Busy Weekend

Week of October 22, 2007

To summarize, we had at least 6 unofficial visits last weekend. It was our first ever alumni weekend. We volunteered at a cancer fundraiser Saturday morning, and Sunday was Senior Day. There was a lot going on at Belmont, as usual.

Friday night’s game against Florida Gulf Coast was one of the best games we have played since I’ve been here. It was one of those games where the ball would not go in the net. FGCU is a good team, and there was a lot of soccer being played that night.

After the game Friday, Wendy and I went to Mafiaozo’s to meet up with some of the alumni. I met Reagan Larkin , Brittney Michael, Audrey Hesson, Sandy Weinngart, Kerry Powell, and Leia Schneeberger for the first time. Cristin Czubik, Renee Schultz, and Mikell Lucas were there. Kaitlin Thomas, Brooke Goodman, and Katie McCabe joined us late. Also, it was very impressive that Sandy’s mother and Mikell’s mom and brother were there to see everyone. I laughed so much in 2 hours, I knew it was going to be a good weekend!

Saturday morning, our team volunteered at Strides Against Breast Cancer, a 5 mile walk through downtown. Our team was split up and sent to different spots on the course. Some of us gave directions, some held mile marker signs, some worked at water stations, and we all cheered! I walked the course and had some good alone time to think about alumni, the current team, and recruits and how a college soccer program can connect so many people of all ages from all walks of life. Cancer does the same thing.

From the walk, we went to Belmont for the alumni game. Tara Cheatham, Kristin Story, Michelle Engberg, Trish Simpkins, and Kelly Edwards joined the same group from Friday night, and they played 8 vs. 8. It was fun to watch everyone play. Defending and running were optional, but most of the alumni are young enough to still do both. Belmont’s Office of Alumni Affairs provided lunch for everyone. The weather was beautiful. After we ate, I took many of the alumni on a tour of the Curb Event Center and Beaman Student Life Center. It was bittersweet for them. Our indoor facilities are impressive, and these young women played at Belmont without a modern locker room, weightroom, and training room. I could tell they were a little jealous but proud of their school and the women’s soccer program.

Saturday night, Cristin Czubik hosted an alumni party at her house. Some people brought old pictures and scrapbooks, and it was story time again. It made me very happy to see these people together having a good time. I want to make sure we continue to have an alumni weekend. We will also try having one during a spring season, and see which is better for everyone. I doubt we will do it every year. We had people travel in from Washington, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio, and Missouri. I will make sure we provide alumni activities often enough to keep people involved and in touch. Of course, all you alumni know you can keep informed by reading my Bruinsider! I want to thank everyone for coming last weekend. It was great to have you on campus and great to see you together!

I was excited for our game on Sunday. We had lost to the top 3 teams in the conference, and it was time for us to get back on track and show that we were one of the top 4 teams in the A-Sun. Unfortunately, we played very sporadically. We would go for 10 and 15 minutes without controlling the ball or connecting a pass. Despite our spotty play, I thought we created enough quality opportunities to score more than one goal and win or tie the game, but we lost 2-1. We gave up early goals to Mercer, Florida Gulf Coast, and Stetson, so that will be one of our focal points for this weekend in Jacksonville.

Our four losses in a row have all been different. In some of our losses, we were not the better team. Some were due to a slow start. Some were bad breaks and bad luck. Some were inconsistent play. Our opponents played well. We must identify what factors we can control and strive to improve upon those factors for our last three conference games.

The other thing we are going to change is all the talk of results and the minimum requirements to qualify for the conference tournament. We do not need to begin a game thinking about how we must win to get to the A-Sun Tournament for the first time. Our focus needs to be on our game objectives that we made during pre-season. We have statistical objectives, like how many shots we need to take and how many of those need to be on target. We know how many shots we want to limit our opponent from taking and how to limit those shots, like good defending shape, good 1 v 1 defending, communication, blocks, etc. I think we are getting ahead of ourselves, and we are beginning to focus on the product instead of the process.

You can expect to see a well-prepared, properly focused team on the field in Florida this weekend. Hopefully, I will have good news to share with you when we return.

I can’t forget to talk about Senior Day. We recognized the seniors and their families before the game on Sunday. The current players made each senior a sheet, and they were hung on the fence at the field. After the game, we met inside briefly to talk about each player and give them a gift from the team and coaches. After the loss, the mood was somber, so it was difficult. It did not take long to direct everyone’s attention away from the loss and toward the value of each of these young women. Meredith Brandt, Sarah Brandt, Kassidy Brown, Micaela Crowley, Kari Lennon, Caitlin Lipari, Jennifer Rix, and Lauren Uremovich have all contributed to the success of this team and the uprise of this program since 2004. They are strong individuals. They are a resilient group. They are good leaders. They are talented people. I am privileged to have met them, worked with them, and known them during this wonderful time at Belmont. Well, they are not gone yet. I want them to be the first senior class that competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference women’s soccer tournament. We should know on Monday if they will be.