Ep. 60 - Recruiting Reality: Navigating the College Soccer Funnel

The recruiting process can flip from quiet to overwhelming in a single weekend, and that is exactly what happens after MLS Next Fest. I sit down again with Wyatt, Mateo, and Brandon from Ozark United FC U19 to get honest about the calls, the emails, the pressure, and the decisions that come fast once coaches start reaching out. We talk about what “finding the right fit” actually means when you are balancing college soccer, academics, location, and the bigger question of who you want to become off the field.

They break down the real filters they used to choose a program: building a list of what you do not want, defining a few non negotiables, and digging into the details that actually shape your experience. We get specific about soccer development and program culture, roster size, international players, positional depth, and the questions recruits should ask coaches when no one can promise playing time. We also talk about recruiting timelines, NCAA contact rules, highlight reels, and why starting early can matter more than people realize.

Money is part of the story too. We discuss financial calculators, avoiding painful surprises, and why the “dream school” has to make sense on paper as well as on the pitch. We also zoom out to the changing pathway to pro soccer, including the growing academy route, what trials can teach you, and how to turn setbacks into confidence. If you are a player, parent, or coach navigating youth soccer recruiting, this conversation offers practical steps and a grounded mindset.

Subscribe for more Ozark United stories, share this with a family in the recruiting grind, and leave a review if it helps. What is the number one factor you think matters most when choosing a college soccer program?

Transcript

Welcome And Podcast Mission

SPEAKER_03 0:04

Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United FC. This will be our platform to tell our story about the club and the special place that we call home Northwest Arkansas. This is a journey. We want to bring you along for the ride. We'll share what's going on behind the curtain, help educate the community at large about soccer, our league, and give updates on the progress of the club along the way. Together we'll explore and unpack our journey to professional soccer, the magic that is NWA, our community, and talk all things soccer from on the pitch to behind the scenes, telling the story of our club.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Pitch to Pro Podcast is proudly sponsored by PodcastVideos.com.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Podcastvideos.com is Northwest Arkansas's premier podcast recording studio. Equipped with industry-leading equipment, the recording studio and services save you time, money, and hassle.

Recruiting After MLS Next Fest

SPEAKER_01 0:57

They are dedicated to helping you create, record, and publish high-quality podcasts for your audience. Be sure to check them out today at podcastvideos.com.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Pitch the Pro Podcast. I'm Wes Harris, managing director for Ozark United, Northwest Arkansas's professional soccer club playing in the United Soccer League. I'm really excited because I'm back here for part two with my chat with Wyatt, Mateo, and Brandon. If you missed it, go check out part one on pitchthepo.com. Boys, last time we were talking about just playing for OZFC U19s. We talked about just what was different about it. And then kind of one of the bigger things was the opportunity to go to MLS Next Fest, which is the largest recruiting event in North America, I think. Somebody quoted that to me. So don't kill me in the comments if it's incorrect. And just the opportunities that came out of that, right? All the eyeballs and the conversations that you guys had. So coming out of that, now you guys are getting kind of hot and heavy into the recruiting process and like trying to decide what are you guys trying to do? It's a stressful time. Like, can you guys just walk us through what that was like for you guys?

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Yeah, I mean, so after fest, for me, at least um lots and lots of emails and calls with coaches. Almost every day I was on a call with a different coach. Um, really just trying to find like the right fit for me. Um, whether it's like for both the program, like the after soccer program and the school location and everything. Um, so there were a lot of calls that were not very long because I discovered, oh, this is not at all where I want to go. But then there were some calls that would get up over an hour because I was really interested. I was asking questions, trying to figure out more. Um, so it was a very busy, busy time trying to find like, you know, the right, right place to be. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:47

I think for me, it's I think it was a little bit different than why I don't think I had near as much interest as him. You know, not to say that's better or worse at all. But um, I know that why I had a lot more. Um definitely a lot more calls than I did. I think I probably had a handful, maybe five or six calls. Just I only had I think five, six, seven schools reach out. So um, yeah, I think that just goes back to me figuring out whether I wanted to play college soccer or not. Um, that was a bit of a a process that I kind of alluded to uh in the other episode. But um, yeah, I mean it was uh I think like I said, Wyatt's probably more hectic, but I mean mine was more spread out. I think probably around after two to three weeks, I think I narrowed it down to the final three schools that I was thinking about, three or four schools. And then at that point he was just waiting on decisions, yeah. Um finally just making a decision. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

What about you, Brandon? Yeah, for me it was probably similar to Wyatt. Um, just calling a bunch of well, having calls with schools that reached out to me and seeing if they're fit, also doing a lot of research on schools and um also reaching out to schools, just everything. So I didn't I kind of narrowed it down like a big narrow down because I like had a certain criteria, but um, yeah, then I chose NWAC because NWAC was I think the best situation for me in terms of where I want to go next.

How They Narrow Down Schools

SPEAKER_03 4:11

So I think talk well, I didn't want to cut you off, so hold your thoughts. But uh all of you guys talked about doing research and like understanding fit. Tell everybody, like, especially for people, I think I mean it it's good just in general, but for people that are a few years younger than you, and it is kind of like this big scary thing coming up on if I mean a lot of this has to do with just where you want to go to college, if that's what you want to do. Um, but talk about that process for you guys. Like, what did you guys have? Like you said you had some criteria, like what were those? How were you thinking about it uh in terms of as you're evaluating these opportunities in front of you?

SPEAKER_04 4:54

I think that's what I wanted to do is piggyback off of Brandon to I think research is the most important part, probably, but in picking a school. I think it gets pretty easy once you get out of two to three. I think um first narrowing it down to how many schools you want to reach out to or who you want to reach out to is the hardest part. I know I I thought it was very overwhelming at first because everyone asks you what do you want in a school? So to me, I thought it was a silly question, not a rude way, almost because how am I gonna know exactly what I want? I think it's I think um for anyone looking for schools now, I think it's a lot easier to figure out what you don't want. So I think you start super broad. Um, you can just go to websites that help people narrow it down. You want a big city, a little city, coast, mountains, um, beach, wherever. And then from there you narrow it down. And then also the biggest thing is a lot of people don't know what they want to do yet um in college. Um, I know I don't know if either of these guys haven't narrowed it down, but I had my mind set on medicine, so it was easy for me. But I know there are a ton of people who just say, Yeah, I'm going to school. I'm gonna figure it out. I'll wrote Gen Ed for a year or two, and then hopefully I'll narrow it down. But I think that that's another part is just making sure that if you have a couple ideas to make sure that your school um has what you what you want to do, because there were schools that reach out to me, but they their science program was non-existent, they had no research opportunities, and that doesn't help me at all. So, hey, you know, for that reason, that's why I can't. So I think I think just making the list of what you definitely don't want, and then the couple of things that are absolutely non-negotiables, as opposed to making a list of the 20 things that you want to see in the school, because I think that's a lot more, a lot more overwhelming.

SPEAKER_03 6:21

Sweet approach.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Um, for me, I like I have no clue what I want to do, no clue for any of that. So I think that's why mine kind of took a little bit longer. It's like a more complicated process because I didn't really have a great way to narrow it down because I personally I don't care if I lived in a big city, small city, like wherever. I just wanted to find somewhere to play. And so a lot of the time I spent looking at finding um the best, the best place to play. Um, so obviously I wanted the school to be like I wouldn't just go to any school, but almost. Um, and so I was really, I was really trying to dive into like the program, the culture of the program, not necessarily just the results of the program, but like the culture of the program, you know, how they approach um player advancement, like getting you better. Like, what does that look like? Will I actually be, you know, gaining knowledge, gaining technical ability while I'm there? Um, you know, what is the competition like? All this kind of stuff. And so that's what really helped me start to kind of narrow things down, um, just purely because I have no clue what I want to study. Which is totally normal, by the way. This is a weird one.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Like, yeah, no, seriously, he is in the minority. Like, there's very, very few that know what they want to do, which is great. Like to to just have that bug and know. Um, and by the way, this was not even on my radar, like when I was going to school at all. Um, but that's that's the path of life, guys. Right. So um, to know what you want to do is is incredible, and to not yet have that spark of passion, and just like I just want to keep playing, and that's what I know, and so that's your focus. Like, that this is why I wanted to talk about it, is because you know, where you had like, I must have a really good science program and opportunity for research because this is what I'm gonna do. And you know, you knew like I wanted East Coast because I wanted something new, a different environment that I've not been in, you know, and and and why it's a little more focused on like diving deep into the soccer program. Um you know, I don't know, you know, Brandon, you said you had criteria too, but I just it's different for everybody, right? And it's so interesting to hear everybody's process.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Yeah, for me, I mean, most I want to go into business, and most schools pretty much most schools have business, so it's a little bit easier. So when I was looking for schools, I was made mainly looking in terms of soccer, so like roster sizes, um, how many players are international, like the age of the players. So that kind of went through my mind first, and then I was looking at the school after. But I would say, like, for some advice, just be proactive and there's no like start as early as possible. There's no for sure, not it's better to start early than late.

SPEAKER_04 9:11

Something yeah, that caught that caught up with me. I procrastinate. I had a lot of people in my life telling me to you know hurry up and get on research. And then also some people don't like focus on financial some people they don't have to worry about the financial situation, but I'd say 90% of people do. So I think if there's one thing or one of the themes that you should take away, is definitely uh most schools I have something like a financial calculator or what have you, and then I'd say definitely look into the finance because you don't want to find your dream school, and then they give you your package and it's uh it's a hundred thousand dollars a year or something crazy like that.

Academics, Program Culture, And Money

SPEAKER_03 9:40

So yeah, try to avoid college loans at all costs. I uh I did not be in debt till I'm 80. Um anyway, that's a whole other podcast podcast series. Um I think that's so it's so cool and interesting to hear everybody's thought process behind stuff. But you said you can never start too early. When did you guys start or wish? Let me put it this way. When do you wish you had started?

SPEAKER_00 10:09

So, for in terms of recruiting process in general for me, um I started making highlight reels and emailing coaches probably freshman year. Wow. And so freshman year for D1 coaches, they can't even respond to your emails until the summer of your sophomore year by the NCAA. I saw all the NCEAA school. Yeah. Um, and so it was just like purely just to get on like the radar for them. Um, and so I was very consistent with that through all the way through until I committed. Um, but in terms of you know finding the right school, that probably started um, or like like finding what I wanted in the school, it probably didn't start until things actually started ramping up. Because to be honest, like I thought before FEST, I didn't I had one offer. And so I was like, well, I don't really know if I'm gonna get much of a choice. So I hadn't been researching schools much. But then when I started to get more, then I sort of like, oh, okay, I need to make decisions between these offers. So I started looking at program schools, everything like that, just trying to sit through and find like what I really wanted to do and wanted to be.

SPEAKER_04 11:15

I think um the recruiting part, I think why I think he had had uh, I don't know, you say the nail on the head basically. I think that especially if you're like far, I don't know what these guys is um, what their prerogatives were in terms of where they wanted to go. But I think for me, especially, I'm not gonna say that I'm not gonna sit here and be solid here or say that I was wronged by not being chosen by some of the schools that I went to, but you could definitely tell that the relationships in the schools in the Northeast, because these kids have been coming to camps literally since they were freshmen. Oh yeah, since they've been for like they were getting cobbered, but at least they noticed them until they had a couple good moments there or whatever. They've been coming back for year after year, two to three camps a year, and then that's what gets them on the radar. And then they might not be the best, um, but they they know that they're that coach knows that they're consistent, they shows up and or they show up and then they they you know they do their job every single time. And um, I'd say that why I hate it um pretty well. But in terms of research in your school, I think it should be as early as early as possible, especially if you're academically inclined. Um if you want to go pro and you just want the best team, then I think that's one thing. But if you want to go and pursue higher education or just um, you know, you're academically inclined, then I think that should start probably the end of your sophomore year because that's a real grind. I mean, you're not gonna have you're not gonna have you're not gonna have all 24 hours in the day, you maybe you're gonna have an hour or two a week, especially if you're playing on a team like Ozark or another high-level team. I think that you should start that really as early as you know that you want to go somewhere for academics.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

Right. Yeah, I think I started making highlight reels my freshman year, but it was for to send to academies, not for a college. Then I started. Um me personally, I started like reaching out to colleges like uh summer going into senior year, which is late, which I would say I would recommend definitely doing it like would you be said soft like sophomore years?

SPEAKER_03 13:03

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, okay. Yeah, I uh it's it's funny how early stuff is starting now versus you know, I won't even give you a number, but a long time ago I was doing the same thing, right? Um and it's just it's wild, I feel for you guys, because like the competition is so crazy. Not even just in the States, no, and for D1s, you're for D1s. I mean it with D1s, especially, especially on the boys side too, just with like the international rules and like what's going on there and how that has shifted. Um, and you talked about, I mean, you could have you kind of threw a little bit of foreshadowing into that aspect where you said you actually started by sending your highlight reels to academies instead of colleges, yeah. And so the path to pro is kind of changing and shifting a little bit, like you absolutely can go pro through college, it happens all the time. It's also though become a very real option to go through the academy system, which is still, I would say uh in its relative infancy and like still being built out. Um and obviously we hope to continue to to build upon that with what we do here, but um that's interesting to hear you say that you started like with the academy side of things versus colleges. Yeah, it it it's indicative, I think, of of the landscape though.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

Yeah, because when I first like reached out to like we forgot my first like academy tryout, um I just saw like the level and like the facilities they had, and it just made me want to like go on and reach out to more and yeah, just try to get my name out there. That was my thing because I didn't know anything about college at that time, I had no clue. Yeah, you just knew you wanted to be a part of it. Yeah, I just want to be a part of like an academy environment for yeah, yeah.

When To Start Recruiting

SPEAKER_00 15:12

So no, that's awesome. I would say similar. I I did that as well. I emailed, so I got one trial while sporting Kansas City. Um, and well, I obviously didn't make it, but yeah, I think right, but I think like um instead of that being a negative thing for me, it was actually a really positive thing because I went up there and like I it was a three-day trial and I hung all three days. Like I was scoring goals and everything. Um and you know, I had a good talk with the coach afterwards. He's like, You're you're all you're you're like practically right there. Um, it's just there's no point to bring in out of state player when we could find someone probably your level in Kansas City because there were so many players in Kansas City. But that was a really good thing for me to hear, actually, because I've seen all these guys, and now all the ton, I think it's like four or five of the guys that I trained with those three days, I signed pro contracts already. And so it's like to know that like I am right kind of right there with those guys is a really positive thing for me.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

That's good. That's awesome. I like that you know that's a good attitude and mindset to have because that could easily kind of go on the other way, right? Right. Um so I guess talk about talk about I I guess each of your programs. Like, where are you going? What are you excited about? Why'd you choose it? Like you you kind of put it through the funnel, you put it through your list, and then kind of talk about how you got there and and kind of what what led you to that decision.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Um, so I'm going to John Bryan University, Tension Springs, uh, not too far from here. Um, but really like the biggest thing for me there is Coach Ryan. Um, so he coached me when I played in the UPSL for two seasons. And I think like that my growth in those two seasons was um, it was like insane. Which playing, you know, UPSL with growing meant health as well. But like his like the way he can teach the game is unlike anyone else I've ever had. And so that was a big thing that pushed me there. Um, just knowing that I was gonna go um have that as my coach for four years. Um and like GB said, like, I do want to go pro. That's my ultimate dream. And so like I really need college to be a time when I grow even more than even I am right now. And so I knew that if I could go with Coach Ryan, that I would be getting napped. Um, and so then I went and visited and everything. Um, loved the campus, it's super cool. Um, met like everybody there is really nice. And so, like during my visit, I kind of realized that like that was the place I wanted to be at.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

Then so you're uh uh learning from a good uh former pro himself. He knows what it's what it takes to get to that level.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

Yeah, yes. For me, I think a big decision is Coach Dean, because after playing under him the last last season, I grew a lot. And also when I was going to ID camps for other colleges, they also knew Coach Dean and they also recommended me to play under him and develop with him. So that's why that's a big reason why I'm going to Edwac. And plus, my parents probably like that decision too.

SPEAKER_03 18:15

Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's great.

Academy Route Versus College Route

SPEAKER_04 18:17

So I'm going to Russell Sage in New York. Uh, there's two campuses and uh one in Troy, one in Albany. Uh, I think the biggest thing that drew me there was Coach Amir. I think he's extremely, extremely personable. Um, I used to think that I would meet another coach that was as personable and as into your life, um, and at the same time good at coaching as Coach Scott. But then, you know, I met Amir. Um, I haven't played under him yet, but I mean, the dude knows more about me than I think some of the people at my school who I've gone through all four years or all 12 years and all four schools with. So yeah, I think that's pretty cool. Um, yeah, I think the biggest thing was him, just phone calls um were very frequent and then also pretty long. Just like why it's a you know, time slips by, you talk to him for 30 minutes to an hour, and then um, you know, just waiting for the next one essentially. Um I think also another thing that drew me was also, you know, not to nerd out, but specifically um the hospital. There's a big hospital near the campus, which is Albany's main hospital, Albany Med. And um I won't say too much about it, but you know, I'm just excited to, with the certifications I've earned here, uh, to my hard work um and the programs that we have at the high school, I'll be able to apply those by going to school and playing soccer and also getting hours under my belt and experience. So I think I think the combination of those two things, you know, on top of um some good people, um, advisors and teachers that I met at the school were that was a no-brainer for me. And then on top of that, I think one thing that um I should say, I don't know how these guys feel about it, but a question that I I always like to ask the coaches was, or that I liked to ask the coaches was um, you know, obviously they can't, no, no coach can promise playing time through a phone call. And I think it's silly to even think that, but you can ask the state of the position that you're gonna play in. And so my favorite go-to was, you know, what are the guys that you have in the position there? And do you see me playing within the next one or two years? Because I'm not interested in in um, you know, going to commit for life to my four years of my life to a college, and then I'm I'm sat down for two or three of them. I want to play as soon as I can, hopefully as a freshman. And so Amir said there was room for me to to you know compete and get that spot as an 18-year-old on that team. So I think that was also a big, a big motivator to go there is that I knew that I had the opportunity to play.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Oh, that's awesome. That's uh a massive point as well. That uh, you know, uh you may go to these, you know, some of these bigger schools are more well-known schools, and you know, it's great, they have the pedigrees, the coach, like they some incredible players that have come out of there. But if you're not in that like 0.05 percent of those players, or a lot of the time that's where the internationals come into play, right? That are a little bit older, and I think uh XYZ, um, uh you may be sitting for three years or four, then you just sat. Like you just not wasted your time necessarily, but like didn't get the competitive, you know, growth that and experience that you're trying to get while you're there. If that's I mean, being a collegiate athlete is no joke, like it's a commitment. And if you're gonna commit to that, you want to be able to point to something and say, like, I got that experience and played more than five minutes of my career. So I think also a consideration set, like you kind of just laid out in talking to the coach that I'm sure you guys all talk to the coaches about and kind of weighed within yourselves like am I gonna play before my senior year? You know, um because I know even sometimes like that in high school, it's like that where coaches are just like, nope, I don't play you don't play until you're a senior, which is wild to me. But anyway, uh neither here nor there. So okay, last little bit here. Uh you guys aren't done yet. Uh you still have uh kind of what Is it regionals kind of the playoff into MLS next cup? Um, you know, depending on how you guys do. So what does that look like for you guys? What's the schedule wrapping up school and and high school season even still? Yeah. Um, and then getting to the playoffs and then getting ready for college.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

I think Wyatt knows the most about this. So I don't know a whole lot, but um, we're in the like in the heat of high school season right now, you know, probably oh, we're exactly halfway through actually. Yeah, literally. Um, so there's so we have half of our high school season left. Um, but I do know that yeah, playoffs are coming. They're coming up, and they're actually earlier this year because of the World Cup. Um, so they're coming sooner than they normally would. Um, but yeah, so so we haven't been training really um as Ozark because everyone's at their high school stuff and you know have practiced every day or game every day, two times a week at least. Um so but yeah, we'll see. We'll see if we train for maybe a couple weeks before um going into that. But you know, I think like like we've already shown that we can play with all of these teams. And so, and we actually know a lot of the teams, so they merge us with the Kansas City kind of region for the the playoff qualifiers. Um, and so we used to like we've played a bunch of those teams before. Uh we know them and we know we can play with them. Um, so I think you know we're going in pretty high expectations, I'd say. Um, you know, and so it's gonna be fun um and all that, but yeah, I definitely want to perform well, compete.

SPEAKER_04 23:32

Yeah. I don't think any of us are ready for it to be over, yeah. Not just emotionally, but also I think we only had we had one one or two surprise losses during the season, and that we shouldn't have given up, but uh maybe a tie or two. But I think that we know we're probably the we're the best team within a while.

Where They Committed And Why

SPEAKER_03 23:49

And I mean, you you guys clearly still have that drive and hunger too. Like no, I at least I didn't see it because I know you did like some of you guys have known, like, okay, I'm gonna go play at the next level. Like, it can be very easy to get that senioritis, kind of yeah, you know, and have that let up. But um I from what I saw, I did watch a lot of your games, believe it or not. You can watch them on YouTube. Uh all of the games, by the way, every age group, we we put them up there, which is great to watch. Uh, I try to watch them all if I can, but uh it was very clear, like even after Fest and multiple weeks after Fest, when I knew people were accepting it, could have been gift, guys. I'm done. Like, I got it. I don't, I don't, why do I need to play here? And there was not a single let up that I saw.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

And that's the other thing I think like is such a great group of guys, and like we're all so close because a lot of us have been playing together since the 77, 99 age groups. Yeah, so this is kind of like the last run together, yeah. Um, yeah, so it'll be emotional for sure.

SPEAKER_03 24:55

Sure, I think like win or lose without that last game. I think I think it's all might come out, but there's definitely a lot more emotions on Monday than I thought. So on Monday, guys, we had a and you guys probably saw this on socials. Um, we had essentially a signing day for you guys, right? Like we that was just massive to have that many an entire roster go play collegially, and we wanted to celebrate the heck out of that. And so we thought it would be really cool to kind of do a friends and family and and kind of bring you guys together and celebrate you guys. Um, so talk about the event and like you know, what was that like for you guys? I know that that was it kind of made it hit, yeah, right? Like I saw a couple guys like, oh man, like, oh, and it may have been like the first time that that really hit for you, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Um, and started to think about it. Yeah, it was it was like it was a great event, you know. It was crazy when we all lined up at the one long table to see just how many. Like, I feel like that's when it clicked for me, like, wow, that's a lot of guys going to play college. But yeah, then it also hit the you know, like this chapter is I mean to a close. And you know, we all are moving on to our thing and we're all happy with what we're moving on to. But like this was a long, like we spent a long time with these guys, and so like it's gonna be rough when that last game hits to just like net we're never gonna play with them again.

SPEAKER_04 26:14

I think I mean basically the same thing Wyatt said, uh, especially I know that these guys are staying in the state. Um, why not too far, Brandon? Basically just down the road, but you know, I'm going to New York. And so I sort of I sort of alluded it to my speech, you know, like these guys are always gonna be my brothers, my family, and my teammates always considered on that. But um, you know, at the end of the day, just like Wyatt said, I mean, just it's over when it's over. You know, there's no there's no going back. There's no um, there's no like we're not hanging on by a thread waiting for a result, and then we'll get another game. It's once that last game is played. I mean, we're done. There's no next year, um, especially once high school's over, you know, are I'm gonna miss a lot of those guys that we played four years with that I've grown up with. But um, yeah, I think the event was really well done. You know, shout out to you and the the Ozark staff and then the Mars the Marsbury family as well. I think I think it was it was really nice. My you know, my family and my parents enjoyed it a lot, and so I think, yeah, it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Yeah, I agree. I think it was it was a good experience seeing former teammates, also everyone lined up, seeing where they're going and hearing the speeches too. That was a that was a good something. That was fun for me.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Yeah, yeah. I don't get to interact with you guys like as much as the coaches do and your teammates do, right? So uh that was really that was really fun for me to to get to watch, just as you know, uh an afterthought bystander over here.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

Yeah, and it was just overall a good event for like the families and the community. So I already liked it. It was nice.

SPEAKER_03 27:37

Yeah, that's great. Well, I'm glad we were able to to find the time that worked for you know pretty much everybody. Hopefully, there was I know that there was a couple that couldn't make it, but you're always gonna have that. But right. Um anyway, gentlemen, thank you guys for joining me. I think we'll cut it there. Super proud of you guys, super proud of the whole team. Thank you. Ladies and really appreciate the way that you guys kind of you were the torch bearer. Was your coach Scott just okay? Coach Scott built uh a really nice um and and Miss Jennifer uh built a really nice like picture frame with their committed graphic, and then Coach Scott took uh time and a lot of effort and thought into uh what legacy would that player leave behind them uh on NWA soccer with their teammates within the community. Um so really quickly before we end, actually, I'm gonna make you tell everybody what your legacy is, each of you.

SPEAKER_02 28:43

Okay, Rennie first. Uh I was unbreakable. Okay. Because I'm unbreakable. I guess he's a beast. Emotionally and physically, I'm unbreakable. I guess that's the legacy that Coach Guy that a lot of people know me for. So thank uh I was the thermostat.

SPEAKER_04 29:07

Um, I guess it's because you know, I think when I come out ready to play, I guess the other guys can feed off that energy. Uh, I think I'm I like to think I'm a pretty social person. So uh, you know, I'm I'm not down in the dumps a whole lot. So I think whenever I come out there smiling and and ready to play, I think a lot of guys it helps them to to end that mood.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Uh I tell whether I'm right, wrong, or whatever, but I saw something one day and I liked it a lot. And it I coach younger kids. So uh U10s, there'll be U11s next year with the age change and all that fun stuff. But I heard somewhere that you can control three things as a soccer player that nobody else can control for you, and you have complete control over. One is how hard you work, how brave are you, whether it's going into a tackle or to take somebody on or to take the shot, whatever. How how brave are you? And I think probably my favorite one, which I think solves 80% of issues on the field, is how high is your energy? And so you should take that with um, and I know you did, but like from somebody else not Coach Scott and somebody not on your team, take that with like a really high degree of of a compliment because energy is one of those things that uh for me as I look and I watch, you can see games momentum shift, right? And a lot of the time the energy shifts with it. And so to have somebody on your team, I can't tell you how invaluable it is, that can be that engine for energy, like those players matter a lot. I appreciate it. So that one when he brought that out, I was like, Oh, I need him to come talk to my boys.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

So anyway, I digress. Um, yeah, so mine was um Torchbear, um, kind of just because you know, we've been with these guys for a long time. Um, just helped lead, like, lead the charge here. Um, and you know, we're just like setting this example for the age groups below us. I know at the signing event, I saw a ton of the younger kids there. Yeah, and it's like I think it's really good for them to see this because I know for us, we always look to the older age groups and like the ballers out of the older age groups, none of them would go play. You'd have like one or two or three a year. And so I think it's really good for the younger age groups to see all of us signing so that they can be voted to the it's massive, it's massive, it's absolutely correct.

Playtime Questions And Roster Reality

SPEAKER_03 31:38

I mean, I always, you know, whether it was high school, whether it was within your club, like you're always looking up and like you thought the older players were cool, and like you know, they're balling out, like, oh my god, you know, and then you get to that level yourself, and it's it's about the the example that you leave, right? So uh to have have that example and have you. I mean, you guys were the first to ever wear the the crest, like there's a massive, massive um responsibility. And so I give you guys a ton of credit and just really appreciate the way you guys went about your business and then represented the the brand, the crest, the club, uh, and our values. I know you guys talked a lot about them. Um and that meant a lot to us when we talked about do we want to do this and and then the how um are we gonna do this? That was important for us that we made sure that that was gonna be kind of part of it and that they'd be talked about, standards held, all that kind of thing. So um again, just thank you, boys. Congratulations, appreciate you guys, and uh can't wait to tune into some some uh NAIA and Russell Sage and and and probably uh be able to go watch uh some home matches for you too for sure. Yeah, if you're ever in in the vicinity, uh let us sing my chance for sure. But uh yeah, you got you're gonna be a little more regional up there in your converts for sure. Uh anyway, guys, thank you so much for coming in and sharing a little bit more about your experience and and congrats again. I know you guys are all gonna do great things, whether it's on the pitch or off of it. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right, guys, that'll do it for this episode. I appreciate you listening and tuning in. Hope you enjoyed it. To catch more content, please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, all the other major platforms on X and LinkedIn and all of them. Uh, follow us on YouTube at Pitch2Pro or pitchtopro.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast content for more episodes. Appreciate it, guys. Until next time, cheers, Northwest Arkansas.

SPEAKER_01 33:57

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Pitch to Pro podcast. Be sure to tune in again in two weeks for the next installment and check out the stoppage time series for a recap of today's episode. Be sure to find us at Pitch2Pro on YouTube, Instagram, and everywhere you get your podcasts. Until next time, Northwest Arkansas, cheers.