The seasons have changed for our team; from fall to winter, and from in-season to out. We finished with a tough game against La Crosse, losing 2-1 in the quarter-final of the WIAC tournament, but there were many things that happened through the year for which we can have some pride. We finished one place higher in the conference rankings, added three ties to our record, and continued to close the gap between us and our opponents. We still have a lot of work to do, and that harder work starts now and happens continuously until the start of preseason next August.
There will be several new faces next fall as we say goodbye to a group of seniors who have most definitely made their mark on the UW-Stout Women’s Soccer program. They of course added to the statistics page for goals and assists, they accumulated minutes played and fouls committed, but that is not what the players in years to come will hear about this particular class of players. This group is how the transition was made from one coach to the next with questions and challenges, with hard work and dedication and with a willingness to accept the changes that were thrust upon them.
This was the group that sat on the steps at North Hall my first year as coach and rattled off so many names that I felt sure I would never remember all of them. I am grateful for each and every one of the players who were a part of the last three years, but especially these seniors who have been so monumental in all that has changed. I may never know what, if anything, I may have taught them, but I know that I have learned immensely from this group of women. They have taught me humility, perseverance, ingenuity and sacrifice.
Seniors will come and go, and seasons too are in constant flux. I have been changed by this group of women, and with each passing season I know that I can no longer be who I am when we start. We have to change now. Our fall jackets will give way to parkas and the focus will change shortly from studies to family and friends. The seasons are inevitable, but we choose whether to be changed within the seasons we are given. The 2008 soccer season has changed record books and the paths of many players, and I as a coach was not unaffected by all that happened this season. It is now time to embrace this new season, the off-season, and make it a valuable time preparing us for that next season.
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Stout it out!
UW-Stout Soccer
Stout it out!
About This Blog
- Coach Frank
- Thanks for visiting the Stout Soccer coach's blog. We hope that this blog will give you an extra dimension to what Stout soccer is all about. You can read the stats and watch the games, but what is it that really makes up the character of the women who put on the Stout gear every fall? Hopefully this behind the scenes look will give you a different perspective about the team and some impression of what matters to me as a coach.