the day after

How do you recover from losing on a penalty kick in the last 12 seconds of a game?

We had practice at Indiana State on Saturday. We did a team challenge. The team had to complete passes under pressure for one minute without making a mistake. The girls almost completed it in the first try. Then, they could not make it 30 seconds. They started getting frustrated, and it started getting quiet. We had just talked about adversity, effort, leadership, and teamwork the night before. When the team accomplished the goal, they passed successfully for over 2 minutes.

Then we played a 7ASide round robin. There were some good shots, near misses, good saves, and good goals. It was fun.

Then, we drove to Carmel to spend the day and have dinner at Jessica Rix's house. It was awesome! We watched college football, ate, played corn hole, passed the football, played ladder golf, took naps, did homework, etc. The weather was great. We had a wonderful dinner. It was a great time!

After dinner, we drove back to Terre Haute to spend the night. Sunday would be a difficult day and an important game for us.

road trip

Before we got on the bus on Thursday, I talked to the team about how we must go 2-0 on a road trip in order to finish atop the Atlantic Sun Conference. The objective of this trip was to go 2-0 on a non-conference weekend, so we knew we could do it when conference started. Well, that speech didn't work out too well.

One penalty kick and one overtime later, we were 0-2 for the weekend.

I have never coached a game where there is a game deciding goal in the last minute of the game. I think I have seen goals scored or given up with 1:something on the clock but never 0:something. At Eastern Illinois, the referee called a penalty kick against one of our defenders in the last 12 seconds. We lost 1-0 on that goal with 0:12 on the clock.

It was by far the worst field I have seen in the 2000's. A ball could be rolling along the ground, and bounce over the player's foot when she tried to trap or kick it. After about 30 minutes, we had to vacate any passing in our game plan and just play direct and try to kick every ball over their defenders. Although this kept the ball out of our defensive half, it did not result in shots or scoring chances. We only took 1 shot in the second half.

I've been thinking about the quality of that field, and it has made me pretty upset. All the teams that show up there to compete and work hard deserve far better than that. Any coaches who spend time preparing their teams to play against Eastern Illinois deserve better than that. The coaches and student-athletes at EIU deserve better than that. There is no way you could practice on that field and get better. I'm not mad because I lost on that field. I'm just mad about that field, and the message that it sends to those who use it.

In addition to the bad field and officiating, the team gave one of our least inspired performances in a long time. The last second penalty kick was shocking. After the game, I said nothing to the team. We just got on the bus, went back to the hotel, got ready for dinner, and went to eat.

After dinner, we had a team meeting. The meeting lasted over an hour. When you lose games the way we have lost games this year, it leaves a scar. We are working through some scar tissue right now.

The Injury Bug

Part of the reason we have been so successful the last few years is because we have avoided injuries. We've had players playing injured. Erica and Jayme played injured in 2008. Jessica played injured in 2009 and will continue to do so this season. Jayme and Maddie are joining Jess this year on the playing injured list. Actually, JTro has only played in part of 2 pre-season games and against Clemson. She is scheduled to join practice this week. We have not had a season ending injury since Elizabeth Bublis tore her ACL in the spring of 08. I can't remember the last season ending injury we had in a fall season.

We had one the other day. Emily Jones tore her ACL, LCL, and meniscus in practice. She went all out. I feel bad for Emily, and the team will miss her. She has been starting and improving every game and every practice.

At practice, I was making sure everyone was getting a chance to play in an exercise, and when I looked at the people who were sitting out, I had more injured players than I had substitutes. The injured players were Jayme Trocino, Emily Jones, Dani Stolt (IT Band), Sari Lin, (torn ligament in her ring finger knuckle), Megan Rock (back, pelvis, and hip problems), and Jamie Loftis (back pain). In the next game against Arkansas State, Erica left the game with a sprained ankle and possible torn ankle ligaments.

Could this be the year when injuries affect how successful we are? Injuries have affected some individuals over the years, but they have never affected the whole team. We're getting pretty close to that now.

I was worried over the summer, because I knew we had a lot of injuries that were preventing people from getting fit and preparing for the season - Jessica Rix, Jayme Trocino, Patience Whitten, Maddie Porter, and Lydia Wright - 5 seniors. A few days before report day, Megan Rock called me and said she was injured. Other than Megan, none of these injuries kept people from working hard during pre-season, so I was relieved and thought maybe we were more healthy than I thought. The more games we've played, and other players have picked up some injuries, the larger affect it is having on our team.

There are 2 positive things that could come of this. Maybe we start getting healthy and get everyone back at the right time. Maybe we have other players step up when given the opportunity in practice and in games. Actually, we will probably need both of those things to happen for us to reach our goal of winning the A-Sun.

My Worst Loss at Belmont

There were so many things that were disappointing about Tuesday that I've been contemplating what to write. Do I tell the whole story? Do I say nothing? Do I just wait and write about the next game or story?

Actually, the disappointment started at practice on Sunday. The coaching staff decided that we would not use conservative defensive tactics to get a result. We decided that we would stay in our 4-3-3 against their 3-5-2. We were going to play for development and not for the result. It meant that we would have to have exceptional individual and small group defending against Minnesota. Our defending in that practice was terrible. Maybe I should have changed my mind when I saw how poorly the majority of our team was defending. We trained well before the Clemson game, and we played well against Clemson. We trained poorly before the Minnesota game, and we played poorly in the game.

Tuesdays game helped us identify some things to work on to get ready for conference games. I think we learned from the experience. Ultimately, that was the goal all along.

In 2005 and 2006, my goal for the team was to compete and gain confidence from getting results. A good result then could have been a 1-0 win, a 0-0 tie, or even a 2-0 loss. We lost to Louisiana State 2-0, and I remember feeling really good about the result. We used tactics that allowed the players to play within themselves and allowed the team to have a chance to win the game at the end. The players worked together for 90 minutes, and it allowed us to become more cohesive, more competitive, and more confident.

That was not our goal this year against Samford, Vandy, Missouri, Clemson, and Minnesota. Our goal was to gain experience in our system against high level competition. Where we were exploited against great teams, we will fix before we play Mercer. The things that made us successful against those teams, we will use to our advantage against conference opponents.

We're not a bad 0-3 team, but I don't mind if our conference opponents think we are. Hopefully, after Sunday, we will be 1-3.

I am watching the USC football game. I might be the only person in Tennessee watching Lane Kiffin coach.

Sari Lin

Other than a few of the early years at Jacksonville State, I have had outstanding goalkeepers. Even when I played, I was lucky to play with national level goalkeepers and All-Americans. In 1989, my college team finished the season with 3 goals against. We gave up only 3 goals in 20 games. It is still a NCAA record. I don't think it's #1, but it is one of the best season goals against average in the history of NCAA women's soccer.

Sari is an excellent goalkeeper. She has had a great start to her career - 2008 All-Freshman Team and Tournament MVP. 2009 First Team All-Conference, Belmont Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Pre-Season All-Conference pick. She has been ranked nationally in save percentage, goals against average, and shutout percentage. Sari is probably the biggest reason for our 2008 tournament championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament. It was truly a team effort, but the goalkeeper often gets the credit (and the blame).

We have another great goalkeeper on our team - Nicole Berner, a freshman from New Jersey. Nicole came in ready to challenge for playing time. During the pre-season, Nicole out-performed Sari, and she has started all 5 of our games.

I am not writing this to give a public comparison of the two goalkeepers or to promote one goalkeeper over the other. I am writing this to talk about how one young adult has dealt with a situation that was probably very difficult and how this has defined her character.

Sari could have responded very poorly when she lost her starting position. She could have felt entitled to her position. She could have pointed the finger at others. She could have blamed me or Kyle or Andy. She could have blamed Nicole. She could have given up.

I do remember a training session while we were in Alabama where Sari looked like she was giving up. Then, she made that decision to compete for her position. I think she had to hold herself accountable to be able to make that commitment to herself and to her team. Since the Samford game, Sari has not taken one play off in training or in games. She is getting her timing back and her confidence back, and Sari's new work ethic is going to make her even better than she was before.

I am proud of Sari and the way she has handled this. I hope her peers and teammates will learn from her example. I know they have noticed. What a tribute to the value of collegiate sports. This is not the last time that Sari will be knocked down and challenged in her life. She has shown at a pretty young age that she can pick herself up, wipe herself off, and put herself back out there.

Not all student-athletes have the same reaction or attitude as Sari. A few years ago, I had a player quit the team when she lost her starting position. She told me that she was a junior and she shouldn't have to continue to prove herself.

I am glad Sari didn't respond that way, and I am grateful for Nicole's talent, preparation, and contribution to our team. Is it possible that we not only have the best goalkeeper in the conference but we have the 2 best goalkeepers in the conference?

Clemson

We lost in overtime for the 2nd game in a row. The results have been the same, but the background stories could not be more different. The weather was beautiful tonight. The team played very well in front of a big crowd. The players played as well as they have been practicing.

We were down 1-0 at halftime, and we tied the game with 7 minutes remaining. I was proud of our experience, maturity, confidence, and determination.

Then, the referee decided to let Clemson win. He gave them a penalty kick 8 minutes into overtime. I believe our team had a little lapse in defending, and Clemson was attacking. However, it was not a physical game, and the referee had called very few fouls. He called that penalty kick out of the blue.

I feel bad for the players who worked so hard to play toe to toe with an ACC opponent just to have the referee decide the game, not the players on the field. It's a shame.

We did play toe to toe with Clemson. They took one more shot than we did, and we had 2 more corner kicks than they did.

It is just a bag of mixed emotions - upset to lose, pleased with our ability to compete with a big school, sad for the girls, impressed with our improvement, and disappointed in a few players.

I am guilty (again) of having unrealistic expectations of our players and our team. I begin every season idealistic that we are going to play like Spain in the World Cup. I get so upset when we don't. It usually takes me a few weeks to get accustomed to our strengths and weaknesses and to be more realistic about our abilities. This season is no different.

I am going to spend the next 2 days watching Minnesota on film and in person. I believe they are the best team on our schedule, and they will be one of the best teams I have ever coached against. I know 1:00 is not a good time for a game on a Tuesday, but I hope we will have a decent crowd. Free hot dogs and lemonade!

tough conditions

We had 2 extremes in Missouri. Friday night, we played on a wet field in rain and wind. Sunday afternoon, we played on hot, dry turf. The temperature was 95 degrees in the parking lot, but it was over 105 degrees on that turf. It was the first time I ever had a water break in the middle of the half, and I have coached MANY games in extreme heat.

We lost 2-1 in overtime. There were many chances to score for both teams, and there were some good saves by the 3 goalkeepers. I think our team worked hard, especially considering the circumstances. If the girls will work hard in that heat against a non-conference opponent, I know they will work hard against Mercer, Kennesaw State, Stetson, and the others.

I have been happy with training this week. The team is looking to possess the ball more. The training environment is more game like. Team defending has improved. The goalkeepers are training at a high level. I think this schedule, the competitiveness within our team, and our experience is working to our advantage.

Our next 3 games are at home, and the next 2 games are against Clemson and Minnesota. What a great moment for Belmont women's soccer.

The soccer field and its surroundings look beautiful right now. At one end is a brand new 4 story dorm with an observation tower and a beautiful new $20 million building. I was at the men's soccer game yesterday, and the students can't help but come to the game. They walk out of their dorm, and they are at the game. It is a very unique environment, and I hope we are able to take advantage of it.

We still do not have a manager. Everyone has been helping with laundry and passing out equipment. We will have one by Monday. Jayme Trocino is injured, so she was the acting manager on the trip to Missouri. She had to video the game, do the team's laundry, and order food for the team before and after games. I think she has a new found respect for managers.

I plan every meal in detail on the road trips. Before a game, the players cannot eat too much or too little, too early or too late. The team ate breakfast at 9:30. We had food on the bus for everyone to eat before the game, but the players were not exactly aware of what food we had or where it was. I was out of routine, and so were they. By the time the game started at 2:00, the players were hungry. By the time overtime started at 4:00, they were running on empty. I guarantee that won't happen again this year. We will have a manager with us to be responsible for food. I will be more aware, and the players will be more responsible.

There are so many different things that go into being successful. It truly takes a team to manage, prepare, motivate, and perform.

See you on Friday night!