A short synopsis of article 14.2.4 of the NCAA manual. a) If she played any time at all, She has to have had a debilitating injury or illness (I think a doc has to sign off) b)She has to have played in less than 3 games or 30% of the scheduled games ( whichever is greater-- any time at all on the pitch counts as a game) And c)she has to have played all her time before the first game of the second half of the season that ends with the Championship game. Since it is a hardship waiver and not just a dead year on her 5 year clock, it has to be approved by her conference or the ncaa. It's not automatic. But she can get a year added to her clock.
I think you are right. I've seen athletes in other sports redshirt (in general or because of injury) after they competed once in the beginning of their season. From what I remember, they can't compete in more than 2 or 20% of the games in the first half of the season to still be eligible to redshirt. From the NCAA site: (which I think is very vague) "You should know that NCAA rules indicate that any competition, regardless of time, during a season counts as one of your seasons of competition in that sport. It does not matter how long you were involved in a particular competition (for example, one play in a football game, one point in a volleyball match); you will be charged with one season of competition." http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaa...+and+Recruiting/Faqs/eligibility_seasons.html
OK, we've pretty much masticated the possibilities for the 2012 goal keeping, defense, and midfield, what about the offense? From my perspective, it looks pretty straight forward, depending, of course, on any surprises with regard to transfers out or new unexpected names coming in. For the 3-4-3 that we have been assuming, the two no-brainers will be Ohai and Horan. The third will be Rich or Parker depending on whether AD puts Parker in the midfield on the right flank. The super subs coming on for the customary 10-15 minutes per half should be Burchenal and Indi Cowie, and a look at Page Neilson or Elby. But who knows? I'm prepared to be surprised!
Summer Green, who was going to be at 2013 but is graduating early to come in 2012, is a very creative forward. She has scored consistantly with the U17 WNT, on the ECNL International Tour, and with her Club Team (Michigan Hawks). Summer will see the field and contribute.
That's great news if true. Though problem wasnt really our forwards. It was our midfield that couldnt find them in positions to score. Kealia Ohai at various times had to take on four to even five defenders just to try score at times. Key position to me thats been missing is attacking / play making midfielder. Ive heard that Bryane Heaberlin is enrolling in January. I think she will start at GK for sure. Which to me is a need unless Daly can recover from her injury. That was big loss last year that no one really mentioned. Sieloff and Gay did a alright job but we need a elite GK. Hard to talk about next year if certain players are transfering. People are afraid to say who is leaving. That leaves us in the dark of talking about next season.
Anyone that can put the ball in the net is needed. Anyone that can pass to our forwards is needed. Anyone that can defend 1v1 is needed. I can honestly say that a lot of the current players didnt give 100% effort.
So if Summer Green shows up this fall, we will theoretically have 3 freshmen forwards who are capable of starting (Horan, Green, Parker.) Then what about Ohai? Assuming that she is staying, Parker could end up as right half. I absolutely agree with you, worthy, that Kealia was marked well all season and seldom got the ball in a position to score. I would really like to see her develop into a more effective striker. That means good runs and someone to feed her the ball where she needs to beat only one defender. Our real need is creativity and dominance in the midfield. We seem to have ample forwards.
I really doubt this is true. My understanding is that the team was trying to implement a new system this year, one quite different than what the returning players were used to and one likely different than what the new players were familiar with. When players are learning a new system, they have to be thinking about everything they're doing. I've seen this with other teams. It looks like they're sluggish and aren't trying as hard as they can. It doesn't mean, though, that they aren't giving 100% effort. It takes a lot of time -- even a couple of years -- to master a new system to the point it becomes fluid and seemingly effortless.
He changed the system because his players werent fit enough to play the 3-4-3. Something about having players that were coming off injuries in the spring and they never fully got back into game shape. They played the 3-4-3 in the NCAA tournament. It looked pretty good in the first two games. UCF did a great job putting players behind the ball and counter attacking. Exposed our weak passing and average midfield. For some reason Anson all season had to play everyone. Ive never seen him play a whole lotta people and sub like he did in the NCAA tournament. Ram is right a few players didnt give everything they had. How would Portland fan know if our players gave everything they had this year? A recent 2013 commit (Amanda Rooney) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbvXw_poBqQ"]#9 Amanda Rooney - Midfield.mp4 - YouTube[/ame]
RAM didn't say a "few," but rather a "lot." Beyond that, I guess I have more confidence in your coaching staff to get as much out of the players as the players can give. Plus, I saw some of your games, and it didn't look to me like they weren't giving their best. There may have been one player who was suspect, but I wouldn't have gone beyond that.
I don't think it is useful (or fair) to talk trash about the commitment and effort of our 2011 players. No one comes to the lady Heels to kinda-wanta-play. I think the gals did all they could. The 2011 team was short on leadership. In part, that may have had to do with the number of seniors and their personalities, but I don't think so. Duke and Wake did ok in 2011 without strong senior players. IMO, this is All about coaching! Consider for one minute: UNC has always been comfortable to be a second-half team. Our fitness, athleticism, and depth of roster have (almost) always become a crushing force in the final 30 minutes. If we have not already dismantled our opponent, it is pretty likely to happen as legs fall apart in the second half. So all 2011 season, Anson has been lamenting our fitness. Our biggest weakness in his opinion. At what point did we then adapt, and become a first half team? We did not. We continued to play as though we would exhaust our opponents? Didn't happen. Instead, we exhausted ourselves, and allowed SEVEN games to go to overtime, losing most. If fitness were the issue, why did we not throw everything into creating first half separation, then bunker a lead? Might not have happened, but these games should have been won or lost in regulation. You don't let injured and unfit players set new records for overtime (and lost games as a result). History has shown that even very weak (women's college) teams can be very hard to score on when they effectively bunker. Oddly, the easiest defensive team to score on in My Memory was UNC when they went defensive against TAMU. Pathetic. Almost impossible for even a bad team to squander a lead like that! What were we doing over the summer? Fitness issues? Roster depth issues? Gee, maybe we might practice playing packed defense, just in case we might ever need it? We went to a "French system" which is just about as dynamic as our old 3-4-3, and even harder to play (maybe not the best season to try this when our squad is having health and depth issues?), but then we made it harder still by never settling the roster (where am I playing today, coach?). We didn't substitute, instead we Platooned in a virtual "blue team" to save the legs of the "white team" when according to Anson, they didn't have legs to save in the first place? So, gee, that's not working-- lets go back to the 3-4-3 we moved away from in the first place, because we felt we could not make it work this year. That's pretty clever! Oh yeah, did I mention Anson continues to play certain players in roles where they could not possibly hope to be successful? Lets not beat on the players! Anson Dorrance is a legend, but that does not mean he can't have a crap season, or that he should get a pass from fans when he is coaching poorly. There were an uncharacteristic number of coaching mistakes made in 2011. The 2011 team was consistently weaker than the potential of its individual players. No wonder the gals did not always seem at their best! There is a lot of talent on this team, and more on the way with 2012 recruits! Any team (and any coach) can have a bad season, but the place to begin to turn this around is with some soul-searching on the part of the coaching staff, not by slamming the players! I've said before, for this team to be back on top, the girls need to give More than 100%, play for one-another, and believe in the program. I stand by that. But in fairness to the players, this needs to start with a clear vision from coaching about what the heck it is we think we are doing?
As my previous post suggested the problem is not all at attacking midfield but rather all over the field. One player does not make a team. Marta could not have helped this group of forwards in terms of thinking the game or technical skill. Our forwards are great athletes and can run like the wind but i wouldnt categorically say they are good soccer players. Our starting forwards frequenlty chose to take players on in outnumbered situations when there were clearly better options available. IMO this is partly the players lack of ability as described below and also the programs historical over emphasis on individual play and taking players on 1V1 versus the team concept of play. This may have worked during the Mia Hamm era as a result of her ability and the lack of depth and sheer number of quality players accross the country. Team defenses are to good and organized these days. Ohai and Jones are one dimensional players who can not see the field and can not make the most basic of passes. They dribble with their heads down, have average technical ability and are very predictable and easy to defend. This is the main reason Ohai was so ineffective this past season.She has a very limited arsenal of moves and defenses have figured her out after her freshman year. These two particular players would be very frustrating to play with and turned over the ball more than any other players on the team. As good a player as Dunn is at times she fell into the same trap of trying to do it all on her own. There is enough talent on UNC to be successful with the existing players and the recruits coming in. The biggest change whcih i feel is required is to become more TEAM oriented and not believe the press clippings of how great certain players are. The 'competitive cauldron' is a great tool to motivate players to strive to be better but it can also be detrimental as some players focus on their own persoanl statistics rather than team wins and losses.
I agree with everything you wrote mostly because I have said virtually the same things. I would add that until the chemistry issue is resolved there will be no moving forward. You simply can not have teams within teams and groups within groups and expect to have a cohesive, competitive team. The blame for two successive seasons of deadly team chemistry squarley lies with the coaches.
I agree wholeheartedly that chemistry is the key to any successful team. Most coaches are not trained in the "psychology" of the sport. I submit that with women it is about creating a sisterhood where, from top to bottom, from senior to freshman, each girl is equally respected and liked by her teammates. My daughter has been on two teams where each of the girls loved one another and played for each other. Now, in college, her team has friction and infighting, hazing, intimidation and there's little the coach has done to eradicate it. This is happening on the field at practice, in the locker rooms, off the field in social settings and on the field during games. Its no secret. I agree the positive chemistry of any team starts with the leader setting the tone and holding each player accountable. Footie4Life is right - lies sqarely with the coaches.
I think everyone agrees that the buck eventually always stops with the coach(es). But let's relax a little. AD and his staff did not suddenly forget all that has made them successful over the last 30 years. Let's remember that Anson literally "wrote the book" on the differences between coaching men and women players. Not only did he write book chapters and articles about the subject, he has been going around the country speaking at coaching clinics about the prime importance of team chemistry for female players, the importance of bonding, and "family," and team leadership from a female perspective. He's talked about the differences necessary for coaching and leadership style and the psychological differences with regard to training style and reaction to criticism, and success, or failure. For 20 years his message has been received with appreciation and agreement from other coaching professionals, players, and ex-players. [And appparently also by Dabeautifulgame, who fails to credit Dorrance with first articulating the coaching philosophy which he espouses (above.)] So has AD forgotten all of what he has been preaching for over two decades? Does he somehow no longer understand coaching women? And do we all think and AD and his staff have never learned or suddenly forgot how to evaluate technical and tactical play? Having played the game at a high level, coached both men and women (and AD holds the record for the highest winning percentage at UNC coaching the MEN'S team), and having evaluated (in cooperation with various coaching staffs) perhaps tens of thousands of women players over 35 years of camp, collegiate, and national team coaching, you'd think that there would be a rudiment of skill and expertise in these areas. Has AD and the rest of his staff (and famous alums who check in with him frequently) suddenly forgotten how to observe and correct technical and tactical play? Have they all become suddenly blind to players dribbling into traffic, not getting their heads up to pass, not being creative? Can they suddenly not see things breaking down tactically like the rest of us fans can easily determine? Have the coaching staff just had a few bad years and will soon get back on track? Will next year be more successful and, if so, will all this carping from unhappy fans suddenly stop? (-should it, or not?) And what should happen if next year is not an improvement? I, for one, will be watching with great interest.
I liked a lot of your comment, above, but I think some of this is (still) an unduly hard knock on some good players. Since we were talking a while back about strikers, I agree that UNC may well benefit in some sense from Courtney's graduation. Both Ohai and Jones (when at their best) are finishers. There can be a role for that on a great college team, but few can afford two of these type of players playing at the same time. The skill sets (and weaknesses) are redundant. Too many players waiting for desert, and not enough players setting the table. Further, Jones and Ohai did not play well together. The squad will be better off with (either) one. AD, was not blind to this, but moving Ohai to the midfield did not prove to be a solution to the problem. There is Chemistry, and then there is chemistry. As part of the 'small c chemistry" Jones and Ohai just didn't work well together and their combination was weaker than the sum of their talents. I think the team will be better up top with Ohai and a couple players like a healthy Rich. I think your comment about Dunn fall into the same class. She was asked to do everything this season, so no knock on her if she sometimes tried to do everything! Again, it is a secondary symptom. The primary cause remains, we did not have enough players setting the table for our attack. You know I like you, so I say with Real Fondness, don't patronize the thread! This discussion is (for the most part) by people who know the program well and care deeply about it. Almost without exception the coaching complaints have been very specific and well reasoned. If you want to make the case that AD has had a good year, motivated this team, led it well, and got the most from this cohort of players, then make it with facts and examples. I continue to assert that he is an exceptional coach, but is having very identifiable and unfortunate problems with a particular cohort of players. Part of this is endemic to the player pool, but the situation is IMO significantly impacted by subpar coaching choices. As I said before, I have a list. . This will get better, but at the moment, I defy anyone to say it is going as well as it might under more decisive and thoughtful coaching leadership.
Or have they become apathetic? It is human nature to tire with even the good things in life. You can't have Filet Mignon, drive a Lamborghini or date a supermodel every day with out getting bored. I know I would.....except the supermodel part....lol. How does a coaching team even stay motivated after these monumental achievements? They have seen it all, done it all and it will never be repeated by anyone else. It is one thing to write a book and quite another to impose a dictatorial vision on a group of diverse female players who are primarily brought together by a love of soccer. There is a very good chance, actually I think a certainty, that these girls wouldn't give each other the time of a day if not for being on the same team. Add to this the environment of competitiveness that the cauldron creates and you have two possible outcomes. A coming together or a tearing apart. Unfortunately, we have been living through the later. Who is going to step up and be a future leader? I am counting on the the incoming class. Because of it's sheer size and the power it will wield in the coming years, this class has a real chance to finally change things back to the way it was when Mia said: "I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion."
Thanks, UNCFOREVER. Your point is well taken. What I posted could certainly sound like patronizing, but it was not intended that way. Those posting about this subject are indeed a spectrum. I sense that some are new and don't have a sense of the history here and I was indeed trying to lay out some of AD's history. And those of you who are keeping your knowledge of what has come before in mind even as you are critical don't need a reminder and I mindlessly assumed y'all would take no offense. My apologies. To put my point differently. I lead with the fact that the buck stops with coaching. My last paragraph starts with noting that we have had two bad years (and I don't blame it on the players.) Yes. Coaching has been the primary issue. I think we agree on this. What I say in the middle is to remind us all (including me, who is as frustrated as anyone) that considering the historical facts that I enumerate, I have faith that things will be getting better. I end with wondering what should be the response if they don't. (Or, when does patience and and the charity of loyal fans to allow for a few bad years, now and then, come to an end?) (PS. I watch as the loyal fans of Notre Dame have not pilloried Waldrum. His year for his initially #1 ranked team was far worse than ours! And it may have been for similar reasons. It happens, now and then.)
Footie, You make good points, with most all of which I agree. I would however, not be knowledgeable enough to agree or disagree with your point about the relationships between the current players. On the whole, I'd tend to be less pessimistic and less broad brushed... but that's based on ignorance and only what I see on the field or can infer from oblique sources. Cheers!
Barcelona is playing Real Madrid tomorrow..... I encourage all of you to watch this game and ask yourselves the simple question(s) not factoring the physical differences between men and women of course: How many Tarheel players could play on the female college version of Real Madrid or Barcelona? The answer is not to many and quite frankly not the ones you would expect based on postings on this forum. The modern game has evolved beyond pure athleticism and UNC may be caught in a time warp. We may look back at the final four this year as the key moment in time when the college game changed in America. At least for the top programs. The also rans will continue on their path of mediocrity and try and do whatever is required to win more than loose and coaches of these teams will conitnue to garner their pay cheques. I do not believe it is a coincidence that the top posession teams in the country made the final four with the closest college equivalent of Barcelona winning it all albeit after three tries. Given the turnover on a college team (freshman coming in and seniors graduating) it all comes down to recruiting players who can play the style of soccer todays game demands. The womens game is following the exact same evolution of the mens game. As i stated on another site the English mens team finally figured it out and have hired coaches from outside the country to attempt to turn the tide which has been a painfully long process. I believe UNC's biggest problem may be the stubborn reluctance to continue what has worked in the past rather than switch to a more technical style of play and recruit players who can play this style in bulk. There is not a mens team in the world that plays a 3-4-3. AD has publicly stated that he will only change his system of play when the womens game game has evolved to the point where high pressure just doesnt work. Well, the time has come. UNC employed a 4-2-3-1 and had some success with it in the middle of the season but when push came to shove AD reverted back to what was most comfortable. Was this a good decision and was this most comfortable for him or his team or his perceived core players? Talk to you tomorrow.....Go Barca !!!
Seriously. You have either read all of my prior posts or you are my twin. I any case I stated in an earlier post that AD has coached this style for so long that to some extent the game has passed him by. It has evolved and he hasn't. I went on to say he knows no other way. I really want him to prove me wrong. And yes of course. Barca, Barca, Baaarca!
And to answer your question. AD has 3 extremely skilled players that yes I believe play the women's soccer equivalent of a Barca style. The problem is he chooses not to play two of them and the third has been in and out of injury her whole career. Last year when I had heard that he recruited these two freshmen I was waiting all season to see the three of them on at the same time. It would have been our equivalent of Inisesta, Xavi and Villa. Notice I did not include Messi as there will never be a woman's equivalent of him.
Soccerhunter, don't be so quick to make apologies to some of these posters...I remain skeptical of their sense of history or appreciation of coaching talents - or even their true loyalties as UNC fans. All this is, after all is avatars and words. Don't think there aren't fans of other programs waiting to declare UNC is old news, in hopes of steering fans of this thread (and recruits) elsewhere. More power to the trolls. We don't have to lose spirit for the team we love just because someone is trying to engage is in their negative schemes...I've been on this board a long time and have never seen some of these people! Would Red Sox or Yankees fans put up with this crap? No. They know who their loyalties are to and back their teams through good seasons and bad.
Yep, and I, in turn, didn't mean to be unduly prickly. As I have read over the last few posts, Your Point is also well taken. I had a Great Time watching the 2011 Heels play! They are an exceptional group of players who had a good season. As I recall, the program won the National Championship in '08, '09, and was eliminated by the winner of '10. Your point is well taken: perhaps we should all just say thank you! IMO, posters who feel that history has past AD by; that our current players are jaded and bored by excellence (To the person who said that: Are you deranged?); that the 3-4-3 is dead; or that Barca is the (near) future of the women's college game; hmm, perhaps they should get better aquainted with the UNC program, and perhaps also watch a bit more women's college soccer. I am frustrated because I think the potential of our team is significantly better than our (Hello, really quite good) record in 2011. Far from thinking our players are jaded and bored, I think they come to UNC because they Want a target on their backs! I would hate to see that target become a thing of the past, because I think it is part of what gives our program an extra and exceptional edge. I have no particular evidence at this point that AD cannot bring the team back from mere excellence to total national dominance. His record on that score is pretty good... My concern is that we need to come back quickly, strong, and decisively to reinforce our reputation for the sake of players who will be coming to the program several years from now and who may be particularly motivated to be part of a Carolina tradition of consistently strong national results. Should we fail to do that, I fear we may devolve into only One Of The Best Women's Soccer Programs In The Country. This would, of course, be a step down for us. . In that case I, for one, would still be at Fetzer cheering on one of the best soccer programs in the country! It would be my second choice, but one I'm happy to live with, if the dynasty for some reason does not bounce back. Go Heels!! (Speaking of which, its a nail-biter right now for the guys! Huge luck to them!)