Matt Correia is the Head Men’s Soccer Coach with Salem State University.  Salem State is a NCAA DIII institution located in Salem, Massachusetts (about 30 minutes north of Boston, MA). Salem State is a member of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference or the MASCAC, along with programs like Framingham State, Fitchburg State, and Worcester State.

Coach Correia has found much success in his coaching career and has amassed an amazing 105-53-15 record over the last decade. He has coached at the DIII level and produced numerous athletic accolades for his players as well as Coach of the Year awards on more than one occasion. He has hit the ground running at Salem State in just three short seasons, reaching the conference finals twice as well as reaching the NCAA tournament. 

Throughout our conversation, Coach Correia and I talk about the recent news of the USSF closing down the Development Academy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. He talks just a bit about his thoughts on the topic and what that could mean for players. We then dive into some recruiting tips not only for the DA kids who are in limbo but also all athletes that are at home during this time and how they can make the most of that time to do their research and contact coaches. Coach Correia also gives some great tips on how to keep a routine and stay physically and mentally healthy during this time. After that we talk about his recent successes and what he feels makes a team successful. Matt shares a couple stories about his team(s) and their mental fortitude. Lastly, we talk about his Mount Rushmore of Soccer players and he shares a fun story about one of his Top 4.

Coach:

Matt Correia: Head Men’s Soccer Coach with Salem State University.

Topic 1: Tips For Both DA Athletes and Non-DA Athletes on the Recruiting Trail:

Coach Correia talks about recruiting and his tips for athletes during this pandemic. He explains that there are many ways to stay in contact with coaches, even some new ways like video calls that can help athletes build a relationship with coaches. He mentions to keep things positive, do your research on what is the best fit for you, and then talk with the coaches to see if that program is the right fit. Matt also offers up some 'Dos and Don'ts' especially when it comes to videos and emails to coaches. 

Topic 2: What Does Coach Correia Make of the Closing of the Development Academy: 

Coach Correia shares his thoughts on the DA closing and how this could affect the athletes and why it was an interesting time to close down. He mentions that it’s been talked about throughout his coaching connections, but that everyone is still holding out to hear more on the situation. 

Topic 3: Tips on Staying Physically Active During COVID-19: 

Understanding this is an uncertain time for athletes, Matt shares some ways that athletes can stay physically active. He talks about making exercise a priority and keeping up with a routine to make it all work.

 Topic 4: Tips on Staying Mentally Healthy During COVID-19: 

With the same uncertainty and loss of a season, can come with additional saddening feelings. Matt talks about how to stay mentally healthy and keep a positive outlook. Again, routines and staying mentally active is your best bet.

Topic 5: What Makes a Team Successful - Mental Toughness VS. Talent: 

Coach Correia gives his insights on what makes a team successful while sharing a recent story about one of his teams and their mental toughness and dedication to the team goals.

Topic 6: Expanding on Mental Toughness with a Team Story:

Coach Correia expands on the thoughts that mental toughness is important for a highly successful team. He shares some more insight with his most recent teams mental acumen.

Coach Correia cares about educating soccer players with multiple ways to stay mentally and physically engaged - even during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is apparent he cares about making sure athletes know a great deal of recruitment tips to further their own success.

Full Transcript:

Jess Gregory  

Alright everyone. Thanks for joining us today I am here with the head Salem State coach, Matt Korea. How we doing today, Matt?

Matt Correia  

Good. Thanks for having me.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for joining us. How are things out there in Massachusetts?

Matt Correia  

doing the best we can. It's nice out today, which makes things easier in terms of getting out there and getting a workout in but yeah, you know, doing all that we can as much as we can.

Jess Gregory  

That's helpful. Yeah, you have an outdoor space at least so you can not necessarily have to run around in the neighborhood.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I do. Get a nice little yard out here for a couple mile run this morning. So when the weather works So it's good, but we're in New England. It looks like there's some snow tomorrow.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, just hit us today. So I think it's coming for ya. Yeah, but yeah, I totally agree. I think it's easier to stay inside now that it's snowing than it is when it's nice out. That's when everybody wants to be out there doing stuff. We kind of shouldn't be I guess so. We'll see.

Matt Correia  

Exactly.

Jess Gregory  

All right. Well, I kind of wanted to pick your brain because we just got that announcement on Wednesday from the US Soccer Federation about how they are shutting down the development Academy. So I kind of wanted to pick your brain on that. What are your what's your take on the whole thing?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, big news. surprising news. Not exactly sure what happened. I can't speak too much on it. But it's just unfortunate for the program, the DA clubs, the the coaches that have jobs with these clubs, and really the players in terms of, you know what they're going to do, they're they're all affected by this. So what what's the next step for them? Yes, an unfortunate circumstance all around?

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. It seemed. It seemed like it did catch some people by surprise. But it may have also been, you know, in the pipeline, and they were just kind of thinking about it. I just saw their notice online about how was the financial decision during the the COVID issues. So, I mean, that must have had something to do with it as well.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think the uncertainty of what's going on, I mean, they play so much and so much of them they rely on on these players on their training. And it's just it just seems like if, if they don't know, then, you know, how do they make a financial decision on how to move forward?

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. Yeah, that's definitely interesting. I mean, how I wonder how it's going to affect the players if they can find a place to land or if they're just kind of looking now to the next season, and this is just a complete wash.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, it sounds like some of the DA clubs are Trying to find alternate solutions in terms of maybe a different league or creating a separate league. I think there's a little bit of a scramble going on right now on what's going to happen. But yeah, for most importantly for the athletes, what are they going to do? I think other club teams look at this as an opportunity to maybe recruit them to their club. So they're going to have some decisions to make and it's going to be interesting and, and for college coaches. For us, it's going to be interesting to kind of see how we follow what's going on as well. You know, how do we adapt to it?

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. Because this is the DEA. tournament's are big recruiting aspects for you guys, isn't it?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, to judge I think certain programs end up building relationships with some of these DEA clubs. I know we have had a bolt Academy kid come in each of the last three years. So it just changes. It changes your recruiting a little bit, but you just got to adapt and Figure out a different way.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. Um, yeah. Have you heard anything else from any other coaches? Have you guys been kind of chit chatting about it yet? Or is it a little bit too soon? Having it just happened on Wednesday?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think I mean, I haven't had too many conversations with guys. The ones that I have, it's all been sort of the same in terms of some confusion and what's going to happen what's next. I know the MLS has stepped in, it looks like trying to create on Youth League. That's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. And that's really all we've got so far.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. Well, I mean, with that being said, I guess let's kind of chat on what these kids can do on the recruiting side to kind of stay stay active, you know, I mean, they were already out as it was with the COVID pandemic going on. So what are some tips maybe for them that they can keep the recruiting aspect rolling and, you know, spin this on the positive so that it's not It's not all negative for them.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think these are these are such challenging times, especially for athletes because they've never gone this long without playing it really any athlete at any level I don't think has ever gone this long without playing. So, you know, like you said, What can they do to sort of spin this in a positive way? Well, we still got as coaches we still have to recruit. So we still need to be in contact with some of these athletes. So it's a great time to do some research to get online and take a look at some colleges you might be interested in and take a look at what they have to offer. Look at their soccer program and email you know, email these coaches get in touch with them if they are indeed interested in maybe attending that school, huh? Yeah, those are those are some good tips. I think definitely staying in the process and and taking this time to like look up schools maybe that you've never heard of that. You're like, oh, let's check them out or see what their academics are like. So that You can, you know, find new places if you haven't been recruited yet. Yeah, well, I think that's one of the things that you guys do well is you know, at the camps But even now online, it's, you don't settle on one particular group of colleges. It's it's always a diverse group of schools. Whether it's division one, Division Two, division three giucose. And even with the social media, it sounds like you know, you're getting out there to different coaches and different schools. And these these athletes got to do the same. They just they really have to do the same.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. It is all about finding that right fit, you know, and you don't really know what that is. I don't think until you start really diving into it and trying to decide do I want to go to a big city do I want to stay close to home? You know, what kind of academics Am I looking for? Because not all schools have the same

Matt Correia  

so it's hard and without the visits, it makes it more difficult, right? You know, this is in the spring is normally when we get a lot of kids on campus, and we get to do the campus visit and they get a feel for the school that changes things as well. A lot of schools are, you know, doing virtual open houses. So that's something I think they should look into as well. If it's a school they're interested in, well, maybe they're doing a virtual open house that I can take a look at. It's not the same, it's never gonna be the same, but you still gotta take what you can out of it.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. That's, I mean, that'll affect seniors for sure. If they haven't decided on a school yet kind of knowing, you know, what they're looking for. Um, but yeah, at least if they can get a virtual idea of what the school is like, and then it's all about building that relationship with the staff and the players to kind of decide is this is this where I can see myself for the next four years, so hopefully, they can do that virtually.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think it's important for them to do sort of what we're doing. You know, it's one thing to have phone calls, but get to know the coaches if they are indeed at that point where they're starting to make a decision. Try to have some virtual meetings, get to know the coaching staff And maybe some of the players and just see if again and take as much as you can to just try and figure out if it's the right fit for you.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely should definitely take advantage of these options talking on the phone, which I know kids don't like to do as much. Yeah,

Matt Correia  

it's, it's tough. It's different for them.

Jess Gregory  

Exactly. Now, can you share any kind of fun do's and don'ts on the recruiting side of the things like you've seen throughout your coaching career?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I would say, you know, one of the things I mentioned was to send some emails, just make sure you before you do that, you do a little bit of research. I know. I sort of use this as an example. I often get emails from kids that will say, you know, I really want to do engineering, and engineering is one of the majors we don't have. So just a little thing like that you got to understand and know what the school has to offer, so that the coach can take you seriously. Make sure it's a little bit more of a personal email and not just an email. You could, you could clearly tell was sent out to a mass group of coaches. Mm hmm. And then in terms of video, you know, it's always suggested that players send out video. And now with all this time we have on our hands, you know, it wouldn't surprise me I've gotten these type of videos before where I'm going to get a video of a kid juggling a soccer ball in his backyard. Now, rather than spending time on a video like that, maybe look at some of the clips that you have, or some of the game tapes that you have. And don't spend your time making a video in the backyard, but really working on what you have on your computer already. And putting together a nice little highlight video that you can send to these coaches of these schools that you're interested in.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, I've definitely found doing these videos with you guys that it is super easy to edit videos, um, that anybody can can figure it out and do it with a couple steps on Google. So we're all learning we're all learning. I mean, I'm I'm learning a ton about technologies, things that I didn't know about.

Matt Correia  

It's huge. And I actually think that moving forward, a lot of people are going to continue to utilize these things, these apps that we've been using because of how we've learned.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. Now one of some kids, I know you don't want these juggling videos, because it is probably kind of hard to see what you can do outside of that first touch, right? You're not seeing them doing anything else after that, because there's no other kids most likely. Um, so if they if they don't have video, um, it's not the end of the world, right? I mean, they can kind of give you some other information and go from there, especially if they're, you know, a freshman or sophomore or something.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, they can can really, you know, sometimes we get emails that are just too vague. And I have to respond with you know, I need a little bit more information. So any type of background information in terms of where they're from, where they play, do they play club, if they play, what position do they play? All that stuff's important, so that we can kind of answer And a lot of times, they'll mention their coaches contact information, which is huge, because, you know, the coaching community is pretty small. So oftentimes we know who their coach may be, and you can, you know, I can just pick up my phone and call that coach and, and get a good read on on these players. Mm hmm.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, that's definitely a good one, especially for the younger kids. I know Division Three, you can still chat with them. Um, you know, it doesn't matter the age that they aren't necessarily, but it is helpful to have the club coach or the director or the recruiting coordinator. Be able to chat with you about how that player actually is.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, that's, that's big. I mean, I'd like to think that I always do my due diligence on each player. Like if I if I hear from a player, even if I'm interested, you know, I try to talk to former coaches, sometimes teammates, right that I know that I might have recruited in the past or that I'm currently recruiting or that I just know have played with this person, and just kind of just get as much information as possible. To try and figure out if that particular athlete is a good fit for our program.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, because it just goes, it goes both ways. It's got to be a relationship for what you guys want as well as what the player wants.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, it's a job interview.

Jess Gregory  

Mm hmm. Absolutely. That's, that's a good way of putting it. Now, I kind of want to chat a little bit about what they can do. You mentioned the juggling part. What are some other physical things that they can do to kind of stay in shape during this time while they're at home?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think this, it's been challenging. So you got to be what the word that I've been using with my players is you got to be creative. You got to find different ways or different things. Like we just talked about earlier on, you know, if it snows tomorrow, I'm probably not going out there for a two mile run. But maybe I hook up my computer to the TV and I YouTube, a home workout, a half hour home workout, and I get just a bit of a sweat. So it really depends on the day. Can you You know, our school has done some great things in terms of putting up some stuff on social media about different types of home workouts. The thing I would suggest is really just getting into a routine. So waking up, having some breakfast doing the classwork that you need to do. And then getting your workout in, however it may be, whether it's an indoor workout, or if it's nice out, you're going outside. Just getting into a routine where that is just part of your day, right for if you're an athlete, that should be part of your day. And hopefully, you don't you don't want to fall behind. And it's so easy in these types of situations to just sit on the couch and do nothing. And it's, it's just not if again, if you consider yourself an athlete, that's just not the way to go about your day. It's just not how it is. So just getting into a routine and being very, very creative. However you can.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, it's definitely going to take some innovation They're to kind of figure out what space you have, you know, if you can if you can kick a ball around if you have siblings or something, but it's going to be just finding the time and the space to get it done.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm lucky enough that I can still play when when things were fine. And that's sort of how I stayed in shape. But it's not possible now. So I'm not a runner. I've never had been a runner, a guy who just goes out there and runs. That's what I've been doing. You know, I ran two and a half miles today. Again, I don't do that. I don't do that. So it's, again, just doing different things, sometimes things that your body isn't used to. But however, however you can make do during these times.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. Now, I'm talking about the mental side of that. I'm sure when this all first started, and there already is still a bunch of uncertainty, but it had to have thrown people off to where they were like, Oh, no, my season's over. This is terrible. Maybe they slept longer than usual. They're not doing any activity there. What are some kind of ways that they can get that mental health back so that they can be prepared when it does open back up? Because it will eventually.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, I think, you know, I really feel for the spring athletes. I mean, that is that is just so so tough to work all year and not have a season. So how do you bounce back from that? Right? It's, it's difficult, I think, for our guys one for I'd say fall season sports. So that's for high school kids as well, at least in this area. To really understand that, you know, there's still a possibility that you're going to have a season. So if you are going to, you know, if that happens, are you going to be prepared, right. So really start start to kind of put that in your mind and let that motivate you to get up and do what you need to do to prepare for that season. I think that's motivated should be enough of a motivating factor to get you up every day and do what you need to do. So I would say to just continue to think about that and just realize that better days are ahead. We don't know exactly when it's going to be but better days will be ahead and hopefully it comes sooner than Later.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, yeah, it's good to know to just like, you can take a breath and then kind of jump back into it and do as much as you physically and mentally can per day.

Matt Correia  

Yeah. And try to try to spend the positives. I mean, I, sometimes the one way to look at it is you have a lot more time on your hands. So what are you doing with that time? Are you utilizing that time? The right way? You know, catching up on your schoolwork, or good workout in that maybe you didn't have time for before?

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. Um, those are some awesome tips for the athletes that are at home again, I hope they do kind of spin it on the positive, you know, if they're a DA kid, and they have nothing to go back to yet. Um, you know, I'm sure they'll they'll figure that out soon enough, but keep working both physically and mentally. And I think they'll they'll come out ahead.

Matt Correia  

I'll tell you what, if they're a DA kid, they're probably going to have a lot of options in terms of clubs that are going to reach out to them means they're probably a pretty talented, talented player and I'm sure there's a lot of clubs that would love to have displayers

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, absolutely. All right now I want to switch gears just a little bit with you here and kind of talk a little bit more about you. So you've been with Salem State for about three years now and have had some awesome successes. Kind of right off the gate. Once you guys like 17 in one or something in your first season with them.

Matt Correia  

First, our first season we were seven and only play I think what you saw might have been the the regular season conference record that we've had over the last three years. You've had, yeah, we've been fortunate. We've had some good teams, some great players. And it's been it's been good so far.

Jess Gregory  

Awesome. Now since you've seen this success, I want to ask you what you kind of attributed to that. Is it the mental side of the game or is it the talent of the players or a combination of the two?

Matt Correia  

Yeah, it's it's definitely a little bit of both. We've had some really talented players that have come through here. But most importantly, we've had some really tough kids that have come here. Just really understand the sacrifice that it takes to win games. Winning is hard. And I think you get these kids, you get the right kids that, you know, understand they're talented, but also know that if they don't show up every day, they're not going to succeed. And we've been fortunate enough to have kids that are really mentally tough. And it's, it's really gotten us to where we are today.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, that's awesome. Do you have any kind of fun stories about any of the teams over the last several years that you can kind of share with us that have been that mentally tough team?

Matt Correia  

Um, yeah, I think I think our my first year at Salem State was a really interesting team because it was it was a rebuild here, you know, I had to kind of come in and, and clean house a little bit. And that team, we started five freshmen for transfers. So nine out of the 11 starters were brand new guys, and they were all talented guys, but they had to learn how to win together and we took some bumps. Early on, but they were able to come mesh and mesh together, play really well, at the end of the year, they went undefeated in conference play, we get to the championship game and we play a team that was really upset minded a six seed that somehow got to the finals. And they were they were beating us at halftime. So that was a huge moment for a group of guys that still didn't even really know each other that well to kind of figure out, Okay, how do we come together, overcome this deficit and win a championship and they were able to do that, which was, you know, really a great memory for me and, and for those players, something that they'll always always remember. So I think that was a fun time because again, it was just a brand new team. Mm hmm.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, that's that's pretty cool that you can kind of build that in that first year. It's unique. That doesn't happen all the time where you're trying to build something and they they come together right away to get it done.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, it was, it was tough. I mean, to recruit that late in the game was difficult. But this is a perfect example of recruiting never stops. It just never ever stops. And, you know, I got hired in the springtime. And I had to find out who was still free, you know, who was kicking around and who was available, we were able to kind of put together a recruiting class just in the nick of time, and it worked out.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. Well, that's a that's a great tip for our seniors Hint, hint. It's not over.

Matt Correia  

No, it's really it's really, really not, you know, it's just, I've had Listen, I've had two kids that have been rookie of the year that really didn't get until the summertime. So you just never know. And sometimes somebody set to go somewhere and something happens, and maybe they're their options sort of open up again. And it's the same for us, you know, some schools, their recruiting classes done, you know, and they're completely done, but there are a lot of other schools that you know, might still have a spotter to open or might have three or four spots still open. So, yeah, it never stops. Mm hmm.

Jess Gregory  

That's awesome. Those are some great recruiting stories to to have You know those kids coming into summer and then come in and be Rookie of the Year?

Matt Correia  

Yeah. For sure.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah. All right, man, I want to know, it's kind of my last question for you. I am curious to know your Mount Rushmore of soccer player. So this is your top for all time. favorite players hit me with it.

Matt Correia  

Well, I think two of them are still playing, which is crazy, you know, I think and with Ronaldo and Messi, I mean, those guys are up there. And it's awesome that it happened in really in my lifetime where we got to see the best of them. And then one guy who I got to meet a few years ago at the convention Pele, which is unbelievable. Oh, cool. And then I got to put he's a crazy guy, but Diego Maradona is up there. And I'll leave you with this. This little funny story about Ronaldo. So my parents are from Portugal, they immigrated here, and I traveled I go to Portugal, you know, as much as I can. When I was 16 years old or an all those about a year or two older than me when I was 16 years old, I was in Portugal. And I was at my uncle's house. And he said, Matt, come in here, come in here, rushed in there and on the TV was Ronaldo playing for the for sporting. The Portuguese team that he started off with. He was 17 years old. And I'll never forget this. My uncle said, I've never seen him play before. My uncle said, I want you to watch this kid play. One day, he's gonna be the best player in the world. And I remember being 16 years old and watching him for the first time. And how mesmerized I was. And that's when he was really flashy. But sure enough, you know, I always To this day, I told my uncle that story he doesn't even remember. Yeah, tell him all the time you called it you know, you call it this guy went on to do great things. And now we'll go down as one of the best players of all time.

Jess Gregory  

Yeah, that's really cool. You got to see him on TV too. Right at the beginning.

Matt Correia  

Yeah, no, it was it was a special moment and Because of that Portuguese, you know, obviously he's, I hold him to a little bit of a higher standard than everyone else. Mm hmm.

Jess Gregory  

All right. So he would be your He's my guy. Yes, absolutely. Awesome. All right, Matt. Well, I really appreciate you sitting down and chatting with me today. Hopefully we'll be back out there on the field soon, but if not, maybe we'll catch up later in, you know, in the coming months

Matt Correia  

for sure. I hope so. Good luck to everybody. Stay safe. Thanks for having me.

Jess Gregory  

All right. We'll see ya. 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai