Podcast: Todd Plourde on Connecticut FC, recruiting New England at Iona

Connecticut FC coaches provide instructions to players. (Courtesy photo)

The latest guest on New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast is Connecticut FC ECNL Girls Director and Iona University women’s soccer head coach Todd Plourde.

A well-known commodity in New England soccer circles, Plourde was hired as Iona’s head coach in January of 2019. He came to the program, located in New Rochelle, N.Y., with 14 years of Division 1 college coaching experience, including 12 years as an assistant coach at Yale.

Plourde, who resides in Wallingford, Conn., has been a member of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Advisory Board and Founder Club since 2009. This past weekend, teams from his Connecticut FC club competed at the Jefferson Cup Girls Showcase in Richmond, Va., a premier national event.

He joined host Matt Langone to discuss the Jefferson Cup experience, CFC’s outlook for the spring season, and the importance of recruiting in New England.

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review.

Here are some highlights from our discussion with Plourde.

On his CFC players being able to showcase themselves in front of 300-plus college coaches at the Jefferson Cup:

Plourde: “Every single game is very intense. You’re going down and you’re literally showcasing your kids against other teams that you don’t normally play, and teams from different parts of the country. So, on the college side, it was great. Twenty minutes into each game, you make all your subs and everybody knows they’re going in.”

On being prepared for the spring club season:

Plourde: “We had such a mild winter that we’ve been outside often. So, we haven’t had to be indoors every single day from December through March. We’ve been outside, we’ve trained outside, we’ve had some scrimmages. I think we’re ready to go and you get sick of kicking your teammates. It’s nice to play against a different team.”

On recruiting in New England for Iona:

Plourde: “You go where you’re comfortable. We’re a small private school, right? In New Rochelle, right outside of New York City, close enough to Connecticut. I’m trying my hardest to get some Massachusetts kids, and I think the conference (MAAC) that we’re in, with Quinnipiac and Fairfield, we’re able to play close to home for a lot of (New England) kids, and parents want to watch their kids. I want to be able to recruit kids that I’m familiar with.”

On what he looks for in players:

Plourde: “Athleticism really is what separates the different levels of Division 1, because you can look at the upper echelon and teams that can compete for a national championship, and they’re getting the cream of the crop. Then I think as you go down, you’re trying to find kids that fit into your system. You want to make sure you have big center backs that are athletic and win balls in the air. You want to make sure you’ve got players that are left-footed — it’s really difficult to have your left back be right-footed. So, you try to find, for us, the best available for each position — make sure we’re filling all the positions with players that are going to fit into how we want to play. But I think athleticism is the No. 1 key.”

The Goal” podcast is brought to you by the New England Revolution and Soccerheads New England.

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