Stetson University Women’s Soccer – Coach Jamie Souza
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Souza from the Stetson Women’s Program in Florida. We talk about recruiting as a new coach and dealing with past commits. He describes the school as a hidden gem that’s a national treasure. Lastly, we discuss how he coaches to put the game in the hands of the players.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer today. I’m lucky enough to be joined by coach Jamie from Stetson university here in Florida. Welcome coach. Thanks, mate.
Coach: Morning. How are you doing?
Matt: Doing well. Thanks. Glad to have you on. Uh, I think I may be, I may have seen you on the field at some of these ID camps around the state here over the last, uh, six months or that’s, that’s you took over the program back in January, right?
Coach: Yeah, back early January. Yeah. It’s been a whirlwind ever since. And yeah, you probably would have done. I’ve been out pounding the pavement recruiting and doing that good stuff. So no doubt. I’m sure we bumped into each other. We didn’t see me from afar. Yeah. Exactly.
Matt: Well, speaking of recruiting, we’re, we’re talking just after, uh, June 15th.
So, uh, just out of curiosity, uh, How busy were you over the weekend making calls, or have you been really focused more on the 25 kind of what’s your mindset in terms of the calendar and when you’re talking to people and that whole thing?
Coach: Yeah, it’s been a challenge actually, because I was actually working University of Tampa’s ID camp speaking about recruiting.
So I was, I was on the field for 12 hour days, but managed To squeeze in a couple of calls here at lunchtime or straight after the ID camp. And then, uh, subsequently the last couple of days, but a couple of really, really positive phone calls as well. And, um, but yeah, my initial focus really was on the 20, 25.
So I firstly first took the role, um, you know, to really be really proactive with, with that class after kind of quickly establishing what we had currently in the building. Um, but in regards to 20, 26 is yeah. Um, straight on it, [00:01:30] identified, you know, hopefully a lot of local talent, but then, um, maybe looking a bit more further afield around, you know, the Um, you know, the other states that we have here in this country, but, um, yep, still very much on it, being proactive and having those initial conversations and starting the journeys with a few players and a few really exciting players and, um, we’ll see how they, how they end up cause you know, you don’t get them all, but hopefully you get one or two that will make a difference.
Matt: Yeah, for sure. Well, just out of curiosity, as, as somebody who’s coming in in January, right? You, you’re, you’re assessing obviously the roster that’s returning the way girls recruiting tends to happen. It tends to be a little more early. So you probably already had a number of 24s committed. When you took over, can you just talk to me about what, what that process is like in terms of, you know, are, are those people who are committed?
Are they, are they reaching out, asking questions and deciding whether they’re going to stay? Are you saying, Hey. You know, maybe you’re not quite the right fit. Are you still going out and saying, all right, I’m still looking for a few more 24s throughout that roster. Just give me a little bit of insight into what what’s going through your mind when you’re taking over at this, that time of year.
Coach: Yeah. I think every, every college is different. It has different expectations and different, um, expectations about how you might manage that, that situation. Um, Yeah. So the, the, the line is with, with us is that we’re going to, um, still take on the players at that point. Cause it’s, you know, uh, second half of their senior year.
And, [00:03:00] and, um, you know, it can be a challenge then to try and then find another program at that stage. Not that anything’s too late. Everyone has their own journey. And if the 2025s are still uncommitted now, clearly some, some great players out there, um, you know, as you go into the, into the new year, you’ll be absolutely fine if you’re not committed to that point, um, but a real, um, so some of them I knew of.
Um, from being just being in the state of Florida and being around and in some that I didn’t know if I managed to get some film on, um, and then we had some kind of honest conversations with around where, you know, the programs go into and how they might may fit into that, um, and what that would look like moving forwards, but absolutely not telling anyone to leave.
But, um, that is not who I am. I want to work with the people that we have and. Again, with the current players that we have, I haven’t, you know, try to push anyone away or anything like that. It’s been a case of, okay, I already backed myself as a coach to improve people and develop people. And, um, it’s been a case of, okay, you guys will come in, be part of the team.
We will have some honest conversations as I think it’s so important that during the recruiting process, but then once the players you’re in, the players that you have, you’re very upfront and honest and obviously respectful. And, uh, and you acknowledge where they need might need work or. What that might look like in the timeline and pathway to play.
That’s something I always say, do you have a pathway to play here? And, uh, and if you are going to play here, then that may be X, Y, Z need to be improved and this is how you might do that. Um, but in terms of picking up some, some, some late, uh, Recruits like I said, like, um, in January, the senior year, there was a handful of girls that I had, um, [00:04:30] uh, identified was I’m a previous position, um, that, you know, maybe we didn’t quite need at the time.
Well, again, there was no pathway to play there, but I knew there’d be a good fit for the, for the conference and for our school. So I reached out to those and we were able to secure a couple of 2024s. Uh, and then a couple of transfer students as well that we managed to pick up one midyear right after I took the job, um, that I knew of, uh, previous to, um, from my former, former school in our senior year, I recruited her and she didn’t give me any, uh, any love at the time at division two.
Um, uh, but now this, this second time round, uh, she was very interested in coming to play for us at Stetson. And, um, there’s a couple more that we were able to achieve to, uh, one that we started midyear that’s coming in this fall. And then we just, one, we just picked up from the last window. So yeah, a bit of a blend really, in terms of trying to improve, you know, what we have, who we have coming in and, and showing them the, um, where they can develop, uh, and then, you know, trying to add a few bits and pieces, uh, you know, some areas we might think are a little bit light, um, or even maybe a different profile, different profile of player that we could, um, utilize coming into this, um, fall season.
Matt: Well, you mentioned, uh, you know, you were working ID camps, uh, there at UT. So, uh, how important is the ID camp process for you guys and your recruiting, whether that’s your own ID camps or other folks, ID camps.
Coach: Yeah, it’s massive. And I feel it’s on social media at the minute. It’s getting a little bit [00:06:00] of a little bit of hate.
And, uh, and look, I’m sure, you know, that there’s a hundred percent, there’s programs out there that, you know, just, uh, you know, making money off these things. And of course it’s part of, of it, right. We, we, we do make money off of ID counts, but let me tell you this. It’s, it’s a huge piece because we don’t have a massive recruiting budget.
Uh, for example. Going up to Seattle next week. I’m not, um, I don’t have my own hotel room. I’m sharing and, uh, and to make it work and I’m maybe fly out from a different destination to try and make it work for the program because we don’t have a massive recruiting budget where we can just fly to all these events and I can’t be in California this week, for example, at the GA event, because, you know, the budget just doesn’t stretch to us to be, for us to be out there and I’d love to take my assistant Chloe, but you know, really it’s only one of us can go, you know, and so with that in mind.
Uh, phenomenal because, you know, we get to actually have hands on coaching with these, uh, with these players and we get to know and see their, um, see their tendencies and their attitude towards each other and towards us as coaching stuff and how they receive information. Um, and that up and close look is, is just, um, it doesn’t get much better.
So in division one, we, you’re not allowed to have the, the tryout system that you have in division two, which are utilized massively previously. Um, so it is, it’s phenomenal to be able to have that and get those soft skills and get to know kids for, for who they are. Um, cause you know, part of the thing is, of course, you wouldn’t want to bring good players, but you want to bring good people as well.
And you don’t always get to be able to do that just, you know, from the other side of a, of a screen, or maybe even over a phone call that can be, um, [00:07:30] Can be a challenge sometimes. So being able to spend at least at least one day, but ideally a couple of days with, um, potential recruits is super helpful to kind of check all those boxes.
And then, um, you know, from our perspective, we’ve had two ID camps, one in, um, one in March, we just had one in May and we recruited three players from, from them to events. And, you know, as an element of. Identifying these players with, uh, two of them prior to them coming to IED camp. Um, and one of them was like a happy surprise.
Okay, you’re here, you’re good. Okay, we’ll take you. And then, uh, but the other, other ones was a case of, okay, we identified you in ECNL events or their local girls. And then, um, We recognize that in, in our ID camp setting. Okay. They were great. Really coachable, good humans. Okay. We’ll, we’ll move forward. So everyone has their own journey within that.
And like I say, sometimes it’s a happy accident. You stumble across someone that, you know, you think, Oh, you’re great. You you’ll do for us. And sometimes it’s a case of, okay. Checking that last box and finding out, okay, who are they, who are they really? And what tendencies do they have and how coachable are they?
Matt: Well, and you touched on it a little bit there, but, but. Give me a little bit more into what, what is it that really makes, uh, a player, somebody you want to, you want to offer, whether it’s, you know, more detail around on the field stuff or off the field stuff.
Coach: Yeah. Um, you know, coming into a new program, establishing a culture that you want, um, is massively important.
So I always say I want to bring good people as well as good players. So just that, uh, one thing I would always say is I love people that are consistent. Um, and then obviously had to been able to see people on a few [00:09:00] occasions, but then obviously ID camp so you get to see their consistency on the field, but then also off the field.
Okay. Are they, uh, interacting with others? What’s their, what’s their, um, process? Like when a referee gives a decision that they don’t like, uh, a teammate shouts at them, how do they respond? Uh, when the coach has given him points, I’ll be given my contact. And I D camp when we’re coaching, I give an aside tank, I contact and really try and put into place what we’re trying to say.
Um, so we get really kind of get that personal piece, uh, but inconsistency on, off, on, off the field as well. So, okay, well, what are you doing with your, with your spare time? Are you doing extra training? Are you doing extra one to one sessions? Are you seeing, um, are you, are you lifting? Are you, um, doing, um, speed and quickness agility sessions with a specialized coach, you know, um, to find out those things are really, really important to us because, you know, as you know, To be in a successful collegiate soccer program.
It doesn’t just it’s great. The training sessions we put on and the film and the lifting is phenomenal. We have, you know, all those things that full time environments. Brilliant. But actually, sometimes there’s there’s some extras that needs to be taking place here and obviously time away from the program during the summer winter break.
There’s some, some, uh, habitual things and standards as a human that you have to, um, Mhm. Um, that do to fill your for your college readiness? Um so trying to find out that early is this going to be a player that’s going to need that extra push in those moments or are they already doing these things like a couple of players?
You know, I know we’ve got coming in a super consistent in the gym. They’re doing extra extra sessions. One to one small group sessions and stuff like that, and that’s that’s all great for us. Then as a player, just always being competitive and intense and working hard. [00:10:30] Um, you know, so in like, uh, for example, the player come to our last ID can assign to this fall.
Um, that kid. Ran and ran and competed and was physical and brave, and they just didn’t stop until their body said, with this, the Florida heat, that I need to take a rest and take a break. And some of that’s gonna maximize themselves on that and show us that they really, really want to be there. Um, and if they’re doing that, you know, away from us during, when we doing talent, talent identification at uh, um, at showcases and events, um, obviously that’s great.
But then when they come in and, and that you see them do that and consistently do that, that’s, that’s something that’s really big for us as well. They’re gonna have that, that inner drive and that competitiveness and that bravery. Clearly. You know, the physical, physical piece is massively important.
Collegiate soccer. But then, you know, the technical piece, are they going to be able to have the receiving skills, the, you know, the, um, the decision making, uh, the passing, uh, you know, range and ability to get the ball off the foot and create passing lanes and being shifty on the ball and everything you look for in your own program and how you want to kind of want to model, um, The players and mold the players that you have in your program to fit your kind of game model.
I suppose.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. Uh, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m lucky enough. I have to drive up that way, uh, later this week. So I’m going to roll through campus cause I haven’t visited, but, uh, you’ve been there six months now you’ve been at other Florida schools. So, so what is it about Stetson that drew you to the program?
What are some things in your first six months you found out that are kind of really awesome about the school?
Coach: Yeah, it’s, it’s, uh, it’s a real hidden gem to be honest, you know, [00:12:00] it’s, it’s, uh, I’m glad it’s finally starting to get a little bit on the map with the men’s basketball program, making much madness and, uh, our baseball team doing really, really well at the moment as well as other, other sports as well.
Uh, so we’re going to be a national national recognition now, so we’re not always going to be the hidden gem. Hopefully here, hopefully we’ll become a, like I think our president said, it won’t be a national treasure, which is pretty good line because we are a bit hidden gem. It’s a beautiful small campus, um, a quarter of the, uh, Student body of student athletes.
So we really have that kind of, um, local community field. The lands are pretty little place, just 30 minutes away from New Smyrna. So the beaches right here and people think that we’re this inland school. That’s miles away from anything. That’s really not the case. Orlando is 45 minutes away. New Smyrna is 30 minutes away.
coming in in terms of Ricky Ray, he’s got some great experience and really gets collegiate athletics as well. So, um, so school that’s really moving in the right direction, put an effort and, uh, into our facilities and it’s really starting to, uh, to flourish. Like I said, again, I think it’s been the best year ever in Stetson Athletics with some of the things that have gone on.
So, uh, it’s really moving forwards and fast forward. And and forward thinking and obviously you have the opportunity to come into the women’s soccer program and get that up and running and in our in our vision and try to get that moving forwards is something that’s really, really exciting in a place which is really developing and blossoming with and then having mentioned the academics, best business school in the south and phenomenal health sciences program, phenomenal law program.
Um, it’s just a beautiful place. And it’s, uh, something that gets forgotten about being a little bit inland here in Florida, where people are used to the beaches, right, right there. And, um, you know, [00:13:30] everyone in Florida is a little bit, even from like Orlando or from Tampa or Naples or, um, like Fort Lauderdale or Miami or whatever.
And so they, they get spoiled. So I think of the land you’ll be in slightly inland is a little bit, um, you know, always that’s, that’s inland, but actually for, for myself from, from England and Uh, and for people out of state, when they come to the land, they’re like, Oh, this, we didn’t have never heard of the school was brilliant.
And that’s really, really nice to be able to kind of start putting us on the map a little bit, because like I said, the Floridian, Floridian players, and we’ve got a bunch coming, but the Floridian players sometimes are a little bit, um, but all the land, I’m not sure about that, but actually it’s a, it’s a brilliant place.
Matt: Well, you mentioned the academic side of things, and sometimes that can be, you know, tough for, for new, new collegiate. Enrollees, right. To, to really balance the demands of being on a division one soccer program and, and being, uh, you know, stars in the classroom as well. So what support systems does the school offer to, to help, uh, student athletes really make sure they are being successful both in the classroom and on the field?
Coach: Yeah, I’ll see massively important. You know, we have to hang up our boots at some point. Although, you know, I still think I can, I can dust them off and get it, get it done. Uh, at some, some point we do have to, to, to hang them up. So, yeah, the student piece is massive. Obviously, it actually does come first in the, in the worst student athlete.
Um, yeah. So one great thing about Stetson is that we do have a, the, the, the smaller, um, Student to professor ratio, I think average class size 13 to one. So it’s really difficult to slip through the cracks anyway, uh, in terms of your academics, but then also, you know, study hall [00:15:00] expectations and, um, weekly, uh, our allotments of that and some great facilities to go and study in and support staff of academic advisor and, uh, and tutoring centers on campus.
And obviously meeting with myself as well. It’s a big part of my meetings with the players are individual learning plans that we have for each and each individual. Is okay. How’s your academics? How are you getting on? Um, show me your, your, your, your current, your current, uh, marks and your grades. Um, okay.
We need extra a little bit support here. Okay. Let’s liaise that professor. Let’s get that moving forwards and get that moving up. Um, so really it’s tough. It’s tough to, um, to slip through the cracks here because it is such a microscope with, you know, been, um, the smaller class sizes, et cetera. Um, obviously went on the road as well.
Having that, that close personal relationship with your professor is really important. Um, and, um, And, you know, obviously all the professors get advised of when we’re going to be away and when we’re going to be back. So having that relationship with your professor to be have like preset or do catch up work when you get back again, you’re not, you’re not one in hundreds of an auditorium.
You’re one in one of 15, 13, whatever it might be.
Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk more, uh, about the season a little bit. Let’s let’s fast forward here a couple months. Let’s say you’re you’re in October, the heart of that a son season. Walk me through what you’re envisioning a typical week for a player is going to look like in terms of when our classes game cadence, practice times, meals, all that stuff.
What’s a week going to look like?
Coach: Yeah, busy, busy. Yeah, I think every quite prepared for it. I’ve been a full sports. One of the massive challenges, right? Of, you know, your plans have to come in and be ready and go and hit the [00:16:30] ground running. Whereas, you know, some of the, the, the, the sports that start later in the, in the semester or the academic year have that little bit of climate climatization time.
So you do have to get the, get going. Um, yeah. So typically, you know, Mondays are off, you know, Tuesdays, uh, training, top up running, lifting session and really lifting for me in the seasons, more about resilience and robustness and maintenance rather than feeling sore because you’re going to feel sore from all the sessions and all the games.
Um, so yeah, that’s all about keeping players on the field, you know, rather than off of it for sure. Um, And then utilizing utilizing our catapult data as well to, uh, manage, load and see, um, you know, on a weekly basis, how, how much players are exerting themselves. And, you know, do we need to take those people off?
Do we need to, um, pull some out for a recovery day? Or do we need to push that that player to maybe do a little bit of extra, um, whatever that might look like just in terms of readiness. So, you know, The team that you never start, you start the season with is very rarely the team you end your season with.
So it’s really, really important to always, always be ready. Um, so that’s what I choose. It looks like Wednesday, probably film, um, on, on us and what we’ve done well and what we can improve on. Um, and then a training session Thursday is really again, a scout report session, um, and, and film and a little light training.
Um, I mean, like a jogging stretch, something really just fun and light because we played that evening Friday’s a really tough day in terms of again, probably doing top up running for people that might need it. And again, that cardio, um, and in training and in, and in lifting session again, uh, probably like super light recovery, um, and [00:18:00] then Saturday, probably a tactical session.
Uh, and a scout report for our game on Sunday, which is normally at 1 PM on a Sunday. And we, we come back round again to a Monday, which is obviously completely off from anything soccer related and, um, all that good stuff. So that’s a, probably a nutshell. What a week looks like. I’ve seen the Springs a little bit different Monday to Friday, three lifting sessions, maxing out and doing a little bit more there.
Um, but then just at the more development time, but, um, the other falls crazy. It’s busy. Absolutely look to manage people. Um, you know, visually, when you get into that October time that you refer, you start to see a little bit more strapping, you know, a little bit more, um, tape all over the place. Uh, and sometimes, you know, you might have to take a session off, you know, which might say, okay, we’re not gonna, we’re not going to train today.
You guys are looking, you’re looking absolutely knackered. That’s, that’s put you in the, in the pool or whatever, or in the weight room. And it’s, that’s just trying to change it up. So being able to be flexible, I think is really, really important as well. During that time, because when you visually, the team starts to look tired.
Okay. I think that’s where the time where you can, if you’re brave to take the, take the session off, I was a little bit anxiety. They just like, Oh, we need to get better. We need to get the ball at the feet. And that is obviously really important, but there’s sometimes where you have to put, you know, the, the, the visual, uh, first, you know, when players are going to start and get taped up and strapped up and, uh, to kind of take the foot off the gas for a minute is sometimes useful that mid season time.
Matt: Yeah, absolutely. Well, in terms of the roster, I mean, is there a roster size that you find as ideal that you’re, that you’re trying to hit? Yeah.
Coach: Yeah, 28 to 32, um, is, is what we want to get down to, um, being, uh, a new staff, [00:19:30] there’s going to be some, um, you know, we’re going to carry an enlarged roster next year, which is going to be a challenge and a challenge to our culture.
Um, but we, we left in a really, really good place culturally. Um, so I hope we will protect that. And, uh, and obviously clearly we will invite everyone in, but obviously when playing time becomes a, becomes a factor that can be a challenge. Um, so. Um, but again, I promise communications with that sort of stuff is really, really important.
But yeah, so, you know, we want to get around to down to that 32 28 size. I think that then you’ve got a, um, a real healthy balance between managing injury and uh, managing expectations in terms of game time and stuff. Uh, but being, being a new staff, it’s going to be a bit of a different dynamic for just for this one year.
Um, but that’s again, it’s going to be great to have that challenge and, um, it’s going to be exciting for sure.
Matt: What you mentioned staff. So beside yourself, who are the other staff? What role does everybody play? And maybe what other, uh, athletic department staff are there to help with the team in whatever role?
Coach: Yeah, we’re just hired a new, uh, 80, which is really exciting. She’s worked with professional teams. So we’re, we’re, we’re really, and she’s a kind of younger female member of staff as well, which is awesome for the girls, um, to have that relatability, um, so we’re excited to bring her on board. She starts cases that’s real soon.
Um, Um, and then we have, uh, uh, one of the big things I wanted to do being a first time head coach in a women’s programs give, um, make sure we have a young female assistant on staff, um, qualified obviously. Um, but we, we got Chloe Marquez from Emporia State and she was a player there, GA assistant, acting head coach.
[00:21:00] Um, And so she’s has a great amount of experience for her young years. Uh, and she’s, um, fitted in like a glove. She’s gotten really well in terms of administrative tasks, but obviously on the field as well and building relationships with the girls, which is massively important. Um, so she’s done great and she manages our equipment, a little bit of social media.
Um, Which is phenomenal. It’s been really growing as well. Um, and, you know, some of the travel plans and booking hotels and bosses and, um, starting to look at places to eat, all that kind of stuff. You don’t see when you’re just rolling the ball out there to play and, and, and, and training and games. So she’s, um, taking on those, those roles really, really well.
Uh, then we’ve got, um, Cara Haas is coming on board from, um, as a, as an assistant coach. Um, she just played four years at EKU. So again, someone that, um, it’s just lived through the experience and wasn’t always, she doesn’t mind me saying, wasn’t always a starter, wasn’t always a big minute player, so I love that.
She’s going to bring that perspective to the group. Okay. It’s, it’s not always, you know, 90 minutes, 90 minutes, nine minutes. Okay. That’s so when I dealt with, when I had this situation, I didn’t play well. This is what I did. And I think she’ll offer that. That advice really, really well. She’s going to come on board and get help with our equipment and social media.
And, um, uh, she’s going to start to learn the inner workings of the collegiate side of the game, which is, um, you know, this is fast. There’s so much admin to learn. Uh, and then we’ve got Owen Jack, who’s going to split his, uh, split his time between the two programs. Uh, he’s a goalkeeping coach. He played for four years with, uh, with Emmett.
On the men’s side as a captain, um, uh, and then transferred for his like [00:22:30] fifth, sixth years, whatever he was doing, uh, Vermont. And I think they made the elite eight last year. So he had that experience at the elite level up there as well. So, uh, he’s coming back, uh, done a bunch of coaching when he was down here in Florida.
So it’s experienced as well. And, um, He’s going to turn his hand and, and, and coach the goalkeepers of both programs. Clearly his, his role’s responsibilities is to manage the goalkeeping unit, make sure it’s a harmonious atmosphere where the goalkeepers are pushing themselves in training and you have that, um, the iron sharpens iron kind of mentality in training, that competitive edge.
Uh, but then whoever’s chosen to go between the sticks, um, the other goalkeepers and then, then that player’s, um, biggest supporter, uh, and manage that, manage that’s really, really important. And having those soft skills is massively important. And they’ll see he’s going to be in charge of it. Um, uh, their development and, um, managing, you know, getting some film together, which is like best practice film, maybe from the NWSL or film from overseas, um, uh, or from women’s national team, whatever it might be.
And then obviously some, um, film sessions with, uh, using our iPad. So we can, we can film our goalkeeping sessions as well. So breaking out down that film and the more nitty gritty detail that’s required for that, that. That position on the field and kind of managing those guys. And, um, also he’s, as an alum, he’s going to be in charge of our alumni engagement, um, and re and re engaging the alumni with the program.
Um, cause I think that’s something that may have fell, fell to the wayside a little bit these last few years.
Matt: Okay, great. Well, how about you in terms of, uh, as the head man there, what, how would you describe your coaching style, the style of play you’re looking [00:24:00] to implement there this year?
Coach: Yeah, I don’t want to give too much away,
Matt: but you don’t have to be too detailed, but uh, No, no, no,
Coach: you don’t mind.
Uh, my start, my, my coaching style, um, something I’ll continue to develop, um, something at the core of me as a person, uh, in my former career. And then we’ll see now as a professional coach for the last 10 or so years. Um, it’s people, uh, I think one of the good, one of the good things about COVID, not that we’re many good things, but one of the good things was, uh, all these experts have the time to sit down on podcasts like this and talk about their experience.
Um, and one thing that always come back to me. Throughout that was relationships, people, uh, and once people feel like they’re valued, um, they will do more for, yeah, it sounds simple, right? But it’s something that, uh, it’s coming to more of the forefront in, in, in, in soccer coaching nowadays. Um, you know, gone are the days, I think a little bit where it was just all yell, yell, yell, yes, sir, no, sir.
You know, or jump off that cliff. Okay. Uh, you know, that, that’s, that’s kind of go to the wayside a little bit. So them soft skills are so important now and being a relationship person and relationship centered person that, that falls into the middle of my, my coaching philosophy. So really knowing the players as they walk up to practice.
How are you today? Fist bump. Okay, so I can look him in the eye and see how they are today. So no, not to yell at that person or know that person needs to stop a touch today, potentially. Um, and then again, people feeling valued having having that time really to get to know the players in the program. So I do genuinely care about the girls that are in a program.
I want to see them do well, you know, whether it’s here at Stetson and Or, you know, when they go into leave us to the big wide world, um, so having those soft skills, those [00:25:30] relationships are massively important to me, but in terms of practicality as a coaching, um, you know, I really have a style of sport, like a guided discovery style where, um, we put on a session, we can do different constraints, different goals.
Uh, and I want the player to try and figure it out. I want the players to figure out, okay, what do I need to do to, to, to win the game today, to win the practice day. Cause one thing we say we’re always going to compete in training. And, uh, if they, if they don’t get it or they need help. No problem. I’ll step in, move people around, maybe yell at people a little bit to get them where they need to go.
That’s no problem. Not scared of getting in there and coaching, but if I’m holding their hand during training, then they’re going to expect that on a game day. And I can’t always be there to hold their hand on a game day. Sometimes it’s, it’s solving the game is in front of you. Um, And I can’t be there to play PlayStation with you and movie or FIFA movie around on a game day.
You’re going to have to solve some things yourself. So creating really good decision makers and training to an intensity and making practice hard. It is a key for my coaching style. Um, Can you figure it out? If you can’t, no problem. I’m going to help you and we’ll get there and we’ll get the information and detail that we need into the need into the session, but, um, I’m going to try my best to, um, be hands on, but hands on hands on, but hands off and, uh, allow them to develop cognitively as well as, uh, as a player.
Matt: All right. Well, coach, you’ve been super generous with your time. I love the insights. Got one final question for you. And that is for any. Potential student athlete out there. Who’s going through this recruiting process. If there was one piece of advice you had for them, one thing you think they should know, what would that be?
Coach: I think [00:27:00] consistency and patience as well, I think in an equal measure. So identifying exactly what you want, what you’re looking for in terms of the location, small, small, big school, obviously academics, massively important. Um, And then being consistently approached to him. So reaching out, giving them enough information, not too much, and then some film where it shows some of the key skills for that, for that position.
So as a center back, don’t just provide loads of films, you stepping out with the ball under no pressure for two and a half minutes, passing the ball under no pressure, that’s not, that’s not going to happen in a collegiate game. Very rarely. Anyway, maybe, maybe you play for Florida state maybe. Um, but show them, show you what Block in, show you, show you in the, in the air, show you covering ground in behind, covering your outside back or your center back partner, um, you know, show some key skills for your position in your film and then consistently reach out, but not too much, not like two emails in a week or two emails in a couple of days.
We’re very busy. It will take us some time sometimes, certainly during this time, and when we’re working ID camps and we have June 15th here, um, you know, it’s, it’s a lot, a lot, and people are taking a vacation and all that good stuff. So. Just allow them a time to respond. If it’s like, you know, a couple of weeks, three weeks, whatever, then okay.
Then start reaching back out again and kind of see, uh, the, um, The interest level. Um, if, and if people are responding to you and giving you a time of day, they’re probably pretty interested in getting on the phone with you, then certainly they’re interested. Uh, but just, you know, don’t feel like you’re in a rush.
Don’t get pressured into a decision that you’re not ready to make. And don’t, don’t take a, uh, an offer out of fear of. Um, missing [00:28:30] out on other opportunity, uh, missing out on that opportunity, because there’ll be other opportunities. If you’re not, if you’re not ready or that program really, really wants you, they’ll, they’ll wait, they’ll wait for you.
So, um, yeah, don’t, don’t get yourself in a situation where you get yourself frazzled, um, and into a commitment too early as well. Sometimes that’s, that can be, that can be a challenge.
Matt: For sure. Well, coach, really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck, uh, here in your first, first season in the fall.
I’m sure, uh, I’m going to check out the schedule, hopefully being able to, to see a game in person. And, uh, and if you ever get over to this side for some of those ECNL events, let me know and we’ll get together. All right.
Coach: Brilliant, Matt. Appreciate you. Thanks for your time as well.
Matt: Thank you.
