88. Men's Soccer Coaches: Mt. St. Mary's Univ/George Mason Univ/Virginia Commonwealth Univ/Christopher Newport Univ

Hi I’m Scot Cooper and welcome to the Tales From the Trail podcast by MatchPlay. In this episode Justin Chezem of Christopher Newport University men’s soccer and I welcome Brett Teach, head coach of Mount St. Mary’s University men’s soccer, Michael Callahan, men’s soccer assistant coach at George Mason University, and Lucas Paulini, assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University men’s soccer. They were kind enough to all come on the podcast together to share their thoughts on recruiting, college soccer, and reflect on their time together at VCU. There’s a ton of useful information as is always the case when coaches are given the opportunity to chat about what they do.

Summary

The conversation covers topics such as the potential of the program, transitioning to new roles, recruiting challenges, managing the current roster, building a strong culture, progress and development, recruiting strategies, creating a winning environment, coaching experience and background, transitioning to college soccer, managing player development, retaining players and communication, roster size and spring training, and player development and roles. The conversation explores the importance of asking impressive questions as a recruit, understanding the program's style of play, the player's role and improvement, the significance of first impressions, and the value of ID camps.

Takeaways

Recruits should ask questions that demonstrate their knowledge of the program and show genuine interest.

Understanding the program's style of play is crucial for recruits to determine if it aligns with their own playing style.

Recruits should inquire about how the program can help them improve as players and reach their full potential.

First impressions, including questions and social media presence, can greatly impact a recruit's chances of being recruited.

ID camps can be valuable for recruits to showcase their skills and get a feel for the program's environment, but it's important to prioritize club games and choose camps wisely.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Roles

00:52 Potential of the Program

02:36 Transitioning to New Roles

03:35 Recruiting Challenges

04:04 Managing the Current Roster

06:31 Taking Over a New Program

08:42 Building a Strong Culture

12:24 Progress and Development

18:44 Recruiting Strategies

20:45 Creating a Winning Environment

25:17 Coaching Experience and Background

27:11 Coaching in the Development Academy

28:46 Transitioning to College Soccer

33:21 Managing Player Development

40:24 Retaining Players and Communication

43:48 Roster Size and Spring Training

50:56 Player Development and Roles

55:53 Impressive Questions from Recruits

59:15 Understanding the Program's Style of Play

01:02:14 Understanding the Player's Role and Improvement

01:05:14 The Importance of First Impressions

01:06:20 The Value of ID Camps