|
Pac-10 In Print
• USC Women's Soccer Stanford Women's Soccer 2007
Written By: Kat Stolpa Every year towards the end of September, our team seems to hit a wall. It is around this time that the first round of exams begin, that our midterm papers are due, and our legs really start to feel the wear and tear from the first half of the season. This year was no different, as the week kicked off in less-than-stellar action. When the team congregated for weights after the weekend in Michigan, it is safe to say that our work-ethic was lacking. Despite the best efforts of our strength coach, Bryan Bailey, to keep us motivated, we all seemed to be slow to respond and lethargic. Our coaching staff was less than pleased with our apathetic performance in weights, but instead of lecturing us and telling us to fix it, they were silent. By the end of practice, the team was mentally and physically exhausted. The coaches gathered us at midfield and after a long silence, asked what we thought about our performance, what we thought about our mental state, and what we thought about their lack of direction. We agreed that we were all tired in every possible way that we could be tired. Late nights studying for midterms combined with rigorous soccer and travel schedules had taken a toll on our minds and bodies. We were dragging and we knew it, but for whatever reason it had seemed impossible to for us to leave our problems off the field. It was at this point in the discussion that Ali reminded us that soccer is supposed to be the fun in our lives. It is what we came to USC to do; it is why we sacrificed our summers on the beach for summers on the track and in the gym: so we could be the best players that we could be and so we could position ourselves to reach our potential as a team. Soccer is supposed to be the release from the chaos we encounter in our lives as student-athletes, yet we were allowing it to induce our lives with stress. Eager for a bit of introspective thought, Ali ended the discussion with a reminder that after the weekend games against Long Beach State and Portland, we would be halfway through our season. When we reconvened for practice the following day, the improvement was palpable. I think the realization that the season was slipping away affected us positively because our touches were sharp, our motivation was high, and mental game was dead-on. It was the most focused I have seen our team in practice, yet for the first time we did not have to remind each other to stay focused…it came inherently. For the final practice day of the week, we gathered to watch the US National team's semifinal World Cup loss to Brazil, a 4-0 loss. While there were many issues that were addressed in the ensuing team discussion, the topic we focused on most was confidence, why we were lacking it, and what we needed to do to gain it back. When it came time to kick off against Long Beach State on Friday, the team was ready to translate all the discussions we'd had during the week onto the field. Despite a somewhat slow start, we probably played our most complete game of the year in a 3-0 victory. Not only that, but all three goals (scored by Mari Tomer, Lauren Brown, and Megan Ohai) were spectacular. The first goal was especially significant, as Karter Haug connected with Mari's head on a bending right-footed ball, a sequence we had worked on at practice all week. I guess all of those repetitions (which seemed excessive at the time) really did pay off! When we took the field for our Sunday game against Portland, we were backed by the tremendous crowd support and the presence of the USC Spirit of Troy (our school's notorious marching band). After trading scores in the first half, we settled into a second half that featured considerable end-to-end action. While I've maintained admiration and respect for the girls on the field for the entire season, today was the first time that I knew for a fact that they would not let our opponent walk off our field with a victory. As the game progressed, I could feel the excitement of the players on the sideline around me turn into a quiet confidence. Our entire bench remained on its feet for the majority of the second half, something that could not have been coaxed out of us for anything before this season began. Our support of each other and confidence in each other carried us to a 2-1 victory over Portland, and while we walked off the field with an extra skip in our step, I think in the back of our minds, none of us were surprised with the result. After a day off to recover, we will return to a full week of practice and a bye weekend. While the break will do us good, the week will likely be challenging, as we have a great deal to prepare for before we open up conference play at home against Oregon on October 12. Thank you so much for your support this week and FIGHT ON! Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Typically, a "player blog" is written by someone who actually plays... or at least someone who practices. But for me, "typical" isn't really the way to describe how things actually work out in real life. Since arriving at USC in the fall of 2004, I have endured four knee surgeries and almost two complete seasons absent from competition while trying to heal and get back to playing again. Over the course of the month, I'm hoping to provide you with a unique look at the USC women's soccer team as we adjust to a new coaching staff and, in essence, as we "grow up," both individually and more importantly, together as a team. In this week's entry, I'll just give you some background on the team, the season so far, and our hopes for the future. In January, we were greeted with three unfamiliar faces with whom we have since become quite familiar. Since then, the new coaching staff of Ali Khosroshahin, Harold Warren, and Laura Janke have placed tremendous emphasis on bringing together 26 individuals and uniting us into one team. While we remain individuals in other facets of our lives, our focus now is coming together for the sake of doing something special as a whole. We have all of the tools we need: We have talent, we have strong leadership in 2007 co-captains Ashley Nick and Lauren Brown, and we have a phenomenal coaching staff that cares for us not only as players but also as people. We are developing a strong work-ethic and have seen significant improvement in this area even since the beginning of preseason camp in August. Our biggest weakness in the past has been our inability to turn to each other in times of struggle. Our goal this season is to fix this, build trust, and make that our biggest strength. We've made progress in this area: meetings with Sports Psychologist Ken Ravizza, scavenger hunts across campus while tied together by our ankles, and famous fitness sessions with Ali have all helped. However, the true tests will come in our close games this season and in the moments off the field when we need each other the most. Through personal experience with all my injuries, I feel as though I can vouch for the power a strong support group can provide when working toward a goal. While I hope that I can make my return to the field at some point this season, the lessons I have learned on the field all pale in comparison to what the game has taught me in its absence from my life. It has allowed me to observe the game from a different perspective, and as I watched the team struggle to adjust to a new coaching staff this past spring and fall, I was reminded of the individual battle that I had fought (and am still fighting) to overcome a change, an obstacle, in my own life. While I did have close friends, family, and a few very special USC staff members by my side, I did not have someone close who was experiencing the exact same struggles -- whose daily life, thoughts, and feelings, mirrored my own. It took me longer to learn the lessons that I did because I could not see the reflection of others learning those same lessons alongside me (that, and the fact that I am incredibly stubborn). Through this new struggle to adjust, however, I am lucky enough to have 25 other girls experiencing the same challenges and struggles as I am, and they in turn have 25 friends to turn to for support in times of question. Ali and his staff have prepared us well to fight the battles we need to win, we just need to learn to utilize the incredible resources we have in simply being on a team together. The first few weeks of the season have been exciting to watch, as the team was finally given the opportunity to translate all that we'd learned in training into meaningful game situations. As we enter week five of the season, our record stands at 6-1-1... pretty impressive for a team that is still adjusting to a plethora of newcomers and a new style of play. While we have learned a few lessons the hard way, the coaching staff has helped us to analyze, review, and reflect on those experiences and turn them into positive lessons. The most difficult lesson came at the Indiana Tournament, when we lost the lead in a game we had been winning for almost 80 minutes in the final six seconds of regulation. After going on to lose that game in the first 30 seconds of overtime, we focused on game-management in practice the following week, on finishing the opportunities we have in front on the net, and on playing hard for the entirety of every game, not just the first 89 minutes and 54 seconds. Our record since that loss is 3-0-1, which is pretty good considering two of those victories were on the road, and the tie was against perennial powerhouse Tennessee. We swept on the road this past weekend with victories at Oakland and Michigan and we are now turning our focus towards this weekend with a game at Long Beach State on Friday and a challenging home match set for Sunday against Portland. I hope you will check back in regularly to follow our progress in our goal of uniting together and ultimately accomplishing something very special. We have an incredible support staff, a very caring trio of coaches, and an entertaining group of girls who promise to make this year one of the most exciting in USC soccer history. Thank you and FIGHT ON! Kat Stolpa
Previous Student-Athlete Blogs
August 2008:
2007-2008 School Year:
|
