University of Central Arkansas Men’s Soccer – Coach Frank Kohlenstein
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Frank from the Central Arkansas Men’s Program. We talk about how he never stops recruiting. He describes how they are the only D1 program in Arkansas. Lastly, we discuss their terrific staff and all that they do with the program. Learn more about the University of Central Arkansas Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Frank Kohlenstein from the University of Central Arkansas. Welcome coach.
Coach: Hey, thanks a lot, man. Uh, I appreciate it. And you know, just Frank will do,
Matt: Frank. All right. Yeah,
Coach: no problem. What, uh, what I do with my team, uh, you know, cause I, I wanna earn their respect.
I don’t, I don’t need a title and, you know, so many of ’em just go, Hey coach. Hey, coach. And you know, I, I want to try and develop a, a relationship if we can.
Matt: No, I love that. I love that. Well, let’s start off talking about the recruiting side of things. You know, it’s the, uh, the, the showcase season is in full swing.
Um, for you guys as a Division one program is, is, I’m guessing your 23 class is pretty much locked and loaded, and you’re focusing on 24. So what’s that calendar kind of look like for you all?
Coach: Oh, Matt, I think it’s, uh, it’s changed a lot. So yeah, we’re, I, I don’t think we’re ever locked and loaded anymore.
Cause you know, you have, uh, well first off, you can have commitments and then, uh, and then they turn pro or decide they’re gonna have a gap year or, you know, many things can happen in that. So I think you always have to be ready. So we’re, we’re still working on, I think. You know, even, uh, even as a Division one program that’s done [00:01:30] reasonably well, you, you have to, uh, stay flexible and, uh, ready to go.
So, you know, we’re, we’re still ready to, uh, uh, get after a, an athlete if it’s something that we really think we need. And, uh, you know, we’re lucky enough here that our athletic director is really great. And, uh, you know, allows us to have some flexibility if we need money to go on a recruiting visit or if we need to chase after another player or whatever it is we need.
So in essence, I’m saying we’re not, we’re not ever done.
Matt: Uh, well, makes sense. Makes sense. Well, you, you mentioned visits, so are there tournaments, uh, places you like to go every year that are kind of on your must hit list?
Coach: Uh, it, it’s really, it’s really changed with the way, um, you know, uh, the climate has changed, you know, because of, you know, the transfer portal, uh, because of the number of internationals, because kids take a gap year now.
All those things have changed. So, you know, uh, I was, uh, I worked as a consultant for four years after leading, leaving Colorado School of Mines. And, uh, when. In those four years, recruiting has changed immensely. So the, the things that you used to go to for sure, you know, uh, surf Cup or [00:03:00] Disney or those places, I mean, that it, it’s, it’s not the same, you know, and Development Academy went away.
So, um, you know, we’re, we just go where we think we, we know there’s going to be some quality. Um, and, uh, where we think someone that we think we’re going to have to go after, uh, will be there at a specific position or, uh, a specific level of athleticism that we feel that we need to get, you know, whether it’s, uh, you know, uh, a hold up forward or a center back that’s, uh, very athletic.
Just, just whatever it is we need and if there’s an event, we, we’ll go to it. And, you know, one of the great things we have at uh, U C A is that any state that touches Arkansas, they’re considered in-state. And then the other thing we have is that if you’ll stay on campus, then you’re also considered instate.
So it’s a, you know, it’s like giving someone, uh, a seven to $8,000. Scholarship before they even arrive. So it’s a, it’s a really good thing. So obviously we’re trying to focus on tho those states that touch us, but also, you know, an area that maybe a lot of other people aren’t going to.
Matt: No, that makes sense.
Well, you mentioned, you know, the, the way things have [00:04:30] changed and I couldn’t agree more, but, you know, looking at your roster, it looks like you’re, you’ve got a good mix of international versus domestic players. What, what kind of goes into your decision making? You know, one of the questions I get a lot from folks, especially the, the domestic folks who, who are like, man, Why, why are all these coaches taking international players instead of domestic players?
Aren’t there enough good domestic players out there? What, what does that look like? And I mean, I know I have my answer as a, as a former college coach, but I’d love to hear yours.
Coach: Yeah. Yeah. Great. Well, I think what’s happened is, uh, you know, the rest of the world has caught on to something that I don’t think that, uh, We really embrace enough in our own soccer world is that, you know, uh, college soccer is a really cool thing that you can come get an education, uh, get better at, at the sport you love, and the rest of the world seems to be embracing it more than e Our own domestic league embraces it.
I mean, uh, Uh, to me the, you know, the m o s has kind of shunned college soccer. Uh, but it seems to me, and, and the logic is a bit skewed to me because, you know, I’m a, I, I’m a fan of a lot of sports and it seems like the N B A has done quite well, uh, you know, kind of piggybacking off of. [00:06:00] College basketball, uh, but the rest of the world says, oh, well I can’t make it right now as a pro, or, that’s pretty iffy.
Let me go over here. So, uh, the, the rest of the world is a lot more interested in college soccer, so a lot more of them are coming here. And then, uh, you know, you had the pandemic, uh, which gave everybody another year. And, uh, then also you have the transfer portal. Cause, so I agree with the, you know, a, uh, senior high school graduate coming out now.
It can’t be any tougher than, uh, and trying to make, say, a division one lineup or a top division two lineup, it’s really, really difficult. And you know, when, when you go and watch. A group of 17 year olds as a division one college coach, and you are trying to picture them playing against a 22 year old college player, whether he’s foreign or domestic.
It is a very, very tough situation. So one of the big things that, that we’ve done here is we’ve started a second team. Uh, so that, um, they can get really, really good training every single day. Cause [00:07:30] you know, if you are, uh, a high school senior and you come out and there’s. You know, 28 guys on the team, you might not be even involved in training, much less the the match on the weekend.
So we found a way to, uh, include them. We have a coach specifically for the program. They have specific matches they go to and, and guys move up and down. It’s almost like a, a pro environment in that way. Um, so that. We can embrace the domestic, uh, player and, and especially for us here in Arkansas, we wanna try, I mean, we’re an Arkansas State school, so we wanna have, uh, some, some Arkansas, uh, soccer players in our program.
And this is a way that they can develop, learn about the speed of division one soccer and help to make themselves better and whether it’s with us. Or that as they move on it, it’s a great development piece for us. But yeah, Matt, I mean, I, I don’t know if there’s ever been a crazier time for, uh, a domestic high school player to try and break into, uh, a top level program.
Matt: Yeah. No, for sure. Well, one of the things that seems to be, uh, proliferating a lot more also is the use of ID camps in the recruiting process. So do [00:09:00] you guys do your own ID camps? Do you or your staff work other ID camps. How important is that in the recruiting process these days?
Coach: Yeah, you bet that that’s great.
I mean, I think, you know, for us, we use the ID camp a lot because, um, You know, our, our players can, can work the camp and, uh, you know, they, they can be a, a part of showing drills and, uh, demoing drills. And that allows the players coming in to, to see what it’s like to be a college player, to see the, the speed.
And then it gives them a chance to practice on our field, uh, to get to play on our match field. Some. And, and I try and give them a realistic glimpse of this is how our training is. Try and, uh, give them the same intensity and things like that and what’s expected. You know, I try and show them that everything isn’t rosy and the expectations are are, are very high about what you’re gonna do.
So that. When they come, it’s not a surprise, you know, it’s not, well, I thought, uh, Frank just sat in a lounge chair and drank boat drinks. You know, uh, I try and show them and, and that’s what I enjoy about it because, They can come in and really see what it’s like. So yes, we use it, uh, a lot and it’s, it’s a great tool for [00:10:30] us.
And then we also try and use it to help development with players in our area and players from all over that come in. Uh, cuz you know, when one of the big things players ask is, you know, uh, What is your style of, uh, soccer and what formation do you play and things like that. And, um, you know, we’ve, we’ve come up with, uh, we like to play attacking transitional football.
And the formation is whatever’s going to get our best 11 players out there. Um, because I’m, I’m not stuck. On, you know, we need to play like the Invincibles or, uh, you know, because I, I’ve had a lot of really, really good players play for me, but I still haven’t had, you know, uh, Patrick Viera or, uh, Tony Adams, you know, we’ve had some players that were the, the college equivalent of it.
But, you know, Tiri Onri, I guess Tesha AE is the closest I’ve had to tiri and re come through. But, uh, you know, you, you, uh, I think a, as a college coach, um, I learned in a, you know, at Central Arkansas isn’t the, the first thought of every kid in the United States about, Hey, I’m gonna go play division one.
So we have to try and [00:12:00] use, uh, the, the formation and style to what suits the players that we have in. We try and get the best players we have and we try and play the best system for them that’s going to help them develop and uh, and it’s going to help us win. Well that, and
Matt: that’s the most important thing, right?
It’s all about the Ws.
Coach: Uh, well, it’s, but it also, you know, about their experience, you know? Of course. Yeah. I think that their experience is enhanced a lot more. When, when they’re working towards those, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matt: Well, coach, I’m sure there’s folks out there who, uh, who haven’t actually even heard of the University of Central Arkansas.
Um, y you know, I’m, I’m down here in Florida. I’m not, I’m not sure folks even know that there is a Division one program in the ASUN that, that’s out there. So, you know, you’ve been there for a little bit now. Can you gimme some insights into what makes the university special? Maybe some stuff I’m not gonna learn just by clicking through the website.
Coach: You bet. Well, I mean, the, the campus is beautiful. Uh, there’s a lot, lots of trees on the campus. Um, you know, and it’s got a, a little bit of the Southern style to it in that they’re brick buildings with columns and, uh, it’s, it’s in a good space and there’s lots of space, uh, you know, We’ve, we’ve traveled to a, a lot of different places from, from central Arkansas.
Uh, and, [00:13:30] you know, it’s a, it’s a beautiful campus. We have a great grass plain surface. Um, and you know, one of the really interesting things soccer wise for us is that the men have a grass training surface and the women have their own grass training surface, and then we have, uh, a separate match field. So, uh, not too many places are afforded that situation.
Um, and th there are, uh, a wide range of good programs and, you know, there’s. 10 to 12,000 students here. So it’s a lot bigger than most people think. Uh, you know, we have FCS football here and, uh, you know, we have Division one real football here, so we, uh, we’re, we’re pretty happy with it. And, you know, we’re the, uh, we’re the only men’s division one in the state.
Uh, so we feel like it, it’s a good program to rally behind. And then the, the people here are, are very welcoming both to the domestic player and to, uh, international players. And, um, you know, it’s just, uh, a great welcoming place, uh, here. And it’s, uh, like, uh, a undiscovered, uh, diamond in the rough for, uh, for many people.
Matt: Yeah, it sounds like it. Well, [00:15:00] In terms of the academic side of things, um, you know, a lot of times it’s tough for students to make that transition of, of balancing, uh, the athletic side and their, and their schools, uh, stuff. So what kind of support systems does the school have and how do, how do players really balance the, the pull of, of sport and study?
Coach: You bet. I mean, uh, in, in the end, that’s one of the most important things is to, uh, uh, you know, get better as a soccer player. Uh, enhance your education through the academics and the things we do as a soccer program. And the school has, uh, academic advisors that stay on top of all the athletes in every program.
Uh, when you first come in, you know, there’s, uh, a four hour study hall that. Every athlete has to go through. And the way they get out of that is to hi, have a high enough gpa, and we get a report every week, uh, about, you know, how many hours each student athlete had in the in study hall. And then we also get, uh, biweekly reports about how they’re doing in their classes.
And then, you know, if, if, uh, If a student athlete needs it, they, they can get, uh, tutoring in a specific class, and then they can also get tutoring about, you know, what they’re doing to study. You know, what are their study habits, how are they going about it? What are the important things in each of these [00:16:30] classes?
So, uh, there’s a lot of support and, uh, our, uh, Our academic advisors do a tremendous job because, you know, if you, uh, think how many student athletes they have to work on, it’s uh, it’s amazing how they stay on top of it. You know, we, we have to deal with, uh, you know, 30 athletes and we think we’re doing something, you know, they, they deal with, uh, many more than that and they’re able to stay on top of it.
Matt: Yeah, sounds like it. Well, coach, we, we talked about you or you talked about the, the roster a little bit in terms of having that second team. So is there a roster size that you find is ideal that you’re trying to hit each year?
Coach: No, I mean, uh, I, I, I try not to limit myself. Uh, I try and look at it is, um, as if.
If this is, uh, an individual that we think can, can help our programs in some way, and we will help them, then we’ll bring them in, whether it’s immediate or uh, or down the road a year or two, we, we try and still bring them in because, you know, sometimes when a freshman comes in, it’s very difficult for them because, you know, uh, you know, we get right into it.
You have two weeks and then you gotta start playing. And so their, their first semester, they might not feel like they’re getting a whole lot of love. And, and that’s why I, I really like [00:18:00] this time of year because it’s, it’s all about development because you don’t have the pressure of winning and losing other than the lessons that you can get from that.
So, um, you know, we try and do, uh, those things and try not to set limits, but we also are realistic. You know, we don’t wanna have someone in the program that they’re not going to benefit from it and we don’t see them, um, he helping the program in the future.
Matt: No, that makes sense. Well, besides the roster, um, I’m guessing you got a, a good staff behind you there.
So can you tell me a little bit more how many staff you have? What role does everybody play?
Coach: Sure. We, uh, um, we have uh, assistant, uh, two, two assistants and, uh, director of operations. Uh, Carl Sard is our, uh, one of our assistants, and Chase Robertson is the other assistant and they. You know, vast experience, you know, uh, they, they work really hard.
Uh, and all, all of us are involved in the recruiting piece. Uh, just we, we do, we do little bit different things, but, uh, and then all of us are involved in the field work and the scouting work. Um, they, they do most of the video work. Um, that, that’s definitely not [00:19:30] my forte. I mean, uh, you know, I joke with them about, you know, the, the computer that was in use when I was in, uh, school was the Abacus.
But, uh, uh, both Kyle and Chase do a really good job, uh, on the field, off the field relationships with the players, because that’s very important for us. Uh, you know, going back to, we have so little time with them before we start is. You know, you have to get players invested so quickly into your program that, uh, you know, and the assistants are a huge part of that.
And then we just added a, a director of operations, you know, who really, uh, loves the sport and wants to get into it. And this was a, a pathway for Travis Crane to be able to do that. And, uh, we’re real excited to have him on board to kind of. Take some of the administration things, a away from Kyle and Chase.
Um, and, uh, he’s really helped, uh, I mean, he only came on in, uh, in February, so, uh, you know, he’s, he’s just a newbie, but he’s already helping us in many ways. So our, our staff is a really good one, and as I said, they, they, um, help players with individual things and then, uh, They, they run things with the team, uh, from time to time at training.
And they’re, they’re [00:21:00] all a part of, uh, helping us to get better. And then, you know, we have a sports psychologist Dan Fry gang, that, uh, free gang that comes out and works with us from time to time. And he helps the coaches try and get better and he also helps the players.
Matt: Oh, that’s great. Well, coach, we’ve, we’ve talked about a lot of different things.
Covered a lot of ground, and I want to end on. Picking your brain, cuz you’ve been around the game in the college game for, for a long time. So for those parents and players that are out there that are going through this college recruiting process, if you could distill down, you know, one piece of advice, one, one golden nugget here.
What would you want parents or players to know about anything regarding the, the whole college soccer recruiting process?
Coach: Uh, it might be two things. Uh, one is, You, you can find out so much yourself. So do the homework before you reach out to, uh, the college coach cuz they’ll appreciate it. You’ll be a lot more informed.
In other words, go on their website, find out the coach’s name, find the team’s record, see how they’ve done. E even we’ve had to make, uh, athletes aware of, well, you know, last year we played the seventh hardest schedule in the country. So we go places, we play teams, you know, cause. We believe that, uh, you know, if [00:22:30] you wanna be the best, you play the best.
And you know, if you’re gonna win matches, let’s win them against really top teams. So do that research, you know, check out the RPIs and all those things. Check about the, the coaches experience, all of them, like you’re talking about. Check out what the assistant coaches, the head coaches, what they do, where they play.
Uh, so do the homework yourself so that when you talk to the coaches, you sound informed. You sound interesting. Uh, and then, uh, the second part that kind of goes along with that is talk to someone that is going to help you with self realization. This is the level that you can play. Now, don’t, don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.
Cause there, there is a place for every single player. But I mean, if you are not on your, your club’s top team, the chances that you’re gonna go play for, uh, Noonan at Clemson are not that high. So get some self realization, but you know, there there’s no reason that you can’t bump the ceiling a bit, but, uh, you know, don’t try and jump over the moon.
So those would be the, the two biggest things that I would say, Matt.
Matt: Uh, great [00:24:00] pieces of advice, coach. Really love it. Well, coach, I really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck in the fall season. Uh, hopefully you guys can, uh, can climb, climb back into the NCAAs and, and make some noise, and, uh, we’ll be keeping an eye on you.
And if you get down to Bradenton for any recruiting, gimme a shout and we’ll grab a pop. All right,
Coach: sounds good. Thanks a lot,
Matt: Matt. All right. Thank you. Take care. You too.
