2004 Season Outlook

I should start by mentioning that I have a strong tendency to be overly cynical when it comes to reading pre season outlooks about soccer programs. They tend to be written either by sycophantic coaches more intent on banging home a false message than ferreting out the real facts or by shameless self-promoter coaches with highly inflated views of their own accomplishments. There are exceptions, of course, and I hope this is one such case. What has happened here by the women’s soccer program has been profoundly moving and we hope 2004 has the same effect.

The 2003 season was an amazing year for Graceland soccer. In only our 10th year in existence Graceland finished as the 17th ranked team in the nation, made it to the semi-finals of the Regional Tournament and finished with a 15 win, one loss season. The team scored 85 goals and only conceded 12 in regular season play, with which Graceland have truly announced to the college soccer world that we are a soccer powerhouse which deserves respect.

All of this has been achieved by a program that in the past, due to its results, were given very little respect, even by Graceland University itself, and where battling took precedence over passing soccer. I have seen the program go from strength to strength since I took over in August 2001, and we are now looking to stabilize ourselves in the upper echelons of US women’s collegiate soccer.

The 2003 season was a tremendous achievement and should have its own unique place in the school history books. I would like to congratulate my players and staff for their attitude and the consistency they have shown. It was a true team effort and this will be a season that will live long in the memories of all those involved.

Preparation for 2004 started as soon as the 2003 season was over. We lose six varsity players of real quality and they will be very difficult to replace. However, I believe the recruiting class for 2004 have more than enough quality to replace these six, and more importantly the players left in the program have developed their game sufficiently enough during the off season to take the team to a higher level than has ever been achieved.

We have stability in the program and the players know the system we play very well and this makes it easier for new players coming in. The more experienced players can show them what is expected of a Yellowjacket soccer player and help them to understand their roles on the field of play. Once players have a clear understanding of what their role is on the field according to where the ball, teammates and opposition are in the various phases of play you have a recipe for success. The players have shown in the off season that they have a huge hunger for success.

During our spring practice I could see the improvement in all of the players and many visitors were left open-mouthed and agog at the level of play shown by the team. All the hard work spent on practices, repetitive technical and tactical work outs, on team building exercises, in the weight room and on the track, is beginning to show positive results.

In order to take this program on to the next level we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last two seasons, introducing new players to keep the pressure on the incumbents and develop a clear style of play which hides our weaknesses and highlights our strengths. The strengths of the team include confidence - pure and simple. The players now have a belief that what they're doing is right and that means so much in competitive sports. They've got the experience to try new things and when they come off they move on. That breeds self belief and that's the key to success. When they opt to turn it on, it's almost as if it magically happens. It's so mysterious and a perfect wow moment. They love to pass the ball around and can play an astute tactical game. They have that winning feeling and they now know what it takes to win.

This was highlighted in the off season when the team became the Iowa ‘futsal’ State Champions for 2004. When they won this tournament you could see the glow in their eyes--and that tells a story. They loved it and that all adds up to the fact that they believe they're doing the right things on and off the field as a program. And we are! The greatest thing for me is that I don’t need to ‘dumb down’ the practices. The players have developed to such a level that I can now truly work with them on very advanced topics which is so refreshing for me.

Our weakness is that we can't afford to be predictable now. After an impressive start last season, we were ultimately disappointing in the Region V semi final, losing because I believe we underestimated our opponent that day and were given a lesson in how the physical demands of soccer are so important. We were out muscled and out run by an extremely fit team. Technically and tactically we were just as good but we couldn’t compete on the same physical level and this was our downfall. Having said that I believe we can learn from this to help us be the team who can go on and win the national tournament itself one day. We have learned from our mistakes in the past and this is one lesson which will not be ignored.

Another lesson learned was the fact that “each player has to dominate as much territory as possible within each of their own zones and express their personality by the way they play” (Anson Dorrance). In the only regular season game we lost we saw the opposite -- our team deferring to the player personalities of the opposition and “hiding” from the game. From that moment on we asked them to express themselves in a dominant form.

This they have done and it has given our team a harder edge that never existed before. We need more aggression (some of the players are too humble) but they are good players, there is no mistaking that. We now look at the game of soccer differently. The team has come to a clear understanding that “not only are technique and teamwork very influential driving forces to success, but that the deeper human qualities of personal responsibility, self-expression, passion, and inner strength are greater factors” (Dorrance).

The players have been following a very rigorous off season conditioning program which has tested their passion for the game and their desire to succeed. Ninety-five percent of them passed this test with flying colors and this gives me great hope that they will return in preseason fit and mentally prepared for what will be a very tough season ahead for the Yellowjackets. We will play the top teams in the country once again this season and for us to be successful we have to be direct against them and deny these teams the ball. This will take a huge physical effort and the team has to be ready for this work load. Hence the importance of the off season conditioning.

“If what you're working for really matters, you'll give it all you've got.” --Nido Qubein

Almost one third of the ’04 schedule is against Top 20 nationally ranked teams at the NCAA and NAIA level, including traveling nearly 1,000 miles to play the number one ranked team in the nation. We are about being in the national tournament and being the best we can be. To do this you have to go and play the best so that you always have a bench mark with which to compare yourselves with. This is very different to those schools and coaches who go hunting for the easy teams to play to keep their winning records. Where is the adventure in that? Numbers can be deceiving at times.

“Adventure isn't hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain. Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life -- facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, discovering our own unique potential”. --John Amatt organizer and participant in Canada's first successful expedition to the summit of Mt Everest.