Westmont College Men’s Soccer – Coach Dave Wolf
On today’s episode, I speak with Coach Dave Wolf from the Westmont Men’s Program in California. We talk about the amazing location of their school. He describes the personalized academic programs the students get. Lastly, we discuss their upcoming shift from NAIA to NCAA Division 2. Learn more about Westmont College Men’s Soccer.
Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer. Today I’m lucky enough to be joined by Coach Dave Wolf from Westmont College out in California. Welcome coach. Thanks for having me, Matt. Yeah, thanks for being here. Um, You guys are, uh, an NAIA program there in Santa Barbara. Um, you know, I wish I was doing this, uh, interview in person, uh, you know, maybe at a winery or something, but you know, next time, next time we’ll put that on the list.
Coach: Next. I’d look forward to it, .,
Matt: But, uh let’s, let’s chat a little bit about the recruiting side for you, uh, and, and your squad. So when is it that you are really starting to talk to players? And start to building, Building out your recruiting class.
Coach: Yeah. Well, Matt, first of all, I would just say that we’re in a little bit of an interesting moment in time.
In the sense that after this fall season, we’re beginning the transition to the NCAA division two. Oh, okay. And so this question about recruiting is gonna take [00:01:00] on a little bit of a different, uh, tone and, uh, format, um, as Westmont. Uh, makes this moved, uh, to the ncaa and, and so I would wanna say that, uh, first of all, um, but as it pertains to our current situation, um, you know, we are really, uh, focusing our conversations on the first semester of the junior year.
And so that’s really in our association, in our conference. The, the, the timeline that really makes the most sense to us, um, has its genesis in that, in that period of time. And then just to fast forward from that moment, it’s our goal to get a couple of commitments from the those players. prior to the beginning of their senior season.
So we’ve got a couple in the till and then we can kind of set our [00:02:00] sites on the remainder of the class from that point moving forward.
Matt: Okay. Makes sense. Um, are there tournaments that are kind of, must see TV on your list, uh, that, that you gotta get to each year?
Coach: Most, most definitely. And we’re. blessed in so many ways because not only is most of the domestic talent at some point arriving in the state of California, especially Southern California, but uh, In international talent as well.
And so we don’t really have to venture too far. Uh, I think the, you know, the event that really has become the predominant event in our recruiting cycle and calendar is the surf cup. And, uh, that’s a camp miss for us. Um, we also, uh, typically will spend some time at the Dallas. And we will also spend, uh, at [00:03:00] least a couple times during the year in the Pacific Northwest, uh, that’s a part of the country that for some obvious reasons, uh, we get a lot of interest from.
And so I would say that those are probably the, the three pockets, club wise, where we’re spending the majority of our time. Okay.
Matt: Uh, what about camps? Do you guys run any, do you or your staff work any, How do camps fit into the recruiting process?
Coach: Yeah. Camps, I would say are becoming increasingly, uh, more important.
In fact, I’ve been in this racket long enough to have been through, uh, the Olympic development system, which was really the. Probably the, the primary landing place for college coaches when I began, which was in the fall of 1991, um, from the ODP program. Uh, we moved in the direction of the academy program and that kind of took over and ODP went away a little bit.[00:04:00]
I would say today the, the concept of the ID. Is very, very prevalent. Uh, we run a number of smaller camps at Westmont. We call them Prospect camps, but I have also, uh, spent a good bit of time working at both U C S B and ucla, one of my former. Players at Westmont. Ryan Jordan is now the head coach at ucla, and so those camp venues for us, those are in many ways, those are the big banan bonanza to be honest, because players are going to those ID camps probably with aspirations to attract some interest from the coaching staffs of U C S B and ucla.
But those programs are so good now. The majority of the kids at those camps are gonna be looking ultimately at lower level programs. And, you know, that’s where I’m excited to jump into the conversation. [00:05:00]
Matt: Yeah, I’m sure. Well, and uh, one of my, one of my grad classmates is the ad at ucla, so I follow them pretty closely as well.
Yeah, it’s, uh, That’s good. Good spot to be, but very good. Um, well, In terms of whether it’s at a camp or at, um, you know, one of those recruiting event or tournaments, showcases or anything kind of what, what are the things that tick your boxes Yeah. For, for players, whether it’s on the field stuff or off the field stuff.
Yeah.
Coach: No, I think, uh, really on, on the field, there are two boxes for me, and the first box is, Technical comfort with the ball. Uh, the second box is just what I would call soccer iq. Uh, their ability to think through the game and think through situations. And, you know, I think those are a couple boxes that I think are appropriate boxes for the level that I coach.
And, um, I, I think that there’s some very, very [00:06:00] good small college. Programs in this country. I’m a product of, uh, the program at Wheaton College in the Chicago area. Which, um, has had a very, very, uh, good history and good heritage, uh, Westmont, uh, very, very similar to that, but I also think there’s some realities that are a part of how we recruit that we have to be honest about.
And one of those realities is that the better athletes in the room. Are oftentimes gonna be the ones that are gonna be ending up at the bigger programs. And so there’s some acceptance of that reality. And, uh, and so those are a couple of boxes, uh, that I think both fit. My way of seeing football as well as the part of the country that I coach in.
We have a very, very strong Latin influence in our program and in our program’s history, and so I wanna make sure that I’m enhancing [00:07:00] that. Uh, culture and, uh, making contributions to it.
Matt: No, that’s fantastic. Well, you mentioned internationals, um, kind of how do you recruit your internationals? What is, do you have like, uh, a goal in mind?
How heavy of, of an influence is the roster, et cetera?
Coach: Yeah. Uh, the simple answer is at this point in our history, we don’t, uh, I have. 25 players on my roster. Currently, I do not have one international player. In fact, I don’t even have a transfer. Um, I have a very, very quote unquote, pure. Roster of your traditional domestic high school seniors and club products.
Uh, we simply don’t have the scholarship resources to get into any meaningful conversations with international players. Um, what will be of real interest to me moving forward is whether or [00:08:00] not Westmont will have the capability. To do that when they arrive at the division two level. Um, that won’t be a challenge, uh, for me to undertake cuz I’m, I’m wrapping up my tenure at the end of this fall, but I will certainly be really, really interested in seeing whether some international arrivals, uh, start to.
Come to Santa Barbara. Okay.
Matt: Well, we, we, uh, we will keep an eye on that for sure. Um, but you, you mentioned, uh, the scholarships and whatnot, so Yeah, parents always want to know, you know? Okay. That’s right. What, what’s, what’s it gonna cost me, Dave? So, uh, I’m not holding any the hard numbers here, but can you just give an overview of what the overall financial aid situation
Coach: No, I, Sure, I sure can.
So total bill at Westmont is just north of $70,000 a year, and that’s all in tuition, uh, room and board and ancillary expenses, books, [00:09:00] travel, and occasional pizza, I suppose, uh, can be a part of that too. Um, we have just under four. Uh, full scholarships or the dollar equivalent thereof. And so you can see that.
70 k plus with about $200,000 in athletic aid money. You know, our awards all come in very, very partial packages. Um, one of the advantages that we do have, uh, that many institutions don’t have is we can stack our financial aid, which as I’m sure you’re probably aware, Matt gives us the ability to add an athletic merit award.
To an academic award, uh, to a need based award. And our goal at the end of the day is to put together a, a package, if you will, that takes that 70,000 [00:10:00] and. Starts to shape it in ways that aren’t quite so intimidating and overwhelming. Uh, I, I honestly, there are times when I honestly don’t know how kids can go to school, uh, at some of the cost structures that I see.
Um, now it is interesting to know that in the naia, the maximum that you can give per program is 12 folds. So we’re only at four. We could do a lot more than we are currently doing, but that’s an institutional decision that’s made at, uh, pay grades that are multiple levels above mine.
Matt: Well, and and that’s something I always tell folks that is a question they always gotta ask, right?
Is, is, is a program fully funded? And, and cuz I think everybody just, uh, automatically assumes that, well, yeah, if you can give that many, that’s what you give. And that’s just. It’s not how this works. Right. . It’s not how it works.
Coach: It’s, it’s not how it works and it’s not how it works, [00:11:00] frankly, at the u c SBS and the UCLAs of the world either.
Yeah. And if you had those coaches on today, they would tell you exactly the same thing. Yeah, absolutely.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the school and, and you know, you’ve, you’ve been there for a few years, so you can give us some good insight here. Uh, you know, what are some of the awesome things about Westmont that maybe I don’t know about?
Just by clicking through the.
Coach: Well, for sure, and it won’t take you long to see this if you do get to the website. I mean, we do have a really, really spectacular geographic location. Uh, we are tucked between the San Inez mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Uh, We have an average year round temperature of 72 degrees.
Very, very low humidity. Uh, it is, it is a really, And having grown up in the Chicago area, when I arrived in Santa Barbara, I couldn’t conceptualize that there was a place on earth like this. And so that is undeniably one of the, uh, of, of the distinctives. Um, secondly, we have a, a, [00:12:00] a classic liberal arts curriculum.
And so, Require students to, uh, be exposed to a very, very broad, uh, group of different dis disciplines. And we, we think, leads to the development of very, very, uh, well rounded. And, uh, holistic, uh, human beings. That would be the second thing I would, uh, I would mention. And then lastly, and, and I think most importantly, um, Westmont is built on the, uh, the traditional, uh, evangelical, uh, Christian, uh, perspective of faith.
And so that faith component really does permeate every aspect of a student’s experience at Westmont. Um, sometimes in very, very subtle ways, but even in the way that we try to run a college soccer program, uh, the way that [00:13:00] we. Desire to treat our student athletes. The kind of language that we use when we coach, uh, the things that we, uh, would like spectators to see when they come and watch our team play.
Uh, those are all influenced by, by the, by the faith component. And, uh, and, and that’s really central and foundational to who we are and, uh, what we want to. Okay.
Matt: Well, in terms of, uh, being true student athletes, right. Uh, how, how do your players kind of balance their studies and sport commitments, and what kind of support mechanisms does the school provide to help them with that?
Coach: Yeah, The, I would say the, the primary support mechanism, and it still needs to be taken advantage of, but the primary support mechanism is just the fact that we have a small. Strictly undergraduate student population of 1200 students, uh, with an average. Professor to student ratio of about [00:14:00] one to 17. And so we’ve got a smaller class size.
We have a pretty personalized approach to education, and I think if a student is willing to put themselves out there a little bit, and not all of them are, But if they’re willing to put themselves out there, the relationships that they’re able to establish with faculty members, I think just greatly enhance the academic experience.
Uh, take it to a more personal level. And, and, and ultimately I think to a, to a very, very, uh, healthy place. Um, We also, I think we’re also very, very clear as many institutions are, and I certainly don’t think we’re the only ones doing the academic and athletic combination. Well, I could rifle off. Many, many schools that I think are absolutely outstanding in this area.
In fact, my, my younger brother Phil, is the head men soccer coach at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, [00:15:00] and they are an exemplary institution as it relates to this as well. Um, but, uh, you know, we we’re, we’re clear about what the priority is, and I’ll just give you one quick example. You know, if there’s ever a conflict between a class and a training session, the class always wins.
There. There’s no conversation about it, there’s no debate about it. There’s no, this class is in my major versus not in my major. It’s just clear and concise and to. And, uh, and we, we adhere to that. We believe in that and, uh, and our, our student athletes know that as well.
Matt: Okay. Well, can you walk me through what a typical week during the season looks like in terms of, you know, when are kids getting up, beating meals, going to class, have a practice, games, all that kind of stuff?
Just a, a quote unquote average week.
Coach: For sure. For sure. So, you know, in mo in most cases, uh, because of the fact that. Training time is basically your [00:16:00] traditional after class afternoon spot. We, we train at three 30. Um, most of our, uh, players will be taking classes, uh, predominantly based in the morning. So it’s usually, it’s a, it’s a 7:00 AM wake up breakfast, and then typically an 8:00 AM class, uh, depending on the day of the week with the goal being that, uh, most of the academic work is taken.
Care of in the morning, which opens up a little bit of time to, uh, study or to rest up prior to training. And then, uh, the training sessions, um, we, we put those training sessions in about a three hour block, but that’s three hours kind of in the door and out the door with 90 of those minutes being on the field for the actual training session.
But, uh, getting. Ankle taped or some kind of treatment prior to training. [00:17:00] In addition to the post-training modalities that are, are available to athletes through our athletic training room, we try not to keep ’em on the field longer than 90 minutes. We want them to have a lot of predictability. To their schedules.
Uh, we are going at it in some way, shape, or form, typically six days out of the week. Uh, Sundays is a mandatory day off at Westmont. And uh, and then post-training is typically, uh, the dining comments for dinner and then, uh, straight to the books, uh, at that point. And so that would be a very, very typical daily and weekly rhythm for, uh, for our student athletes.
Matt: Well, let’s talk a little bit more about the, you know, the team and, and during the season and, and all that kind of great stuff. Um, in terms of the size of the squad, is there a roster size that you’re trying to hit every year?
Coach: There is not. Um, I, I think I’ve, I’ve got a number or a number range that I’ve become, More comfortable with over the course of my [00:18:00] coaching career, and I think that we’re currently right about in that sweet spot.
I would say that 24 to 26 would be the number that I would, uh, I would identify, um, because of our cost structure. We really don’t go at all in the direction of a large group of red shirts, for example. Um, we just don’t think it makes a lot of sense, uh, when they’re paying, uh, the amount of money that they’re paying to come to a place like Westmont.
Um, in fact, I would say that our trending is the opposite of, for example, the Cal State or the uc system. I e it’s probably gonna take you five years to get through. We’re more in the camp of three and a half, uh, for maximum. And so we’re trying to move ’em through and, and get ’em through. And I think that when you’ve got a very large roster size, that becomes a bit more of an onerous, uh, project.[00:19:00]
And so we’re, we’re pretty lean, uh, as it pertains to that. And I think it’s the right way. in our situation. Maybe not for everybody, but I think in our situation, it’s the right way to do it. Okay.
Matt: Well what about size of your staff? Uh, how many do you have? What role does everybody play there?
Coach: Yeah, I’ve got, uh, I’ve got three, uh, coaches on my staff.
Uh, one of them is full time at Westmont and uh, he has a, a dual role that includes some work in our, uh, summer camp program. So it’s, uh, summer camp and, uh, Lead assistant in the men’s soccer program. And then I have a part-time, uh, assistant who handles our strength and conditioning and our goalkeeping.
And then I have a volunteer assistant who rounds out the staff. And, uh, he’s a local coach that loves football and has the time and the ability to invest in those [00:20:00] kinds of ways. And so, um, I’m currently in, in a really, really nice situation in. Assistance one and two. Uh, this is the 10th year that they’ve been with me here at Westmont, which.
Is unusual in college soccer period. It’s really, really unusual at the small college level. And so I’ve been very, very fortunate to have a group, uh, stay with me. We’ve had good staff continuity. I think the more continuity you have, the more effective a program you can run. It’s not the sexiest thing to be able to say about your program, but I think it’s a very, very effective way, uh, to run a small college athletic program.
Matt: No, that’s great. Um, well, how would you describe, you know, kind of your style of coaching, the team style of play and just that overall culture of the team?
Coach: Yeah. I would say, um, for myself personally, I. [00:21:00] Orientated in a, in a pretty positive, I would say, affirming direction. It’s just, it’s not that I’m trying to be a nice guy or for people to like me, I’m just wired a little bit more in the direction of getting behind people and encouraging them and affirming them and, and really believing in them.
Uh, I would say that that would be a. Simple way of describing my philosophy of coaching and, and really my philosophy of, of leading, um, in terms of, uh, programmatic style. And I would say that, you know, I mean, Matt, if you had a nickel for every college coach that told you, yeah, you know, we like to be on the ball and we like to dominate possession.
And, and, and I, and I do like those things. Um, I admire. You know, I admire, uh, teams that put the ball on the ground. I admire teams that, [00:22:00] um, move it side to side. I’m, I’m much more of, you know, if, if, if side to side football is east and west versus direct football being north and south. I’m much more in the side to side camp.
I, I like a team that can probe. I like a team that can look for pockets and openings. I like a team that has a certain patience and kind of cadence to its rhythm. That’s very, very much, you know, the kind of football that I like, appreciate, watch, and, and, and support. Um, and then, and then I would just stay on the other side of the ball.
You know, I like to, you know, I like to put my. As high up the field as I can. And so, you know, we, we like to play in a very high block, uh, defensively, which, um, creates some challenges for my two central defenders because, uh, there’s space behind to defend. Um, but, uh, but that’s, uh, you know, that’s the way that we, that’s the way that we try and play [00:23:00] football and uh, and obviously and any other coach.
Likely say the same thing. Uh, you know, the. To adapt to a particular opponent or game or climate, um, is, is certainly a part of that. But in its essence that’s, that’s what I’m aiming for. Okay.
Matt: Well, you know, we, uh, you get a nice little fall season, but the student athletes are there for, for a little bit longer than that every year.
So can you kind of tell me what a typical off season program might look like? Yeah, yeah,
Coach: yeah. And, and this is where, you know, this is where I’ve. I’ve loved the a i A because I think the a i a offers some freedoms and some latitude in the spring program that are not necessarily, uh, rolled out the same way in the ncaa.
And, and this is gonna be a change, uh, for us, but right now we have a, we have a 10 week spring season. [00:24:00] And, uh, like for example, last spring we were able to play five, uh, spring contests. And, uh, and they were. All excellent, uh, really, really good level. Really, really good facilities. Again, because of the climate that we’re blessed with.
We’re outdoors on natural grass surfaces at Westmont year round. And, um, and really, really fortunate to have the facilities that we do. Um, and we also do really believe that in our setting, because of our resource structure. Um, part of our, uh, program ethos is that, you know, players have to get better while they’re here.
And so the developmental piece is really, really important. And I would say that the off season, I think we take it every bit as seriously as we do the season. Even though we’re not in the public eye as much, uh, we are really going after it, [00:25:00] uh, with a little bit more of a focus on individual. Okay.
Matt: Well coach, we’ve covered a lot of ground here.
Talked about a lot of different things, but, uh, I always like to end these the same way and that’s what didn’t we talk about. What else is there that you want folks to know, whether that’s about the college recruiting process, about your school in particular or anything else? Yeah. Uh, now’s the time. Yeah.
Coach: No, I, I would, I would go back to the recruiting question and I would just say that, that I, I wish there was. A four by six note card that I could produce with the four things that every aspiring, uh, club soccer player in the US needed to know. Um, I just think it is such a complicated and complex individual journey and, uh, and I think it’s, I think it’s really, it’s a really, really challenging l.
And I think, uh, we [00:26:00] oftentimes will meet with players and with families, especially when their oldest is beginning to look at colleges and universities and, um, they just don’t know where to start. And I really, I have a lot of empathy. For, uh, that part of the process. Um, I think it’s really, really tricky and really complicated, and I think it’s, it’s a whole lot better if you acknowledge that and are honest about that at the beginning as opposed to thinking, Oh, you know, this is gonna be pretty straightforward.
I’m a really good player. Somebody’s gonna see that and it’s just gonna happen. Um, that’s very rarely how it happens. . And so, uh, what we’ve really shifted our focus to is just the concept of, of what’s the best fit. And, uh, the answer to that question is different for everybody. Um, but I think it’s a really, really [00:27:00] important acknowledgement for recruits and their families in this, uh, very, very, uh, tricky.
Matt: For sure, and it’s, uh, part, part of the reason I started this website. So hopefully, we’ll yeah. Interviews like this and, uh, we’ll keep, keep giving people more information to hopefully make it less tricky. Great. So great. Well, coach, I really appreciate the time. Wish you the best of luck, uh, wrapping up the season.
Thank you so much. And, uh, I’ll, I’ll, if, if I, if I can get out to Santa Barbara, I’ll definitely give you a shout, .
Coach: I hope you will, Matt, it’d be great to host you. And, uh, we will, uh, we’ll get up to the, uh, San Inez Valley and, uh, do a little wine tasting. I can, I can assure you of that.
Matt: Sounds like a plan. All right.
Thanks coach. Take
Coach: care. You bet. Bye-bye.
