haha...hate to say it, but you opened the door for that one, SH. We'll see TT! You say nothing about the way teams like Stanford have under-performed with loads of talent. Must be an explanation for that though - maybe you can share? Let's start by looking at last year's frosh class ar Stanford....
Thanks PJB. You are, of course, correct. I always count on your refreshing view. I really was asking for information if anyone had anything specific. I shouldn't have prefaced my request as I did which, as you say opened the (trap?) door. The girls do need to go where there are going to be most happy. Especially in the recruiting process, perception is reality, and (to your point) after the recruiting is long over, the proof is in the pudding; she who laughs last laughs best, or whatever..... Cheers!
Right, TT, the Dunn class only won one NC--less than a year and a half ago. Pathetic, pitiful. UVa, Wake Forest, FSU and a couple hundred D1 programs would give a lot for that one. Troll.
The Dunn class also came in with the most depleted upper class in UNC history 8 seniors to the pros, and underclass Jessica McDonald and Merit Mathias leaving early. Beat UCLA easy start of the year...5 players injured still took UCLA into overtime in the tournament..
You're making my point for me. The Dunn class was asked to do more than any freshmen class in the history of the program because recruiting had started to slip after the Heath class. Unfortunately, they weren't ready to carry the program. Their amazing run to the 2012 National Championship erased what had been the third mediocre regular season(by UNC standards) in a row. Thankfully, the College Cup win in 2012 brought Munerlyn and Bruder to campus after being turned away from Stanford. With a healthy Dunn, I think the Heels would have been the favorite to win the '13 College Cup. Alas... That said, recruiting has become a problem. As crazy as it sounds, I think the Heels needed the National Championship more than any of the four College Cup participants, if for no other reason than to continue momentum of the '13 class. Obviously, that didn't happen. I was hoping for a talented transfer to supplement the incoming class, but that hasn't happened. Call me a troll if you like, but it doesn't change the fact that AD is getting his butt kicked on the recruiting trail. I don't mind Stanford hoarding players, because they do less with more than any program in women's soccer. But FSU and UCLA have good coaches, and are out-recruiting us...consistently. Throw in VT, BC, Duke, UVA, etc., and it isn't going to get any easier, especially if the '14, '15 and '16 recruiting classes don't improve. AD is the best women's college soccer coach in history. He has a proven record of finding players who aren't highly touted and turning them into good players, but even AD can't win College Cups without dynamic talent. As I've said before, I hope AD and the Heels make my worrying look silly, and you guys ridicule me daily if/when I'm wrong. I'll gladly endure that if it's the result of the Heels winning a couple of more College Cups before AD retires.
AD's reaction to your casual "winning a couple more college cups" would be to 'get real' and appreciate just how hard it is just to even get to one in this new era. Even losing tough games last season and having a "mediocre regular season" in 2012 ignores the fact that he plays the best teams in the country--witness the fall 2014 schedule! And in every post-season AD and his staff are planning to win it all and damn near do--an historic program. Appreciate it. Ask Duke and the NYFlash whether the Heels have any talent in 2014. Whisperings about the decline of the program are your own wheezings. Heels!
And another thing, stop gossiping maliciously about our players. You don't know squat about who gets into Stanford or not--and if you knew one of the families personally, you wouldn't be gabbing about it on this board--if you were a fan. Infuriating comments. You imply that Stanford, by the way, is a disappointing program after going to four straight College Cups and winning an NC. Both Stanford and FSU are in a golden age IMO.
You need to breathe. He is a UNC fan. He is expressing concerns. And they are legitimate concerns. The tide is turning and it is 2 fold. The first, more programs are doing a better job in recruiting. UNC is not going the correct direction. Part of it might be sheer ground covered. Some of it is sheer work. A decade ago, you could go to a couple of National Team events and cherry pick the top players. Today there are far more good players and going to all of the events is key. When Dino took a step back, there was an opportunity to go get a top notch recruiter. It doesn't appear that is what happened. No one is saying the sky is falling. AD set incredibly high expectations. No one is saying he isn't the best women's coach (arguably in any sport) of all time. Merely saying people are passing UNC on the recruiting trail. The classes he is bringing in, will make it difficult to maintain the level at which the program has performed for over 2 decades.
My impression having been to UNC on a recruiting visit and to most of the ECNL showcase events. Anson does very little recruiting. He counts on Ducar to go out and do the evals and try to bring the studs to campus. There is nothing wrong with that except...At the ECNL event this past weekend, a solid recruit could look to the sidelines and see Robby, Amanda, Paul, Chugger, Greg, Theresa, and most other head coaches roaming the sidelines to make sure the best players in the country knew they were a priority to that schools future Just an impression, and I am aware of the personal challenges that challenge AD has getting out to travel
The game has changed. The competition is getting much better in every aspect. The 'fitness' program maybe doesn't work so well these days...not in a game where multiple and unlimited ? substitutions are the norm. The others have caught up and Anson needs to realize that the old. dominant days may be gone....and they are not coming back.
I think that there is every reason to believe that Anson is very well aware that the dominant days are not coming back. He has been talking about advancing parity for at least 5 years and I almost get the feeling that he has been trying to prepare everyone involved (perhaps even us fans) to accept the inevitable. It is some of us fans who seem to be the most in denial or anxious about it. Not Anson. As to recruiting, AD is aware (and we fans need to become aware too) that other schools are getting better and better at recruiting and UNC just may not be one of the top five destinations any more. The private schools with the larger sums of flexible money (not so constricted by state law) for facilities, recruiting budgets, non-soccer scholarships, and even for more academic firepower may be the ones who are going to rule the roost going forward. Look at Notre Dame, Duke, and Stanford, if you want examples of who has been on the rise in recent years on the recruiting front in the Olympic sports (and even in football and basketball too, for that matter.) With regard to UNC specifically, let's relax a bit. The 2014 and 2015 classes are going to have to be small because of the huge 2012 and 2013 classes and all of the scholarships they take up. It is a matter of filling in for specific needs for these two years. The 2016 and 2017 classes will be a bit more critical to increase the numbers of blue chippers. And looking at the 14s and 15s it looks like AD is right on schedule. The spring season has revealed that we are in pretty darn good shape even after loosing 7 starters from last year (including Caitlin) and four of those are now on NWSL teams. And even with looking strong in the spring AD is bringing in 2 very solid prospects (Megan Buckingham and Annie Kingman) plus Florida Gatorade POY Jessie Scarpa. Plus, two redshirts from last year are looking very strong (Dominique Romero and Danae O'Halloran) and players like Sash Firstenberg and Maggie Bill could very well step up, among others. In 2015 we lose three probable starters: Satara, Alexa, and Brooke. But, in addition to those I have mentioned above, AD has a small, but talented class committed with three blue chip players and two others who have lots of potential. So let's all relax and see what happens. AD is not over the hill yet.
You are joking, right? If anything, he has a record of chosing National Team caliber players and winning with them. He - and a select few others - get the best of the best and wins.
That is what coaching is. It's recruiting the best players and molding them into a national title winning team. There are role players that play with the national team caliber players that help that goal happen. Dean Smith had a lot elite players but he only won 2 national titles in 30 years of coaching. It's more than just getting best talent.
It's also getting the super star player to go into 50-50 challenge. Knowing that she might break her leg. That's kind of players Anson recruits.
Yes it is more than getting the best talent. But, frankly, my local travel team coaching skills could win ten games a year with the talent that he brings in. Molding talent into a potential national champion, every year, does take a great skill - and not necessarily coaching skills. It really is a combination of talent, coaching, and personnel management, with talent being primary. If every single one of Carolina's players transferred to Northwestern next year guess what - Northwestern would be competing for a national championship.
Yes, sec123, your list above fairly represents what a good coach has to do in college athletics. And no one is arguing that recruiting good talent isn't part of the equation. But your whole list IS important and talent alone will not win championships. UCLA is the great present example. They've had fantastic recruiting success for a number of years, but it took a coaching change to get the job done. Numerous interviews with UCLA players say that now with Cromwell the chemistry is much better and they are finally playing for each other. This also is one of Dorrance's strengths. His players like being there and they like their teammates. But one key issue that you do not include in your list is the recruitment and development of players that are not high profile -and (apparently to your surprise - no kidding) Dorrance has a great record in this regard. Where shall we start to illustrate this point? How about Californian Brooke Elby, for three years a super sub, who will likely be the captain of next fall's team who was virtually not recruited by anyone else, who had absolutely no national or regional accolades, and who, when Anson called her, said that she did not think that she was good enough to play college soccer? How about a walk-on from the local high school, Cailtlin Ball, who started for three years before retiring for concussion reasons and was the center back for the 2012 NCAA championship run? How about Hanna Gardner, also from the local high school who after being "discovered" playing for UNC, is now on the U-20 national team pool and has played in several international matches? How about Megan Brigman from rural Laurinburg, NC who also had no national accolades and was not good enough to make the regional ODP team but who developed nicely and started for three years for UNC and now is in the NWSL playing for the Seattle Reign? Or how about Kelly McFarlane who came to UNC from California because of family ties (her grandfather and her mother) and developed from spunky scrub to starter by her senior year and is rumored to be getting a look with the Houston Dash after she finishes up her degree? And how about Adelaide Gay who warmed the bench for two years at Yale and had to beg Dorrance to let her walk on at UNC if she transferred? (Yup, she was the starting keeper for the 2012 national champhionship team!) All of these players played on the 2012 NCAA championship team along with some heavily recruited blue chippers such as senior Amber Brooks, Juniors Crystal Dunn, Kealia Ohai, and Meg Morris, and freshmen Summer Green and Katie Bowen. And, I could go back in history and get you a continuing list... How about Kristi Eveland on the 2009 championship team who was a below-the-radar recruit who graduated from UNC to start on the DC Freedom as a professional? Or Sterling Smith (another relatively unheralded local high school catch) who started for UNC (before being taken down with injuries for most of her career)? The point being made here is that all good coaches develop talent, and Dorrance is one of the best at it. He has said that if he can get a few blue chippers as a nucleus, he is motivated to develop the rest of the team from recruiting lesser known girls with high motivation to improve. Oh.... let me make a prediction that we'll have another success story to tout soon. Satara Murray was on nobody's recruiting radar (no accolades, etc.) until she verbally committed to UNC. Then TDS reluctantly took notice and moved her into their top 100, then she slowly climbed their ladder until they had her in the top 25 two years later. But the rap on her was persistently that she was a fast athlete, but no soccer player. Teams that played high level soccer would not be interested. The YNT teams have not taken a look at her. But I'll make a prediction that that next year she'll be drafted into the NWSL and will start on her professional team. And we all know that professional teams don't care about technical ability!?! Guess what? She is developing nicely under Dorrance. Just thought that all of this might be interesting to you sec123.
Can't agree with you more. To your other point - the right enviroment for the right person with the right coach can do wonders. Dennis Rodman or Jerry Rice comes to mind. For every person you mention, there are a similar number who transfer out when next year's flavor of the month recruits come along and last year's model gets dropped like a prom dress. Not for everybody. To each his own.
Unc had a phenomenal team last year. It was thrilling to watch them all season. They took the eventual national champs to double overtime and only gave up a goal after their fifth starter went down. Watching Bowen lie motionless on the field for twenty minutes also must have been a bit draining for her teammates. Oh, and the best college soccer player of the last decade was playing at about 50%. Unc women's soccer is alive and well. And the program really does seem to produce some fantastic human beings who also sometimes go on to things like Olympic gold medals.
Yeah, given that there have been 2 players in the last 10 years who have won the Hermann Trophy twice (Sinclair and Hanks). Nonetheless, an outstanding college career.
UNC lost out on the "Mal Pugh Sweepstakes" to UCLA. Easily one of the brightest stars US Soccer has seen in years. 15 years old playing on the U20 National Team and making significant impact. This one had to sting Anson and Co. Take a look at the 15/16 recruiting classes shaping up for UCLA, Stanford, Duke and even Penn State and you will see the recruiting at UNC has become pedestrian