St. Bonaventure University Women’s Soccer – Coach Steve Brdarski

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Steve Brdarski from the St. Bonaventure University Women’s Program in New York. We talk about how he recruits a bit differently than many D1 schools. He describes the school’s sense of family togetherness. Lastly, we discuss his ideal roster size. Learn more about St. Bonaventure 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 Bdarski from St. Bonaventure. Welcome coach. 

[00:00:07] Coach: Good morning, Matt. How are you today? 

[00:00:08] Matt: Doing well? Thanks. Uh, hope everything. Everything’s going well up there in New York. 

[00:00:13] Coach: Yeah. I just been, uh, getting her pass for preseason to start tomorrow.

[00:00:16] Oh, wow. 

[00:00:17] Matt: Tomorrow. Well, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll try not to take up too much of your time, but, uh, I know there’s a lot of people out there who are, who are interested in, in what that process is like. So, you know, as preseason is about ready to start, let’s talk about recruiting and getting those, uh, those rookies in and, and how you guys go about doing that.

[00:00:34] So when, you know, as a division one school, when are you generally starting to identify. And, and talk to players. I mean, obviously they can’t, you can’t talk to ’em before that magic June 15th date, but, when are you really starting to put names on a list? 

[00:00:49] Coach: Well, so, you know, for us, I, I mean, we do things I think a little bit differently than most programs.

[00:00:54] We’re always watching games. We’re always watching players. Um, you know, we’re, we’re, we’re watching practices, we’re keeping tabs, uh, connecting with coaches and everything. Um, but obviously, you know, in those four years of, of, uh, High school to, you know, playing club soccer a lot changed in those four years.

[00:01:13] Um, one is a player, two is just a person just in terms of development, changes and everything. So we are not in, in, in any rush, um, you know, to, to, to start the process. Um, we’re, we’re gonna, again, Um, watch as many games as we can, but it’s not till that junior year that we really, really start thinking about, okay, you know, what kind of fit does this, does this person bring to, to our team?

[00:01:38] Um, you know, so again, early recruiting, you know, freshman and sophomore years, you know, it’s just, it’s, it’s more again, and just watching games. Um, it’s not really, you know, doing anything too, too, uh, too crazy and serious. We actually, you know, not to be, you know, Funny about this, but like, we literally just started, we finished our 22 class, uh, about a week and a half ago.

[00:02:00] Um, you know, we, you know, we were continuing to, to get some different things and some changes. And obviously, you know, I think in the last few years, uh, COVID has, has kind of, you know, pivoted things in, in different ways where you’re, where you’re dealing with, you know, maybe some, um, some roster situations that you, you didn’t have to in the past, um, But again for us, it’s, it’s, it’s a little bit later in the game and, and we like that.

[00:02:24] Alright. We like the fact that, you know, when you’re looking at a player that you can actually give them, you know, a really good, um, authentic view of how they’re gonna be able to be when they get to college, you know, um, a very few players, I think you can watch, you know, two, three years out and really be to understand like how they’re gonna fit in to the grand scheme of things.

[00:02:46] Um, you know, when they enter the college game. So like for us, You know, recruiting, you know, late in your junior year. And you know, even in your senior year, you’re able to really tell them like, Hey, this is who our team is. Um, this is where we see you fitting in. This is how, uh, we, we feel you’ll add to, to, to the process and everything.

[00:03:04] And all of that information is, is, is, is very direct. And it’s a great conversation. It’s. It’s not hypotheticals or, Hey, you know, if, if your speed of play gets a little bit better or, you know, if you, you know, get a little bit quicker, you know, X, Y, Z, it’s none of that stuff, you know, most of the things that the player has, and, um, obviously there’ll be still some growth, um, but you’ll be able to pinpoint it all together and kind of connect the dots for them.

[00:03:29] And that to me is. When we talk about what are the biggest issues and what are the biggest problems? I think it’s exactly that, you know, the fact that, you know, we’re giving information and it’s not the most, it’s not the most up to date. It’s not the most accurate. Um, and so there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of guessing and people are making decisions based on those, those, those, uh, those answers.

[00:03:50] Um, and then finding out. It doesn’t come to fruition for whatever the reason might be. Yeah. 

[00:03:55] Matt: Yeah. Well, you mentioned watching games. What, uh, you know, what tournaments are kind of on your must see TV list every year? Where do you guys like to go to, to scout 

[00:04:05] Coach: those games? We, you know, it’s, it’s, I think it’s kind of different, man.

[00:04:09] Maybe it’s because it’s, uh, gotten to a point where, you know, after about 25 years, you know, you, you start to. I wanna go somewhere else, you know, like I, I want, I wanna see, you know, a difference surrounding a different setting. I don’t wanna feel like I’m in the rat race, you know, all the time. Um, you know, obviously I think the most important part to recruiting, um, is video.

[00:04:31] No matter what, you know, whether it’s highlights, whether it’s a, you know, full game, you know, I think that’s been one of the most positive recruiting changes, um, that there’s been in the last 10 years, because you know, every email that you get has video now linked with it and you’re able to, again, you know, see it right away and say, you know, is this a fit?

[00:04:48] Do I wanna see more? Um, or is this not, um, a, a good fit for, for us and the, the, the player. So I think, I think that’s probably been the biggest thing where, you know, uh, players are now getting, I think a little bit more creative too, in the way that they’re, they’re sending video. It’s not just, you know, me scoring four goals and, and that’s it, you know, it’s, it’s training video, it’s, it’s them playing.

[00:05:11] And you’re able to see, you know, some of these questions that you might have. You’re actually. You know, being able to see this, you know, throughout that video that you’re watching. Um, but, but in terms of, uh, in tournaments, like that’s the biggest thing I would say in the, in, in the next 12 months, we’re, we’re going to events that we’ve never gone to before.

[00:05:28] And, um, you know, we still go to, uh, we still go to watch games, you know, I still, and again, I don’t think that’s common, but you know, um, we’ll go to a high school game, you know, we’ll, we’ll go to a, just a club game, just a one off, you know, because, you know, I, I think it. It allows you to focus on exactly what you’re trying to do, and it allows you to give the information that you need to give.

[00:05:50] Um, and it, and it’s, I, I just think a little bit more personal in terms of the touch and everything. And that’s, that’s who we are. That’s who our program is. That’s who our university is, you know, the community that we have. It’s, it’s, it’s that connection that, that, that we are able to get. So I, I wouldn’t say there’s, you know, one tournament where it’s like, yeah, you gotta get out to.

[00:06:08] X Y Z you know, uh, event and everything. Um, cuz I think everybody now is, has read the same book and you know, you can say, oh, this is the, the regional final, the, of X, you know? And, and that’s supposed to mean something to you and everything like that, you know, like, you know, uh, it’s a big alphabet soup out there these days.

[00:06:26] Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, it’s kind of weird because I do like the old days where, you know, Um, teams used to play for a state cup, you know, you could say, okay, well, I won, I won my state and then, you know, you would continue to move on, uh, and, and everything. But, those days I think are long gone. And, and, you know, obviously, you know, leagues are such a, um, important part now to, you know, a lot of the, the club mix and, and everything.

[00:06:52] But, but for us, we don’t care who you play for. We don’t care what the letters mean. We don’t care what league you’re in. Um, for us it’s, it’s about. The connection, you know? Yeah. Do you bring something different to our team, to our program that changes who we are and makes us better, that’s the best part and we’ll see you in whatever setting, you know, again, we’ve made decisions based on video too.

[00:07:13] And, uh, I know some coaches have gotten burned, you know, sometimes by doing that. But, um, you know, one of the things after the video. You’re following up with phone calls, you know, you’re, you’re talking with different people, you’re trying to get, you know, more feedback. And, um, and again, I, I think it’s worked for us, um, so far, 

[00:07:30] Matt: Well, you mentioned different avenues.

[00:07:31] Uh, how about camps? How does that fit in whether they’re your own camps or does your staff work other camps to see players? How does that fit in? 

[00:07:39] Coach: Yeah, so, so we, um, you know, we do our own ID camp here. Um, you know, I think, um, We’ve we’ve also supported other camps in the region and the area in terms of, um, you know, sometimes you’ll have five or six schools that get together to, to host at one, one facility and everything.

[00:07:59] Obviously also too, is, you know, you do summer camps and, you know, anytime you’re at a summer camp, you’re always, you’re always hoping. You’re always looking for, you know, you know, players and, um, you know, so, so I think that that’s an important part to it. I think the, the, the biggest misconception though, is.

[00:08:14] Is, um, when you get that email or you get that letter that says, oh, I got invited to this camp, you know? And, um, you know, just, I am a father, I have two daughters, you know, and, uh, you know, a little bit of, of, of how that works. There’s, there’s a lot different, uh, there’s a lot difference, you know, in someone saying, you know, Hey, you know, we’re having this camp.

[00:08:33] I really want you to be there, you know, and, and they’re telling you why they want you to be there, et cetera, versus, um, the, the run of the mill. You know, Hey, I invited you to camp along with another. 1200 other girls, um, to come to our camp and we’re gonna just have as many people as we possibly can. Um, you know, it’s, it, it, you know, that part, I don’t think is too personal, you know, at our, yeah.

[00:08:56] Our camp that we run here, you know, we try to keep the numbers, um, to under 40. Um, and I think we’ve, we’ve always had to hover right around 30, um, so that we’re able to get to know every single kid we’re able to. You know, to connect with them, we’re able to give them feedback, you know, and how they could be a better player, you know?

[00:09:13] And, you know, sometimes I think that’s the, the, the challenge for, for, for parents and kids, you know, you go to a camp and you walk away and, you know, did you, did you speak to the coaching staff? Do they know your name? Do they know where you came from? Um, and, and I think, you know, it’s almost like 50-50 whether or not that, that, that really, that really happens or not.

[00:09:34] So, um, but I think camps, camps are important, you know? Um, and, and again, it’s the part that I think is important about it. You’re getting on that campus. Yeah. You know, so if I, you know, if I come see you play, you know, out in Timbuk too, and, um, and we like you, you know, and we invite you, you still have to, you know, like campus.

[00:09:54] Yeah. You know, but, but I think a clinic or a camp, you know, it kind of takes that all away. Like you’re there, we’re watching you play soccer. You’re seeing the school, you know, kind of, it’s all, you know, all said and done, like, you know, a lot of questions have been answered because of. That opportunity, um, so that you’re able to move on maybe quicker, quicker down the road and everything.

[00:10:13] So, um, but I think there, there, there’s a great value in, um, In in camps and how they, how they fit into the process. So, uh, 

[00:10:23] Matt: one last recruiting question is, sure. How do international players and the transfer portal kind of fit into the grand scheme of things as well? 

[00:10:34] Coach: Now, do we have two hours to talk about this stuff in, 

[00:10:37] Matt: in your best, uh, 90 seconds 

[00:10:40] Coach: yeah.

[00:10:40] Yeah. So, so, you know, obviously, uh, I think everybody has their own, uh, You know, philosophy on, on international recruiting, you know, one of the things that that has actually been, um, you know, Prevalent with us, you know, in the last two years, it’s, it’s, it’s changed. You know, our university has kind of always been a university where, you know, you, you have, uh, American players and you have Canadian players.

[00:11:02] Like that’s always, you know, kind of been, um, uh, a strong hold on, on, on, on recruiting, pat patterns. Um, but I think in the last two years for us, we’ve slowly started recruiting internationally. And I, I mean, I’ll say, uh, obviously I’m a big proponent of it because of the idea. You know, just introducing different concepts, different ideas, uh, you know, adds to your culture.

[00:11:26] You know, one of the, one of the great things, um, you know, our goalkeeper last year when she came back from, uh, from break, um, brought all of her teammates chocolate from Europe. you know, and I was like, you know, this, this was a big deal. And all of ’em were like, well, you know, we’ve never had anything like this before, but that cultural adjustment, you know, and, and, you know, whether it’s learning a different language, learning something new about a, a different person.

[00:11:49] Um, you know, I, I think it all adds to, uh, uh, a team and, and to the chemistry of the group and, and everything. So this year we have, we have a couple additional, um, but we don’t have a roster that’s made up. Of international, uh, players. Um, you know, we have, we have a mix, you know, sometimes you’ll, you’ll hear that saying from coaches where they talk.

[00:12:10] You know, they have a, a, an area which in, in which they recruit around their campus, you know? Yeah. You know, could be a radius of 3, 4, 5, 6 hours. Um, we don’t have that, you know, so we, you know, we have players from all over the United States. Um, you know, we have a university that is small, has a great reputation.

[00:12:29] So, you know, I think it speaks for itself a lot of times when we’re recruiting kids from, from all over the United States. Um, and even. You know, brings a culture aspect to it, you know, are you, uh, are you calling it soda or are you calling it pop? You know, are you , you know, just, just the, those little nuances, um, in terms of the, uh, the transfer portal.

[00:12:50] That was the second part to that question. Right. Um, so, so it’s, it’s interesting because you know, you’ll hear a lot of people say. I don’t like it, you know, and then you’ll look at their roster and it looks like they like it, you know, based on their roster. Um, you know, one of the things that, that I appreciate about it is, um, you know, 10 years ago, um, you didn’t know if somebody was transferring or not, you know, you, you had no shot at those players unless they contacted you, or unless you, you heard through the grapevine of, of, of something, or maybe you had a.

[00:13:23] A relationship, uh, prior to that, you know, now it’s, it’s, it’s completely different because I think, you know, puts the, the student athlete in the spotlight to a certain extent, cuz their name’s been put out there and they’re, they’ve been, you know, everybody knows that they’re looking for, you know, a different school.

[00:13:39] So, you know, there’s that, that, that part to it, I think that it helps out smaller schools and, and, and that’s not just at, at the division one level. At division two division three Juco and NAA. Uh, it helps out all those schools, you know? Um, but it’s also the idea of, you know, where, where some people will think, well, you know, there’s a loyalty thing.

[00:14:00] Um, I, I just don’t subscribe to that. You know, um, you, no one has problems with coaches going and finding better jobs or, or, or leaving and going to different places. Yet a student athlete doing that is, is, is, is wrong. You know? Um, I also don’t think it’s, it’s a proven science where, you know, You’re definitely gonna get something.

[00:14:20] Um, and, and I’m steering, uh, uh, gen M’s words here, but when you look at that, that list, not every one of those kids goes on to a different school, you know, um, you know, there are school, there, there are kids that, you know, don’t get to that opportunity and, and, or, or end up going back, you know, for, for whatever the reason might be.

[00:14:39] So again, it’s, it’s, it’s not a proven science, but I like the fact that it does. Help student athletes. And, and when I say help, um, you know, that first, that first two or three days you go on the transfer portal, you probably get 40, 50, 60 emails right away. Right. Right. Um, and in today’s day and age where, you know, most of the games are, are being, um, uploaded, it’s very easy to see video, um, immediately on that play and whether or not they played or, or not.

[00:15:03] And did they have an impact of, of, of, of some kind, um, And then the next part becomes, I think, I think some, some coaches kind of shy away from the idea of. Well, this is a disgruntled, uh, person, you know, and again, I, I also don’t, don’t, don’t sign up to that belief, you know, there’s, you know, you might change your major, you know, you might, uh, again, because of early recruiting, you might have been told, Hey, uh, you know, you’re gonna be one of seven, one of eight, you know, recruits coming in, you turn out to be one of 15 and, and, uh, you know, that, that, that position, that spot isn’t there.

[00:15:36] And, and I do understand, like, you know, The idea that players, you know, wanna play, you know? Um, so, you know, maybe that role wasn’t described to them in that process. So, um, The transfer of the portal. I understand if we start talking about ni L though, that’s where it gets way up my head. We’re 

[00:15:53] Matt: No, we’re not gonna worry about that today.

[00:15:55] Perfect. That’s let’s let’s let’s well, let’s actually talk a little bit more about the school, right? Uh, you know, some people may not be familiar with St. Bonaventure. So if, you know, besides what I find clicking around the website, you know, give me the, the low down dirty what’s what’s the, what are some of the great things, uh, about your.

[00:16:12] Coach: So, you know, it’s described in a lot of different ways. Uh, there’s a lot of different words that would describe our, our community that is without a doubt, um, everything about our university community, um, you know, we believe in, um, you know, giving back and, and serving others. Um, and we B believe in the idea that, uh, a community is everything.

[00:16:32] So, you know, for example, we don’t have, you know, we don’t have athletic dorms, uh, right. You know, right now. Um, cuz we feel like that takes away from, from, from the community. Um, The easiest way to explain it is this Matt, if I put you in a t-shirt right now, okay. And you go to your local airport, okay. You’re gonna get three to four to five to six people that are gonna come up to you and just start talking to you.

[00:16:55] They have no clue who you are. All right. They have no, no idea what you do or where you do things and everything like that. And they don’t even know that you have no connection whatsoever to seeing bond Ave at all. But because they see that logo. That identifies with our great community that we have, they will start talking to you immediately.

[00:17:14] Um, and I’ve gotten in trouble. I’ve never missed a flight yet. Um, but it’s gotten close, um, where I’ve talked to a, a Bonnie who, who, again, I, I, I, hadn’t known beforehand that we’re just catching up and trying to connect. Do you know? So, and so do you know, so, and so have you been back to campus? Um, so it’s, it’s, it’s such a unique, unique place, um, because of the people, you know, if people step on our campus and you’re, you’re looking for the, the biggest buildings or the shiniest buildings, you know, it’s just not that place.

[00:17:42] It’s, uh, you know, our bloodline is, it’s about relationships and it’s about people and it’s about connections. And, um, and we do such a good job. I think of supporting each other, uh, here and there. I got a chance to go to, uh, a basketball game a couple years ago. And we played in Dayton and we were playing against UCLA.

[00:18:01] All right. So the idea is, all right, you know, here we go, St. Bonaventure, UCLA, you know, um, you couldn’t ask for a better basketball game. Right. You know, in terms of, you know, John wooden and you know, some of these things. Yeah. So, you know, it’s a three and a half, four hour drive down. Um, for me that day I stopped for gas twice.

[00:18:20] Both times I stopped at gas stations filled with brown and white, all right. Just Bon venture people. And, and again, as soon as they looked out, if your car had a New York license plate honking, cheering, yelling, screaming, it was incredible. Um, and then you get to the arena. And, you know, there were maybe 400, you know, 500 UCLA fans.

[00:18:42] Um, and then you look up and there’s just, just so many, uh, you know, fans from, from St. Bonaventure, you know, we’re this little school, uh, of us in 2000 students. Um, you know, one of the small schools in division one. Um, so obviously, you know, that, you know, comes with, you know, small class sizes, relationships with your professors, you know, getting that education.

[00:19:04] That’s very personal. But then the other side to that is, you know, you have this, uh, this, uh, family that’s gonna look after you. Um, and it acts so much bigger than, than, than probably what it, what it really is. So, um, and, and that happened again this year, we were in the N I T uh, Um, Nit semifinals and each of the teams probably had somewhere between 500 to 800 fans.

[00:19:30] All right. And then there were 9,500, uh, Saint Bonaventure university fans, you know, the. Madison square garden was taken over by, by, our fan base and everything. So, um, community, family, togetherness, uh, relationships, you know, that’s, that’s what our school is made of. Um, you know, it’s, it’s still to this day, like, you know, any of our players, you know, there are players that had never recruited, uh, that, that never played for me, um, who I’ve I’ve I’ve done things for just because the fact that, you know, they put the Jersey on, you know, where.

[00:20:01] We’re actually getting ready to celebrate our 40th year, um, of a women’s soccer program. And we’ve had some amazing, amazing, um, you know, people that have come through this program that have gone on to do. Great things, you know, um, but they’ve, they’ve put this program on their shoulders and, and they’ve, they’ve, uh, stayed in touch with us and, uh, you know, anytime we’re in the area of, of someone, you know, our, our alums are always reaching out to, to, to, to be a part of things and everything.

[00:20:29] And that to me is probably the, you know, the most special thing, like, you know, we, uh, it happened to us last year. Where we get off, uh, the plane and, you know, the, the girls are like, all right, what’s the schedule, you know, well, you know, what, what are we doing? You know? And it’s like, Hey, you know, we’re gonna practice.

[00:20:45] Probably we’re gonna probably get to the hotel. None of that stuff is important. Okay. We’re gonna visit one of our alums though. And her, her, her husband and their family, that’s the most important thing like that, you know, relationship. Um, and so, uh, you know, that, that’s the big part. The second part is, you know, kind of our location, you know, always people identify kind of with us, you know, being in New York, You’ll automatically think of, you know, skyscrapers and, and traffic and, and all these other things.

[00:21:14] And, and we’re completely on the opposite side of New York. Um, you know, it’s beautiful. Um, you know, the enchanted mountains are right behind our soccer field. The Allegheny river runs right, right in front of there. Um, our campus is one of the greenest campuses you’ve ever seen. Um, it’s pretty wide open.

[00:21:31] It’s not. You know, we don’t, we don’t look for a patch of grass and try to put a building there. It’s the opposite. We’re trying to conserve as much grass as possible. We’re in the, uh, the Guinness book of world records for the largest front lawn. You know, these are, you know, mother nature to us is, is, is, is important to us.

[00:21:45] And so, you know, I think it’s very unique when you see the types of people that come here from, from all different areas, in all different walks of life and they come here and they just talk about. Of this experience that they had, you know, being a part of this family, um, you know, being in, in, in such a beautiful place.

[00:22:02] Um, and then, you know, going on to, uh, you know, get a degree and in whatever else, you know, they, they wanna do with their lives, you know, and it’s, it’s, um, We, we laugh all the time because again, have how we support each other. But like, if you ever turn onto, uh, ESPN, okay. You turn on ESPN because you wanna see scores, right?

[00:22:22] You want to find out, you know what happened? I turn on ESPN because of Adrian. Walbrook Kowski. That’s why I turned, I’m looking for a wo bomb, not because of, of what’s going on in the NBA, but because he’s a bombing, you know, and, you know, crystal Lalo, also another ESPN guy and, um, one of our softball players, she who graduated from here, Renee, she, she also was, was there.

[00:22:42] So, so we support them, Tim bond, temps, you know, you know, like those are the ones that, you know, carry, uh, that, that, that shield of, of who we are and, you know, um, and make it public as much as possible. Who we are. So we’re a small school. Um, it’s gonna give you a great education, but more importantly, it’s gonna give you a family for, for, uh, forever.

[00:23:02] And, um, you know, we’re always gonna stick with each other through and through. And so, you know, people know that they can always come back to campus and, and, and, uh, kind of reminisce and, and they’ll know that somebody will always be here to help them out. You know, I think those are the things, those are the values and character that you want in a place where, where you’re working 

[00:23:19] Matt: and everything.

[00:23:20] No. That’s great. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the soccer side of things. If, you know, if I was an incoming freshman, right. That I’m coming in tomorrow, right. We got preseason starting, but once school starts kind of gives me, uh, you know, just really quickly, a brief. What’s a basic week look like in terms of when I’m waking up, when is training, when are my classes?

[00:23:41] When, when, what’s a typical game, cadence, that kind of thing. 

[00:23:44] Coach: Sure. Um, so a, a, a fall week for us looks like this, uh, Monday’s our day off. So, um, players and, and, and coaches, we don’t, we don’t see each other on Mondays. Um, unless there was something that was going on outside of soccer or whatever it might.

[00:24:01] Um, as a staff, it’s completely opposite. Obviously, we’re, we’re going over the game film and we’re preparing for the week, uh, to kind of get things going and get things, uh, ready. Um, also because Monday’s our day off, that’s the day where. As much as possible. We’re trying to get our kids to, to take labs or, you know, any classes that, um, that they might need.

[00:24:22] We’re, we’re, we’re trying to get them to do that on Mondays. Um, now one of the things we’re, you know, we’re pretty focused on is we’re a, we’re a player player centered base, uh, team, you know, so we work our practice schedules around our kids, you know, so we make suggestions, but we also know because we’re a small school, um, it might not always happen.

[00:24:41] So, Monday is my day off. Big day for classes, uh, recovery day, you know, et cetera, Tuesday, Wednesday. Um, we have training sessions along with Friday and Saturday. Um, and then we play games on Thursdays and Sundays. That’s, uh, that’s what our conference does. Um, you know, our practice schedule looks a little bit different, you know, we have four days of practice, um, you know, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are, are, are big days for us.

[00:25:07] Um, you know, just kind of getting ready for that Thursday game. Friday’s, uh, practice. Is, um, the craziest of all the practices because you know, some of our team is recovering. Uh, some of our team is trying to get in a full training session to get, you know, fitness minutes in and, and, and get to keep their fitness levels high.

[00:25:25] Um, so, so. That’s probably the toughest day is probably Friday, cuz we’ll, we’ll have gone done with, uh, a game the night before. Um, our staff will get in here pretty early. Um, we usually get coffee and, and, and bagels and then we just start. As much as we can, you know, looking at tape, looking at our, our GPS numbers, um, taking, uh, taking part in, uh, you know, any of the, the load or the recovery things that we need to do and start looking at at all the minutes.

[00:25:56] Um, and then Friday’s usually a big day for us, uh, for tape. So, you know, a lot of our girls will come in and watch, uh, watch films. And so, um, you know, one of the things I think that’s, um, you know, unique about us and everything like that is we do whatever our players do. So if our players need, you know, some type of positive reinforcement, great, how do we get that for you?

[00:26:15] How do we do that for you? Um, you know, if some of our players wanna, you know, be on the field for an extra hour, you know, to get, you know, get in some, some one on one time we go ahead and do that, you know? Um, but it’s, again, players centered, you know, like not, not every single one of our kids loves tape, not everyone, every, every one of our kids is, is, uh, you are doing extra work on the, on the field.

[00:26:35] Um, Our staff is there to create and provide those opportunities. So that’s a typical typical week for us, um, that we kind of stick to, um, for the most part, um, we usually have one, one or two buys, you know, within our conference schedule. So there is, there is a week where we get a full week of training and I gotta tell you, like, that’s my favorite week of, of, of, of, of the season.

[00:26:58] Like I love. I wish we had more time practicing. And again, we’re not gonna talk about, you know, any other models or anything else that’s going on in the men’s or women’s soccer. Um, but that being said, like, like we love a full week of training to get ready for a game. Um, especially in the middle of that conference schedule.

[00:27:15] It’s, it’s helped us, um, you know, quite a bit in the last, uh, in the last few years. And, um, you know, again, it’s, uh, That’s that’s the makeup in the spring, you know, in, in the, in the fall where everybody’s geared towards, you know, winning the winning games and doing whatever they can serving their role, uh, of the team to help us win games, uh, in the spring, it’s completely opposite.

[00:27:36] It’s all about individual development. Um, so, you know, in the spring everybody’s getting to play, um, everybody’s getting an opportunity to get minutes. Everybody’s trying to work on things that are. There are things that they need to improve on, uh, as an individual player. Um, sometimes in the spring, we’re introducing things that are, that are new or, you know, maybe a new position, maybe, maybe changing up, you know, something that we do as a team.

[00:27:59] Um, but in the spring, it’s, it’s, it’s also, uh, uh, a pretty concrete schedule. We usually practice Monday through Friday. We give the girls the weekends off. Um, and then, you know, obviously we have our, our, our five game schedule that we, that we, uh, that we play and everything, but that’s what a. That’s what a typical year would look like for us.

[00:28:17] We have downtime, um, you know, after we finish in November, um, we give our girls time off. It’s more or less time away from us, you know, not having a regimented schedule, not having, you know, You have to do X, Y, Z. Um, do our girls take it, you know, some girls take 24 hours off. Uh, some girls might take a week or two off, you know, um, but a lot of times they’re back there doing the things that they, they enjoy and, and getting in the workouts that, that they.

[00:28:47] Appreciate, you know, and so, you know, we’re fully in support of that, you know? Um, but we think it’s important to have that downtime. I think that’s, you know, whether it’s club soccer, high school soccer, college soccer, I think that’s the, probably the worst thing about it is not having downtime where you’re able to recover, you know, some coaches think of downtime being a few days, you know, like, oh yeah, yeah, you got a couple days off, you know, and.

[00:29:09] your body just needs your body, your mind, you know, needs more than just that, you know, so for sure. Um, but that, that, that, that’s what it looks like for us, uh, in the fall and the spring. So, you know, 

[00:29:18] you 

[00:29:18] Matt: mentioned, uh, you know, grabbing coffee and bagel with the staff. What, what does your staff look like in terms of everybody’s roles?

[00:29:24] What kind of support staff does the athletic department offer as well? And just, how does that all fit in? Yeah, 

[00:29:31] Coach: so, um, so our staff, uh, this year, um, so we just had some, some, some changes. Um, we have a new coach that we just brought in. Um, so we have a staff of three right now. Um, and there’s, uh, one of our staff members is actually with us right now.

[00:29:48] Um, he was, was, was with us last year. Uh, his name is Tao Yama. Uh, he’s from Japan and we, uh, We’ve had a great relationship. Um, if you’ve never watched. Premier league in Japanese, you’re, you’re missing out on life. I’m just telling you, um, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s a great experience, but, um, but both, uh, tyke and Zach, uh, you know, there’s staff of three, um, that, that are soccer coaches.

[00:30:13] We also have a sports performance coach. Um, you know, that’s within that, that strength and, and development. Department. Um, we have a full-time athletic trainer that, that, that’s with us. Um, we have an amazing, amazing, uh, academic coach and, um, she, I mean, she deserves, uh, a Cape for all the things that she does for us.

[00:30:37] Uh, but her name’s Sarah Walcott. She actually is an alum of our program. Um, and she, she came on board last, uh, last August and she’s been so great. Um, person and supporter of our program. Um, and then we also have an associate ad who works closely with our program. Um, you know, monitors, you know, we probably talk with our associate ad, you know, weekly, if not daily, um, to kind of keep, keep in the loop.

[00:31:03] Um, but that’s kind of our main group of, of, people that our girls will constantly see. One of the things. We benefit from all the people that I, that I just mentioned, we all have an office in the same building. Um, so our athletic training, our, our locker room, all of those things right now are all in the same building.

[00:31:22] The only thing that isn’t is our soccer field. And we literally just, you know, we walk a hundred yards outside the building and, and, and there’s our field. So, we’re blessed with, uh, the locality of, you know, everybody being close and, you know, being able to communicate, you know, back and forth, um, you know, with everything we do have a nutritionist.

[00:31:38] Um, who, who, uh, who who’s here on our campus, that our girls can meet with it at any time, um, who works within athletics, um, along with, um, two new members of our staff that, that, um, talk, you know, in reference kind of mental health and, you know, support psychology and, and everything. So, um, and those are all, we’ve been blessed that, you know, in the last five years, you know, some.

[00:32:03] Great additions have kind of come, you know, to our, uh, department and, and, and a lot of those are, are things that I just mentioned just there, so, oh, that’s 

[00:32:10] Matt: great. Do you have a set roster size that you try to hit every season when you’re, when you’re bringing kids in? 

[00:32:16] Coach: So, so kind of a magic number for us?

[00:32:19] What I would say is like, 28 to 29. That’s a magic number for us. Yeah. Um, we have, uh, this year on our roster, 31 players and, um, you know, it, it, it helps us, you know, uh, I, I guess the biggest thing that we kind of look for is, you know, can we go full field? In practice every single day. And, um, you know, obviously you have injuries.

[00:32:42] We have a couple injuries coming in, um, you know, this season, um, to, to, to some people. So, you know, even though our roster size is 31 and that’s, that’s our family along with our coaches. Um, you know, I, I think we’ll have, you know, 28 that are active, um, the, the, the first, the first practice day, um, and that fluctuates, you know, one of the things that, that our staff tries to do are really.

[00:33:04] um, conscientious, uh, about it, is monitoring load. Recovery, you know, we, we want every player to, to be able to have the opportunity and to have the chance to be able to play and train and, and everything. So, um, you know, last year we were lucky that I think we started preseason with 28 players. By the way, by our last game, we still had 28 players that were active and still training at that time and everything.

[00:33:29] So, um, and, and then again, kudos for that goes to, you know, a lot of the people that we work with, that, that, that help out with that and everything. So, um, So yeah, that, that would be the, the, the magic number, um, you know, uh, would we add another person if, if they help our, our, our team for sure. Yeah.

[00:33:49] Right. Sure. Um, so I, I, you know, would, would I ever see our team get to 35 40? Uh, no, I, I, I don’t. Um, and it’s just, I think for the long run, it’s, it’s, what’s good for us and, and everything, so, okay. We just made that change maybe. Four years ago. Um, you know, we had a smaller team at that time. Um, and, uh, like we ran around 24, 25 and it just wasn’t working because of injuries.

[00:34:18] Yeah. You know, there, there were times where, you know, our whole coaching staff wasn’t coaching, they were playing to be able to give that, that 11th side. Yeah. Yeah. And I just don’t don’t don’t think. Um, you know, that was best suited for, for our team and our players. So, so that, that adjustment, you know, helped us, uh, you know, greatly and, and, um, you know, just, just being a little bit, some of these new tools that we have, um, you know, with GPS and, you know, being able to track load and these, these different things.

[00:34:44] I think that also has been a, a, a great help to our, our, our coaching staff to really, um, To really be able to focus on, you know, what, you know, what is happening with each one of our players. And obviously each one of them is built differently, you know? Um, and, and then how we can support them and help in the best ways.

[00:35:02] Makes sense. 

[00:35:03] Matt: Um, so coach we’ve, we’ve, we’ve covered a lot of ground. I really appreciate your time. Don’t wanna take up too much with, so I, I always like to end these with one last question. That is what, what didn’t we talk about? What, what else would you want kids to know? Whether it’s about the school, about the soccer side of things, uh, about, you know, anything under the sun?

[00:35:23] Uh, the floor is yours. 

[00:35:25] Coach: So, so I, Matt, I probably referenced my, my, my two daughters. Um, you know, I, as a coach, I always think about my, my kids and, um, you know, my, both my daughters are, are 10 and eight, so they’re, they’re not at that recruiting age. Um, but every time I speak, every time I talk, I always think, okay, well, well, you know, this was my daughter, you know, at this point in this age, you know, what would I say?

[00:35:47] And so, you know, I, I really think, um, I, I hope that some, some people will understand what I’m saying and, and, and really, um, be able to apply it. But, um, The biggest issue that I have right now with college soccer is the idea that it’s such a machine, you know, that, that we allow, um, you know, and from whatever perspective it comes from, you know, this idea of just early commitments and you know, that college soccer and college scholarships are such, um, a, a big talking point so early, uh, you know, in the years of, of high school, um, that it becomes.

[00:36:27] You know, almost a distraction from, from what the sport is really about, you know, sport’s about, you know, uh, learning these different, you know, characteristics and values that are, so I. You know, with sports. Um, and then, you know, that idea of, of being a part of a team and being a, um, being coachable and working with the coaching staff and growing as a player and everything like that, you know, and, and taking care of that process.

[00:36:50] You know, when we talk about process, when we’re usually not talking about development, we’re talking about you. You know, recruiting and, and that to me is kind of the, the sad part about it. Um, you know, I would love to see kids kind of, and families kind of delay things and, and wait on things and just, just allow things to be.

[00:37:07] And, you know, when we talk about, um, you know, some there there’s horrible statistics that you can talk about where, you know, with transfer rates, you know, with, you know, um, you know, In, in part women’s soccer, you know, not being able to PA play beyond, you know, um, your first year. Um, and, and that all contributes to the idea that, you know, we’re not doing the process, right.

[00:37:31] You know, we’re not, we’re not, we’re not getting enough information. Um, you know, we’re not investigating enough, you know, we’re, we’re literally sometimes going on campuses for the first time and, and saying, oh, you love. Oh, they’re offering a scholarship. Great. Let’s move on, you know? Yeah. And it’s so funny because you wouldn’t do that with, with any.

[00:37:50] Part of your life. Do you know what I mean? If you’re gonna go, you know, if you go buy a cart, you know what I mean? Like you’re literally, you know, looking and researching everything. You’re, you’re contacting different people who have that car you’re, you know, but, but someone offers you a college scholarship and it’s like a lot of things go out the window and it’s just like, well, no, just take it because you don’t know if you’re gonna get offered something else, you know?

[00:38:10] And so, you know, one of the things I, I, I would, I would add to that is just that idea of like, you know, I think parents. Um, should not be a part of the process. They should be a part of the support system of that individual. And so, you know, being able to say, you know, like, Hey, like, Hey, I, I know you love this and everything like that, but you know, let’s look at things and I know that college coaches, um, I, I don’t think they help in the process.

[00:38:35] You know, I, I, you know, I think sometimes you have coaches, that’ll say, Hey, I need to know in two days, I need to know in a week, I need to know in two weeks. Yes or no, you know, and, and, uh, going back to one of the phrases you used is, is that list, Matt, I’ve never made a list in my life. Okay. Because I think every single individual, um, is different from everybody else.

[00:38:55] Like, I can find someone that can play soccer, maybe like you, but I can’t find the person that has the. Values the same commitment, the same work rate, the same personality. You, you bring something different, you know, than anybody else. And so I always tell, you know, anybody that we’re recruiting is, you know, you’re unique, you know?

[00:39:13] And so, uh, if I’m telling you that you have a week, then maybe I do have a list and I’m gonna go down that list till someone says yes. Um, and, and then going back to what I was saying earlier is. We recruited someone literally all the way up until five days ago, you know? Well, why didn’t we give ’em a time limit?

[00:39:31] We told them we wanted pressure not to be a part of the process. We wanted them to make the right choice. And that, that probably is my, my closing thing. I think if, if, if, if, uh, you know, players, parents, coaches, if it was all about making the right decision, let’s get all the information together. All right.

[00:39:49] Um, Let’s take as much time as we need so that we’re making the right choice and we’re committed to that choice. Right? I think the transfer portal wouldn’t be as many, uh, student athletes as there are. Um, and I think more people would be confident with what they were doing, you know, um, you know, versus, you know, we’re asking, you know, freshmen.

[00:40:11] To, you know, sometimes make choices, even though they’re not allowed to make those choices. And even though it’s illegal to make those choices, but to make those choices in these secret talks and everything like that, when we don’t really know, we don’t have the magic ball to be able to, to say what their what’s gonna happen for them, you know, three years down the road.

[00:40:27] And, and, and more importantly, what my team is gonna look like three years down the road, you know? So, you know, we’re getting ready to recruit 20 threes right now. And one of the things we’ve, we, you know, we’re telling them is. I know exactly what our team is like, you know, we’re getting ready to coach them right now.

[00:40:41] We’re, we’re able to give you a, you know, a snapshot of exactly what we think of our team right now and, and what areas we need. But more importantly, you can also see our team play, you know, to be able to do that. And so again, I think giving the right information, giving the best information and not letting any of these outside factors, um, you know, Play a part in this.

[00:41:04] I think that’s the most important thing. All right. And we talk all the time about mental health, mental health, mental health. Okay. Um, I think my daughters will be like this when they’re 16 years old too. If I ask my daughters what they want for dinner, it will take a long time for me to get an answer right.

[00:41:20] Yet we’re expecting them to make a decision about college like that right away at these young ages. And I just think we, you know, we, as, you know, adults and, and, and respecting this journey and, you know, respecting, uh, these individuals, you know, and their mental health. We can help in this process, you know, and we can, we can really support them, um, you know, versus versus doing the opposite.

[00:41:41] So, but, uh, I appreciate you giving me the time, uh, an opportunity. It was great to talk to you and, uh, you know, if there’s anything we can ever do to help out, uh, you know, you know, let, let me know. But, um, you know, look forward to hopefully seeing you somewhere down the road and yeah. Maybe at a game or, or so absolutely love 

[00:41:56] Matt: to love to get up and see campus.

[00:41:57] And if you’re ever down at, uh, in Bradenton for either IMG cup or any ECNL events down here, gimme a shout, we’ll grab a cup of coffee and, uh, I could show you around, uh, the Florida area here, but thanks, coach really do appreciate it. Uh, good luck, uh, with this season. Hopefully you guys can, uh, you know, bring home that conference championship and, and we’ll keep an on you, but, but really appreciate 

[00:42:19] Coach: the time.

[00:42:19] Sounds great, man. All the best, take care. Thanks.