Western Iowa Tech Community College Men’s Soccer – Coach Alex Scheuler

On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Scheuler from the WIT Men’s Program in Sioux City. We talk about how he looks to find players from all over the world that will fit with their program. He describes the great location in a city that puts them near many 4-year schools. Lastly, we discuss their offseason training and games. Learn more about Western Iowa Tech Community College Women’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi, everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today, I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Alex at Western Iowa Tech on the men’s side. Welcome, Coach. Thanks for having me, Matt. I appreciate the time. Yeah, thanks for being here. We talked to Coach Yeti a few weeks back, so nice to have the flip side of the soccer programs on and looking forward to talking to you.

We’re talking here middle of the season. December, um, you know, hard to showcase season. So have you been out and about already or what are the plans coming, coming forward here? 

Coach: Yeah, not, not on about too much between me and my assistant. We’re still kind of trying to figure out what targeted showcases we’re going to go to, um, you know, and figuring out all that fun stuff.

But yeah, it is in the heat of recruitment season, obviously, cause you know, we’re not doing much semesters winded down with our team on campus. So we’re really turning our focus to. All 25 recruits got a couple 25 spring players coming in that we’re working on their admissions work as well. Uh, but yeah, it’s a lot right now.

It’s lots of watching a screen. So, uh, you know, and lots, lots of footage that way. So 

Matt: is there kind of a list of of. Places that you like to to hit each year in terms of the tournament circuit. 

Coach: Um, yeah I know we’re talking about sending maybe my assistant coach out to the ecnl vegas showcase this year, you know with our location You know, we’re kind of close to um, kansas city’s not a bad drive.

Omaha’s not a bad drive Minneapolis chicago are kind of around so, you know, we’re still trying to target those places as well um, and yeah, just kind [00:01:30] of you know, I always tell people you can You can find talent anywhere. You just got to be willing to invest and find it. So, 

Matt: well, talk about anywhere. I mean, you look at your roster and there’s quite a, quite a number of internationals, so I’m guessing that’s what a lot of your screen time is being spent on these days.

Coach: Yeah, it definitely is. You know, um, in our conference last year, like it’s incredibly competitive. We have the last two national championships at the NJCAD two level. Are two different teams in our conference, which is kind of crazy. One’s 90 minutes Southeast, Southwest of us. The other one’s two hours Northeast of us, which is kind of crazy.

So yeah, it’s, um, it’s one of those things, you know, I’m, I’m a coach that, Hey, I don’t care where a player is from, you know, it’s, if they have the right background, the right fit, obviously for what we’re looking for as a team and program, you know, me and my assistant coach will. Start talking to them and, um, go from there.

So yeah, it’s, um, you definitely have to get creative sometimes in the recruiting process. 

Matt: Without a doubt. And, uh, well, whether it’s internationally or domestic kind of what is that right fit, whether on the field stuff, off the field stuff, what makes up a player that you want to look at? 

Coach: Yeah, I think the biggest thing since we are such a young program, you know, I’ve told pretty much every kid I’ve recruited.

It’s you got to be brave to come here. You know, it’s you can go somewhere else where they’ve done it before. You can come to us and make history type of thing. Um, you know, you can go to establish program where they’ve done it, you know, but to be the 1st to do something is kind of nerve wracking. Um, you know, this is my 2nd college coaching job yet.

This is my 2nd start from scratch coaching job, which is kind of crazy. So, um, so it’s 1 of those things. Yeah, you have to [00:03:00] do some. An orthodox things a little bit to get stuff off the ground. But yeah, we look for players who are brave players who work extremely hard, um, and players who want to achieve more.

Because I always tell kids, you know, the junior college should be a stop on the journey, not the end of the journey. Um, so it’s something where, you know, obviously we, you know, we want to use this as a platform to get them to the next level, whatever for you, that might be. Um, yeah, I always tell kids this should expand your opportunities, not limit your opportunities coming to Western and Iowa Tech.

Matt: And how many seasons has the program been in existence? 

Coach: So we’ve only played two, two seasons. I got hired Jan, January, February, 2023. Um, so came over here for my other college coaching job, early February 23. I had to recruit a whole team. Get a whole schedule done last minute. Um, we had 10 wins in our first season, which is kind of not normal for a first year program.

Um, schedule got even stronger this past year. We won 10 games again, but the biggest difference was, you know, like the strength of schedule was better. We finished third in our conference. Our only losses were to nationally ranked teams, both made the semifinals, the last two national champs. Um, so we made a big jump in that regard.

Um, so, yeah, this year in the recruiting process, it’s kind of unique because we had so many first year guys come in. Now they’re moving on after their 2 years. So we’re looking to replace a lot. That’s why I’ve been a lot of screen time and mapping out where to go for showcases and stuff like that. So, 

Matt: well, and.

For folks who take the junior college route, that, that placement after the fact is, is, you know, usually a big draw, right? So as a, as a new program, but one, [00:04:30] what’s having some success, how has that been for the players that you’ve got that want to move on? 

Coach: Yeah, it’s been fantastic actually, because, um, I think the profile of the conference we’re in is massive.

Everyone goes, who’s this new team that finished third in the Iowa community college athletic conference this year. And, you know, I’ve gotten contacts from a bunch of people. We had one of our Probably talented goalkeepers. He got hurt day one of training this year. Unfortunately hurt his finger, didn’t play all year.

He’s actually transferring to a top 15 and say D2 program this year and didn’t even play all fall. Um, so that’s kind of the exciting thing. You know, we got a couple other guys going to really top and I programs, um, with some good scholarships and using this as a platform. Right? Um, so that’s, that’s kind of the exciting thing.

I always tell kids the 2 of my 2 favorite days as a coach in no particular order. Or when you sign with me, when you sign with your four year, because at the end of the day, that’s the goal. And if we do everything right and in between, the results here will work themselves out, the program will build, stuff like that.

Matt: Yeah, for sure. Now, it looks like, I mean, again, kind of, I don’t know if this is strange or not, because, you know, how many people start programs from scratch, but you’ve started a program from scratch and kind of, It’s been a larger program, right? With a second team as well. So what’s that dynamic kind of been like?

Coach: Yeah. So what I noticed is obviously first year, you know, kind of the goal was just to obviously get people through the door. You know, it’s harder. It’s later in the recruiting process, you’re kind of taking more chances as a coach on who you get in. Um, what I noticed here was Sioux city’s got actually a really good, like soccer culture.

Um, that’s one of the reasons I took the job. There’s a lot of interest in the [00:06:00] sport here. Um, and so we wanted to. be able to give opportunities to more players. Um, nice thing is my assistant coach is full time, who actually runs our second team and helps me with the first team. And there’s a little bit of movement, obviously, based on player development and stuff like that.

Like, um, we’ve had a couple kids progress up through that system, just getting more minutes, people coming back from injuries, stuff like that as well. So, you know, I think it’s, What I’ve noticed is it’s it’s been a lot to manage. I’ll admit that between me and my assistant coach, but it’s created good competition within our squad, you know, whether it’s from 1st on the depth chart to 4th on the depth chart, you know, all those players are battling every day because it kind of goes back to we have to create a competitive environment here.

So they see that at the four year level, right? You know, for your roster sometimes look like that for your roster. Sometimes have the same setup. We have to prep them for that. So, yeah, it was, you know, It was definitely an experience. You know, um, yeah, you know, we’re always evaluating ourselves as coaches.

You know, we played a lot of JV games this year. One thing we might do is play less games at that level, but get more training in. So some of those kids can develop a little bit more. But so I got to tell the players always admit and review to myself how I’m doing. If you can do the same. 

Matt: Yeah, no, makes sense.

Um, In terms of the school itself, um, you know, you’ve, you’ve been there a couple of years now. Uh, what drew you to the school? What things have you found that are awesome at the school? Things maybe we wouldn’t know by going through the website. 

Coach: Yeah. What drew me to the school? Cause I was a junior college player back in the day in one of the small towns in Kansas.

You know, my first job was in a smaller town as well. You know, I think it’s [00:07:30] unique in that regard that most of the two year schools are located in smaller communities. Um, Sioux city has a, Bigger city, more like feel, which I think is kind of unique in that regard. Um, so I think that’s a draw to students, you know, campus is really modern, really nice.

Um, the support systems are really good. You know, um, I got a boss who supports the programs fully lets us be ourselves as coaches also. Gets behind our teams at all times, which is massive as a coach. And that’s what you want, right? Because then you can obviously do the things you want to do as a coach, push the program as far as you want to or can.

Um, academic services are really good here. The nice thing about being a bigger schools we have. Good number of students. A lot are like part time who live locally, but you know, there’s usually always someone around. Always people walk in the halls outside my office here. There’s like a ping pong table pool table.

P s five with FIFA. There’s always people out there playing. Um, so it’s really city vibe, which I think is nice. And then obviously we’re located in town with two four year schools as well. Um, which every juco doesn’t have right down the street. 

Matt: Absolutely. Um, in terms of, you know, the day to day, you know, let’s pretend we’re in the middle of the season.

What does that normal week look like? What are kids doing? Winter practices, games, all that stuff? 

Coach: Yeah, so usually like a normal day, you know, kids get up, they go eat breakfast at the CAF. Usually most of the guys have all their classes in the morning. Um, then they’ll go eat some lunch and usually we train early afternoon, sometimes around 1 or 2 o’clock.

[00:09:00] Um, we do often split the training reserve team versus varsity team. So kids can get that attention, um, wherever they fall in that. And then obviously get the, get the development to be pushed at the appropriate level. Um, so usually me and my assistant coach are on the field 3 and a half ish hours, somewhere in there in the afternoon.

Um, and then the nice thing is we’re usually done with training about 4 o’clock. Um, so the guys kind of have the evening, you know, a bunch of our guys will go work, um, some on campus, some off campus. And then obviously, you know, then they have time to study, go, you know, work out a little bit if they want, you know, sometimes we’ll do late classroom sessions virtually or something like that.

Go over game film or stuff like that. So, um, so, yeah, it’s kind of a good setup. And then obviously, you know, college schedules, you know, most during the heat of the season, you’re playing 2 games a week, Wednesday, Saturday, Thursday, Saturday. Crazy travel. You live in the charter bus some. So, um, it definitely gets busy.

Let me put it that way. 

Matt: Without a doubt. And with that busyness, you know, the players got to really balance the demands of the classroom and the soccer field. So what kind of support systems does the school have to help them on both sides of that? 

Coach: Yeah. So they have free tutoring available, which is massive.

And then, obviously, we do like study halls. You know, we have trackers and stuff like that for the academic side where me and my assistant coach look at stuff. We have a really good athletic department that kind of supports and steps in when we see a student isn’t doing so hot, which is kind of nice. And then we refer them to the appropriate people.

The flip side of it. If you’re an athlete and you do well, you can get a job on campus as a tutor. [00:10:30] Um, 3 or 4 of my guys worked on the library this last term because their grades were good enough. Um, so it’s kind of a 2 way street in that regard. You know, it’s, um, yeah, there’s some good support systems in place.

You know, the 1 thing about it is there’s a lot of different departments. Um, so it’s just getting the kids right to the department, obviously getting the right support they need. Um, along with that, we have, like, a campus, like, health clinic on campus for kids. You know, if, you know, They ever get sick, stuff like that.

Um, that’s free to any student, anyone with the student ID. So that’s kind of massive as well. Um, so like, and you know, you’ve probably seen part of teams where 1 person gets sick. The whole dorm gets sick, stuff like that. You can kind of stop stuff like that quicker, which is important. 

Matt: Yeah, no, that’s for sure.

For sure. A good thing. Um, well, in terms of the, uh, of the team, you mentioned your assistant coach. It’s great to have a full time assistant there. But besides him, what other staff are there in the athletic department or other places that help out with the team? Kind of what roles does everybody play there?

Coach: Yeah, so one of our like assistant athletic directors, he kind of helps with that game day. Um, he’s also our basketball coach as well. He usually sets up the field for game day, so we don’t got to worry about any of that gets everything out, which is massive, obviously. So, you know, us, his coaches can focus on the game and then the players can focus as well.

Um, athletic director helps with that as well. Um, we do have a volunteer assistant coach as well. Um, in addition to that, so we can get like three coaches on staff. Um, and then obviously we’re always looking to bring in additional staff because you can never have enough coaches and help. So we are looking kind of similar to what Eddie said on [00:12:00] his version of this, looking at bringing in a goalkeeper coach because that is kind of a specific position.

Um, on the men’s side, we’ve been very fortunate to have very talented goalkeepers these first couple of years, but, um, You know, as a coach, you always ask yourself, What if right? And those are probably the questions that drive you the most next. You know, where could those kids have been with even more attention?

Um, so that’s something we’re looking like. And, you know, you can’t always be comfortable. So you gotta think of ways to improve it for, you know, the program and for your players. 

Matt: Yeah, absolutely. Well, in terms of you specifically, how would you describe kind of your coaching style and the style of play you want to play there?

Coach: Yeah, you know this year we were fortunate, you know, we had a lot of very good leaders Um year one I kind of had to be a little bit more intense You’re in cloppish. Um, you know, my demands to the players to kind of establish the way we wanted to do things here. Um, so yeah, you know, it’s one of those things I, I get intense with the games, but you know, this year we had a really mature group, actually.

Um, so it was one of those things, my coaching styles. I want us to, like, kind Play with the ball. You know, it’s not gonna be like crazy rotations, not like Pep Guardiola stuff, but we are at our best and most comfortable when we have the ball. There was a training session. One of my Spanish strikers yelled, Guys, calm down.

We love the ball. And that was kind of jokingly are saying the last like month of the season, guys, we love the ball. Um, so that was kind of funny. And, uh, yeah, it’s just, you know, goes back to the hard work thing. You know, you’re not always gonna have the ball, so you gotta be able to put in hard work. Um, and all that fun stuff.

I’m a player. I’m a coach who, you know, players [00:13:30] show me. That they’re handling their business on and off the field, I’ll treat them like an adult. You know, that’s, that’s one of my famous lines. You know, if you, you do everything me and my assistant coach Rob ask of you, you know, we’re going to treat you like adults.

If not, we got to treat you a little bit more like a youth team and kind of guide you on the way. So I like to give the players that freedom because it shows, you know, how much they can grow. And that’s kind of the point of junior college as well, growth on and off the field. And I think that all goes together.

Matt: No, for sure. You’ve got the fall season, right? Uh, but, you know, folks want to be playing all the time. So what does that spring season that that non traditional season look like for you guys? 

Coach: Yeah, so basically, you know, after we come back from break, you know, we can’t really do anything off campus till February 1st.

I believe the date is. So, like, we’ll come back, like, guys get settled, maybe do a couple of wait sessions, stuff like that on campus. Um, just kind of get acclimated. We do have a couple, like I said, kids coming in in January. I’m not too much. Um, but then in the spring, yeah, we have 6 dates we can use with a larger roster.

We obviously try and play like, you know, so we’re playing Morningside College, who’s 7 minutes away from us to top an AI program. We’re playing like 345 minutes versus them or something like that. So all the guys get minutes, um, you know, and stuff like that as well with our larger roster. So, um, and then obviously we do some stuff where we have, like, triangulars in the spring, um, against other junior colleges for your NAIA programs just to get the kids the minutes.

Um, big thing for me in the spring is I always tell kids you get out of it what you put into [00:15:00] it. And I think that’s a massive thing. We saw some kids last spring. Who were probably close to transferring because they weren’t happy. They weren’t playing but they really invested in the spring. One of them was almost an undroppable center mid for me this year.

He came in to us as a walk on, worked his tails off, cared, developed, invested in all the weight sessions. Obviously when we got back outside, more of the tactical stuff. Um, yeah, and he accelerated. I think spring’s a largely important time. Maybe it comes from my club soccer background for years, you know, thinking of the development time where, you know, as coaches I like it because you can actually look at development where the fall is like.

You know, it’s a results based business at the end of the day. So 

Matt: absolutely. Well, I appreciate, uh, you giving us all that insight, uh, going to ask you one last question and that is, you know, if you had to give somebody just one piece of advice or one nugget they should know while going through this college recruiting process, what would that be?

Coach: Um, I’m going to use one. I told one of my better players here, who’s getting offers to transfer from crazy, like I told him, I’m like, take every call you can respond to every call, every email. Like I’ve told a couple of my guys, I’m like, did you ever think you’d end up in Sioux City, Iowa at a program that didn’t exist like 2.

5 years ago? And I’m like, I think it worked out okay for you. So keep an open mind is my biggest thing. You know, that was even my problem as a player. I got fortunate. I had a narrow mind, took a gap year myself. Granted, this was way too long ago, but then I got fortunate enough, found myself at a good junior college program, played [00:16:30] there two years, um, but yeah, keep an open mind is the biggest thing.

Like, you never know what school is going to pop up. And I think that’s a massive thing. That’s something I wish I would have learned years ago, but happy to be in the position. I can hopefully tell people to keep an open mind in that regard. So. 

Matt: Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more. Well, coach, really appreciate it.

Uh, wish you the best of luck as you fill out this, uh, this next recruiting class. And, uh, hopefully you’re not too far away from challenging those other Iowa schools for that conference title. 

Coach: Yeah, that’s the plan. I mean, they keep score for a reason at the end of the day. That’s right. All right. Thanks a lot.

Thank you, Matt.