June 6, 2025 âą 46 mins
đ§ Rebuilding with Purpose â A Conversation with Coach Brett Parker
What does it take to turn around a college program? How do you stay committed when the results donât come as quickly as you want?
In this episode of Significant Coaching, Matt Rogers sits down with Coach Brett Parker, Head Menâs Soccer Coach at Saint Leo University, to talk about the long game of leadership. From a Final Four run at Fort Hays State to his steady rebuild at Saint Leo, Parker shares what he's learned about patience, persistence, and personal growthâespecially in the face of adversity.
They dive into what itâs really like to lead through tough seasons, how COVID reshaped recruiting and coaching, and why sometimes the most challenging years produce the most valuable lessons.
Whether youâre a coach, parent, or athleteâthis one will remind you that significance isnât built overnight.
đ For more coaching tools, recruiting tips, weekly blogs, and updates on Mattâs latest book The Softball Recruitâs Journal (coming June 2025), visit coachmattrogers.com.
Learn more and connect with Matt Rogers here: https://linktr.ee/coachmattrogers
Listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and all your favorite podcast platforms.
Did you like what you heard and want more?
New Podcasts every week. Remember to subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
you have to.
Turn on a different brain whenyou go and coach the little ones
and try to make sure youremember that they should have a
blast.
They should love it.
They should want to come backfor more the next day and want
to keep learning.
And if they're going home andtrying to get better, I think
that's the best sign.
(00:25):
Welcome back to The SignificantCoaching Podcast, the show that
dives into the heart ofleadership, team building, and
what it really means to coachwith purpose.
I'm your host, coach MattRogers.
Before we dive into today'sgreat guest, please do me a
quick favor.
Make sure you've subscribed,leave a rating and share this
episode with a fellow coach orparent.
It may seem small, but it helpsmake the future of this podcast
(00:48):
possible and brings theseimportant conversations to more
people who need them.
Today's guest is someone who hasbuilt and rebuilt programs at
every level.
Coach Brett Parker, head, men'ssoccer coach at St.
Leo University has led teams toseven straight NCAA tournament
appearances and even a FinalFour run at Fort Hayes State.
(01:10):
What makes Coach Parker's storytruly significant is what he's
learned through the challenges.
Especially in taking over astruggling program and guiding
it through a global pandemic.
In this episode, Brett shareshonest reflections on patients
long-term vision and how thetoughest years often lead to the
most growth as a coach.
Whether you're rebuilding ateam, mentoring young athletes
(01:32):
are simply trying to lead withpurpose, there's something here
for you.
Before we get started, I'm soexcited to announce that my new
book, the Softball RecruitsJournal, is now
available@amazon.com.
It's the ultimate guide forevery high school and club
softball player and family tohelp navigate the college
recruiting process, packed withtemplates, visit prep tools and
(01:55):
decision making advice.
Learn more and take a look atour coaching and recruiting
resources@coachmattrogers.com.
Now let's jump into it.
Here's my conversation withCoach Brett Parker.
I.
All right, coach Parker, it's sogreat to see you and I'm so
appreciative of you being onthanks for doing this with me
today.
No, I'm really happy to joiningMatt and looking forward to
(02:17):
chatting.
Coach, you've had justtremendous success wherever
you've gone.
Seven straight NCAA tournaments,a final four run at Fort Hayes.
You've had a challenging rebuildat St.
Leo.
You guys are really starting toshow who you are.
What has this process taught youabout patience and growth and
(02:37):
long-term vision?
Yeah, it's been a tough one.
Throughout, I've been fortunateenough to start two programs
from scratch, so that was, thosewere kind of unique situations
in themselves where I.
You are not trying to changeanything, you're just building
it from the ground up.
And those were great.
Certainly challenging.
And then when I came to SaintLeo six years ago, it was a kind
of the opposite where you'retaking something over that had
(02:59):
been very successful but had hitrock bottom in a lot of ways.
Yeah, it's, I think when I gotto Fort Hayes in, I think it was
2011, I had set.
Three year plan, five year plan.
And a lot of those Iaccomplished in year two, year
three.
It was a very fast, we had a lotof success right away, and in
some ways I thought maybe thatwould be re recreated at St.
(03:20):
Leo.
And it was a lot morechallenging and it's taken a lot
more time, but slowly but surelyyou see the positives and you
just keep going forward and,yeah, I've had to learn a lot of
patience.
I've had to learn how to.
Deal with losses like I hadn'tfor a long time, but it's been
fun and challenging and Iwouldn't change it for anything.
The amount of growth I've had asa coach in six years here is,
(03:41):
exponentially higher than eventhe successful years at Fort
Hayes.
It's amazing what COVID andthose years were, we just didn't
know what was going on.
And what that did to programs,what that did to kids, what that
did to the parent thoughtprocess and scholarship, so
anybody that's come out of thatand survived it, a school, a
(04:04):
coach.
I I'm just impressed because Ican't imagine I was coaching at
the high school level at thatpoint, and I can't even imagine
what it was like.
Sure.
To recruit through that.
It was tough and that didprobably change jobs at the
wrong time in a lot of ways.
Had one season here and.
Started to build momentum andthen all of a sudden the rugs
pulled in from underneath youand not only do you lose a year,
(04:25):
but the whole recruitinglandscape changed.
It went from, building programsand four year players to, having
extra years and COVID years andand a lot of one year players
and you built teams more thanprograms.
So yeah, it's.
It was a tough, it was a toughtime to, to start a rebuild.
And I always say I've been heresix years, but those first two
or three are almost wiped outtathe process.
(04:47):
It's been, yeah, you throw thatin the trash can and you start
over again.
And we've had to do that.
Yeah, it was tough.
It was a time, it did taketremendous amount of patience
and resilience to battle throughit.
But I think like everybody,everybody had their own
challenges in those times, andyou're right.
Private schools in that time or,higher ed in general.
It was a tough time to come outof from funding and scholarships
and we're just, I think a lot ofplaces either are now folding
(05:11):
and shutting doors or they'recoming out of it on the better
end.
We've been lucky enough to getthrough that and with our head
above a water and finally ableto move forward.
I want to really get into yourbrain a little bit about the
fact that you've built twoprograms from scratch and then
you built it to a national TitleCom contender at Fort Hayes.
If you're talking to someonethat's starting coaching at the
(05:34):
college level, getting theirfirst head coaching job, are
there things that you learned bybuilding a program from scratch
that are so much more valuablethan taking over a program
that's already been there?
No doubt.
I think and the levels I did itat too maybe helped.
The first one was a creativearts institution in Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
I was 24, maybe 25 years old.
(05:56):
I had really had no idea what Iwas doing in a lot of ways, but
I had to do everything.
I had to cut the grass, I had toline the field, I had to drive
the bus.
I had to do all those thingswhere I think that does, it can
be beneficial to a lot ofcoaches where you learn on the
fly, you learn throughexperience.
Now, that's certainly not theonly way to do it.
Mean you can.
Some people are gonna workbetter working under somebody
(06:16):
who's done all of that and canlearn that themselves.
But I think yeah the more you doand the more hands-on you have,
I think when you have thatopportunity to lead a program
yourself, I think you're gonnabe a lot better off.
And I see that, and I try to dothat with graduate assistants or
young assistant coaches is.
Give them the keys to, so theirnext opportunity, they're gonna
be ready for it because Yeah,it's until you sit in the chair
(06:38):
where you are responsible forevery aspect of the program, it
is.
You don't truly know exactlywhat to expect and what the day
to day is gonna be like and howto manage your time and how to
make sure you have balance ineverything you do.
Yeah, I think building aprogram's a great way to do
that.
You have to one, the recruiting,I think that's from a recruiting
standpoint, and that's probablywhat I enjoyed most as a young
coach was, meeting people andbeing on the road and watching,
(07:01):
prospective student athletes.
And that was.
It's probably the best time todo that, when you're younger and
that's all you really want todo.
I think as players and you getinto coaching, I think.
That's what you think coachingis.
You recruit and then you coachgames.
And it's that simple.
So I think that was, and that'sabout 20% of it.
Yeah.
If that may maybe 10, 20%.
So yeah, I think that was, thatmade that fun because that's
(07:24):
when you start a program that'sall you do at first right?
Is you don't have a team andyou're, you're panicking and you
need players and so you're,leaving every stone unturned or
not, searching everywhere youcan for players.
I think that's a, that is agreat way to, to learn and cut
your teeth for sure.
It's so funny we're talkingabout this is purely
coincidence, but I just, I'vegot a small college that's just
hired me to consult, to buildtheir athletic programs.
(07:46):
They've had a beautiful campusfor years and it's a small
community and they've never hadathletics.
But they've decided they've gotthis great conference around
them that needs another school,and we're gonna, and so I'm
gonna, I'm gonna help them.
What advice would you give to.
Because we're probably gonnastart with soccer.
That's probably gonna be ournum, our first sport.
(08:07):
'cause we've got the fieldspace.
We don't have to build a gym.
We can bring in 20, 24 y youngmen and young women very
quickly.
Yep.
What advice would you give to meto start that program from
scratch?
What are some of the things thatyou think we need to focus on?
Yeah, I think it's.
I think across the board withathletics, it's about people and
(08:27):
hiring the right people andhiring somebody that's
enthusiastic about theinstitution.
Number one, I think you have tohave enthusiasm about where
you're working and what you'retrying to build, and I think I.
When you have that instilled ina, in an athletic department and
in the soccer community atlarge, I think that's really
important.
So I do really a simple answeris get the right people, get
somebody who's willing to dothat is gonna recruit the right
(08:49):
student athletes that match theuniversity, the college,
whatever it is that is gonnabuild that long-term sustainable
success.
So I think that's it all startswith that is is getting the
right people on board.
People that are willing, likeanywhere.
For a, a brand new athleticdepartment's gonna have
financial restrictions andyou're not gonna be given the
keys to everything and you haveto do it the right way.
(09:10):
So somebody who is.
Who can work within their meansthat, that has done it in a
place where you don't have allof the scholarship, all of the
budget that you have to getcreative with fundraising and
pinching every penny along theway.
I think that's some of thethings that I learned along the
way when I was in thosesituations where you have to get
very creative and make the mostof what you have instead of,
(09:30):
asking for more.
It's what can you do with whatyou have.
That's right.
That's right.
I love that.
What role did athletic directorsplay when you go back over your
career to your success?
Or maybe when things weren'tgoing great?
How important is that athleticdirector relationship for you?
I.
It's massive.
(09:50):
And I was lucky that I wasraised by an athletic director.
So my dad was an athleticdirector.
So I grew up in, in an athleticdirector's house.
So I knew I knew the challengesthey had.
And he was an athletic directorat both a division one
institution as an assistantassociate ad.
And then he was an athleticdirector at two in AI programs.
So I was, I grew up around himmy whole life, right?
(10:11):
Yeah.
And and then as I got into cothat's, I think that's for a
coach, at least to me, and maybeI'm different because I was
raised by one, but I think it'sthe most important relationship
you can have is somebody who youtrust, want and you know that
they're your coach and someonethat's gonna guide you and
support you and lead you, but.
Yeah it's critical.
It's everything.
It's, I think, more thananything is having one that,
(10:31):
that is gonna be on your side asmuch as they can and is gonna
fight the battles for you and isgonna support you and in, in
turn when you feel like you havethat as a coach, I.
You, it's just extra motivationfor you.
You wanna be successful for thatperson and make them proud of
what you do.
And I think that's, again, likeI said, I was, I'm probably
unique in that sense that, thatmy, my dad was an athletic
(10:53):
director.
I think that's but thatrelationship's critical.
And I've had some great ones.
Some of the.
Some really been fortunate towork for some really great
athletic directors that alongthe way, that have helped me as
a coach, helped develop me as aperson and and I've, it's
carried over now.
And at St.
Leo I've had great athleticdirectors to work for as well.
I.
That's fantastic.
I, I preach to kids about thatare going through the recruiting
(11:14):
process.
Not only do you wanna find acoach that you wanna be around
every day, and you know that'sgonna challenge you and help you
become the person you wanna beand the athlete you wanna be,
but it's so important.
For you to build a relationshipwith that coach that's right for
you, and find a coach that wantsto have that relationship.
You, and I think it goes thesame with coaches and athletic
(11:36):
directors, don't you think?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
You, yeah you're gonna spendmore time with that person, for
as a student athlete with yourcoach that, yeah you're.
You're learning to be a collegeathlete and what it takes to
compete at that time.
But yeah it's the ones that, youknow, down the road, what you're
learning and taking the nextsteps once you graduate.
It's.
Now that I've been coaching forI don't know how many years, 15,
(11:58):
16, 20 years, somewhere aroundthere.
It's really fun to see how thoserelationships with some of the
first players I've ever had howthey've developed and watching
them start families and gothrough those things that it's
yeah, it's really important thatyou want to, you want somebody
that you can have that, that youcan see that relationship
building and forming and andit's, you don't have as many
four year players in the currentclimate.
(12:21):
But those ones are the specialones where you see them as a,
18-year-old and then you sendthem on their way when they're
22 and then you start and createa different relationship after
that.
But it is yeah, I think it's.
You want to be able to thecloser that relationship is,
one, you're gonna be a betterplayer during college, and two
it's gonna last much furtherbeyond, the four years you're in
college.
(12:41):
All those things.
I wish somebody would've slappedme in the back of the head
about, when I was 17,8-year-old.
This is what's important, yeah.
It's not starting, it's notwinning a national championship.
It's not all those thingshappen.
Once you have goodrelationships, absolutely.
Once theres's a buy-in, right?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And that's that.
You're right.
Once.
(13:02):
If you can really set aside it'stough when you're, when you're
17, 18 years old, to really putaside those personal needs that
you want right away and thoseimmediate needs you have.
But if you can, if you're luckyenough to be able to do that,
you're it down the road.
It's it's gonna be, pay offtenfold.
That you know you're gonna,you're gonna look back on that.
(13:23):
You're gonna have moreconnection to the program, more
connection to the university,more connection to your
teammates that you played with.
Yeah, it's those are things thatyou hope and you try to put
forth in the process, butultimately, a lot of times you
have to learn those mistakesyourself.
And I've.
When you recruit older playersat times too to a t they always
talk about the wishing theycould go back and tell their
(13:43):
18-year-old selves certainthings.
How, yeah, how to act, how to,work with teammates, how to
listen to older teammates, howto listen to coaches and yeah,
those are just part of thematuring process.
And that's, as coaches, that's.
Especially college coaches.
That's why I think most of us docoach at this level.
'cause we get to, to try to formthose, those characteristics
(14:04):
long term.
So you're able to, when youleave, you've now learned those
things and you can take'em tothe rest of your life.
I.
That's the real cool thing aboutwhat you're, you get to do every
day.
And what I did for a long timeis we get to see that growth.
We get to see, that kid that we,we knew at 16, now we get to see
him at 30.
And it's wow.
What a transformation you'vemade.
It's amazing.
(14:24):
It really is.
It is.
Yeah.
And it's amazing how fast itgoes.
Just, graduation was a coupleweeks ago and to, the graduating
class, we had to think that.
It felt like yesterday thatthose guys were showing up and
that, some of the them had beenhere for five years with COVID
and just, yeah it goes by fastand it's and to see them, at
that stage and compare to whenthey arrived is pretty special.
(14:45):
Coach this is gonna be one ofthose questions you'll probably
call me in an hour after we'redone and go ba I wish I would've
said this.
'cause it, this is one of thosequestions you probably have to
think about a little bit.
I was, I talked to young coachesabout this all the time.
I remember my first year atMaryville when I was the head
coach there.
I remember being done with thatyear, and I had one folder on my
(15:06):
computer and it was just like athousand things, and then year
two, I started creating these, Icreated a practice folder and a
game prep folder and arecruiting folder.
I might have had four folders bythe end of it, but just all
those things that I had to learnas a coach to build routines and
systems.
Are there certain things that.
(15:28):
You've started to take with youwherever you go, where you just
there's systems and routines towhat you do every year.
Yeah, there's quite a few.
You always have your basis.
I, I don't know where I learnedor read it or who, what coach at
what level, but I try to almostreset a little bit each year.
I don't want to do the samethings and keep the same
(15:49):
routines because I wanna keeplearning.
I think.
Part of coaching and a bigreason why I came to St.
Leo and got outta my comfortzone and took on a new challenge
is I wanted growth and personalgrowth and coaching growth and
everything.
And I think if you keep too manyof the same routines, in my
opinion, that it can get alittle, that growth can be
stalled a little bit, so youwant to change and develop and
(16:10):
move on.
A lot of, that couldn't be assimple as practice plans, where.
I don't wanna do the same thingsin preseason.
I don't wanna do the same thingsin certain points of the season.
I wanna make sure that my brainis still moving and turning and
I'm still trying to develop newideas and different things and
but there's certain things yeah.
That there's certain routinesyou take from year to year,
(16:30):
whether it's, a lot of it Ithink is.
Travel and logistics and thingslike that.
I think that's part ofespecially postseason when you
go into the postseason the firsttime you're there, what do you
do?
How do you set up, how do youorganize, how do you travel,
when do you train, what all ofthose logistics.
And then once you do it a coupletimes, it starts to get a little
more routine and you can try toset your teams up for the most
(16:52):
success and the best positionthey can be in.
But yeah, as far as especially.
On the field and and thedevelopment there.
I try to, as much as possible,not go back and find things and
pick things that we've done atcertain times and, whether it's
a practice session or differentthings.
But I do I like to continue togrow and to continue to have to,
not just go through the motionsand, do things year after year.
(17:15):
I try to change things as much,things I as possible.
That's, that's the rewardingthing about coaching.
You get, especially at thecollege level, you get new kids
every year.
You get right.
You get new ideas every year.
You steal something that you sawon, a professional match, or
Absolutely.
And that's what makes it so muchfun.
I'm such a soccer novice.
I didn't grow up with soccer.
(17:36):
I've probably helped two 300kids get recruited for soccer in
the last 10, 12 years.
But I always tell families, you,you need to go to Brett Parker
if you want to get better atbecoming a better player.
I'm, I could I could teach youhow to get recruited, but you
need to go to Coach Parker whenyou think about your game in the
United States.
'cause oftentimes soccer is thefourth or fifth sport that
(17:58):
people think about.
What are the good things of thatand what are some of the
challenges that kind of being asoccer coach in our country?
Yeah.
The, obviously we're weworldwide we're looked down upon
a little bit in a lot of ways,whether it's our opinions, our
players, our history, ourtraditions.
(18:20):
I think the biggest challenge isit is not.
It's not ingrained in ourculture, I think that's probably
number one.
You don't grow up with aprofessional soccer team.
Two, Yeah.
200 yards away from your houselike you do in most parts of the
world, where you have, whereyou're day in, day out,
everything.
It's around you.
You're exposed to it.
I think that's probably thebiggest challenge.
(18:40):
There's lots of, the, I thinkthe.
The geography of America makesthat difficult.
It's such a, big country thatit's in, it's so spread out and
whether it's the club, your clubsituation or where you're at,
it's geographically can bechallenging in a lot of places.
But yeah, I don't, I don'tthink, and I don't.
It's not an issue to me tobecome the number one sport or
(19:01):
whatever it is.
I just think we just have to begood at what we do and have an
identity and have something thatthat we believe in and that
we're pushing towards.
And, but yeah, it is, and we'rearound as college soccer coach
or co or soccer coaches ingeneral.
You're around.
Coaches from all over the world,right?
There's a lot of coaches fromall over the world in our
country.
We hear their, we hear theirconcerns with it, we see it.
(19:22):
But it's grown tremendously asyou pro, especially for people
who were never around it orexposed to it.
Now you are on a more regularbasis.
Yeah.
I was in the same boat.
I grew up in Montana, which wasnot, is not, and never will be a
soccer hotbed.
So it's that, that was, the samething as you're geographically
in a certain spot where it'snot, it's not part other than,
(19:42):
you're rec soccer when you'refive years old and you're
running around chasingbutterflies.
But yeah, I think there's a lotof challenges.
It's always gonna face and I.
A lot of people, a lot smarterthan me are facing those
challenges and trying to make itbetter.
But we make the most of what wehave.
Yeah, and I enjoy it.
I think it's I enjoy coachingthe American soccer player as
well.
(20:02):
I think they bring, I.
A lot of unique characteristicsthat somebody from South America
or Europe or wherever might notbring.
So I think there's uniquenessand and pluses and minuses to
both sides of it.
What are some of those traitsyou feel like the American
soccer player?
I.
Maybe does a little bit betterthan the European in the South
America or at least it's aunique skillset that playing
(20:25):
here.
And a lot of these kids grew upplaying basketball and football.
And baseball and soccer wassomething that they fell in love
with maybe a little bit later.
So they already had someinstincts before they got on the
soccer pitch.
Yeah, and that was me.
Certainly was, yeah.
Where it wasn't my number onesport until.
It's a lot later in life than alot, than most people over the
world.
(20:46):
Yeah.
I think some of the mindset andjust the, and it depends on
where and what American playeryou're talking about, but I
think, I think the sportspsychology side, I think a lot
of that stuff is we're morepretty advanced in America.
I think the strength andconditioning at times can be
really good.
I think that's a priority here.
I think.
The only thing that we don'treally have is the pathways for
(21:08):
the players that we'rerecruiting to, to be closer to
the professional level andexposed to that a little bit
more.
So when you come in, thetraditional American, soccer
recruit is gonna be typically aplayed club soccer with their
peers for most of their, most oftheir.
Childhood, whereas if we'rerecruiting somebody from
depending on the country,they're gonna have been training
(21:31):
with professionals, coming up ina professional academy where
it's huge advantage.
It is, it's a big advantage.
I think.
There, there is, there arecertain characteristics, but
just in general, I thinkthey're, they're hungry.
They understand the system, theyunderstand the college system.
They understand that process.
I think that certainly helpsthem quite a bit.
And then, from the, some of thesoccer standpoint things, they
are, we are catching up in a lotof areas.
(21:53):
There's way, there's areas thatwe're far behind but we're
making progress.
That's great.
And you can see it too, you seeit at our highest level, sure.
Our teams are just, the womenhave been dominant.
The men have, are reallystarting to show their true
colors.
Watching the Olympics, watchingthe men in this last World Cup
in Olympics, man, it's just,there's so much speed and so
(22:14):
much touch that I hadn't seenbefore.
You're right.
We've come a long way.
We've come a long way in thatregard.
The talent, technical ability,the athleticism.
Yeah.
I think when we had success,when soccer first started.
Be gaining popularity in thecountry.
Maybe mid nineties, early twothousands we were, we played
(22:34):
with a chip on our shoulder andit was us against the world and
nobody thought we could do it.
So the team had a little morefight and spirit.
I think ultimately we need tomarry those two where we have
better, more skillful playersthat are playing at higher
levels with that, that kind of,that that.
Grittiness that we used to have.
I think that would be, I thinkthat you see it now with the
(22:56):
teams we have now, that's themissing ingredient.
Hopefully at some point we canget that back.
The one thing that I.
There's many things that weprobably look at European soccer
and really look and how totranslate that to other sports
here in the States.
But youth training and youthdevelopment in Europe is just
(23:17):
how they grow the kids and howthey train the kids.
How much have you seen.
Us in the States start toacclimate that because I coached
in St.
Louis and ran the biggest soccercamp in St.
Louis for eight, nine years.
So I worked with a lot of prosand.
They were already doing thosethings as athletes and as
coaches.
(23:38):
What are some of those thingsyou've seen that we could maybe
translate to basketball andfootball and baseball.
Yeah, that's it.
It all starts with yourprofessional system and you're
seeing it in basketball a lot,right?
The last 20 years where with.
The rise of the internationalbasketball player with the
skillset they have and the kindof the fundamentals they've
started to develop that we don'tin the states anymore.
(24:00):
I think that all goes back tobeing in a professional
environment when you're youngand you're learning those
things, and I.
You know those when they comeover here, when they're 18, 19,
20 years old, and they've beenplaying profe, against
professionals for six years,right?
If you look at, Luca and Kovichand all those, those guys that
are now at the highest levelthat's what they came up in.
And that's the same in soccerwhere those players are, whether
(24:22):
it's from as sometimes as youngas six years old, they're in a
professional environment andthey're, when they get into 15,
16 years old, if they're goodenough they're practicing with
the, with the professional.
I think that's, to me, acrossthe board mean there's certain
sports where that's notpossible.
Whether it's logistics or thetype of sport it is.
But I think.
(24:43):
I think, yeah, I think,basketball and soccer probably
have the most similarities inthat regard worldwide.
Where it's, where there areprofessional leagues and there's
professional clubs and they dothat from, from as, as little as
possible.
I think it, I've seen that startto develop more in the US with,
with the MLS teams in theacademies, but it's still
challenging and a lot of it is,again, just the, the continuity
(25:07):
across the country the geogeography and the.
Geographical challenges that weface, but yeah, I think.
As, as early as you can playagainst better players, I think
that's typically gonna lead todevelopment.
Yeah.
I think we, I think hockey'sprobably the thing that comes to
my mind, we have hockey kidsthat they're leaving home at 18
and they're basically.
(25:28):
Doing two years of hockey wherethey're living with a family in
a city, yep.
Where they're, that's allthey're basically doing is
playing hockey for two yearsbefore they go to college.
And, the fact that we have thatmodel is pretty amazing in one
sport.
Yep.
And I think that would be coolto get to that point with soccer
and basketball where we havethat it would, we have that true
(25:49):
academy style growth would beit'd be fun to try and implement
that.
Yeah, it would be great as,yeah, and as many as you could
do that in as, that's, you'recertainly gonna see the benefits
and yeah, it's a big commitmentand it takes, large
organizations to, to put thattogether and to fund it.
I think funding is obviouslyalways a big part of it, but
yeah.
The sports that do it, youcertainly see the rewards coach.
(26:12):
Let's say I have a 6-year-oldwho wants to start playing
soccer and I give'em to you foran hour.
What are some of the things youwant.
A young man or a young womanthat's starting in the game,
what are some of the things theyneed to be doing to really grow
their technique and theirability.
Yeah.
One they need to enjoy it.
I think the, at the youngerlevels, it's gotta be fun.
(26:32):
I think with any sport,especially, the only true growth
you're gonna have is if you loveto do it.
You love to do it and you'regonna be self-motivated, I
think.
I would never tell anybody totry to do it or try to, set
their son or daughter up in acertain situation.
If they have the passion and alot of young boys and girls do
then give them the, give themthe resources and the, I guess
the roadmap to do it.
(26:53):
But the ball is your friend,right?
I think the ball.
Number one, you have to have,you have to master the ball.
And that can be any sport youhave to be comfortable with the
ball at your feet.
And, soccer's unique'cause it's,we don't use our feet for much
more than walking and running.
But spending as much time withit, ball mastery, I think is the
first step.
And I think the next step is.
Putting'em in where they canadvance their creativity.
(27:14):
I think creativity is reallyimportant.
And that doesn't come frompractice.
That comes from playing with norules, no restrictions, playing
with friends, playing in thepark creativity and ball
mastery.
You have that as you get into,and then right, at a certain
point, a certain age, you needto, you need to learn tactics
and structure and learn thegame.
But the first things are, spendtime with the ball and whether
(27:37):
it's kicking it against thewall, juggling, dribbling,
whatever it is, and then, learnto be creative, learn to do
things, try things.
And and then from there, if youcan do that before you get into
an organized structure and youget into 12, 13, 14, 15 years
old, if you have those toolsyou're gonna be very successful.
I I, it's, I'm so glad you saidall those things'cause that's
(27:57):
exactly I'm a former collegebasketball coach, so that's
exactly how I teach at a campwith youth.
I teach'em how to dribble withtheir fingers and their elbows
and how to sit down and dribbleand lay down and dribble, and
that's great.
Dribble between their legs,different ways and their eyes
get big because then they wantto try it.
They, I wanna try it, and do itat home and, yeah.
And show their friends.
(28:17):
Absolutely.
Without a doubt.
So I love that mindset, and Ithink that's such a great
message to parents and youthcoaches.
I.
That mindset that you said, makeit fun first.
Make it, give them, give'emexamples of creativity and let
'em go.
Let you know.
Absolutely.
Let'em build on it.
So I love that.
Do you guys, yeah, we've, areyou doing camps at that age?
(28:39):
We don't, I, we haven't done anyat same.
Okay.
I do'em all the time.
It's so hard to do it at thecollege level at that age.
Yeah, it is.
But I do, I'm involved in it allthe time and I I coach my son's
club team now.
He's, oh, I started when he was11 or 10.
So I've been coaching a littlebit of it.
Okay, cool.
So it's yeah.
And you do, I that's it is youhave to.
(29:00):
Turn on a different brain whenyou go and coach the little ones
and try to make sure youremember that they should have a
blast.
They should love it.
They should want to come backfor more the next day and want
to keep learning.
And if they're going home andtrying to get better, I think
that's the best sign.
If they're just showing up topractice because they're
supposed to and they have to,you're gonna, you can enjoy that
to a certain extent, but you'renever gonna really fall in love
(29:22):
with the game and reallyprogress and develop like you
could.
I love it.
I love it.
I haven't brought this up to anysoccer coach and I don't know
why, because I it's one of, it'smy favorite show right now.
What has Ted Lasso done for thegame or the image of the game or
for coaching?
Is because it just seems likeit's been a phenomenon.
(29:42):
It's brought me close to thegame.
It's one Sure.
Made me wanna watch it more.
Is has it done anything for you?
Have you seen a difference?
I.
It's, the humor's great, right?
Yeah.
And it kinda lightens the mood alittle bit, right?
And thinking about theprofession and at the highest
levels is that it's.
It really and the more youresearch coaches and things,
it's at that level it is reallynot that much different than it
(30:05):
is for, from the bottom up.
It's still supposed, it's stilla game.
It's ultimately, it's still agame and it's still, those
principles, whether that show,obviously they take that to
another another level, but it's,yeah, I think certainly any
visibility for soccer inAmerica, that's.
Mainstream media, mainstream popculture, whatever it is a
(30:26):
positive, right?
If it can bring, somebody to bea little bit curious about, what
is, how does this work?
And you do learn when you watchthe show, you learn things
about.
English soccer and Europeansoccer and the structure and how
exciting it is.
And so maybe, so obviously, theteam's fictitious and it's not a
real team, but it, it couldbring you to, to, to become a
(30:47):
fan and continue to grow thegame.
It's just stuff like that Ithink is really cool.
For me, some of the best moviesare soccer, movies, some great
ones.
Yeah.
There's just some great onesthat I used to put on the bus
when I was coaching at thecollege level for basketball.
We put some of those soccermovies on.
It was just like, it's just,there's something about the
physicality and the grace of thegame and the passing of the game
(31:11):
and how space is used.
It's just it's really the.
It's called a beautiful game fora reason.
Yeah.
It's, and there are a lot of,depending on what sport, you can
compare it and you, and there'sadvantages, learning, soccer,
growing up, playing it, it canhelp you in other games.
And I, I grew up playingbasketball and soccer mostly.
Yeah.
And there is a lot of,attributes between the two that,
(31:33):
that can really help you.
And it's, yeah, it is a.
I see it mostly as an art,soccer, there's a lot of art
involved.
There is some science in it,but, it's very artistic.
It's very free flowing and it's,it does, you do have to
understand it a little bit, Ithink, to appreciate it on some
level, and when you do, it's,yeah, it's it's pretty fun to
watch.
(31:53):
If you can get over the, if youcan get over the lack of goals
sometimes, which a lot of peoplecan't, if you can get past that
barrier you certainly canappreciate it.
I'm trying, I don't want yourwife and other people that love
you to think I'm abusing youhere, but I, you brought it up,
so I'm gonna go there.
You had a zero zero draw in afinal four.
(32:16):
Did.
Yeah.
How hard, how do you handlethat?
It was tough.
It's Your kids did everythingright.
And we had some very close callslate in the game.
I try not to remember that.
I try not to remember that day.
It was a bittersweet.
I'm sorry, coach.
I don't wanna keep putting badthings in your thought, but I'm
just, I'm so impressed with whatyou did there.
(32:37):
You built a program from nothingand took it to the championship
game.
Yeah, it was fun.
It was.
We got very lucky in a lot ofways, just with some special
student athletes more thananything.
I've got some, yeah, some reallygood players early in the
process when we, that believedin it and bought into it.
Had great support fromadministration, a good facility,
a a cool community that's prettyunique in division two.
(33:01):
Being in a true college town anddivision two that, really
supported the athleticdepartment, but.
Yeah, it was fun and it was itwas, I learned a lot and I grew
a lot and winning is winning'sfun.
And the more you do it the moreyou enjoy it.
And we were really close thatyear to winning an ASH
championship now.
Yes, you were.
We scored zero goals in thatgame.
We also.
(33:22):
We're missing the nation'sleading score who was injured,
which might have helped us alittle bit, not to make excuses,
but changed.
Might have changed that outcomeof that Zero.
Could I but it was a specialgroup of guys.
It was a special team.
That that you really can't, youcan't plan, you can't, you can't
draw it up.
There's no formula that says, Ineed this, and this.
It was just a special group ofguys that came together that all
(33:44):
bought into everything and everyplayer cared about every single
person involved in the program.
And that's, when you have that.
Selflessness, within a team thatnot just says it but really
means it and believes in it,then you know, that's, those are
the times that you can reallyaccomplish something special.
And I don't wanna keep takingyou backwards.
I wanna focus our energy on thegreat work you're doing at St.
(34:05):
Leo, but I think it's reallyimportant when you're building a
program and building it, rising,raising a program up.
That your kids and familiesunderstand that you've done this
and it comes back to patienceand buy-in and trust.
And so I want to get into that alittle bit with you.
When you think about the cultureyou're building at St.
(34:26):
Leo what are some of thosefoundational pieces that you
want your staff and your guys toreally buy into?
I think nu number one and Imaybe say it too much or I take
too much from the, I guess youprobably should take the best
qualities from your best teams,right?
Yeah.
And to be, and I said it just ina few minutes ago, but
selflessness to me is numberone, is you have to really
(34:50):
really care about the group morethan yourself.
And that's easy to say, but it'svery difficult to do and to buy
into.
I.
I try to as the coach, as thetop of the food chain is to do
that myself is really puteverything personal aside and
really make every decision.
And everything we do is for thewhole team, for the group.
(35:11):
So I think, finding a group thatcan do that and that ingredient
is tough.
I think accountability is reallyimportant.
And that has to come.
To me, mostly from yourteammates, right?
Is, being a good teammate andone being able to hold your
teammates accountable, and two,being willing as a teammate to
be held accountable.
I think that's, that, that'sreally important.
(35:33):
And it's hard, again, reallyhard to do.
And some of those things have,we've probably, or I've probably
tried to do here.
At Saint Leo, as much aspossible and sometimes probably
failed to really get that, thatas part of the group and as a
part of the culture.
And I think it does, buildingthat, culture is such a.
As a buzz word.
And it, but it really iseverything.
(35:54):
And you have to get to the pointwhere I think my last couple of
years at, for Hayes, I didn'thave to coach a lot as other
than, as, worry about thetactics and make sure the team
was trained right.
But I didn't have to, I had allof those things were ingrained
within the program at, from,player, after player.
And it was really self-led andself-run in a lot of ways.
And then I.
(36:16):
Turn around the next, a couplemonths later after that game you
mentioned where we lost and hadto start from scratch and had to
coach and teach and develop morethan I had in, in five, six
years.
But it's, yeah, it's a longprocess.
It's not a, it's a rewardingone.
It's challenging, but I thinkyou're always tinkering and
trying to correct and to learnand to grow and to.
(36:37):
Not make the same mistakestwice.
And and you hope you get theformula right?
And then once you do, once thathappens and it clicks and it's
there, it's it tends to last.
And that with programs at everylevel in every sport where once
that's there it's become theexpectation.
And so you're al always climbingthat hill trying to build that
and put it in place.
And then once it is, once it'sthere, it's it's typically there
(36:59):
for quite a while.
I love that.
And I can tell it's importantfor you to get the right culture
at St.
Louis.
And it's probably gonna begreatly different than it was at
Fort Hayes.
'cause it's a different program.
A different school.
A different conference.
Yeah.
And you're dealing with incominghigh school kids, you're dealing
with transfers, you're dealingwith international kids.
(37:20):
What role.
Does your staff play yourseniors play in building that
culture when there's so muchdiversity in your soccer family?
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
I think every good team, again,is gonna have excellent
leadership.
I.
Within the program.
Staff's included in that butplayer leadership, player, led
(37:40):
player, I think that's that'scritical.
And you have to, one, you haveto have that with your older
players, with your moreexperienced players, but you
also have to develop that,right?
You have to develop that withyoung players.
You have to identify playersearly in the process that have
that potential, have thosecharacteristics that I.
They can be developed and finetuned and eventually when it's
(38:01):
their turn to, to be the mainleaders in the team.
But yeah, it's it, you're alwaysdealing one you're, you nailed
it.
It's the roster is the diversityin soccer is probably unlike any
mini sports.
I know it's.
It's not the only sport, but itis it's a sport that's, you're
gonna have players fromdifferent backgrounds and
different ages and differentcountries and different
cultures, and that across theroster.
(38:24):
That's the fun part.
It's part of the fun part aboutsoccer is you get to learn about
so many different cultures,learn about so many different
people.
But it's challenging at times tomold that and to put that
together into one team.
Yeah, like I said, if the moreyou have quality leadership
within the team and the moreyou're continuing to foster that
from younger players the betteryou're gonna be.
Short term, long term, andeverything.
(38:46):
Are there things that you'redoing every day in practice or
are there things that you'rebeing proactive with to build
some of that with your playersand your staff?
Or do I know that's so hard tothrow at you in, in thinking
that way, but are there thingsthat you're just like, I'm,
we're gonna have a staff meetingevery Monday and we're gonna,
we're gonna talk about this,we're gonna have a captain's
meeting every Tuesday, we'regonna talk about these things.
(39:08):
Sure.
Are there things that you'redoing to help that along and
help all those guys.
Yeah.
But the, the staff we workreally well together, so we're,
that's constant, consistent,we're, I think this level, I.
Maybe more and obviously theyhave friends at every level
that, where it's much different.
But we don't sit down and have aformal staff meeting.
Yeah.
We want it to be it's moreconstant, consistent.
(39:30):
And, we're as friend, as muchfriends as anything with
players.
Absolutely.
We have, we set up a leadershipgroup every year.
Where you try to, it's a littlebit of an inexact science,
whether it's, you want.
Diversity and your age groups,right?
You want some younger players,you want older players,
captains, those things you wantplayers from maybe different
(39:51):
backgrounds and cultures thatcan spread their, the message
and spread that around.
But you're doing more than justget the pulse of the team, you.
Always try to do some sort ofleadership e exercises.
Give them a, a something that,you can find somewhere that's
gonna turn the leadership brainon a little bit.
And try to get them tocritically think about, things
they can do and ways they can bea better leader and ways they
(40:12):
can, grow as a person.
Help their teammates grow andmake everybody, ultimately you
wanna get the best out ofeverybody, right?
I think that's the point of youwant everybody to.
To be able to perform the bestthey can on game day and in
practice.
And so those, we do a lot ofthose exercises and we meet
probably every other week withthat group.
Nice.
And try to grow and do that.
(40:32):
So it's, yeah.
You have to be, you have to beproactive.
You can't sit back and say, Iwant this, I want this to
happen.
I want to have this leadershipand this culture, and then just
hope that it's magically gonnahappen.
You have to, it, it's somethingthat has to be grown and
fostered and developed.
It's such a smart thing withwhen we're talking about
leadership, if it's just you,it's hard.
(40:54):
It's hard to get 25 people onthe same page when you're the
only one doing the talking.
You're the only one doing themarketing and presenting.
So I love the idea of thatleadership group where you're
it's a little bit more groupthink it's a little bit more,
let's get everybody's opinion.
Now all of a sudden there'sseven, eight people walking out
of that.
That meeting, that are nowtalking, teaching, leading the
(41:17):
same way, with the samementality.
So I love that you're doing thatcoach, I could talk to you about
this stuff all day long.
And I go on and on.
I want to get into recruitingwith you, but I wanna do a
little rapid fire with you justto get your thoughts and a
couple things, just a couple funthings, if you're okay with
that.
All right.
I'm ready for it.
Best soccer venue you've evercoached in.
(41:39):
Ooh I'm gonna go with the FinalFour game in the, it was
Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.
It's, it was very cold.
There was snow on the ground theday before, but it was right on
the river with a beautiful viewof downtown Pittsburgh.
I'm gonna go with HighmarkStadium.
I've been abusing you with thesewinds, even though they were
great or with the losses, butthere were great losses and you
(42:00):
took your team a long way.
What's the most memorable win ofyour career?
Ooh, that's a good one.
I would say the game beforethat, right?
We had just a little background.
We had been, and when I was upFort Hayes, we had been one game
away from the final four, Ithink, three or four times.
And heartbreak lost in penaltykicks, lost games.
(42:21):
We should have won, lost one.
Bowl games.
And so the day it was a monkeyon our back from, from about
six, for about six years.
And when we finally did it, itwas never forget that feeling in
that day.
That's great.
What was the score of that one?
Two zero.
Two zero?
It took me a second.
Two zero.
Yep.
Yeah.
High scoring game.
No, that's great.
Is there one non-negotiable inyour program?
(42:46):
There might be many, but isthere one that pops up and
you're like we're always gonnado it this way or We're never
gonna allow this?
Is there something like thatwith your program?
Yeah, I think to me, integrityand respect are non-negotiables.
And that's, no matter I thinkyou can win lose with class with
respect and integrity all thetime.
And it.
Probably nothing upsets me moreas a coach when the team doesn't
(43:10):
act like that or doesn't showthose characteristics.
So yeah, I'd say respect is thenumber one non-negotiable.
And that can be for anythingthat can be for opponents.
Yep.
Referees, fans.
The game itself, I thinkrespects number one without a
doubt.
A hundred percent.
With you there, who's yourcoaching mentor or biggest
influence?
I know you talked about yourdad, so you can use your dad
again.
Sure.
Is there a coaching mentor orbiggest influence outside of
(43:32):
your dad?
I.
There's a, a ton, right?
A ton.
I was, I took a strange pathwhere I was a head coach after
two years of a part-timeassistant, right?
So I never, I didn't have thatfour or five years with a, as a
college coach in particular,that I was, this was my path.
(43:52):
And I've had a lot of coachesthat I've, that I've been
friends with or worked with in,in other capacities.
Billy McNichols.
He was a, he's a, a Scottishlegend and has been coaching in
America for a long time.
He's probably the one that wouldcome to mind.
He was former Glasgow Rangersplayer, coached with the
national team in, in, in theStates for a bit.
So he's one that has probably,I.
(44:13):
Other than peer mentor that Iwould say is somebody who was,
who had been at the highestlevels that I've had a great
relationship for probably 15, 20years.
That has really helped me in alot of different ways.
He'd be the one That's awesome.
But yeah, my, I think my,definitely my dad.
He's, every, everything andevery, every aspect of how I am
as a coach or as how I am as aperson within an athletic
(44:34):
department is definitely my dad.
What a great way to grow up.
And I'm glad you have thatrelationship.
Was there a favorite soccerplayer growing up?
Yeah, growing up was Arian Ri.
He was number one from Arsenal.
Not a bad one.
Not a bad one.
Yeah, that's a great one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He was my favorite growing upspecial man.
What a special athlete.
Yeah.
Florida Beach Day or a MontanaHiking Day.
(44:57):
Florida Beach Day.
There's a reason why, there's areason I've migrated to.
To Florida.
Yeah, absolutely.
All right, last one, fill in theblank.
Great teams.do great teams caremore about the team than
themselves.
I.
Love it.
Great way to finish, coach.
I'm so thankful for you beingon.
(45:19):
I can't wait to talk recruitingwith you.
Anybody that's listening tothis, please come back on
Monday.
We're gonna, we're gonna have asegment just on recruiting and
get coaches advice onrecruiting.
So thanks for doing this, coach.
Thanks Matt.
Really appreciate it.
That was Coach Brett Parker, andwhat a powerful reminder that
the best coachingtransformations don't always
(45:40):
happen in the spotlight, but inthe grind through the setbacks
and with the long view in mind.
If you took something valuablefrom today's episode, and I know
I did, please subscribe, ratethe show and share it with
another coach or parent.
These stories matter and yoursupport helps us keep telling
them.
You can find all of our pastepisodes plus my blog.
(46:02):
Free resources and updates on mybooks, including the softball
recruitsjournal@coachmattrogers.com.
Hey, thanks for being with us onsignificant coaching.
Keep leading with significanceand come back on Monday to hear
Coach Parker's collegerecruiting advice and insights.
Have a great one.
you have to.
Turn on a different brain whenyou go and coach the little ones
and try to make sure youremember that they should have a
blast.
They should love it.
They should want to come backfor more the next day and want
to keep learning.
And if they're going home andtrying to get better, I think
that's the best sign.
(00:25):
Welcome back to The SignificantCoaching Podcast, the show that
dives into the heart ofleadership, team building, and
what it really means to coachwith purpose.
I'm your host, coach MattRogers.
Before we dive into today'sgreat guest, please do me a
quick favor.
Make sure you've subscribed,leave a rating and share this
episode with a fellow coach orparent.
It may seem small, but it helpsmake the future of this podcast
(00:48):
possible and brings theseimportant conversations to more
people who need them.
Today's guest is someone who hasbuilt and rebuilt programs at
every level.
Coach Brett Parker, head, men'ssoccer coach at St.
Leo University has led teams toseven straight NCAA tournament
appearances and even a FinalFour run at Fort Hayes State.
(01:10):
What makes Coach Parker's storytruly significant is what he's
learned through the challenges.
Especially in taking over astruggling program and guiding
it through a global pandemic.
In this episode, Brett shareshonest reflections on patients
long-term vision and how thetoughest years often lead to the
most growth as a coach.
Whether you're rebuilding ateam, mentoring young athletes
(01:32):
are simply trying to lead withpurpose, there's something here
for you.
Before we get started, I'm soexcited to announce that my new
book, the Softball RecruitsJournal, is now
available@amazon.com.
It's the ultimate guide forevery high school and club
softball player and family tohelp navigate the college
recruiting process, packed withtemplates, visit prep tools and
(01:55):
decision making advice.
Learn more and take a look atour coaching and recruiting
resources@coachmattrogers.com.
Now let's jump into it.
Here's my conversation withCoach Brett Parker.
I.
All right, coach Parker, it's sogreat to see you and I'm so
appreciative of you being onthanks for doing this with me
today.
No, I'm really happy to joiningMatt and looking forward to
(02:17):
chatting.
Coach, you've had justtremendous success wherever
you've gone.
Seven straight NCAA tournaments,a final four run at Fort Hayes.
You've had a challenging rebuildat St.
Leo.
You guys are really starting toshow who you are.
What has this process taught youabout patience and growth and
(02:37):
long-term vision?
Yeah, it's been a tough one.
Throughout, I've been fortunateenough to start two programs
from scratch, so that was, thosewere kind of unique situations
in themselves where I.
You are not trying to changeanything, you're just building
it from the ground up.
And those were great.
Certainly challenging.
And then when I came to SaintLeo six years ago, it was a kind
of the opposite where you'retaking something over that had
(02:59):
been very successful but had hitrock bottom in a lot of ways.
Yeah, it's, I think when I gotto Fort Hayes in, I think it was
2011, I had set.
Three year plan, five year plan.
And a lot of those Iaccomplished in year two, year
three.
It was a very fast, we had a lotof success right away, and in
some ways I thought maybe thatwould be re recreated at St.
(03:20):
Leo.
And it was a lot morechallenging and it's taken a lot
more time, but slowly but surelyyou see the positives and you
just keep going forward and,yeah, I've had to learn a lot of
patience.
I've had to learn how to.
Deal with losses like I hadn'tfor a long time, but it's been
fun and challenging and Iwouldn't change it for anything.
The amount of growth I've had asa coach in six years here is,
(03:41):
exponentially higher than eventhe successful years at Fort
Hayes.
It's amazing what COVID andthose years were, we just didn't
know what was going on.
And what that did to programs,what that did to kids, what that
did to the parent thoughtprocess and scholarship, so
anybody that's come out of thatand survived it, a school, a
(04:04):
coach.
I I'm just impressed because Ican't imagine I was coaching at
the high school level at thatpoint, and I can't even imagine
what it was like.
Sure.
To recruit through that.
It was tough and that didprobably change jobs at the
wrong time in a lot of ways.
Had one season here and.
Started to build momentum andthen all of a sudden the rugs
pulled in from underneath youand not only do you lose a year,
(04:25):
but the whole recruitinglandscape changed.
It went from, building programsand four year players to, having
extra years and COVID years andand a lot of one year players
and you built teams more thanprograms.
So yeah, it's.
It was a tough, it was a toughtime to, to start a rebuild.
And I always say I've been heresix years, but those first two
or three are almost wiped outtathe process.
(04:47):
It's been, yeah, you throw thatin the trash can and you start
over again.
And we've had to do that.
Yeah, it was tough.
It was a time, it did taketremendous amount of patience
and resilience to battle throughit.
But I think like everybody,everybody had their own
challenges in those times, andyou're right.
Private schools in that time or,higher ed in general.
It was a tough time to come outof from funding and scholarships
and we're just, I think a lot ofplaces either are now folding
(05:11):
and shutting doors or they'recoming out of it on the better
end.
We've been lucky enough to getthrough that and with our head
above a water and finally ableto move forward.
I want to really get into yourbrain a little bit about the
fact that you've built twoprograms from scratch and then
you built it to a national TitleCom contender at Fort Hayes.
If you're talking to someonethat's starting coaching at the
(05:34):
college level, getting theirfirst head coaching job, are
there things that you learned bybuilding a program from scratch
that are so much more valuablethan taking over a program
that's already been there?
No doubt.
I think and the levels I did itat too maybe helped.
The first one was a creativearts institution in Santa Fe,
New Mexico.
I was 24, maybe 25 years old.
(05:56):
I had really had no idea what Iwas doing in a lot of ways, but
I had to do everything.
I had to cut the grass, I had toline the field, I had to drive
the bus.
I had to do all those thingswhere I think that does, it can
be beneficial to a lot ofcoaches where you learn on the
fly, you learn throughexperience.
Now, that's certainly not theonly way to do it.
Mean you can.
Some people are gonna workbetter working under somebody
(06:16):
who's done all of that and canlearn that themselves.
But I think yeah the more you doand the more hands-on you have,
I think when you have thatopportunity to lead a program
yourself, I think you're gonnabe a lot better off.
And I see that, and I try to dothat with graduate assistants or
young assistant coaches is.
Give them the keys to, so theirnext opportunity, they're gonna
be ready for it because Yeah,it's until you sit in the chair
(06:38):
where you are responsible forevery aspect of the program, it
is.
You don't truly know exactlywhat to expect and what the day
to day is gonna be like and howto manage your time and how to
make sure you have balance ineverything you do.
Yeah, I think building aprogram's a great way to do
that.
You have to one, the recruiting,I think that's from a recruiting
standpoint, and that's probablywhat I enjoyed most as a young
coach was, meeting people andbeing on the road and watching,
(07:01):
prospective student athletes.
And that was.
It's probably the best time todo that, when you're younger and
that's all you really want todo.
I think as players and you getinto coaching, I think.
That's what you think coachingis.
You recruit and then you coachgames.
And it's that simple.
So I think that was, and that'sabout 20% of it.
Yeah.
If that may maybe 10, 20%.
So yeah, I think that was, thatmade that fun because that's
(07:24):
when you start a program that'sall you do at first right?
Is you don't have a team andyou're, you're panicking and you
need players and so you're,leaving every stone unturned or
not, searching everywhere youcan for players.
I think that's a, that is agreat way to, to learn and cut
your teeth for sure.
It's so funny we're talkingabout this is purely
coincidence, but I just, I'vegot a small college that's just
hired me to consult, to buildtheir athletic programs.
(07:46):
They've had a beautiful campusfor years and it's a small
community and they've never hadathletics.
But they've decided they've gotthis great conference around
them that needs another school,and we're gonna, and so I'm
gonna, I'm gonna help them.
What advice would you give to.
Because we're probably gonnastart with soccer.
That's probably gonna be ournum, our first sport.
(08:07):
'cause we've got the fieldspace.
We don't have to build a gym.
We can bring in 20, 24 y youngmen and young women very
quickly.
Yep.
What advice would you give to meto start that program from
scratch?
What are some of the things thatyou think we need to focus on?
Yeah, I think it's.
I think across the board withathletics, it's about people and
(08:27):
hiring the right people andhiring somebody that's
enthusiastic about theinstitution.
Number one, I think you have tohave enthusiasm about where
you're working and what you'retrying to build, and I think I.
When you have that instilled ina, in an athletic department and
in the soccer community atlarge, I think that's really
important.
So I do really a simple answeris get the right people, get
somebody who's willing to dothat is gonna recruit the right
(08:49):
student athletes that match theuniversity, the college,
whatever it is that is gonnabuild that long-term sustainable
success.
So I think that's it all startswith that is is getting the
right people on board.
People that are willing, likeanywhere.
For a, a brand new athleticdepartment's gonna have
financial restrictions andyou're not gonna be given the
keys to everything and you haveto do it the right way.
(09:10):
So somebody who is.
Who can work within their meansthat, that has done it in a
place where you don't have allof the scholarship, all of the
budget that you have to getcreative with fundraising and
pinching every penny along theway.
I think that's some of thethings that I learned along the
way when I was in thosesituations where you have to get
very creative and make the mostof what you have instead of,
(09:30):
asking for more.
It's what can you do with whatyou have.
That's right.
That's right.
I love that.
What role did athletic directorsplay when you go back over your
career to your success?
Or maybe when things weren'tgoing great?
How important is that athleticdirector relationship for you?
I.
It's massive.
(09:50):
And I was lucky that I wasraised by an athletic director.
So my dad was an athleticdirector.
So I grew up in, in an athleticdirector's house.
So I knew I knew the challengesthey had.
And he was an athletic directorat both a division one
institution as an assistantassociate ad.
And then he was an athleticdirector at two in AI programs.
So I was, I grew up around himmy whole life, right?
(10:11):
Yeah.
And and then as I got into cothat's, I think that's for a
coach, at least to me, and maybeI'm different because I was
raised by one, but I think it'sthe most important relationship
you can have is somebody who youtrust, want and you know that
they're your coach and someonethat's gonna guide you and
support you and lead you, but.
Yeah it's critical.
It's everything.
It's, I think, more thananything is having one that,
(10:31):
that is gonna be on your side asmuch as they can and is gonna
fight the battles for you and isgonna support you and in, in
turn when you feel like you havethat as a coach, I.
You, it's just extra motivationfor you.
You wanna be successful for thatperson and make them proud of
what you do.
And I think that's, again, likeI said, I was, I'm probably
unique in that sense that, thatmy, my dad was an athletic
(10:53):
director.
I think that's but thatrelationship's critical.
And I've had some great ones.
Some of the.
Some really been fortunate towork for some really great
athletic directors that alongthe way, that have helped me as
a coach, helped develop me as aperson and and I've, it's
carried over now.
And at St.
Leo I've had great athleticdirectors to work for as well.
I.
That's fantastic.
I, I preach to kids about thatare going through the recruiting
(11:14):
process.
Not only do you wanna find acoach that you wanna be around
every day, and you know that'sgonna challenge you and help you
become the person you wanna beand the athlete you wanna be,
but it's so important.
For you to build a relationshipwith that coach that's right for
you, and find a coach that wantsto have that relationship.
You, and I think it goes thesame with coaches and athletic
(11:36):
directors, don't you think?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
You, yeah you're gonna spendmore time with that person, for
as a student athlete with yourcoach that, yeah you're.
You're learning to be a collegeathlete and what it takes to
compete at that time.
But yeah it's the ones that, youknow, down the road, what you're
learning and taking the nextsteps once you graduate.
It's.
Now that I've been coaching forI don't know how many years, 15,
(11:58):
16, 20 years, somewhere aroundthere.
It's really fun to see how thoserelationships with some of the
first players I've ever had howthey've developed and watching
them start families and gothrough those things that it's
yeah, it's really important thatyou want to, you want somebody
that you can have that, that youcan see that relationship
building and forming and andit's, you don't have as many
four year players in the currentclimate.
(12:21):
But those ones are the specialones where you see them as a,
18-year-old and then you sendthem on their way when they're
22 and then you start and createa different relationship after
that.
But it is yeah, I think it's.
You want to be able to thecloser that relationship is,
one, you're gonna be a betterplayer during college, and two
it's gonna last much furtherbeyond, the four years you're in
college.
(12:41):
All those things.
I wish somebody would've slappedme in the back of the head
about, when I was 17,8-year-old.
This is what's important, yeah.
It's not starting, it's notwinning a national championship.
It's not all those thingshappen.
Once you have goodrelationships, absolutely.
Once theres's a buy-in, right?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And that's that.
You're right.
Once.
(13:02):
If you can really set aside it'stough when you're, when you're
17, 18 years old, to really putaside those personal needs that
you want right away and thoseimmediate needs you have.
But if you can, if you're luckyenough to be able to do that,
you're it down the road.
It's it's gonna be, pay offtenfold.
That you know you're gonna,you're gonna look back on that.
(13:23):
You're gonna have moreconnection to the program, more
connection to the university,more connection to your
teammates that you played with.
Yeah, it's those are things thatyou hope and you try to put
forth in the process, butultimately, a lot of times you
have to learn those mistakesyourself.
And I've.
When you recruit older playersat times too to a t they always
talk about the wishing theycould go back and tell their
(13:43):
18-year-old selves certainthings.
How, yeah, how to act, how to,work with teammates, how to
listen to older teammates, howto listen to coaches and yeah,
those are just part of thematuring process.
And that's, as coaches, that's.
Especially college coaches.
That's why I think most of us docoach at this level.
'cause we get to, to try to formthose, those characteristics
(14:04):
long term.
So you're able to, when youleave, you've now learned those
things and you can take'em tothe rest of your life.
I.
That's the real cool thing aboutwhat you're, you get to do every
day.
And what I did for a long timeis we get to see that growth.
We get to see, that kid that we,we knew at 16, now we get to see
him at 30.
And it's wow.
What a transformation you'vemade.
It's amazing.
(14:24):
It really is.
It is.
Yeah.
And it's amazing how fast itgoes.
Just, graduation was a coupleweeks ago and to, the graduating
class, we had to think that.
It felt like yesterday thatthose guys were showing up and
that, some of the them had beenhere for five years with COVID
and just, yeah it goes by fastand it's and to see them, at
that stage and compare to whenthey arrived is pretty special.
(14:45):
Coach this is gonna be one ofthose questions you'll probably
call me in an hour after we'redone and go ba I wish I would've
said this.
'cause it, this is one of thosequestions you probably have to
think about a little bit.
I was, I talked to young coachesabout this all the time.
I remember my first year atMaryville when I was the head
coach there.
I remember being done with thatyear, and I had one folder on my
(15:06):
computer and it was just like athousand things, and then year
two, I started creating these, Icreated a practice folder and a
game prep folder and arecruiting folder.
I might have had four folders bythe end of it, but just all
those things that I had to learnas a coach to build routines and
systems.
Are there certain things that.
(15:28):
You've started to take with youwherever you go, where you just
there's systems and routines towhat you do every year.
Yeah, there's quite a few.
You always have your basis.
I, I don't know where I learnedor read it or who, what coach at
what level, but I try to almostreset a little bit each year.
I don't want to do the samethings and keep the same
(15:49):
routines because I wanna keeplearning.
I think.
Part of coaching and a bigreason why I came to St.
Leo and got outta my comfortzone and took on a new challenge
is I wanted growth and personalgrowth and coaching growth and
everything.
And I think if you keep too manyof the same routines, in my
opinion, that it can get alittle, that growth can be
stalled a little bit, so youwant to change and develop and
(16:10):
move on.
A lot of, that couldn't be assimple as practice plans, where.
I don't wanna do the same thingsin preseason.
I don't wanna do the same thingsin certain points of the season.
I wanna make sure that my brainis still moving and turning and
I'm still trying to develop newideas and different things and
but there's certain things yeah.
That there's certain routinesyou take from year to year,
(16:30):
whether it's, a lot of it Ithink is.
Travel and logistics and thingslike that.
I think that's part ofespecially postseason when you
go into the postseason the firsttime you're there, what do you
do?
How do you set up, how do youorganize, how do you travel,
when do you train, what all ofthose logistics.
And then once you do it a coupletimes, it starts to get a little
more routine and you can try toset your teams up for the most
(16:52):
success and the best positionthey can be in.
But yeah, as far as especially.
On the field and and thedevelopment there.
I try to, as much as possible,not go back and find things and
pick things that we've done atcertain times and, whether it's
a practice session or differentthings.
But I do I like to continue togrow and to continue to have to,
not just go through the motionsand, do things year after year.
(17:15):
I try to change things as much,things I as possible.
That's, that's the rewardingthing about coaching.
You get, especially at thecollege level, you get new kids
every year.
You get right.
You get new ideas every year.
You steal something that you sawon, a professional match, or
Absolutely.
And that's what makes it so muchfun.
I'm such a soccer novice.
I didn't grow up with soccer.
(17:36):
I've probably helped two 300kids get recruited for soccer in
the last 10, 12 years.
But I always tell families, you,you need to go to Brett Parker
if you want to get better atbecoming a better player.
I'm, I could I could teach youhow to get recruited, but you
need to go to Coach Parker whenyou think about your game in the
United States.
'cause oftentimes soccer is thefourth or fifth sport that
(17:58):
people think about.
What are the good things of thatand what are some of the
challenges that kind of being asoccer coach in our country?
Yeah.
The, obviously we're weworldwide we're looked down upon
a little bit in a lot of ways,whether it's our opinions, our
players, our history, ourtraditions.
(18:20):
I think the biggest challenge isit is not.
It's not ingrained in ourculture, I think that's probably
number one.
You don't grow up with aprofessional soccer team.
Two, Yeah.
200 yards away from your houselike you do in most parts of the
world, where you have, whereyou're day in, day out,
everything.
It's around you.
You're exposed to it.
I think that's probably thebiggest challenge.
(18:40):
There's lots of, the, I thinkthe.
The geography of America makesthat difficult.
It's such a, big country thatit's in, it's so spread out and
whether it's the club, your clubsituation or where you're at,
it's geographically can bechallenging in a lot of places.
But yeah, I don't, I don'tthink, and I don't.
It's not an issue to me tobecome the number one sport or
(19:01):
whatever it is.
I just think we just have to begood at what we do and have an
identity and have something thatthat we believe in and that
we're pushing towards.
And, but yeah, it is, and we'rearound as college soccer coach
or co or soccer coaches ingeneral.
You're around.
Coaches from all over the world,right?
There's a lot of coaches fromall over the world in our
country.
We hear their, we hear theirconcerns with it, we see it.
(19:22):
But it's grown tremendously asyou pro, especially for people
who were never around it orexposed to it.
Now you are on a more regularbasis.
Yeah.
I was in the same boat.
I grew up in Montana, which wasnot, is not, and never will be a
soccer hotbed.
So it's that, that was, the samething as you're geographically
in a certain spot where it'snot, it's not part other than,
(19:42):
you're rec soccer when you'refive years old and you're
running around chasingbutterflies.
But yeah, I think there's a lotof challenges.
It's always gonna face and I.
A lot of people, a lot smarterthan me are facing those
challenges and trying to make itbetter.
But we make the most of what wehave.
Yeah, and I enjoy it.
I think it's I enjoy coachingthe American soccer player as
well.
(20:02):
I think they bring, I.
A lot of unique characteristicsthat somebody from South America
or Europe or wherever might notbring.
So I think there's uniquenessand and pluses and minuses to
both sides of it.
What are some of those traitsyou feel like the American
soccer player?
I.
Maybe does a little bit betterthan the European in the South
America or at least it's aunique skillset that playing
(20:25):
here.
And a lot of these kids grew upplaying basketball and football.
And baseball and soccer wassomething that they fell in love
with maybe a little bit later.
So they already had someinstincts before they got on the
soccer pitch.
Yeah, and that was me.
Certainly was, yeah.
Where it wasn't my number onesport until.
It's a lot later in life than alot, than most people over the
world.
(20:46):
Yeah.
I think some of the mindset andjust the, and it depends on
where and what American playeryou're talking about, but I
think, I think the sportspsychology side, I think a lot
of that stuff is we're morepretty advanced in America.
I think the strength andconditioning at times can be
really good.
I think that's a priority here.
I think.
The only thing that we don'treally have is the pathways for
(21:08):
the players that we'rerecruiting to, to be closer to
the professional level andexposed to that a little bit
more.
So when you come in, thetraditional American, soccer
recruit is gonna be typically aplayed club soccer with their
peers for most of their, most oftheir.
Childhood, whereas if we'rerecruiting somebody from
depending on the country,they're gonna have been training
(21:31):
with professionals, coming up ina professional academy where
it's huge advantage.
It is, it's a big advantage.
I think.
There, there is, there arecertain characteristics, but
just in general, I thinkthey're, they're hungry.
They understand the system, theyunderstand the college system.
They understand that process.
I think that certainly helpsthem quite a bit.
And then, from the, some of thesoccer standpoint things, they
are, we are catching up in a lotof areas.
(21:53):
There's way, there's areas thatwe're far behind but we're
making progress.
That's great.
And you can see it too, you seeit at our highest level, sure.
Our teams are just, the womenhave been dominant.
The men have, are reallystarting to show their true
colors.
Watching the Olympics, watchingthe men in this last World Cup
in Olympics, man, it's just,there's so much speed and so
(22:14):
much touch that I hadn't seenbefore.
You're right.
We've come a long way.
We've come a long way in thatregard.
The talent, technical ability,the athleticism.
Yeah.
I think when we had success,when soccer first started.
Be gaining popularity in thecountry.
Maybe mid nineties, early twothousands we were, we played
(22:34):
with a chip on our shoulder andit was us against the world and
nobody thought we could do it.
So the team had a little morefight and spirit.
I think ultimately we need tomarry those two where we have
better, more skillful playersthat are playing at higher
levels with that, that kind of,that that.
Grittiness that we used to have.
I think that would be, I thinkthat you see it now with the
(22:56):
teams we have now, that's themissing ingredient.
Hopefully at some point we canget that back.
The one thing that I.
There's many things that weprobably look at European soccer
and really look and how totranslate that to other sports
here in the States.
But youth training and youthdevelopment in Europe is just
(23:17):
how they grow the kids and howthey train the kids.
How much have you seen.
Us in the States start toacclimate that because I coached
in St.
Louis and ran the biggest soccercamp in St.
Louis for eight, nine years.
So I worked with a lot of prosand.
They were already doing thosethings as athletes and as
coaches.
(23:38):
What are some of those thingsyou've seen that we could maybe
translate to basketball andfootball and baseball.
Yeah, that's it.
It all starts with yourprofessional system and you're
seeing it in basketball a lot,right?
The last 20 years where with.
The rise of the internationalbasketball player with the
skillset they have and the kindof the fundamentals they've
started to develop that we don'tin the states anymore.
(24:00):
I think that all goes back tobeing in a professional
environment when you're youngand you're learning those
things, and I.
You know those when they comeover here, when they're 18, 19,
20 years old, and they've beenplaying profe, against
professionals for six years,right?
If you look at, Luca and Kovichand all those, those guys that
are now at the highest levelthat's what they came up in.
And that's the same in soccerwhere those players are, whether
(24:22):
it's from as sometimes as youngas six years old, they're in a
professional environment andthey're, when they get into 15,
16 years old, if they're goodenough they're practicing with
the, with the professional.
I think that's, to me, acrossthe board mean there's certain
sports where that's notpossible.
Whether it's logistics or thetype of sport it is.
But I think.
(24:43):
I think, yeah, I think,basketball and soccer probably
have the most similarities inthat regard worldwide.
Where it's, where there areprofessional leagues and there's
professional clubs and they dothat from, from as, as little as
possible.
I think it, I've seen that startto develop more in the US with,
with the MLS teams in theacademies, but it's still
challenging and a lot of it is,again, just the, the continuity
(25:07):
across the country the geogeography and the.
Geographical challenges that weface, but yeah, I think.
As, as early as you can playagainst better players, I think
that's typically gonna lead todevelopment.
Yeah.
I think we, I think hockey'sprobably the thing that comes to
my mind, we have hockey kidsthat they're leaving home at 18
and they're basically.
(25:28):
Doing two years of hockey wherethey're living with a family in
a city, yep.
Where they're, that's allthey're basically doing is
playing hockey for two yearsbefore they go to college.
And, the fact that we have thatmodel is pretty amazing in one
sport.
Yep.
And I think that would be coolto get to that point with soccer
and basketball where we havethat it would, we have that true
(25:49):
academy style growth would beit'd be fun to try and implement
that.
Yeah, it would be great as,yeah, and as many as you could
do that in as, that's, you'recertainly gonna see the benefits
and yeah, it's a big commitmentand it takes, large
organizations to, to put thattogether and to fund it.
I think funding is obviouslyalways a big part of it, but
yeah.
The sports that do it, youcertainly see the rewards coach.
(26:12):
Let's say I have a 6-year-oldwho wants to start playing
soccer and I give'em to you foran hour.
What are some of the things youwant.
A young man or a young womanthat's starting in the game,
what are some of the things theyneed to be doing to really grow
their technique and theirability.
Yeah.
One they need to enjoy it.
I think the, at the youngerlevels, it's gotta be fun.
(26:32):
I think with any sport,especially, the only true growth
you're gonna have is if you loveto do it.
You love to do it and you'regonna be self-motivated, I
think.
I would never tell anybody totry to do it or try to, set
their son or daughter up in acertain situation.
If they have the passion and alot of young boys and girls do
then give them the, give themthe resources and the, I guess
the roadmap to do it.
(26:53):
But the ball is your friend,right?
I think the ball.
Number one, you have to have,you have to master the ball.
And that can be any sport youhave to be comfortable with the
ball at your feet.
And, soccer's unique'cause it's,we don't use our feet for much
more than walking and running.
But spending as much time withit, ball mastery, I think is the
first step.
And I think the next step is.
Putting'em in where they canadvance their creativity.
(27:14):
I think creativity is reallyimportant.
And that doesn't come frompractice.
That comes from playing with norules, no restrictions, playing
with friends, playing in thepark creativity and ball
mastery.
You have that as you get into,and then right, at a certain
point, a certain age, you needto, you need to learn tactics
and structure and learn thegame.
But the first things are, spendtime with the ball and whether
(27:37):
it's kicking it against thewall, juggling, dribbling,
whatever it is, and then, learnto be creative, learn to do
things, try things.
And and then from there, if youcan do that before you get into
an organized structure and youget into 12, 13, 14, 15 years
old, if you have those toolsyou're gonna be very successful.
I I, it's, I'm so glad you saidall those things'cause that's
(27:57):
exactly I'm a former collegebasketball coach, so that's
exactly how I teach at a campwith youth.
I teach'em how to dribble withtheir fingers and their elbows
and how to sit down and dribbleand lay down and dribble, and
that's great.
Dribble between their legs,different ways and their eyes
get big because then they wantto try it.
They, I wanna try it, and do itat home and, yeah.
And show their friends.
(28:17):
Absolutely.
Without a doubt.
So I love that mindset, and Ithink that's such a great
message to parents and youthcoaches.
I.
That mindset that you said, makeit fun first.
Make it, give them, give'emexamples of creativity and let
'em go.
Let you know.
Absolutely.
Let'em build on it.
So I love that.
Do you guys, yeah, we've, areyou doing camps at that age?
(28:39):
We don't, I, we haven't done anyat same.
Okay.
I do'em all the time.
It's so hard to do it at thecollege level at that age.
Yeah, it is.
But I do, I'm involved in it allthe time and I I coach my son's
club team now.
He's, oh, I started when he was11 or 10.
So I've been coaching a littlebit of it.
Okay, cool.
So it's yeah.
And you do, I that's it is youhave to.
(29:00):
Turn on a different brain whenyou go and coach the little ones
and try to make sure youremember that they should have a
blast.
They should love it.
They should want to come backfor more the next day and want
to keep learning.
And if they're going home andtrying to get better, I think
that's the best sign.
If they're just showing up topractice because they're
supposed to and they have to,you're gonna, you can enjoy that
to a certain extent, but you'renever gonna really fall in love
(29:22):
with the game and reallyprogress and develop like you
could.
I love it.
I love it.
I haven't brought this up to anysoccer coach and I don't know
why, because I it's one of, it'smy favorite show right now.
What has Ted Lasso done for thegame or the image of the game or
for coaching?
Is because it just seems likeit's been a phenomenon.
(29:42):
It's brought me close to thegame.
It's one Sure.
Made me wanna watch it more.
Is has it done anything for you?
Have you seen a difference?
I.
It's, the humor's great, right?
Yeah.
And it kinda lightens the mood alittle bit, right?
And thinking about theprofession and at the highest
levels is that it's.
It really and the more youresearch coaches and things,
it's at that level it is reallynot that much different than it
(30:05):
is for, from the bottom up.
It's still supposed, it's stilla game.
It's ultimately, it's still agame and it's still, those
principles, whether that show,obviously they take that to
another another level, but it's,yeah, I think certainly any
visibility for soccer inAmerica, that's.
Mainstream media, mainstream popculture, whatever it is a
(30:26):
positive, right?
If it can bring, somebody to bea little bit curious about, what
is, how does this work?
And you do learn when you watchthe show, you learn things
about.
English soccer and Europeansoccer and the structure and how
exciting it is.
And so maybe, so obviously, theteam's fictitious and it's not a
real team, but it, it couldbring you to, to, to become a
(30:47):
fan and continue to grow thegame.
It's just stuff like that Ithink is really cool.
For me, some of the best moviesare soccer, movies, some great
ones.
Yeah.
There's just some great onesthat I used to put on the bus
when I was coaching at thecollege level for basketball.
We put some of those soccermovies on.
It was just like, it's just,there's something about the
physicality and the grace of thegame and the passing of the game
(31:11):
and how space is used.
It's just it's really the.
It's called a beautiful game fora reason.
Yeah.
It's, and there are a lot of,depending on what sport, you can
compare it and you, and there'sadvantages, learning, soccer,
growing up, playing it, it canhelp you in other games.
And I, I grew up playingbasketball and soccer mostly.
Yeah.
And there is a lot of,attributes between the two that,
(31:33):
that can really help you.
And it's, yeah, it is a.
I see it mostly as an art,soccer, there's a lot of art
involved.
There is some science in it,but, it's very artistic.
It's very free flowing and it's,it does, you do have to
understand it a little bit, Ithink, to appreciate it on some
level, and when you do, it's,yeah, it's it's pretty fun to
watch.
(31:53):
If you can get over the, if youcan get over the lack of goals
sometimes, which a lot of peoplecan't, if you can get past that
barrier you certainly canappreciate it.
I'm trying, I don't want yourwife and other people that love
you to think I'm abusing youhere, but I, you brought it up,
so I'm gonna go there.
You had a zero zero draw in afinal four.
(32:16):
Did.
Yeah.
How hard, how do you handlethat?
It was tough.
It's Your kids did everythingright.
And we had some very close callslate in the game.
I try not to remember that.
I try not to remember that day.
It was a bittersweet.
I'm sorry, coach.
I don't wanna keep putting badthings in your thought, but I'm
just, I'm so impressed with whatyou did there.
(32:37):
You built a program from nothingand took it to the championship
game.
Yeah, it was fun.
It was.
We got very lucky in a lot ofways, just with some special
student athletes more thananything.
I've got some, yeah, some reallygood players early in the
process when we, that believedin it and bought into it.
Had great support fromadministration, a good facility,
a a cool community that's prettyunique in division two.
(33:01):
Being in a true college town anddivision two that, really
supported the athleticdepartment, but.
Yeah, it was fun and it was itwas, I learned a lot and I grew
a lot and winning is winning'sfun.
And the more you do it the moreyou enjoy it.
And we were really close thatyear to winning an ASH
championship now.
Yes, you were.
We scored zero goals in thatgame.
We also.
(33:22):
We're missing the nation'sleading score who was injured,
which might have helped us alittle bit, not to make excuses,
but changed.
Might have changed that outcomeof that Zero.
Could I but it was a specialgroup of guys.
It was a special team.
That that you really can't, youcan't plan, you can't, you can't
draw it up.
There's no formula that says, Ineed this, and this.
It was just a special group ofguys that came together that all
(33:44):
bought into everything and everyplayer cared about every single
person involved in the program.
And that's, when you have that.
Selflessness, within a team thatnot just says it but really
means it and believes in it,then you know, that's, those are
the times that you can reallyaccomplish something special.
And I don't wanna keep takingyou backwards.
I wanna focus our energy on thegreat work you're doing at St.
(34:05):
Leo, but I think it's reallyimportant when you're building a
program and building it, rising,raising a program up.
That your kids and familiesunderstand that you've done this
and it comes back to patienceand buy-in and trust.
And so I want to get into that alittle bit with you.
When you think about the cultureyou're building at St.
(34:26):
Leo what are some of thosefoundational pieces that you
want your staff and your guys toreally buy into?
I think nu number one and Imaybe say it too much or I take
too much from the, I guess youprobably should take the best
qualities from your best teams,right?
Yeah.
And to be, and I said it just ina few minutes ago, but
selflessness to me is numberone, is you have to really
(34:50):
really care about the group morethan yourself.
And that's easy to say, but it'svery difficult to do and to buy
into.
I.
I try to as the coach, as thetop of the food chain is to do
that myself is really puteverything personal aside and
really make every decision.
And everything we do is for thewhole team, for the group.
(35:11):
So I think, finding a group thatcan do that and that ingredient
is tough.
I think accountability is reallyimportant.
And that has to come.
To me, mostly from yourteammates, right?
Is, being a good teammate andone being able to hold your
teammates accountable, and two,being willing as a teammate to
be held accountable.
I think that's, that, that'sreally important.
(35:33):
And it's hard, again, reallyhard to do.
And some of those things have,we've probably, or I've probably
tried to do here.
At Saint Leo, as much aspossible and sometimes probably
failed to really get that, thatas part of the group and as a
part of the culture.
And I think it does, buildingthat, culture is such a.
As a buzz word.
And it, but it really iseverything.
(35:54):
And you have to get to the pointwhere I think my last couple of
years at, for Hayes, I didn'thave to coach a lot as other
than, as, worry about thetactics and make sure the team
was trained right.
But I didn't have to, I had allof those things were ingrained
within the program at, from,player, after player.
And it was really self-led andself-run in a lot of ways.
And then I.
(36:16):
Turn around the next, a couplemonths later after that game you
mentioned where we lost and hadto start from scratch and had to
coach and teach and develop morethan I had in, in five, six
years.
But it's, yeah, it's a longprocess.
It's not a, it's a rewardingone.
It's challenging, but I thinkyou're always tinkering and
trying to correct and to learnand to grow and to.
(36:37):
Not make the same mistakestwice.
And and you hope you get theformula right?
And then once you do, once thathappens and it clicks and it's
there, it's it tends to last.
And that with programs at everylevel in every sport where once
that's there it's become theexpectation.
And so you're al always climbingthat hill trying to build that
and put it in place.
And then once it is, once it'sthere, it's it's typically there
(36:59):
for quite a while.
I love that.
And I can tell it's importantfor you to get the right culture
at St.
Louis.
And it's probably gonna begreatly different than it was at
Fort Hayes.
'cause it's a different program.
A different school.
A different conference.
Yeah.
And you're dealing with incominghigh school kids, you're dealing
with transfers, you're dealingwith international kids.
(37:20):
What role.
Does your staff play yourseniors play in building that
culture when there's so muchdiversity in your soccer family?
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
I think every good team, again,is gonna have excellent
leadership.
I.
Within the program.
Staff's included in that butplayer leadership, player, led
(37:40):
player, I think that's that'scritical.
And you have to, one, you haveto have that with your older
players, with your moreexperienced players, but you
also have to develop that,right?
You have to develop that withyoung players.
You have to identify playersearly in the process that have
that potential, have thosecharacteristics that I.
They can be developed and finetuned and eventually when it's
(38:01):
their turn to, to be the mainleaders in the team.
But yeah, it's it, you're alwaysdealing one you're, you nailed
it.
It's the roster is the diversityin soccer is probably unlike any
mini sports.
I know it's.
It's not the only sport, but itis it's a sport that's, you're
gonna have players fromdifferent backgrounds and
different ages and differentcountries and different
cultures, and that across theroster.
(38:24):
That's the fun part.
It's part of the fun part aboutsoccer is you get to learn about
so many different cultures,learn about so many different
people.
But it's challenging at times tomold that and to put that
together into one team.
Yeah, like I said, if the moreyou have quality leadership
within the team and the moreyou're continuing to foster that
from younger players the betteryou're gonna be.
Short term, long term, andeverything.
(38:46):
Are there things that you'redoing every day in practice or
are there things that you'rebeing proactive with to build
some of that with your playersand your staff?
Or do I know that's so hard tothrow at you in, in thinking
that way, but are there thingsthat you're just like, I'm,
we're gonna have a staff meetingevery Monday and we're gonna,
we're gonna talk about this,we're gonna have a captain's
meeting every Tuesday, we'regonna talk about these things.
(39:08):
Sure.
Are there things that you'redoing to help that along and
help all those guys.
Yeah.
But the, the staff we workreally well together, so we're,
that's constant, consistent,we're, I think this level, I.
Maybe more and obviously theyhave friends at every level
that, where it's much different.
But we don't sit down and have aformal staff meeting.
Yeah.
We want it to be it's moreconstant, consistent.
(39:30):
And, we're as friend, as muchfriends as anything with
players.
Absolutely.
We have, we set up a leadershipgroup every year.
Where you try to, it's a littlebit of an inexact science,
whether it's, you want.
Diversity and your age groups,right?
You want some younger players,you want older players,
captains, those things you wantplayers from maybe different
(39:51):
backgrounds and cultures thatcan spread their, the message
and spread that around.
But you're doing more than justget the pulse of the team, you.
Always try to do some sort ofleadership e exercises.
Give them a, a something that,you can find somewhere that's
gonna turn the leadership brainon a little bit.
And try to get them tocritically think about, things
they can do and ways they can bea better leader and ways they
(40:12):
can, grow as a person.
Help their teammates grow andmake everybody, ultimately you
wanna get the best out ofeverybody, right?
I think that's the point of youwant everybody to.
To be able to perform the bestthey can on game day and in
practice.
And so those, we do a lot ofthose exercises and we meet
probably every other week withthat group.
Nice.
And try to grow and do that.
(40:32):
So it's, yeah.
You have to be, you have to beproactive.
You can't sit back and say, Iwant this, I want this to
happen.
I want to have this leadershipand this culture, and then just
hope that it's magically gonnahappen.
You have to, it, it's somethingthat has to be grown and
fostered and developed.
It's such a smart thing withwhen we're talking about
leadership, if it's just you,it's hard.
(40:54):
It's hard to get 25 people onthe same page when you're the
only one doing the talking.
You're the only one doing themarketing and presenting.
So I love the idea of thatleadership group where you're
it's a little bit more groupthink it's a little bit more,
let's get everybody's opinion.
Now all of a sudden there'sseven, eight people walking out
of that.
That meeting, that are nowtalking, teaching, leading the
(41:17):
same way, with the samementality.
So I love that you're doing thatcoach, I could talk to you about
this stuff all day long.
And I go on and on.
I want to get into recruitingwith you, but I wanna do a
little rapid fire with you justto get your thoughts and a
couple things, just a couple funthings, if you're okay with
that.
All right.
I'm ready for it.
Best soccer venue you've evercoached in.
(41:39):
Ooh I'm gonna go with the FinalFour game in the, it was
Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.
It's, it was very cold.
There was snow on the ground theday before, but it was right on
the river with a beautiful viewof downtown Pittsburgh.
I'm gonna go with HighmarkStadium.
I've been abusing you with thesewinds, even though they were
great or with the losses, butthere were great losses and you
(42:00):
took your team a long way.
What's the most memorable win ofyour career?
Ooh, that's a good one.
I would say the game beforethat, right?
We had just a little background.
We had been, and when I was upFort Hayes, we had been one game
away from the final four, Ithink, three or four times.
And heartbreak lost in penaltykicks, lost games.
(42:21):
We should have won, lost one.
Bowl games.
And so the day it was a monkeyon our back from, from about
six, for about six years.
And when we finally did it, itwas never forget that feeling in
that day.
That's great.
What was the score of that one?
Two zero.
Two zero?
It took me a second.
Two zero.
Yep.
Yeah.
High scoring game.
No, that's great.
Is there one non-negotiable inyour program?
(42:46):
There might be many, but isthere one that pops up and
you're like we're always gonnado it this way or We're never
gonna allow this?
Is there something like thatwith your program?
Yeah, I think to me, integrityand respect are non-negotiables.
And that's, no matter I thinkyou can win lose with class with
respect and integrity all thetime.
And it.
Probably nothing upsets me moreas a coach when the team doesn't
(43:10):
act like that or doesn't showthose characteristics.
So yeah, I'd say respect is thenumber one non-negotiable.
And that can be for anythingthat can be for opponents.
Yep.
Referees, fans.
The game itself, I thinkrespects number one without a
doubt.
A hundred percent.
With you there, who's yourcoaching mentor or biggest
influence?
I know you talked about yourdad, so you can use your dad
again.
Sure.
Is there a coaching mentor orbiggest influence outside of
(43:32):
your dad?
I.
There's a, a ton, right?
A ton.
I was, I took a strange pathwhere I was a head coach after
two years of a part-timeassistant, right?
So I never, I didn't have thatfour or five years with a, as a
college coach in particular,that I was, this was my path.
(43:52):
And I've had a lot of coachesthat I've, that I've been
friends with or worked with in,in other capacities.
Billy McNichols.
He was a, he's a, a Scottishlegend and has been coaching in
America for a long time.
He's probably the one that wouldcome to mind.
He was former Glasgow Rangersplayer, coached with the
national team in, in, in theStates for a bit.
So he's one that has probably,I.
(44:13):
Other than peer mentor that Iwould say is somebody who was,
who had been at the highestlevels that I've had a great
relationship for probably 15, 20years.
That has really helped me in alot of different ways.
He'd be the one That's awesome.
But yeah, my, I think my,definitely my dad.
He's, every, everything andevery, every aspect of how I am
as a coach or as how I am as aperson within an athletic
(44:34):
department is definitely my dad.
What a great way to grow up.
And I'm glad you have thatrelationship.
Was there a favorite soccerplayer growing up?
Yeah, growing up was Arian Ri.
He was number one from Arsenal.
Not a bad one.
Not a bad one.
Yeah, that's a great one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He was my favorite growing upspecial man.
What a special athlete.
Yeah.
Florida Beach Day or a MontanaHiking Day.
(44:57):
Florida Beach Day.
There's a reason why, there's areason I've migrated to.
To Florida.
Yeah, absolutely.
All right, last one, fill in theblank.
Great teams.do great teams caremore about the team than
themselves.
I.
Love it.
Great way to finish, coach.
I'm so thankful for you beingon.
(45:19):
I can't wait to talk recruitingwith you.
Anybody that's listening tothis, please come back on
Monday.
We're gonna, we're gonna have asegment just on recruiting and
get coaches advice onrecruiting.
So thanks for doing this, coach.
Thanks Matt.
Really appreciate it.
That was Coach Brett Parker, andwhat a powerful reminder that
the best coachingtransformations don't always
(45:40):
happen in the spotlight, but inthe grind through the setbacks
and with the long view in mind.
If you took something valuablefrom today's episode, and I know
I did, please subscribe, ratethe show and share it with
another coach or parent.
These stories matter and yoursupport helps us keep telling
them.
You can find all of our pastepisodes plus my blog.
(46:02):
Free resources and updates on mybooks, including the softball
recruitsjournal@coachmattrogers.com.
Hey, thanks for being with us onsignificant coaching.
Keep leading with significanceand come back on Monday to hear
Coach Parker's collegerecruiting advice and insights.
Have a great one.
Popular Podcasts
Cold Case Files: Miami
JoyceâŻSapp,âŻ76; BryanâŻHerrera,âŻ16; and LauranceâŻWebb,âŻ32âthree Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. âŻCold CaseâŻFiles:âŻMiami follows awardâwinning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer⯠EnriqueâŻSantos as he partners with the departmentâs Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.