Young soccer team prepares for tough season
Erika Hadley
Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: Sports
For the Miami University girl's soccer team, the end of last season was bittersweet.
It marked the end of a successful season-the RedHawks went 8-10-2 and knocked off Mid-American Conference regular season champ Ball State University in the first round of the MAC tournament-but it also meant saying goodbye to nine seniors and getting preparing to rebuild.
"This was the largest number of girls we have ever graduated all at once," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "But we knew it was coming, so we had to prepare for it."
In fact, this year's team will see just 15 of 30 players returning from the 2006 season.
However, a group of 15 newcomers, selected as the top recruiting class in the MAC by Soccer Buzz Magazine in May, looks to strengthen the team and bring a new dimension to the game.
"We are a very young team," said Courtney Elsen, a Miami junior and team captain. "We have two seniors this year and overall the team is split 15 and 15 between returning players and new recruits. Being young can be a negative thing, but it can also be
very positive."
The team has been working intensely during the preseason, according to Kramig.
"One thing that I love about this team is how hardworking they are-the girls are out there every day giving it their best," Kramig said.
All of this time shared during the preseason has been instrumental not only in developing skills, but also in integrating the new team members and bonding as a team.
"We went down to Virginia Tech for an exhibition game and stayed an extra day down there to go camping," Kramig said. "We went on a kayaking trip and I had the girls pair off into twos to see what they would do. None of the new girls were paired up with the older girls and I pointed that out to them."
Kramig stressed the importance of team unity and saw an improvement just 10 days later.
"(Wednesday) at practice, I told them to split up into groups of five really quick, again, just to see what they would do," Kramig said. "When everyone had a group I looked and there was not one all-freshmen group. Everyone had mixed."
It marked the end of a successful season-the RedHawks went 8-10-2 and knocked off Mid-American Conference regular season champ Ball State University in the first round of the MAC tournament-but it also meant saying goodbye to nine seniors and getting preparing to rebuild.
"This was the largest number of girls we have ever graduated all at once," Head Coach Bobby Kramig said. "But we knew it was coming, so we had to prepare for it."
In fact, this year's team will see just 15 of 30 players returning from the 2006 season.
However, a group of 15 newcomers, selected as the top recruiting class in the MAC by Soccer Buzz Magazine in May, looks to strengthen the team and bring a new dimension to the game.
"We are a very young team," said Courtney Elsen, a Miami junior and team captain. "We have two seniors this year and overall the team is split 15 and 15 between returning players and new recruits. Being young can be a negative thing, but it can also be
very positive."
The team has been working intensely during the preseason, according to Kramig.
"One thing that I love about this team is how hardworking they are-the girls are out there every day giving it their best," Kramig said.
All of this time shared during the preseason has been instrumental not only in developing skills, but also in integrating the new team members and bonding as a team.
"We went down to Virginia Tech for an exhibition game and stayed an extra day down there to go camping," Kramig said. "We went on a kayaking trip and I had the girls pair off into twos to see what they would do. None of the new girls were paired up with the older girls and I pointed that out to them."
Kramig stressed the importance of team unity and saw an improvement just 10 days later.
"(Wednesday) at practice, I told them to split up into groups of five really quick, again, just to see what they would do," Kramig said. "When everyone had a group I looked and there was not one all-freshmen group. Everyone had mixed."
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