, don’t get me wrong, but that was a lot of it. But was because the kids were really talented. Yeah. Um, I didn’t have to do too much, but, um, yes. So I. taught and coached at South in St. Joe. And then I went to Laport High School. So I went from coaching a state championship to starting a brand new program at LaPorte High School.

Okay. Right. Awesome. And, uh, they plowed a, they plowed a soybean field and made a soccer complex for us. And then, um, did that for eight years and then I coached an Elkhart. Okay. Uh, my last few years. And then, uh, but currently I’m at Danville High School and located in Danville, Indiana. Okay. It’s a little suburb of, uh, of Indiana.

Okay. 

Matt: Yeah, we, I, when I was in high school, I went to a school in Columbus, Ohio and we, we came over and played Caramel and, and Yep. Somebody else in Indianapolis. It was like a top 25 program. That was, that was fun. That was, remember good. 

Vince: Probably North Central. It’s my guess.

Matt: North Central. That’s who it was.

Yep. Actually, bingo. You nailed it. . Well, so I’m gonna pick your brain [00:04:30] as a high school coach cuz you know folks are, Predominantly, uh, you know, it’s it’s club, club, club and, and mm-hmm. , you know, when the DA came around and told everybody they couldn’t play high school balls, you know, kind of really changed the, the high school soccer landscape.

So how much do you help your student athletes with the college selection and college recruiting process? And, and how do you, how do you feel like high school kind of fits into the whole big picture of it? 

Vince: Yeah. First, I mean, I think. There’s a place for every kid to play in college. It just depends on what level that, you know, they want to, um, go to.

Right? I mean, a lot, most, a lot of kids wanna go to division one, but you have to op, open up their eyes and say, you know, n I level is pretty good too, as is NCAA Division three, division two, even junior college route for some kids. So, um, as far as how I helped them, you know, first off. Because I, I do have some experience.

Sorry about that. Hang on. Hang. I don’t know if you can hear. Sorry. Yeah, yeah, you’re fine. I apologize. No, I, I only hear you. You’re good. Oh, okay. All right. Good. Sorry. Um, family’s home , but, uh, as far as how I help them, basically, you know, I sit down with them and say, okay, what are your aspirations? If they’re a.

Sophomore, junior in high school, do you have aspirations? You know, we do that one-on-one and a lot of kids, for example, where I coach now, they [00:06:00] just wanna play high school soccer, you know, and, and some of ’em have aspirations of playing, you know, at the next level or just playing at the college level. So what I do is sit down with them, we come up with a plan.

I encourage ’em, for example, if they’re underclassmen, go attend the camp that maybe you want go attend a camp, for example, at, at a college or university that you maybe wanna play at. Um, write them ahead of time. You know, tell them, Hey, I’m, I’m here at camp, whatever. Um, cause I remember when I used to work Notre Dame camps, Mike be used to always, you know, he used to always have these li uh, list of players and say, This player’s on your team, this player’s on so-and-so’s team.

If you can gimme some feedback at the end of the week, let me know, or during the week, let me know. So they do look, uh, at least Coach Belli did. Um, so I, I encourage them definitely to reach out to those colleges, connect with them, uh, then we’ll get videos and then we will start clipping videos together and, and editing and making just little vignettes, you know.

definitely. It’s come a such a long way. Uh, the video editing and everything’s come, come such a long way, um, since when I first started, but, um, that was VCR days, um, . So, but I would sit down with them and, and just say, okay, here’s where I see you. But look, at the end of the day, you’ve gotta attend a school that where if soccer doesn’t work out, you’re happy at the school.

My son was a soc, you know, high school soccer player, and he wanted to. , you know, a certain level. And that was the [00:07:30] best advice he ever got, uh, from one of the coaches was like, don’t pick the school to play soccer, pick the school because that’s where you wanna go, because, um, and at the time as a division one program and the coach said, I might not be here next year.

You know, it, it just depends. So that was the best advice. So I try and give them that advice. Um, you know, but I also try and open up their eyes to other levels, so, , I’ll take, I’ll meet our kids, for example, and we’ll go to an n Na I game, because I think a lot of kids don’t understand that the level of n e i ball is, I mean, it’s really, it’s really high, high level as is division three and division two as well.

So, um, we’ll do that together. But as far as helping them, I do a lot of just one-on-one individual meetings if I feel like there is. A, a program that a kid might fit into, I’ll reach out to that coach. Um, uh, I’ve been very blessed that, you know, uh, being in the position that I am, I can reach out to people and most people might relate, you know, oh yeah, this, this person of soccer a little bit, you know?

So, um, that said, I, you know, I’ve, um, I, I don’t get out and see many college games, right? So I don’t know what the. what their level is, uh, all the time. I just think I have a good kid and, and so I’m gonna promote him. I, I coached a boys team. [00:09:00] Um, I did have a young lady, you know, uh, several young ladies that played for me.

I also coached high school girls as well. But I will reach out to those coaches if I feel like those potential. And then we usually just kind of go from there and just try and keep ’em, keep the ball rolling, keep ’em connected. Um, Uh, as far as, you know, it’s different too because I’m a lay coach now.

When I was a high school teacher and a coach in the same building, it was a different, you know, I can meet with that student athlete a lot more than what I do now as a lay coach. So I think that’s also a big part of it, where, you know, if you’re not in the building full-time as a teacher or an administrator, uh, you’re, you, you gotta put in a few extra.

You know. Sure. Um, off the field. Yeah. 

Matt: Well, you mentioned, you know, having a, a son who played, so you kind of went through the process that way. And obviously as a coach, I’m sure you’re, you, you get to deal with parents too. , . Um, so how can parents really help, uh, in this whole process and, and what should parents stay away from helping in this whole process?

Vince: Well, yeah, as far as parents, How they can help. I mean, just even video, you know, video footage from different camera angles, you know. Cause a lot of times, you know, when you do the high school games, you, you get it at one angle, but it, it’s always good to get another angle. So, you know, and then [00:10:30] as they’re videoing , please don’t comment during the videos, um, because they tend to do that.

Uh, so that’s one thing they can do to help. They can also help, you know, encourage their child to, uh, you know, just reach out to, to schools. , you know, that they might be interested in. And, um, and, and also telling the coach, Hey, my son is interested, or my daughter is interested in playing here. What do you think?

Um, and that also kind of goes into what they shouldn’t do, right? They shouldn’t be contacting that coach and they shouldn’t be contacting, you know, uh, for, for their athlete. I mean, the athlete needs, I think, a lot of col I was a college coach too for a little bit, and I like to win. Athletes took their own initiative and reached out to me, you know, and said, Hey, I, I wanna play here as opposed.

a parent reaching out to, to me and, uh, saying, you know, my, my daughter’s the best thing and, you know, she scored 95 goals in three games. Or, you know, just something silly, but Right. Um, yeah, I think that, you know, they, they just be a guide on the side. Right. And as, as opposed to, to being the stage on the stage.

I mean, um, I’ve always said cream will rise to the, to the top. I mean, the cream rises. If they’re gonna get somewhere, they’re gonna get. , you know, and, um, but I think, you know, as coaches, we also have the duty to make sure that our athletes behave in the right way, you know, off the field. I, I’ll share a story with you that Mike Avery, former University of Notre Dame, uh, uh, soccer assistant soccer coach, and Valparaiso men’s soccer [00:12:00] coach, until they unfortunately dissolved the program, shared a story, uh, where he was going out to watch a.

Kid at a high school game, and he actually had permission from Coach Clark to offer this kid a scholarship to Notre Dame, which isn’t a cheap school, by the way. And so after the game, coach Avery said that he watched how the child behaved and how he, how he treated his mom. And I guess he treated his mom really poorly.

And so he called Coach and Coach Clark and said, we, we don’t want this kid right. , there’s a, you know, whatever, you could put a dollar value on it, but that , that was a lot of money gone. You know, so I share those stories with the kids, you know, just, you know, hey, you don’t know who’s watching and when they’re watching.

So, uh, I, I, I think that’s one thing that I try and encourage them to do and, and also share that message to the parents as well. Um, that, you know, your behavior on the sideline also sends a. , right. To a potential coach that might be in the stands. So those are things that I might give parents, um, some little tips with.

Uh, you don’t wanna, they don’t like being educated. They like being informed. Um, but I think, yeah, just giving ’em those little insights, you know, and sometimes you have to have hard to heart conversations with them. Say, I’m sorry, but your child’s not a division. It’s just, you know, they’re not knocking down your doors.

Um, [00:13:30] That said, you don’t wanna discourage a child either from going to play, uh, if they want to try. So it’s a balance, I think, you know, with parents, um, because they do have their best interest, you know, in mind, which is getting their child, you know, to where they want to go. 

Matt: Yeah,absolutely. Well, and, and you kind of mentioned it even in the, in the Valpo story right.

Or the Notre Dame story with someone coming to a high school game, and, and I’ve talked to, you know, dozens and dozens of coaches and, uh, in our interviews and, and they, they, they still do go to high school games, right? Yep. It, it’s not a, a lost art anymore. So kind of what are your thoughts on the. Uh, how, how high school soccer fits into the recruiting process.

And, and we’ve even gotten questions, you know, there’s club soccer isn’t cheap these days, right? Right. So there may be families who their only opportunities are really at the school level because of being priced out of it. So can kids these days play college soccer only playing high school? And I know I kinda asked you a couple questions there, but, but love to hear your thoughts.

Vince: Well, I think the more they are involved with both, the better their chances are, um, just to be honest. And, and, uh, because a lot of coaches, you know, just don’t go and sit at only high school games. You know, a lot of co most coaches will go to club events be and tournaments because they can see x amount of kids with one shot, with [00:15:00] one flight, one hotel, you know, and, and as opposed to, Traveling all over the state or the state over to watch a high school game when the high school game might be nine to nothing.

You know? So I, but that said, uh, you know, the coach Avery story was at a high school game, right? So he, he was there to, to watch his kid. However, this kid also played club soccer. So I, I think honestly, uh, the kids that, uh, you know, wanna go on and play on the next level, they should play both. They should try to play both, you know, um, obviously as much as they can afford, you know, and, um, but that said, can a, can a player get to college only playing high school soccer?

Sure, sure they can. Yeah. If they’re a fantastic athlete, student athlete, um, they just happen to, you know, , their team gets far in the tournament, for example. And then now high school coaches start going to those games, you know, to check, to check out, uh, some players because I think, you know, the farther you get in the tournament, state tournament for example, usually the better your odds.

But, um, it’s not always true. I mean, you know, there’s quite a few kids, uh, that I’m aware of, you know, where I coach, where they don’t play high, they don’t play club soccer, but they’re really good high school. , you know, and I’ve had the high school coaches actually talk to me and I just said, yeah, this is what you need to do.

You, this kid can play , right? This kid, and I think this kid would be a really good fit at this school, [00:16:30] um, when they asked me. But I do think these days that you, you gotta have a balance. You, you, you know, I, I think to better your chances. Not that it can never happen. Um, but one thing I love about high school, I’ve never, I’ve rarely seen a 17 year old boy or girl weep after their last club game.

But I’ll watch 17, 18 year old boys and girls weep and ball and just, you know, uh, cuz the passion for playing for their school and their community and the name on the front of their shirt, they’re play in front of crowds. I mean, you know, talk about preparing them. Uh, you know, and so there is some, some value, you know, I think a lot of people.

put down high school soccer, but there’s so much value to high school soccer. And, um, so I, but to answer your question, I think it, it’s best if a player tries to play both if they can. Sure. . 

Matt: Yeah, no, I agree. Well, you know, you’re, you’re in this fantastic position in coaching education, , uh, which is awesome.

And, and you know, I think most people will agree we need more of it. Yeah. In the United States. Um, so. , how, how can we get more folks educated? I know I, I’m a board member of our local club and, and we’ve been trying to do more for the volunteer parents mm-hmm. , you know mm-hmm. Coaching their four or five and six year olds and, and really trying to get them some sort of coaching education.

So, so how can we, as, as a [00:18:00] soccer nation, really help elevate coaching education and get more folks, uh, the right info? 

Vince: Yeah, so one thing that we’re trying to do with United Soccer coaches is regionalize coaching education, you know, and making it more accessible and, and, and more affordable for coaches of all levels.

Not just the recreation coach, but you know, even the college level coach. So we are really identifying people all around the country that we believe can, can provide education for us at all different levels. . So I think that’s one thing we need to do. We need to kind of go to them or decentralize education, if you will.

Um, obviously online is, you know, a great avenue, you know, for people nowadays. And we figured out during the pandemic that we can still learn and function and, and be educated. Uh, but. , you know, as far as, but nothing replaces live. Nothing replaces in person, uh, education, in my opinion. Um, so I think that’s part of it.

I think we gotta, you know, uh, and I know us soccer’s taken a page out of this too, right? They’re, they’re arming people to be grassroots instructor licenses. And, um, the other thing that we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get to the clubs, right? So you have a lo your, lo your, uh, you run your local club.

Um, maybe we. For lack of a better word, deputize you to deliver your own coaching education within your own program. Um, so you wouldn’t have to go through a state association or, [00:19:30] you know, you could just contact us and you’ve gone through a process to deliver. Within your own community. We’ve, we’ve also started that too, uh, with our member club program.

So, um, but those are some ideas, you know, that, that I’m always trying to think how can we get it out there more like you are. Right. And, uh, like you just mentioned, and, uh, because it’s a ginormous country, it’s just hu it’s, you know, I remember when I first met the, the US soccer people when they took over and I asked them how it’s going and they just said, it’s just a big country because, you know, they, they were coming from Holland and France and.

Yeah. I mean, you know, and I said not only that, but there’s a lot of opinions, different opinions right. Than, than, uh, just one country, so of Holland or, or France. But, uh, I think that’s really what we have to do. We have to take education to the people, make it more accessible, make it more affordable, um, and offer it in different ways.

Matt: I, I, I love it. I couldn’t agree more and, and I love what. United Soccer Coach’s Education is doing. I got my, well, N S C A A national, uh, diploma many moons ago. Uh, and it was excellent. And I know you and I were gonna be hanging out in Philly at the convention here, uh, and in less than a month. So, you know, kind of last question, and we will just leave it with this to get people hyped up, but what, what kind of education, uh, can folks expect, uh, for attending coaches that they’re gonna get out of, out of the convention?[00:21:00] 

Vince: Well, I think that the lineup that Dave Simeon, our, you know, education person for the convention, uh, has arranged is outstanding. And so as far as, you know, I remember when I was a high school teacher, I used to love going to convention, you know, and, and was just, just absorbing all the, the classroom sessions, the field session.

uh, but it’s also the networking that you make, you know, on the sides, and you meet people and you, you go to, I, I think a lot of coaches, not only do they need to go to the sessions, but they need to find like a group. You know, like we have coaching communities, you know, we have the, um, you know, the Black coaches, associate Black Coaches Group, we have the Latino Coaches group.

Um, so I think they should try and go to those groups. and we have those, uh, more available I believe, this year, um, uh, than before. Well, not that we haven’t had ’em, uh, in the past, but I think, uh, that’s definitely a, an option for people to do. But we are, but as far as what to expect at the convention, it’s everything from coaching little ones to the professional athlete to what we saw in the year, women’s Euroes and the women and the, and the late the World Cup.

Right. That just ended, um, yeah, you’re just gonna see everything a to. , you know, from coaching. 

Matt: Yeah. No, it’s gonna be a lot of fun. And of course, discover College Soccer will be on Podcast Row. So, uh, if you’re at the convention in Philly, enjoy the amazing education lineup and swing by and say hello to us.

And Vince, [00:22:30] really appreciate the time. Looking forward to seeing you again, and, and, and not too distant future and, and really appreciate your insights. Uh, and thank you for being here.

Vince: Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Take care. Hmm. Thanks.