University of Mount Olive Men’s Soccer – Coach Carlos Guzman-Cruz
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Carlos from the Mt. Olive Men’s Program in North Carolina. We talk about their roster mix of domestic and international players. He describes the tight knit community in a small town. Lastly, we discuss how their staff uses and open and honest style of communication. Learn more about University of Mount Olive Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today, I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Carlos from the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. Welcome, Coach.
Coach: Thank you, Matt, for having me. It’s an honor and a privilege.
Matt: Oh, thank you. Um, well you and I are talking the last day of November, uh, here, uh, folks will be listening to this a little bit after, but since there’s seasons wrapped up, I’m guessing you’re, you’re hitting the recruiting trail hot and heavy at this point.
Is that right?
Coach: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Recruiting is all year round for us as a division two level. Um, but it obviously kicks into overdrive once our season is over. Um, you know, it’s been over since about, you know, the second week of November for us. Um, you know, so we’ve been at a lot of events. Um, we’ll be going to the ECNL event in South Carolina this upcoming weekend.
Um, and NCFC showcase as well. So, um, we’re heavy on the recruiting trail, like you said, um, but really it’s an all year thing for us.
Matt: So in terms of what you’re looking at now, just kind of give me an idea of timeline. Are you, are you still looking, I’m assuming you’re still looking at 24s. Are you, how much of it is looking at 25s?
Even when do you think you’ll wrap up the 24 class? What’s that kind of look like?
Coach: Yeah. So we’re still heavy on the 24s. We’re really still looking at, um, you know, finding some fundamental pieces that can really come in and contribute to the program going into next season, um, so we can have a strong team, um, The 25s we are looking at as well, um, not as heavy as the [00:01:30] 24th.
The 25s are more so so we can build a database, um, that we already have. So just adding to that database, um, so that next year we’re kind of on track and we’re not, you know, behind and, um, you know, catching up to guys. Um, cause a lot of times if you’re behind on the, on the really good players, then it’s going to be too late for you.
Um, but it’s not like we’re, we’re not like the division ones where. You know, usually they have guys committing, you know, their junior year and stuff like that. So, um, at the division two level, we don’t have that, that privilege.
Matt: Right. Well, if, if I look at your roster, it seems, uh, you got a good bit of international players as well.
So how do you guys kind of balance between domestic and international? How are you doing your international recruiting? What’s that kind of like?
Coach: Yeah, so, um, it could be a little bit deceiving because a lot of our international students are international, but they actually either went to like a prep school or boarding school here or they went to high school here.
Um, so out of the international students that we have off the top of my head, I want to say out of the 43 guys we had this past season only about seven or eight of them are actually, you know, came from their country and the rest of those guys, you know, were either like I said out of prep school or boarding school here.
Um. You know, for us, we do like to bring in, um, you know, some international students because we feel like, um, they have an ability to immediately come in and contribute as freshmen. Um, you know, I think that a lot of times they’re playing at a higher level, um, and they come with more experience than a lot of the, um, the homestay guys here.
A lot of the American students here, [00:03:00] um. And the other thing too is, you know, you can get an international student sometimes for the same price as a, as an American student, you know, and the plus of that is, again, like I said, the experience, the maturity and all those things, whereas sometimes the American students we find, especially at our level, it takes them usually a semester or two, to really kind of adapt and assimilate, you know, to the speed of play and all those things at the college level.
Matt: Well,
what about camps? Do you guys run your own ID camps to you, your staff, uh, work ID camps as well? Are they important to you guys?
Coach: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So last year we did one in the winter in January. Um, this year we’ll kind of, um, try to focus more on the summer. So we’ll have two or three in the summer.
Um, the dates are still tentative. We’re still working on some things. Um, you know, cause obviously in the summertime is kind of. Yes, we’re still recruiting. We’re still doing a lot of things, but, um, also time, you know, for family and stuff like that. So we’re still figuring out some dates and stuff like that.
Um, but we’ll have this upcoming summer, we’ll have about two to three, um, ID camps. And usually we get, um, you know, about 40, 50 kids to those. Um, and for example, last ID camp we had last or this past winter in January. Um, we actually got three guys from that ID camp on the team for this fall. So it is something that we actually use to recruit and bring players in.
Okay.
Matt: Do you guys, I mean, we talked about internationals, but do you look at the, the transfer portal at all? Do junior college recruiting come into play? [00:04:30] Um, any of that?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So, so we do, um, try and use the junior colleges, um, that we have here locally, um, at our disposal, you know, to bring in players that, like I said, have experience already at the college level and come in and contribute.
Um, and also to, we do play. With our reserve team, we do play against some of those junior colleges in season. So the Wake Techs, the Lewisburgs, the Cape Fears and stuff like that. Um, in the past, we have gotten a few players from them, um, and they have came in and, you know, been important players. Um, we also do look at heavy into the portal.
Um, I think that it’s, it’s an important piece and something that has benefited a lot of programs, especially ourselves. Um, you know, this year we got. Or for this fall, we got a few guys, um, a handful of guys from the portal. Um, you know, even some division one guys that came in and contributed to our program.
Um, and now as we look into next fall, you know, we’re still looking heavily into the portal. Um, you know, to fill in a lot of those pieces that were lacking or missing, excuse me. Um, because those guys can, like I said, come in and immediately contribute. And I think that that’s the biggest factor in recruiting is can you find players that can immediately come in, contribute, make an impact?
Um. Because there’s really no time to waste, um, and no time to really, you know, have to assimilate and adapt because then you’re just behind everybody else.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. I’m sure there’s some folks out there, not familiar with, uh, Mount Olive. Um, I’ve driven up and down [00:06:00] 95, a hundred times, and I’ve always seen an exit that Mount Olive is, is off this way, but, uh, haven’t driven through there yet, but it’s on my list next time, uh, I go north, um, but you’ve been there a couple of seasons.
Now tell me what are some things that you find is really unique about the school or something really awesome. Maybe some things we wouldn’t even know by going through the website.
Coach: Yeah, so if you love pickles were the pickle capital. Um, so home of the pickles. Um, other than that, I mean, it’s a small town, small community.
I think that that, you know, kind of plays into our favor. It’s a tight knit community. Um, a lot of the people there know each other on a first name basis. A lot of people there. A lot of the residents there have been there for years. Um, you know, our ad has been there for 20 plus years, probably longer than I’ve been alive.
Um, you know, so it’s a good thing where, um, you know, you get kind of get that southern feel where you’re from. Um, you feel comfortable. You feel at home. Um, and it’s a home away from home, even for our international students. Um, something that I love about the calf is they have all the, um, the international flags hanged up.
Um, so whenever those guys go in, you know, whether they’re from Europe or South America, Central America, wherever they’re from, you know, their flag is there. Um, so they can kind of identify with that. Um, Other than that, I mean, it’s really athletic space. I would say probably out of the population. It’s probably around 60 to 70%, you know, student athletes.
Um, I don’t know exactly how much we have right now in terms of population, but I would say it’s around like 2000 students. Um, the ratio probably for [00:07:30] faculty to student is probably like around 14 to one. Um, so we do have small class sizes. Um, the campus is small and tidy. So everything is within walking distance.
Um, And it, like I said, it really has that nice kind of southern town feel to it. Um, we’re about an hour from Wilmington where the beach is. Um, so for players that or students that like, you know, the warm weather whenever it’s here and want to go to the beach, that’s great. And then about an hour, 20 minutes from Raleigh, um, from the big capital.
Um, so overall, I mean, like I said, it’s, it’s a great, great little campus, great little town. Um, you have all the essentials around you. Um, And like I said, I think what really makes Mount Olive great is the people that are there, um, that have been there for so many years that really care about you and look out for you in as many ways as they can.
Matt: Awesome. Well, I, I’ve got some Mount Olive pickles, I think, in my fridge at the moment, but, uh, but in terms of. You know, playing soccer, that’s great, but there’s also the getting the degree and being a student. Uh, so for some folks, that’s kind of tough, right? Making the transition from high school to, to being a college athlete with college classes.
So how do your players really succeed in both the classroom and on the field and kind of what support systems does a school offer to make sure that they do that?
Coach: So as a coaching staff, I think that, you know, compared to other programs, we understand the importance, um, and we understand that our job, um, as coaches is not only, you know, to help the players develop on the field and be [00:09:00] successful on the field, but also as student athletes, because a lot of these kids, regardless of how good they are, the truth is, and the reality is that a lot of them are not going to go professional, um, or even get a chance to.
So, um, kind of their way out into the real world is their degree. So, um, yeah. We’re big on honing down and making sure that, you know, we’re getting on the guys, um, to go to class, to do their work, you know, to get good grades. This past spring, we had an overall team GPA of a 3. 6, which, um, you know, for a soccer team is something great.
And a lot of other schools usually are around like a 3. 0 or 3. 2, something like that. So, uh, we’re always looking to excel in the classroom and on the field. Um, and. Some of the resources that we have, um, you know, obviously we have all the basic, you know, tutoring resources. Um, you know, we have study hall, um, we have writing centers, we have math centers.
Um, you know, the professors, since it is a small campus, you know, they do a lot of one on one stuff whenever necessary. Um, the other great thing about, um, our program and our, um, team is that a lot of the students either study a similar major or the same major. So they have a lot of classes together, um, or you have a freshman coming in doing business when we have a junior or a few juniors doing business.
So they’ve already taken the class. So those freshmen can go to those juniors or those upperclassmen, um, to ask for help or to ask for guidance, um, you know, because everybody, everybody has a different learning style. different professors, you know, teach different ways. And I think that that’s one of the struggles, you know, coming from high school to [00:10:30] college is kind of adapting to those different learning styles and how they teach.
Um, so it’s a great thing that, like I said, our team environment, you know, allows for players not only to be in the classroom together, but also help each other out, um, in different ways. Um, and for the players that are struggling, um, you know, we, we, As a coaching staff, we meet with the professors and we talk about kind of the individual plans that we can work with them and what the professors need from us as a staff, you know, to make sure that the kids are doing all the right things.
But the biggest thing, like I said, is, um, study hall is one of those components. So we mandate, depending on your GPA, if it’s under 3. 5. Then we mandate, um, six hours a week, um, for study hall. Um, and then once you get past that 3. 5, then you’re good. Um, you know, as long as you maintain it. Um, so again, we, we try to, um, raise the standard, um, every semester and make sure that the players understand that they’re just not here, you know, to socialize and play soccer, but also get a degree, like you said, because it is very important.
Yeah, for sure.
Matt: Well, let’s. Roll it back, maybe a month when you’re in the heart of your conference season. Kind of, can you walk me through what a typical week would look like for the players in terms of when are classes, when are meals, practices, game cadence, that kind of thing?
Coach: Yeah, so classes usually run from like eight to three, unless you have like labs, like if you’re a bio major or something, then you may have labs in the afternoon that run to like 430.
So it really depends [00:12:00] for us. Um, if it was on a Monday, we would have. One way training session in the morning, um, from 7 15, um, to 7 45, um, or from 45, excuse me. And then the class, the players that have eight AMs will go to that class. Um, and then we would have a second way training session for the guys that couldn’t make, um, the early session from two to two 45.
Um, and then we were usually training, um, around four 35, sometimes six, really depending on when the girls would train. Um, Usually like if we, we had a game on Wednesday and then again on Saturday, so we would train Monday, um, pretty heavy session Tuesday would be more of kind of, um, A tactical kind of like a walkthrough about, um, how the team was going to play the formation, how they set up any set pieces that we need to look at, um, and things of that nature.
So it was much a lighter session. Um, and then Wednesday game day, um, if it’s home, the girls usually play first, um, like at four, and then we kick off at seven right after them. Um, and then Thursday will kind of be like a recovery session for us after the game. Um, a lot of the guys that didn’t get a lot of minutes, um, don’t have a kind of a heavier load than the guys that did.
And then Friday will be another day where it’s kind of like another walkthrough in preparing for Saturday’s game. Um, usually it was, um, like Wednesday would be home. Sometimes Saturday would be away. Um, sometimes some weeks we were fortunate enough to where, um, Wednesday was home and Saturday was also home.
Um, in the beginning of the season is where it was kind of tough for us because [00:13:30] we had a lot of games, you know, back to back that were away. So we were on the road a lot. Um, so kind of the fatigue and just the travel load kind of played into a lot of those things, but, um, weight training twice a week. So Mondays and then Thursdays.
Um, and then we offer two sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon to kind of cater to the player schedules, um, and then our training sessions would be in the afternoon. Um, again, the time would vary depending on when the women would train. Okay. Awesome.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the team.
I know you mentioned, uh, rosters around 43. Is that kind of the target for you guys with having a reserve team?
Coach: Yeah. Yeah. So we want to stay anywhere between 40 and 50 players. Um, the good thing though, is that, you know, if you go to our website, it’s just one big roster. Um, you know, we don’t ever, um, you know, assign players to a certain team and we all train together.
Um, so. In comparison to a lot of other programs where they have a reserve team and a first team, but, you know, player A comes in knowing he’s going to be on the reserve team for the whole semester, the whole season, and player B knows he’s going to be on the first team for the whole season. Whereas with us, you know, player A and player B come in, knowing that they’re going to be a part of, you know, the University of Mont Olive men’s soccer program, and knowing that they’re all going to train together and knowing that.
the head coach and myself are going to be at every training session. So you’re getting looked at, you know, by both coaches and nobody is going to notice. Um, so the way that we kind of structure it is, um, [00:15:00] as you’re training and as you’re performing, we kind of see, um, players that can contribute to the first team and can actually, you know, get minutes and have a role there.
Um, And we start to give those guys an opportunity and once they get into that first team environment and first team play, um, again, their performances will dictate and determine if they stay with the first team or if they need a little bit more minutes with the reserve team to kind of get acclimated and adapted and get up to speed with everything.
Um, so those are some of the things that we do. Um, But the biggest thing too that I think that is a lot different than other programs is all of our freshmen get minutes with the first team. Um, and they get, you know, significant minutes if they’re at the level. Um, if they’re not, you know, then they get minutes here and there, but, uh, in comparison to other programs where freshmen, you know, sometimes don’t get a lot of minutes or a lot of opportunities with the first team.
That’s something that we pride ourselves in because at the end of the day, um, if the freshmen are for the future, then they need to get an opportunity. You know, to learn and develop, you know, while they’re in the fire, while they’re in the midst of competition at the level that we expect them to, to be at eventually, um, And the reserve, the reserve guys usually get about 10 games a season.
Um, so like if we, we have a first in game on Wednesday, maybe the reserve guys play on a Thursday. Um, so we try and schedule it that way. Um, and the reserve guys will play, you know, some division three, some junior colleges, um, you know, some of the, the prep schools around. Um, so we, we try and structure it to where it’s [00:16:30] still a competitive environment.
They also do play some of the reserve teams from the local Division 2 schools around us. And then the other beautiful thing that our conference does, Conference Carolinas, is they have their own like What they call the developmental championship. Um, so those players still have something to play for something to compete for, um, and something to look forward to.
Um, so I think we’re very fortunate, you know, to have that in our conference, because I think that, you know, it definitely adds, you know, to the program, um, and to the university and to the conference as a whole.
Matt: Well, you mentioned yourself as the assistant and there’s a head coach. Is there any other staff, maybe folks in the athletic department that help out and really support the team kind of what’s that look like?
Coach: Yeah. So we have an alumni, um, who has a volunteer assistant, Alex Rodriguez. Um, he’s a local PE teacher at one of the elementary schools. And, um, he also helps out, you know, with the local club. So he comes, um, whenever he can every now and then, um, you know, to help us. Um, besides that, it’s really just our athletic trainer, but, um, no other really supports that besides us three and then the AT.
Okay.
Matt: And in terms of. The style of coaching that you and the head coach have, what kind of style of play, and can you talk a little bit more about that?
Coach: Yeah. So style of coaching, I would say we’re, we’re very, um, you know, transparent, very blunt, very honest with our players. Um, you know, we set the standards early on and we set the expectations early on.
And, um, the players always know what they need from us, what they expect. Um, [00:18:00] you know, we, we like to do, um, a lot of. On the field stuff, um, a lot of, um, you know, technical stuff early on in the season, um, you know, to really kind of get everybody up to speed with everything, um, a lot of passing patterns, things like that, um, because we’re, our system of play and our style of play, you know, we like to have the ball, we like to keep the ball on the ground.
Um, we like to cater a lot to, um, the cultures and the environments and the backgrounds from our players. So we have a few Brazilians, um, some other South Americans players in there. Um, so players that, you know, grow up their whole life, having the ball at their feet, wanting the ball at their feet. Um, so very possession based, um, built from the back all the times we give our midfielders a lot of freedom, you know, to interchange positions, um, you know, to kind of find their own creativity and play their own style.
Um, We also, you know, tie in a lot of, you know, film sessions and a lot of film review, um, on ourselves, um, you know, on our training sessions and on our games and then also on the opponents. Um, but more so focused on ourselves, um, you know, cause like this past season, a lot of the games, you know, we’re kind of dictated by our stuff, our mistakes, or, um, not more so what the other opponents did.
Um, We like the way that we structure it to is the head coach will do obviously the head coach of the first team and I’ll be his assistant when it comes to the reserve team, we kind of switch roles a little bit, um, so that I’m kind of more of leading the group as the head coach for the reserve team and he’s kind of more of the assistant, um, just so that players can get different feels, [00:19:30] um, other things too is, is we, we like to kind of give players an opportunity to provide their own insight.
Yeah. Um, and their own feedback, not only to the games, but also to the training sessions or, you know, to different, um, Things are different tactics that may be working or not working. Um, cause obviously from the sideline, we see one thing and then players, you know, as they’re in the game and in the midst of the fire, they see a different thing.
Um, so, so we like to keep an open relationship and, um, you know, we’re not those kinds of coaches that. Um, you know, we’re the coaches. So you do what we say and it’s the way that we want it. You know, we, we like to have an open mind and we’re open to a lot of things. And, um, a lot of our players have a lot of experience, you know, at different levels, some players, um, have played with their national team.
So they have a lot of knowledge about the game, um, a lot of experience. So we want to make sure that, you know, we’re giving, um. Having an open up in mind, excuse me, you know, to their thoughts and to their critiques or to, um, what maybe they think is a solution to a problem that we haven’t been able to solve yet.
Okay, great.
Matt: Well, I really appreciate, uh, all the info you’ve given us. I got one more question for you. And that is. If you had one piece of advice, one nugget of information that you would want every parent, player, family going through this process to know about the college soccer recruiting process, what would that be?
Coach: Yeah, I would say is, um, you know, to ask as many questions as you can and to stay informed and to do as much research as possible. You know, a lot of [00:21:00] times us college coaches, we get a lot of blanket emails, um, with no really, you know, specific, um, information or no really specific. specific interest into our program, and we’re not blind to that, and we know that.
So I think that if you’re, um, you know, a student athlete that wants to go play college soccer and that’s, you know, something big for you, you have to understand that we have a lot of players at our disposal, not only, you know, at the high school level, but also in the portal and at the international level.
So these guys have to understand that they have to find ways to kind of set themselves apart. Um, and it can start with a simple email, um, like, so if I emailed. you, I would say, Hey, Coach Matt, um, you know, I really like what you guys did this season. I really liked your, your formation, your style of play. I noticed that you guys are losing two to three players in my position.
And I feel like I have these traits that could add or that, you know, could make me a potential player to replace those guys for next season. Um, you know, I think that that yeah. Email, you know, we’ll really kind of set that player apart and, and make me really want to read through the email, see his video and possibly even go out and recruit him and watch him at a game.
Whereas a lot of players just send out a blanket email that says, Hey, coach, Matt, um, I’m interested in your school. Um, here’s my YouTube video. Here’s this, here’s that. Um, and sometimes, you know, it’s players that. would either never fit into our kind of culture, our system or players that we don’t even offer their major and stuff like that.
So really just asking a lot of [00:22:30] questions, doing the research and trying to set themselves apart again by using that research and all those questions at their disposal.
Matt: Awesome. Perfect advice. Love it. Well, coach, thank you very much. Wish you the best of luck in all your recruiting. And if you get down to any of the events in Bradenton Lake Ranch area, make sure you look me up.
All right.
Coach: Perfect. Perfect. Thank you, sir. Have a great day. You Matt: too. Thank you.
