UNC Greensboro Men’s Soccer – Coach Chris Rich

[00:00:00] Matt: morning, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer. I am lucky enough today to be joined by coach Chris Rich from UNC Greensboro. Welcome. 

[00:00:10] Coach: Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

[00:00:11] Matt: Yeah. Thanks for being here. And, uh, we’ll just jump right into it. I don’t know if yesterday was a busy day for you as we’re talking on June 16th.

[00:00:19] So, uh, everybody, you know, at least on social media, things were flying left, right. And center, uh, about the old June 15th. Day of being able to talk to rising juniors. So with that being said for you guys, when are you starting to look at players jotting notes down seeing ’em at tournaments or wherever, and really kind of starting your evaluation process?

[00:00:43] What year are kids generally? Sure. 

[00:00:46] Coach: Uh, our evaluation process for domestic kids typically, uh, starts in their sophomore year, um, where we try to identify those players that are a fit, um, both positionally, um, how they fit our game models, their characteristics as a soccer player, uh, and try to get as much information as we can during the time where we can’t speak to them.

[00:01:10] And then the goal is on June 15. Is to reach out to those players that we create at farm our shortlist. Um, and it is indeed a shortlist. I mean, I think we had, uh, 40 to 50 players that we identified as, as sophomores. That list is fluid. It will grow. Players will be removed from that list for many reasons.

[00:01:31] And players will be added to that list later, um, because we didn’t know about them or we didn’t see them. Uh, but certainly the, for us, we try to evaluate as much as we can as sophomore to try to know as much as we can about players in our recruiting model, as we can as sophomores, and then really start recruiting them per se, giving them on campus and starting that process obviously now.

[00:01:51] Um, and. And then kind of going from there. You know, the recruiting process for us is very fluid. We’re still recruiting 2020 twos now. So, um, we’re not one of those programs that are, are super early and try to finish early. We’re very fluid with it. It’s always evolving. And, but probably about that timeline is how we go about things.

[00:02:11] Matt: In terms of a, a kid reaching out and, and saying, Hey, coach, I, I might be interested in, in your school and program. What do you like to see in that first communication from a prospect? 

[00:02:23] Coach: Yeah, it’s an intro email for us. So like, uh, um, who they are, where they’re from, what club they play for. It’s always good to list coaching references because the coaching community is very small.

[00:02:35] Um, a highlighted video of some sort. If we don’t know the player, Typically, you know, obviously international players or players that maybe not as local highlight videos and video becomes a little bit more useful, more valuable, whereas local players, we typically see them live, whether in our environment or theirs.

[00:02:53] Um, but you know, I would say their basic information where they’re from, their club, their position, uh, a short video. And, and then as much as you can update transcripts, you know, for, for me, Um, that’s probably my second question or, or my second call is getting the transcripts. Uh, my first call is typically, um, get to know the player and, and learn more about them, but as much information as you can in that intro, email is good, but you don’t wanna overwhelm the email or overwhelm them.

[00:03:25] Recipient, uh, because obviously coaches get a lot of emails, but we answer every email, no matter what. Um, obviously there’s a filtering process for us. I don’t see every email personally, but my staff does. And then the emails that my, uh, my staff feels like I really need to see comes to me. Um, but every email is viewed and.

[00:03:46] Awesome. 

[00:03:47] Matt: Awesome. Well, when you’re out and about evaluating players at, at tournaments and stuff, where, what are some of those can’t miss tournaments, uh, for you? I mean, you’re lucky enough to be in Greensboro, which tends to host a lot of events. So, but, but where are you going to, to look at players and, and that sort of thing.

[00:04:03] Coach: Yeah. The two models that we typically, um, look at are MLS next, um, which is mostly MLS academies, but there’s a lot of very good academies as well, outside the, um, major league soccer and then ECNL for us is actually very important because everybody but Charlotte FC, um, in our state play ECNL and since we’re a state school, we certainly prioritize.

[00:04:26] Um, in-state players. Um, so ECNL is a big big event. Uh, so there’s regional events for ECNL uh, there’s local tournaments, like Jefferson cup that host all of our, um, ECNL teams. There was a, uh, event this past weekend called the Mid-American cup. Um, I think it was called that to host all the ECNL teams in our region.

[00:04:47] So events like that. And then obviously the major ECNL showcase that kind of encompasses. All the teams in the country and then, uh, MLS next, um, showcases, uh, throughout the year. So that’s what we focus on and it’s all about our recruiting model. There’s many other events out there, both out of our region and, and, and leagues that I didn’t name, but we have a very specific recruiting model and we try to stick to our, you know, plan based on that.

[00:05:18] Matt: Okay. What about camps? How do they fit into your overall, uh, recruiting process? Whether that’s your own camps or, or outside camps? 

[00:05:25] Coach: Yeah, we, we very rarely do outside camps, uh, besides, uh, maybe the assistance will do. One or two a year. Uh, we absolutely recruit out of our ID camps. We have, uh, a huge ID camp in the summer in July, and then we always do one in the fall and one in the winter.

[00:05:42] So we have three ID camps throughout the year and probably about 25 to 30% of our roster came through that camp or had attended the camp. We actually are having all of our. Um, we had all of our 2022 domestic commitments attending camp. And we, all of our 23 kids, have already committed to attending a camp.

[00:06:02] So, um, it’s a bit, you know, it’s a big part, obviously it’s not for everyone. And, and, uh, uh, there, there are some resources that are typically required to come along with it. So we, it’s not a, it’s not a necessity for us. Um, but we certainly use it specifically for U C G recruits. 

[00:06:19] Matt: Makes sense. Um, well, whether it’s at camp or at a tournament and you’re looking to evaluate players kind of what’s, what’s your.

[00:06:28] Your hierarchy of things that you’re, you’re looking at, whether that’s on the field or, or off the field. 

[00:06:33] Coach: Yeah. So we always go back to our game model. So before we, um, learn about the human being element and about the student element, we try to figure out is this player a good fit for, um, our game model?

[00:06:45] We’re a very possession based team. We wanna have the ball at all times. Um, we, we, we play a positional play. System. So it requires a high soccer IQ. It requires players to be very technical on the ball, um, to be able to make decisions under pressure. We wanna be able to build on the back.

[00:07:06] So you have to be able to break lines and be able to find different kinds of passes that are short or long or round or through. Um, so we’re looking for specific technical and tactical qualities that fit our game model. And then we want to defend high off the field. We wanna have the ball all the time, so we wanna press aggressively and we want to counter press and react when we lose the ball aggressively.

[00:07:32] So a big part of that is obviously you need physical qualities to do that. Um, but we look for a buyin, you know, uh, we need a mentality. Guys are brought in to do the out of possession principles that we need, you know, in possession principles are super important here at UNCG. Um, if you watch us, but out of possession is just as important because we wanna have the ball.

[00:07:54] So we look at those characteristics that fit our game model. That’s first and foremost, and then there’s other, um, qualities that we look for, probably the first one is their competitiveness. Um, we want Uber competitive players. We’re obsessed with the process of developing and winning here. So I want players that are obsessed.

[00:08:14] With the process of developing and winning, they have to be like-minded and if they’re not like minded, they won’t be a fit here. So, um, competitiveness for sure. Obviously sometimes what comes along with that is a level of emotion and we want emotion. Um, we just want emotional control, but you know, that’s, that’s a good way when we’re evaluating.

[00:08:32] Is, are they competitive when they’re the teams not so great or. Are they doing whatever they can to win, um, where they’re down, how do they react when they’re up? How do they react? So a lot of reactions, body, language, competitiveness, um, emotion, um, and certainly some interactions with teammates, coaches, referees, but it kind of goes in that process.

[00:08:54] Then obviously when we get to know them off the field, there’s, you know, the human, the human being element comes into play more and the student, um, element comes into play. Yeah, no, 

[00:09:05] Matt: absolutely. Um, earlier you mentioned, um, just kind of the. The makeup of, of your team and all that. And so when we look at, you know, recruiting at camps and, um, tournaments and things, what about the international side, your roster currently has, has a good handful of, of international players.

[00:09:26] How does international recruiting fit into the grand scheme of things? 

[00:09:29] Coach: Yeah, huge. You know, every program has their own model. You know, other places I’ve been, it’s been very light, um, on the international market, but for us at U N UNCG it’s huge. Um, probably about. We’ll have 28 players next year. And about 12 to 13 players will be international players.

[00:09:47] And then about 10 or so will be North Carolina players. And then there’ll be four or five players from out of the region. Uh, I’m not sure if the math added up perfectly, but, um, right around, right around there. So about a good bar. Our roster is inter or international players from all over the world.

[00:10:04] You know, we have players from Asia from all over Europe, um, from South America, from central America. Um, so it’s a big part of who we are sometimes as international, um, players come directly from their country. Sometimes they come via transfer, uh, a domestic transfer, but it’s definitely part of our model here at UNCG for sure.

[00:10:24] Well, 

[00:10:25] Matt: in terms of. Again, I don’t, I’m not holding you to any, uh, specifics or exact math here or anything like that, but you know, one of the big questions everybody has is, okay, well, how do I get a scholarship? Or how much is this gonna cost? And they get into the financial side of things. Yeah. So between academic money, athletic money grant scholarships, just kind of give me an overview of the financial aid picture for a player that might be wanting to come to UNCG.

[00:10:50] Yeah. 

[00:10:51] Coach: So we’re 9.9. So we’re fully funded. Um, obviously a lot of that, there’s a lot of speculation that all of this may change with this whole transformational committee, if you’ve heard about that. Yeah. So we’ll see what, we’ll see what happens there. But right now we’re a fully funded program, which is a must to be competitive in my opinion.

[00:11:07] So we are allowed, let’s say, round up 10 scholarships, uh, we pretty much break up those scholarships, maybe. 16 to 18 players. Um, so 16 to 18 players will be on some form of athletic scholarship. And that goes from all the way from a, um, book scholarship, all the way to a fuller scholarship. Obviously you can’t have many, many fuller scholarships or you won’t be able to get to that 16 to 18 number, but that’s kind of our bottle.

[00:11:33] I, I like to have a good bit on, um, athletic scholarship. You know, cost always varies because we’re a state school. Instate tuition here is about $5,000. Out-of-state tuition is $20,000. So already, you know, you can give a player in-state a couple thousand and it only costs him three. Tuition, just tuition and you give a player outta state two or three and it costs them 18.

[00:11:59] Right. So it’s a big difference. So, uh, we try to, that’s why we value the North Carolina player because it makes sense to them basically. And it makes sense for us. Yeah. Um, but, and just to the 9.9, we do have academic aid, but it’s difficult for us to utilize in the recruiting process because how our university works is, um, you have to apply first.

[00:12:19] And then once you get accepted, you essentially go into this pool. And then in that pool, they see, okay, this person gets academic paid or that person does not get academic paid. So we typically do not know that part until, um, after we’ve already committed the player, which is challenging for sure. So for us, the second element that we use to financial aid, you know, whether it’s the P grant through the federal aid or institutional financial aid, which.

[00:12:44] Isn’t that significant here, but it’s definitely an element. So we try to certainly package all of our domestic kids with some kind of aid, whether it’s financial aid or athletic aid. And there’s certainly some players that are very good players that are on non or non scholarship players that play. So, uh, it kind of varies all over the shop, but that’s kind of how we utilize it.

[00:13:04] Matt: Okay, well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. I know, you know, some folks are probably very familiar with, uh, the tar heels or, or the other part of the UN uh, UNC landscape. There’s a lot of great schools there in North Carolina, for sure. So, you know, what, what sets, uh, UNCG apart, what’s awesome about your school that maybe I’m not gonna learn just by clicking through the website.

[00:13:26] Coach: Sure. Uh, yeah, you’re right. There’s so many good soccer programs and universities here. I mean, for me, this is the. College is hot, better in the country. Nothing gets better than this, in my opinion. So, you know, for us, I’ve worked at UNC Chapel hill. I’ve worked at Duke and I’ve worked at UNCG. So those three schools in the state.

[00:13:46] So I have a very good feel for high end academic private schools. That’s playing in the ACC to a, uh, public high end academic school playing in ACC to. State school that maybe is not as high end academic that’s playing or that’s playing in the Southern conference. So the biggest thing that differentiates yourself is the diversity piece.

[00:14:05] For sure. We’re about 51%, not just athletics, but 51% of people of color. At this university. So by far the most diverse university I’ve ever been at, uh, and I’m pretty sure. And I don’t know, I don’t wanna be quoted on this. Well, I mean, I dunno if this is for real or not, but I am, we are 51% and I think that’s number one in the state.

[00:14:29] I think I just don’t know everybody else’s numbers, but through my experience, I know we’re more diverse than Wilmington. I know more, we’re more diverse than Charlotte, more diverse than app state. More diverse than UNC, more diverse than Duke and so on. There just could be other schools too, but we, we, we pride ourselves on that.

[00:14:47] We’re super diverse. We have so many first generation, uh, college students at our university. So we’re definitely a university that is, um, uh, more, an opportunity and, um, more of giving people first generation opportunities. And for sure. We embrace and welcome and celebrate diversity here at UNCG. So, because that is a huge pillar here at U UNCG as a university, that’s certainly a big part of our program.

[00:15:15] You know, we have about 50% of our players that, um, are, um, from different countries and different ways of life, even American players here, their mom or dad, um, is born in a different country and quite often, so we are super diverse and, and that’s not just color. That could be race. That could be, um, Ethnicity, that could be, uh, ways of belief and, and, and, and so on.

[00:15:36] So we, that’s probably the biggest thing that differentiates yourself from a university standpoint, because I’d never experienced anything like that. And I know we celebrate that here. 

[00:15:47] Matt: Awesome. Well, you know, Besides soccer, there’s the academic component. So for, uh, somebody that’s coming into U N C G, how do you guys, uh, support the academic side of things?

[00:16:00] How do players strike that balance between athletics and academics? 

[00:16:04] Coach: Yeah, it’s great. Um, you know, we have a full time academic coach. Um, who’s the director of our academic services program. Name’s Kristen revolt, she’s fantastic. Um, she works directly with our program and men’s basket. Um, and she leaves that department.

[00:16:19] Um, since we have been here working together, our, um, our GPA, just this past year set a record ever in the history of men’s soccer, the year commute to live GPA. Um, super proud of that. You know, uh, when I first got here was in the high twos and then this past year, so 3.2 team GPA, and in men’s soccer, that’s really high, you know, you’ll get, you’ll get a higher in some.

[00:16:45] Sports and some other genders, but, uh, uh, and then soccer that’s really good. So Kristen does a fantastic job. You know, part of our role is helping, uh, figure out that balance. Um, you know, forming a schedule that works well with our in season schedule and then our outta season schedule, uh, coming out with the right kind of classes.

[00:17:06] They should be taking, uh, working with their advisor across campus and their major and figuring out okay. Uh, what classes, when to take them, what major, maybe interests them because there’s always some changes. Back and forth with that. Um, and really she’s a, uh, resource in all aspects of life, you know, she’s the one person, um, that doesn’t focus on or care about playing time.

[00:17:28] Right? So she’s there, um, for them from a, uh, the human being standpoint, uh, whether it’s academically related or it’s mental health related, or it’s just giving them resources to succeed in life. So that’s how she provides that balance, uh, and helps support the program. We train at 10:00 AM here, which is awesome.

[00:17:48] We train in the mornings. So the first thing the guys do, except for like maybe one player here and there is the, is the soccer piece. So they wake up around 8, 8 30 and get breakfast soon after, and then they are in the building by nine 30 and. On the field by 9 45 and we’re practicing by 10 done by around 11 30, 11 45.

[00:18:06] So their class schedule is actually in the afternoons around one 30 to four 30, give or take. Um, so that’s the balance throughout the day and their evenings are typically on their own, except again, maybe one or two guys that choose to take evening classes. So. It’s a good balance. Um, and so we have a support system here with Kristen.

[00:18:23] That’s fantastic. And she’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. And, and that includes places like duke and Carolina that take a lot of pride in that as well. So, um, the guys typically do very, very well here, um, uh, because of the support that we get. 

[00:18:39] Matt: Oh, and then, and that’s great. You, you even answered the question.

[00:18:42] I was gonna ask about the schedule and all that. So that’s awesome. Well, let’s, let’s talk a little bit more about the team and the soccer side of things. You mentioned, you know, your roster size in terms of around, I think 28 you said is what you’re shooting for. Um, in terms of the rest of the team, AKA your staff, you know, how big is your soccer staff?

[00:19:02] What role does each of them play? Uh, throughout the. Program. 

[00:19:07] Coach: Yeah, so we have a, um, a coaching staff of four. Um, so, um, you have myself, you have Scott Wells. Who’s our associate head coach? Uh, we have assistant coach Jonathan Lagos. Then assistant coach, who is in our volunteer role. Peter Merrit, Peter came to us from, uh, avert, which is division three university.

[00:19:27] He just finished his grad program. So he slid into our, uh, volunteer, um, assistant coach position. John Lagos was an assistant coach at Wake four, three years. Before that at Walford college, he’s been a home run higher. Uh, and then Scott has been with me for three years. Um, um, he has won two national championships in the division two and NAIA, um, level.

[00:19:50] Um, he’s a, he’s a big part of our recruiting, um, here. So, uh, he’s a fantastic, uh, Asset to our program. So that’s our coaching staff, you know, and then in addition to that, we have, you know, and I view them as part of our staff. We have a nutritionist full-time nutritionist. I already mentioned that Chris and our academic coach, we have a sports performance coach.

[00:20:09] We have an athletic trainer. Um, I’m probably missing one or two roles, but, um, but we probably have a staff around 10 people, um, that are involved or sports psychologists. Well, uh, uh, that’s involved in our program. Um, but, uh, Yeah, coaching staff, plus a sports staff, like five to six. 

[00:20:28] Matt: Oh, that’s amazing. Um, you know, you kind of already touched on the way you like to play on the field, but how would you describe your style of coaching, uh, to someone good.

[00:20:39] We might be coming in, so. 

[00:20:41] Coach: Yeah, I’m, I’m a very, um, uh, honest, transparent, direct person, human being first and foremost, I always, uh, I always believe in giving the players information on how I see it and providing that constant feedback. I believe that players need that feedback nowadays. It’s not, it’s no longer acceptable to, um, not justify your decisions, I think.

[00:21:03] Um, and so to first and foremost, I, I try to provide that feedback. Every single day, and I want them to know how I feel about them. Uh, the next thing is, um, we wanna build layers of trust. Uh, that’s what comes first. So we wanna build layers of trust through love and support. So the first thing I do in our staff, I expect ’em to do, is to provide a level of care, uh, meaning we do things for them off the field.

[00:21:31] You know that nobody else may, may, may not, you know, they may not do that. Um, you know, so we provide this family environment full of love and care. And once they realize that we love them and we care about them, um, as many other coaches say, that’s when they’ll begin to trust us. So, and once they trust me, then I can start providing that information, that direct, honest feedback.

[00:21:55] And, and that’s when they’ll receive that. So that’s kind of the process that we like to go through. Um, uh, from a coaching standpoint, uh, I certainly a hundred percent believe in servant leadership. Um, we need to, um, you know, we’re here to serve them and serve this university and, and serve this community.

[00:22:11] Um, but my job every single day is to make sure our guys are the best possible. Position to succeed in all aspects of life, on the field, academically off the field. So that’s super important. Uh, then I, then I think I’m a transformational leader. Um, we have to evolve every single day, not only with the, the, the new limitations or restrictions or lifting of those in the NCAA, but in life and, and the modern era of social media and, and just who these student athletes are nowadays, we constantly have to transform to lead.

[00:22:45] Our student athletes are at the highest level. So that’s how I would characterize our philosophy from a teaching and a coaching standpoint. 

[00:22:53] Matt: That’s amazing. Um, You know, one of the things that, uh, has, has changed a lot in the game since, uh, since you and I were college players is the use of technology, whether that’s in training or games.

[00:23:05] So, so, how does technology kind of fit into the way you guys either, either practice, train, or, or games and, and what can a player expect from that aspect of things? 

[00:23:15] Coach: Yeah, it’s fantastic. Um, you know, we utilize, uh, technology at a very, very high level, um, probably more than most. So, um, and as part of my experiences at other schools as well, that kind of helps shape the level of importance for me.

[00:23:31] So a couple of things we use, we use a program called why scout, um, that we U utilize to recruit, um, internationally so that it gives us access to video. That’s huge for us. Um, we use video, which. Uh, there’s a camera that records games and training sessions to, um, help us, um, uh, teach and help us evaluate and help us, uh, improve our game model and our personality.

[00:23:57] That’s super important. Uh, we use a program called angles that is a, um, uh, video editing software where we edit and clip and code our games and our training sessions. And then deliver them to our players and our team. We do team video sessions and group video sessions every single day. So we may not be in a team setting, but, or individual setting or a group setting, or we may be, but we’re doing video every single day.

[00:24:26] With our team, we share video through apps. We share video through the technology that we use, uh, all of that needs to connect to our game model. So every single day in our training sessions, in our, in our game environment, we’re kind of going back to our game model. So. It’s a big part of what we do.

[00:24:43] And then there’s other, um, technology that we use. You know, we, I view this as part of the technology, uh, realm as we, we just purchased about $2,500 worth of, um, injury prevention and recovery equipment. Where we, um, um, were, um, recovery boots, uh, norm tech, and then, um, these hyper volt guns, if you will, to massage out, uh, kinks and, and must soreness and, and so on.

[00:25:10] So we just purchased about $2,500 worth of that equipment just for men’s soccer alone. That’s huge because I think utilizing technology and this equipment to help prevent injuries and help recover after games is super important. Um, and then there are other additional layers as well.

[00:25:26] Uh, I, we have a younger staff here. Uh, I’m the center staff and, and, uh, uh, I haven’t broken 40 yet. So I think, uh, we’re a younger staff. And so, we certainly utilize tech and value technology and, and, uh, in many aspects of the program. Oh, that’s 

[00:25:44] Matt: That’s awesome. Well, coach, I appreciate the time we’ve covered a lot of ground and I always like to, to end with the same question, which is what didn’t we cover.

[00:25:51] What else is it that you want folks to know? Whether it’s about the team, the school, uh, or, or, or anything else that you think would be relevant to them? 

[00:26:01] Coach: Uh, the only thing I’d say is watch out for UNCG soccer. Um, last year we were, uh, the SoCon champions. We finished season 13, four, and. We beat the national champions, Clemson university, uh, three to one at our place.

[00:26:17] Um, we were the leading goal scoring team in the country last year. Um, we had six first teams, all players. We won every conference award. You could win a player of the year goal. Keep the year coach of the year. Freshman of the year. So watch out for UNCG Spartans. Um, uh, I know I’m, um, celebrating and maybe gloating about our success, but I wanna celebrate it.

[00:26:37] And I believe we are top top program, um, here, and I’m excited for this upcoming fall to, to test this once again. Well, and, and 

[00:26:45] Matt: You should celebrate it. You did, you had an amazing run and we’re looking forward to seeing how you guys, uh, come back this fall and, and hopefully, uh, have that long, long term run, uh, in, in the tournament and play deep into, into November and December.

[00:26:59] So coach, I appreciate the time, wish the best of luck and, uh, hopefully we’ll, we’ll see you holding up some trophies this coming fall. 

[00:27:07] Coach: I appreciate that. Thanks Matt. Thanks.