Western New England University Men’s Soccer – Coach Devin O’Neill
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Devin O’Neill from the Western New England University Men’s Program in Massachusetts. We talk about what 4 pillars he is looking for when recruiting players. He describes their school’s amazing academics and job placement statistics. Lastly, we discuss the culture of the team. Learn more about Western New England University.
[00:00:00] Matt: Hi, everybody. Welcome to discover college soccer. I’m lucky enough today to be joined by coach Devin O’Neil of the Western New England bears or golden bears. Excuse me. Uh, coach. Welcome.
[00:00:11] Coach: Thank you for having me.
[00:00:13] Matt: Well, coach and I just spent a few minutes reminiscent about, uh, all of the ways our paths have crossed the soccer world is, is small, uh, as, as much as it is big, right?
[00:00:23] Um, So, but let’s just jump right into it. Talk about what’s going on at Western New England, um, you know, division three school, you know, when, when do you start really hearing from players or, or looking at players kind of what year in high school are they w when your recruiting process really gets going?
[00:00:41] Coach: So our recruiting process is a little bit extended compared to some other schools. Um, Previously, I’ve worked at some other division, three institutions, Gettysburg college being one of them. And at Gettysburg. We had a firm early decision deadline, which was. You know, it was a binding situation. So that would kind of have more of a definitive end to our recruiting cycle.
[00:01:10] We don’t have that here. So it tends to extend out a little bit. In fact, we still have some current seniors making some final decisions and in the next couple of weeks, we’ll probably. Formally put a, a stamp, uh, on the class in its entirety. So kids for our class will typically start to make some decisions as early as October.
[00:01:37] That’s rare, um, more than, than common. And then we also, you know, as I said, it extends through all the way sometimes until the April of their senior year. So it’s a little bit of an extended window. We’ve already started to make a slow transition into evaluating the class of 23. So next year, seniors. Um, so there’s a little bit kind of a dual, uh, timeframe where we’re, we’re finalizing the class of 22 and then, uh, beginning the evaluation, um, of 23, we hope to on an annual basis.
[00:02:18] Ha a good list of, of maybe 50 kids that we think might be a good fit for our program by the time that we report in August. Uh, but that’s a very dynamic group, you know, naturally some fallout, but there’ll be a lot of kids that they come in. I mean, some of our evaluation, um, will still be in November, December of their senior year.
[00:02:47] Yeah. And then, you know, um, there’s a variety of reasons why players will, will, will choose, uh, To exclude us some, you know, financial, some, uh, just not the right fit, uh, academics or there’s other kids that come in that, that may be thought that they were going to get division one offers and that proves to not be the case.
[00:03:14] And then they expand their search and, and, and we’re, uh, we’re a hit, um, for a variety of reasons. Yeah,
[00:03:22] Matt: no, that makes sense. What do you like to see in a communication from a recruiters, just, you know, reaching out for the first time and, and what, what kind of catches your eye when, when someone’s kind of just shooting you a note?
[00:03:37] Coach: Yeah, I think if it’s, it’s a little bit personalized in that, I know that there’s some sort of interest in Western new England and it’s not just kind of a blanket search across the division. I mean, there’s 400 programs, so, um, You know, that that can be important and helpful. And then, um, what’s really useful is if they provide some sort of academic information, some kids know what they might want to study others don’t.
[00:04:09] Um, and that’s fine, but also what’s very helpful that kids are now putting in there is they embed a. About a two to three minute highlight film, uh, in the email. And that that’s good, so that we can kind of have a sense of, of, you know, what our initial interests may be. And that could bomp a kid up into, you know, kind of a must-see category.
[00:04:37] Cause there is, there are so many kids that, that we potentially could see, um, that to have a little bit of, um, pre-screening through that. Is is beneficial.
[00:04:49] Matt: So when it comes to seeing kids, what, you know, are there tournaments that are just, you know, your staples that you’re going to every year? Or what, how do you, how do you most go and see kids?
[00:05:00] Coach: Sure. So there’s some, you know, some regional events, um, there’s, uh, a big, uh, soccer complex and Lancaster mass, which is just north of Worcester. So kind of in the middle of our state, um, that’s a place that we spend a lot of time because there’s a few different, um, you know, there’s annually, there’s a lot of different showcases there, but we tend to just, you know, our.
[00:05:29] Recruiting for the most part has been primarily. And I’ve been here since 2015, um, has primarily been in Western mass, Connecticut, uh, parts of New York, and then, you know, uh, different people from the new England area. Uh, if they’ve shown a special interest, however, uh, We are always looking to expand and, and get into different markets.
[00:05:59] Um, there are some initiatives through the school, uh, with some housing grants. So we’re going to try to, to get into different areas where given our financial incentives could make us a real viable option for some.
[00:06:19] Matt: Awesome. That’s awesome. What about, uh, camps as ID camps factored into what you do? Do you do camps at other schools as well?
[00:06:26] To help look at players? Uh, a
[00:06:28] Coach: bit of both, um, You know our camps and we do some one day ID days, prospect days, we call them and, uh, that’s been shut down with COVID, but it will reemerge this summer. And those historically have been very fruitful. There was a time, a few years back. We’re about 40% of our raw.
[00:06:52] Had come through one of our prospect days, it’s just a real good tool on, and it’s very cost effective, uh, on both ends. You know, I try to be myself for good or bad in the prospect day. So kids can see what I’m about and what they can expect. In a, in a daily practice environment. And we talked to them clearly about what we, we value and what we’re about, you know, hopefully for a lot of kids, that’s attractive to some, it may just not be the right fit, but also.
[00:07:30] Uh, we really liked to work with the young men throughout the day, and I think it can give an insight into personality and which, you know, when you go out and just watch kids on the field in terms of their performance. Sure. You can see some. Definite athletic skills and some soccer skills, but trying to get the personality fit.
[00:07:53] Right. I think that’s one of the things that I really appreciate most about these one day deals.
[00:08:00] Matt: Yeah. Well, in terms of, you know, seeing them on the field and you mentioned off the field, you know, w what is your specific kind of hierarchy of, of what you’re looking for in a player that really helps them, you know, It may make your list of, of what, what you want in a WMA player.
[00:08:19] Coach: Yeah, it’s a great question. And, um, you know, there’s not an exact answer. What I would say is, um, for the most part, we tend to recruit a certain band of player. Um, and it’s typically a very good club player somewhere. You know, they may have an odd division one opportunity, but choose us for the unique fit and the, the academic value that we offer.
[00:08:54] Um, so I think that’s kind of the, the skill set that we’re looking for players in our program, um, are all different sizes and, and, and skillsets. Generally speaking, you know, if you, if you have the typical evaluation of what is their physical, technical tactical, and then personality, those are kind of your four pillars of what makes up a player are players who tend to be the most skillful might not be the complete physical athlete and some of our more athletic guys.
[00:09:42] Might be slightly deficient in terms of, of their, their skill. If they had the whole Panorama of, uh, of skills, they probably would be, uh, more scholarship. Good. What I’ve found is within this band of talent, that guys that really make the impact in our program are super committed to the. Want to play, you know, they love it.
[00:10:10] They, they, you know, they’ll play on the wind in the winter on their own. They’ll, you know, join, you know, whether they’re doing an internship or working over the summer, they make a sacrifice to, to play. Cause the division three player just doesn’t play enough annually. So, um, but as fiercely competitive, you know, those are the guys that really make a mark in our program.
[00:10:35] So again, I think the hardest thing to glean in the process is what is their personality, but it’s probably the most important thing.
[00:10:45] Matt: You mentioned the housing grants earlier. So, you know, obviously no athletic scholarship money, but what, what is the full kind of scholarship, tuition, everything picture looked like specifically at
[00:10:58] Coach: your school, right?
[00:11:00] So we’re up in the upper fifties. Uh, for the whole bill, you know, 50, I think next year we’ll be just shy of 58,000. Don’t quote me on that. But, um, it’s about at that rate, what we ask people is to consider. Uh, the real cost versus the ticket shock, um, because we go to great lengths to try to make our private education affordable.
[00:11:30] You know, what we talk about is academic value and we think in our small residential. Personal approach. There is some real academic value in terms of, of what our students are offered. So there’s a wide range of merit scholarships at the upper end 20 to $24,000. Um, uh, given, you know, a range of academic ability as demonstrated by GPA and or essay.
[00:12:02] Um, it’s not exclusively sat though. There we do have sat optional here as well. And then that can go down, you know, probably high-end is 24 all the way down to about 12,000. So that’s the merit aid. Then there is a. There is need-based aid and that will be based on the evaluation of, um, the. Which is, uh, is the, uh, application for student aid.
[00:12:37] And, um, and then based on what is calculated by, uh, the family’s estimated contribution, there’s some merit money that can, or I’m sorry, some need-based money that can come in. And then in conjunction with that, there are some initiatives that are being rolled out. Um, To increase our presence in certain areas, for example, Philadelphia or Pennsylvania as a housing grant, New Hampshire, Maine, um, I believe Dell, Delaware, and Maryland.
[00:13:10] Uh, so, you know, there are some different states where we would. Um, people from those states to, to really consider us and are making that, that financial incentive, um, to hopefully get people to take a second look. So, uh, we probably can’t get quite down to, um, some state school costs, but we’re close in, in many areas and in many, uh, for many individuals.
[00:13:41] So again, you know, whether it’s our school. Or other schools, um, don’t get scared initially by the, what the, what is posted as the total cost, because you know, for many people there’s, there’s ways to make it more.
[00:14:00] Matt: Yeah, no, that makes sense. Um, let’s talk about the school a little bit more specifically, because obviously some people may not be familiar with, with Western new England.
[00:14:10] Um, you know, you’re there in Springfield, mass, so, you know, yeah. I can go to the website and click around and learn about the school, but give me the inside scoop kind of, what are some of the awesome things about your school that I’m not going to find out just by clicking through the website?
[00:14:24] Coach: Great. Yeah, no, we, uh, it’s a wonderful place.
[00:14:28] I’m a Western mass. Uh, in fact, we’re in a really beautiful part of Springfield called 16 acres, uh, which we abut a Wilbraham mass, which is a, a beautiful, uh, count of foothills, uh, area, uh, really pretty landscape, but 16 acres. Interestingly is. Whereas a little kid played some of my travel soccer. I grew up across the river in west Springfield and we had good town soccer, but we didn’t have travel soccer.
[00:15:00] And, uh, you know, my father had the foresight to get us involved in travel soccer. And literally, um, one of the fields that I had played on as an eight year old is across the street. So it’s kind of been cool. Um, fun for me too, is a lot of guys that I grew up with. Playing our coaching in the area. So, um, I’ve coached some, some kids, uh, some of the guys I grew up with I’ve coached their nephews, their sons, and different things.
[00:15:31] So personally, it’s been a lot of fun the institution. Um, you know, we talk about academic value and, um, Uh, our guys are doing phenomenally well. There’s some, some great majors here. Our college of engineering is outstanding. We’ve got a wonderful college of business, uh, including our sports management degree, which is really unique nationally.
[00:15:55] We’re one of two sports management programs that has both a business and a sports management accreditation that puts us in real rarefied air, uh, and opens up the entire sports industry to our alums. Our college of arts and scientists as a huge, uh, range of offerings. We have, um, a law, uh, college of law on, um, on our campus.
[00:16:24] And, um, and also just a number of different, uh, graduate programs, including a six year doctoral pharmacy program. We’ve got an MBA. Uh, there’s a masters of coaching and sport leadership. So that’s an ever involving graduate level of study. Uh, many of our players have come through, um, and have been criminal justice majors.
[00:16:52] They’ve been interested in either getting into the FBI, CIA or some into local law enforcement. So there’s a whole host of, of academic. Offerings. And most importantly, I think the, the measure of how we’re doing. Is the, uh, job placement of our alums. And, uh, uh, most recent data shows us as being the top school in the state of Massachusetts in terms of job placement and number five nationally.
[00:17:27] So, um, you know, in certain majors, for example, college of engineering, uh, we’re at a hundred percent, every one of our engineers graduates into a job and, and the starting salaries are phenomenal. So. Uh, our guys, uh, as they come through their various degree programs, they can expect, uh, to, to get, uh, uh, uh, a pain, a good paying job in their fields of interest.
[00:17:58] And, um, you know, it’s all credit to the university, the quality of our professors and our career placement program. Um, I say this to people who visit and it’s absolutely been the truth because, you know, I didn’t know a lot about Western Northern one before I joined in 2015, even though I’m a native, as I mentioned, because, you know, from high school on I, I was out of the area and just, it’s been a long time and the school has really grown and evolved over the most recent decades.
[00:18:31] And, uh, There’s a great vibe on campus. Our kids love it here. They’re happy. Uh, it’s a really beautiful, closely knit residential community of about 2,400 students. A little bit more if you include the graduate programs and, um, our guys coming through our program and I, those are the people that I interact with the most, so I can speak for them.
[00:18:57] I really know that they value their academic. They’re really appreciative of the work that they’re doing, uh, in their degrees and, and what it means for their prospects as they enter the professional world. And then finally, uh, our alums are really appreciative of what Western new England has done for them and what it has meant to them in their adult and professional careers.
[00:19:26] Matt: Let’s, let’s talk about, uh, What a typical day looks like. So, you know, for, for, in season or kind of go through a week, if you will, from, you know, waking up to going to bed, kind of what it looks like for, for somebody during the season.
[00:19:41] Coach: Sure. So, um, and, and we can talk a little bit out of season as well, if you’d like to, but all the divisions division one, two, and three, Are going to be more similar to dissimilar in the fall season, right?
[00:19:56] What we call our traditional season, the NCAA mandates one day off per week. So you’re together. Six of seven days. One of those days will be off. Uh, we typically compete twice a week. We try to stagger our games between Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the mid week with academics in, in, uh, in mind. So that if you’ve got some of your games on a Tuesday, some on a Wednesday.
[00:20:21] You will reduce the amount of miss time within one academic block. Um, our other games are typically on a Saturday and then we’ll practice four days, uh, in the remainder of the week. One off day, we try to take the off day on a heavy lab day again on a Monday or a Tuesday. With academics in mind. So we’ll have a practice on a Sunday, um, after the Saturday game kinda split squad stuff, based on the minutes that guys have logged on the Saturday, uh, One of the things.
[00:21:02] Well, we, and, and I should say the practices are typically between the four and six 30 window, our engineers and lab heavy guys tend to come a little bit late on a couple of days. And some of our business students may have to leave a little bit early on a few days, but, um, we, uh, You know, one of the things that really kind of makes us a bit unique, uh, in, in terms of other institutions in which I’ve worked is the locale of all of our opponents.
[00:21:39] We’re spoiled here in new England. There’s great programs. Um, so close to each other. There’s 73, very, very strong teams in the new England region on the men’s side. So we can put games together. Within an hour within an hour and a half, very, very easily and played top teams. So the quality of our schedule is exceptional.
[00:22:05] The strength within our conference is, is outstanding, and we just don’t have to miss class time to put it together. So, you know, next fall, there will be some kids on our team that don’t miss any class time. And it’s almost, you know, unheard of now. No, that’s great. Oh, our Tuesday games are four o’clock at home.
[00:22:28] We’ve got three Wednesday games away there at seven o’clock at night and they’re all within an hour and a half. So, um, it’s, it’s really just a, uh, a very natural blending of both worlds. Oh, that’s
[00:22:41] Matt: fantastic. What, well, let’s talk a little bit more, you know, about the team. So yeah, I looked at the roster. It seems like, you know, Pretty thick roster.
[00:22:49] You know, how, what is your typical roster size each year? Where do you like to be at, with a roster?
[00:22:55] Coach: Yeah, we’re somewhere between 30 and 35. Um, a number of years ago, JV programs for the most part went by the wayside, um, you know, for good or bad and, and, and people can have their own opinion on that. But what that has done is it has expanded the varsity teams in most programs.
[00:23:16] So we, we do look to, to give, um, the younger players a couple of years to really establish themselves. And then there is a natural calling period, you know, that that occurs either. They choose that this isn’t for them, or, you know, they haven’t necessarily progressed to where, uh, they’re going to be a, uh, a real factor within, within the.
[00:23:40] The roster and then that kind of occurs kind of organically, but, um, yeah, so that, that’s our roster size. Um, you know, 30 to 35, the squad is fairly balanced right now. I mean, we’ve over the last couple of years, we’ve graduated large senior classes. Um, and I think that that hopefully speaks to the experience that kids are having, that they decide to.
[00:24:10] You know, uh, stay in the program, stay connected and that it’s worthy of their commitment. Um, and then losing the, the, uh, larger older classes has allowed for some younger players to come in and, and, and play, uh, earlier in their. Yeah.
[00:24:30] Matt: Well, besides, uh, your roster, what about your staff? You know, what else, who else is on, on your staff?
[00:24:37] What are their roles kind of, how does that all play together?
[00:24:40] Coach: Yes. We’re fortunate that we’ve got a graduate. Uh, in our program, uh, that position is currently vacant and we’re in the process trying to fill that, but, um, that is, uh, you know, allows for a secondary full-time person. Um, full-time our graduate assistant and is, is in essence.
[00:25:02] Um, you know, full-time in some regards, uh, for two years and then we’ve got two more, um, Local gentlemen that work outside of the university, but are with us, uh, fairly regularly, uh, but on a part-time basis. Okay.
[00:25:21] Matt: What, um, well, how would you describe your overall style of coaching? The team style of play, kind of just that culture of, of, of the team.
[00:25:30] Coach: Yeah. So a lot in there, um, My style. Uh, I don’t really know. Uh, I, I, I guess I would leave that to somebody else. Maybe who’s experienced playing for me or working with me, but some things that I value is that we will be a hardworking, competitive, That we looked somewhat organized and are organized that guys know what they’re supposed to do in their various roles.
[00:26:00] I think that’s incumbent upon the coach that, that the team, um, the team knows, you know, what, what they need to do in a, in a given situation. And, uh, I want guys to value their participation in the program. I want them to have fun on a daily basis. Uh, we, we try to make training. Interesting. I want guys to, to look forward to coming to practice players want to play, so we try to get our ideas across.
[00:26:34] In a competitive situation in a, uh, game format, doesn’t have to be full sided by any means, but, um, hopefully in ways that, that keeps them, uh, emotionally and mentally engaged. Um, so, so we’re always trying to, you know, assess our, our methods and, and change as we see fit. Um, and, and, you know, Most importantly, I, again, uh, our guys are true amateurs.
[00:27:07] There really has to be, uh, an emotional and, uh, an intrinsic value to what we do. So we want our culture within locker room to be affirming, to be welcoming. We want everyone on the team to feel that they have, uh, an important part to play. And that’s not based on. That they play in the games. We need everyone to be doing their very best.
[00:27:36] If you know, the second group, doesn’t push the first group in practice, the first group won’t be prepared to their maximum potential. And so, uh, I’m, I’m encouraged that I think in our discussions with players and exit interviews for the older guys, that they really feel. The players within the program treat each other very, very well.
[00:28:04] And I think that that’s important in terms of having players want to come in and invest in the program.
[00:28:12] Matt: That’s good. Um, well, we are here in April, uh, now, so, and you mentioned it a little bit earlier, but what, what does your off season program kind of look like?
[00:28:25] Coach: So. Division three in the off season is going to be very, very different than division one and division two.
[00:28:31] Sure. Philosophically the NCAA is as really trunk created this spring, uh, program so that, um, division three student athletes can come out of their experience. With a qualitatively similar experience to the general student population. So what that looks like is possibly playing two sports could be traveling abroad.
[00:28:56] It could be being in different committees and organizations. It might be playing, you know, different intermural sports, a wide range of, of opportunities that won’t be, uh, discouraged based on, uh, our official soccer skills. So when we come back in the second semester in mid January, our guys had the opportunity to work out with our strength staff for three workouts a week, and the strength and conditioning realm.
[00:29:30] We also ask our guys to, to do some conditions on their own, to prepare for the spring wood season, which will be in middle March to end the video. Now interesting lead division three players, uh, by rule have the opportunity when they’re not with us in the spring, they could play in, um, open men’s leaks, for example, um, there’s an indoor facility, not far from our campus.
[00:29:59] And some of them will register teams and play with friends and, and teammates and stuff like that. So that’s a neat opportunity. The official spring season is 15 practices and that spread out over a five week period. And then we’ll, uh, you know, kinda capstone, uh, the spring season with a, with a play date we’re allowed on one day to play up to 180 minutes.
[00:30:30] Um, this year, uh, the end of April, we’re going to AIC a division two school, uh, just down the road and we’ll play a couple games there. Okay.
[00:30:42] Matt: Well, we’ve covered a lot of ground. Uh, just kinda my, my last final question I always ask is, you know, what didn’t we talk about? What, what did we miss? What is it that you want other folks, uh, to know, uh, or, or something you want to reiterate, but kind of your, your last catchall, uh, Speaker forever.
[00:30:59] Hold your
[00:31:00] Coach: peace. And there we go. So, um, just a, a more general comment, uh, is that, um, you know, when, when student athletes and prospective student athletes are considering this process, I think it’s always best to try that. First and foremost, think of your academic interests. That should be the driving force for going to college is what is that academic investment going to do for your future?
[00:31:35] So try to be thoughtful about that. Secondarily find a school that you’re comfortable, uh, you know, um, there’s a wide range of different places in which to, to go and live and it should be comfortable. And then finally try to piece up, uh, after you’ve analyzed the academics, the setting of the university or college, and then just try to pair up the best soccer opportunity based on your skillset opportunities and what you’re looking for.
[00:32:09] Um, so hopefully you can hit a home run and all three of those areas. Uh, I’ve coached a lot of my career in division one and I’ve coached a lot of my career in division three. There’s kind of been two bigness misnomers in both divisions in division one. People think that you can’t get a good education.
[00:32:29] That’s not true. I’ve coached lawyers, doctors, engineers at the division, one level, there’s a more expansive S uh, seasonal or a yearly calendar, for sure. But it’s absolutely possible to get a wonderful education as a division one student athlete. And then the division three realm. People think that anyone can play at our level.
[00:32:52] And I think people need to really investigate the programs in which they’re considering, because. You know, we’re a very, very good team and, uh, we’ve got some great young players in our program and as good as we think we are, there’s a ton of programs that we’re trying to chase. So they’re currently a lot better than us.
[00:33:14] And so the level of play in division three is incredibly hard and high. It’s very competitive. And so those are, you know, some things that people want to keep in mind as they enter this process.
[00:33:29] Matt: Absolutely. Well, coach, I appreciate the time, uh, wish you the best of luck this coming season and, and hope you guys can, uh, can, can keep up that high level.
[00:33:39] And really, hopefully some people see this and want to give you a call and learn more about Western new England.
[00:33:45] Coach: Thank you, Matt. I always enjoy speaking about college soccer and love to share with people about Western rangeland. We’re a special place and I hope they’ll consider us.
[00:33:55] Matt: Awesome. Thanks coach.
[00:33:57] Coach: Take care. Bye bye.
