Mentoring Lunch A Huge Success!

This past Saturday, before the alumni game (more on that tomorrow), we held our annual mentoring luncheon. We were lucky enough to have 12 prominent individuals from the Ft. Worth community come in and join our team over lunch. The purpose was to allow our players to meet professionals in the career fields they have an interest in. It gives our student-athletes a chance to pick the professional's brains on what it takes to be successful in that field. The internships, job opportunities and friendships that develop are invaluable.

The group of people that joined us were great and included a former secret service agent (his pictures when he was on the presidents detail were great), a Texas State Board of Education Major, an art therapist, a pediatrician, a CEO of our local Catholic Charities, and a real estate Broker to just name a couple.

I would like to thank all of the mentors for their time and insight, as the girls really had a great time. I also want to give a huge thank you to Laurie and Roy Topham for helping put together the day - it would not have been possible without all of their efforts!

This is just another example of what makes TCU Soccer so unique and special and how we truly believe in building Champions for Life!

White Team Takes Spring Championship!

In dramatic fashion, the White team pulled off a sudden death indoor shootout win to take our team spring championship! Coming into the final day the White team held a two point lead, but saw it shrink after Purple posted three wins in four games of indoor soccer including a penalty kick shootout win in game three.

That put the semester long competition in a tie, resulting in the shootout! Shooters had 5 seconds to dribble in from the red line and get a shot off. The White team did have some great goalkeeping from midfielder Katie Howard, who was a brick wall in the absence of Kadye Bowman the White team's goalkeeper. And in the shootout, Lizzy Karoly dawned the gloves in the nets for White, stopping 4 of 5 penalties!

It was a great competition and congratulations to the White Team who will hang the White TCU Flag in the locker room for the next year, get their names and team picture on the Perpetual Purple/White Plaque that also hangs in the locker room, and they have first choice of meals come next fall!

Purple/White Continues On The Race Track!!!!

With the semester coming to a close, as well as our spring practices, the Purple/White Competition rages on. For the next to last event we headed out to a local go-kart track about 5 minutes from campus to see how the team does on four wheels instead of their feet. There were three races with four members of each team going head to head. The order of finish in each race would be added up to determine the team winner. It was quickly found out that you had to choose wisely when it came to jumping in the go-karts, as there were a few that were a bit slower than the others. This was very evident in the first race as Courtney Johnson unfortunately found out. One of the best races saw Chelsea Cody hold off Katie Taylor over the final three laps to win her heat. Another had Kadye Bowman easily blow the field away. In fact she almost lapped the entire field with the exception of Sara Schneider. Just so you know, Jackie Torda is a very careful driver while Lizze Batten has a tendency to spin out coming around corners. When the races were finished and all the dust had settled, the White Team had emerged victorious again upping their lead to 18-16 heading into the final event....indoor soccer.

Random End Of The Semester Brags On TCU Student-Athletes!

I always love sharing with people that NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is not only a former Horned Frog Football Player, but also a graduate of TCU. He has his piece of paper that you come to college for. I think that just epitomizes the relationship academics and athletics have here at TCU. So when one of our Associate Athletic Directors sent out these random tidbits on TCU Student-Athletes from the past month:

What a great time to be a Horned Frog! As we move forward it is obvious that as a University, TCU is poised for the future. New construction, nationally ranked academic programs, and of course, an athletic department that is nationally recognized and certainly on the national scope. However, there are other accomplishments that may trump those highlights. Here are a few examples:

A young lady from the island of St. Kites that not only has the 3rd fastest time in the world (200 meters), but is on track to graduate from TCU as the 1st in her family.

A 3rd generation Horned Frog that was not only all conference and team captain, but now completing his 1st year in the Neeley School’s MBA program with a near perfect grade point average.

A 1st generation college graduate who is so proud of his TCU diploma, that he proudly displays it in his apartment so that his teammates can draw inspiration and achieve the same goal.. He is planning his next step as the NFL draft approaches.

A recent TCU athlete that not only has graduated within 3 and one half years but will also have completed her masters degree in Educational Administration. Her goal – to be in college athletics so that she can give to other young student-athletes the way she feels TCU has given to her.

Bring On The Sand!

Purple/White Volleyball got dominated yesterday by the White Team to stop the string of Purple victories and extend White's lead going into the final 2 events, 17-16! The teams took to the sand volleyball courts on campus next to the Rickel Recration Center. The California influence was definitely on display, as Sara Schneider sported her old school Karch Kiraly backwards pink hat! The weather was amazing, about 85 degrees, the sand was soft, and the match was fun! Hope you enjoy the action:

On a totally separate note, how brutal was that Chelsea comeback yesterday in the Champions League! I don't support either team, but my heart went out to Davey Nolan, Head Coach at Georgetown, and Dewi Hardman, Head Coach at Lamar, who are both die hard Liverpool fans. I've actually have Riise, who scored the own goal in the 5th minute of injury time, on my fantasy league team, so I'm petitioning to get credit for the goal!

Then today, how does Ronaldo miss that penalty? Just goes to show you it happens to the best of them!

Purple/White Competition Heats Up!

So we went into the weekend with the White team having a 6 point lead in our spring long competition. But the purple team has heated up, winning 5 points in a row to make it a tight 16-15 lead for White!

Purple picked up 4 great points on the trip to Arkansas. All four points came in dominating fashion, by owning 2 games of CatchPhrase. The intense competition made for some very entertaining and creative ways to get words out. Purple led from the start and never looked back!

Then yesterday, the competition took to the tennis court, where White jumped out to a quick 3-0 start making it look like a romp was in the works. But Anna Paulson and Lizzie Batten, dressed in their traditional tennis outfits, led their team to a huge comeback, as purple won 6 straight games to take the match 6-3 for their sixth straight win in the competition. What a rest of the week it should be, 16-16 with 3 events left!

Today, takes us to the sand volleyball courts, Thursday to a high-octane go cart race and then Friday we finish up with indoor soccer!

Arkansas Road Trip!

We got back late last night from our road trip to the University of Arkansas, so I apologize for being a little late on this report! Overall we had 3 main goals we wanted to work towards this spring and I thought this trip summed the whole spring up as a success.

1) Figure a system of play defensively - we got a chance to work with our back 4 in particular and proved that we have the concepts in place. I was extremely pleased with the adjustments the group made yesterday from the first half to the second half. Our ability to compact the space and cover for each other improved drastically. We've still got a long way to get it where we want it, but we answered the question of how we can be the most comfortable as a team. I thought it was also good to see our defensive organization through the midfield and how it allowed us to get a better rhythm offensively!

2) Deal with Adversity - we played 5 games this spring on the road to help force our young group to grow up. The long bus ride, different surface, different locker room on the trip to Arkansas proved another good step forward in the journey. I really felt the team did a good job of not worrying about any outside factors. We still looked a little flat with heavy legs at times, so we're not out of the woods yet, but there was significant improvement this spring.

3) The Locker room - I have always and will always say the biggest challenge in changing a culture is changing the locker room mentality, or just the basic chemistry of the team. It's real easy for teams to have good chemistry, but do they have respect! So you can imagine my delight when I looked to the back of the bus and the whole team is goofing around with Chelsea Cody, Katie Howard and Caroline Starns lying in the luggage racks above - it was hilarious! The group has really matured, again we've got a long way to go, but that kind of stuff would have never happened in the past.

So Arkansas brought a good finish to the spring and was a good trip! Over the next couple of days I'll share a bit more on what I think we accomplished and what we should be looking for next fall!

Superb Staff-Adam Clementson

Last training session today before we head off to Arkansas for our final spring match. One of biggest goals to accomplish this spring has been identifying how we play defensively and who fits in where. One of the key people in charge of that has been Coach Adam Clementson.

Now, I've known Adam for years - we go way back in working SoccerPlus Camps for Tony Diccicco - so when 2 years ago he offered to come out and work camp, I jumped on the opportunity. That summer when he liked Ft. Worth so much he said he'd be interested in moving here, I just kind of shook it off. So low and behold, imagine the surprise when he showed in Ft. Worth a year later ready to move.

It's been a great addition to our staff, as he brings someone to work on a daily basis with our goalkeepers and just a wealth of knowledge and experience having played in the English youth system and having coached for the likes of Newcastle United (the side I support in England) - his perspective is always unique.

Outside of his wealth of knowledge, I also like to keep Adam around for a bit of the comedy factor! My personal favorite is his now team famous quote, "Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing!"

Superb Staff-Michelle Royal!

Like I mentioned yesterday, I'm very lucky to have such a talented and unique staff with me here at TCU and Coach Michelle Royal is big reason why. Michelle actually has been here longer than any of us, as she was the director of soccer operations, while finishing up her masters degree here at TCU, before I arrived. Immediately, there was something very special that stood out about Michelle. I can't quite pin it down, but she had the unique ability to be a young person who could very much relate to the girls, but also had their respect. I loved that immediately.

I also loved Michelle's playing experience - she was a local product that had gone on to play with much success at Texas A&M, and was also a member of the US U-20 National Team pool. She was able to (and still is able to) jump right in and show the girls by example what we are asking them to do. It's funny because our staff, with some other members from the athletic department, have an indoor team and play in the top men's division and Michelle is still probably the best player in the league!

Michelle has incredibly high expectations and standards, but also balances that with compassion. She's a great teacher and is certainly one of the top up and coming coaches in the country! She's someone that makes everyone that comes in contact with her a better person and that's why she is such a special part of our program!

Frog Soccer Players Recieve Honors At TCU All-Sports Banquet

Monday night saw the entire athletic department honor all of TCU's teams and outstanding individuals at the annual All Sports Banquet. Two members of the Horned Frog Women's Soccer Team were honored.

Receiving the Dutch Meyer Scholar Athlete of the Year award were women's soccer player Angie Nickens and track and field athlete Joe Brown. The Dutch Meyer Scholar Athlete of the Year is named after the former TCU football coach and athletics director. The award is given to a graduating senior with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0, who has been an integral participant on their team and has demonstrated service to the campus and community. Nickens closed out her TCU career scoring two goals, including the game-winner at New Mexico in teh 2007 season. She was a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection this season and helped the Horned Frogs to their most overall wins under head coach Dan Abdalla.



Also picking up honors from the soccer team was 2007 Season Team MVP Lizzy Karoly. Karoly, a sophomore, finished the 2007 season with 5 goals and 2 assists, while leading the team with 64 shots. Karoly was also named to the Mountain West Conference Second Team, was awarded Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week and named to Soccer America's Team of the Week during the 2007 campaign.

Suberb Staff Key to Success!

I've always believed that the people you surround yourself with will be the key to success. Here at TCU I'm very lucky to be surrounded by people committed to seeing our vision of excellance within our program. Over the next couple of days I want to share with you some of those people, all the way from our coaching staff, trainer, equipment manager, Sports Information Director and strength & conditioning staff. This team within our team is a whole different level.

Let's start with Coach Mark Plakorus. Mark is by far one of the most dedicated and loyal individuals I have ever known. He is so passionate about the game, it's scary sometimes. On the other hand he is also one of the most caring and compassionate people I know.

Mark is a tireless recruiter-I tell him all of the time I'd be divorced if it wasn't for him- and he is so well organized that we've got notebooks at each event detailing every little thing we need to know about each player, all the way down to infants I think! Today, the recruiting aspect is a full time job in itself and Mark is as good as there is from that aspect.

Mark also is a technology guru-his videos and databases are unbelievable. He usually has to fix my computer a couple of times a week! On the field, Mark works primarily with our strikers and he's the guy you'll see out there with the girls all of the time-if he could be on the field 24/7 he would be.

Mark truly is a very special part of our program and we couldn't get it done without him!

Adversity Biggest Gain!

The trip to Baylor for the 3 matches yesterday, proved to be exactly what we needed -- dealing with adversity on the road. As young as we are this has been the key all spring. I hate to sound Woodenesque, but we've said all along that it's the journey this spring, not the results.

Our number one priority this weekend was to settle some defensive questions and who fit in where in a 4-4-2. I was very pleased with our two center backs, Katie Taylor & Cheryl Martin. Cheryl as a true freshman and Katie, even younger as a red shirt freshman, proved they will be dynamic duo when they get more comfortable with each other and have the chance to gel a bit more. I also thought our outside backs, Sara Schneider and Julia Slater, got much more confident as the the day went on. In the second match they both really started to look to get forward out of the back and be an option, as well as got comfortable stepping high defensively.

In the midfield, Nikki Wilbur and Chelsea Cody both did a good job. Chelsea was hampered a bit by a strained muscle, which allowed Michelle Nguyen a good chance to step in and do a solid job in the second and third games. The nicest surprise of the day was Caroline Starns on the outside. Both her and Jenna Hayes proved to be very dangerous and showed they have the pace to stretch out a defensive line.

Up top, I didn't think we did a very good job of finding our strikers feet early enough to be successful. Anna Paulson had a great work rate and Lizzy Karoly scored a great goal to finish up the day. This is definitely an area where we need to use the dynamic players we've got in Lizzy, Kaylie Garcia and Jackie Torda. The intramural field certainly didn't help these technical players, as it was very hard and bumpy and small but again, that's the adversity I wanted us to have to deal with.

Our young players have to learn how to deal with poor conditions, bad officials (that certainly was not the case this weekend), bad weather, hostile atmospheres and tough travel conditions. So, overall it was certainly a weekend that I think accomplished our two top priorities -- dealing with adversity and our defensive shape. Now we can build on playing quicker and getting our offensive rhythm back in tune!

Unknown Waters Await!

Looking forward to matches tomorrow down at Baylor. We'll play three 50 minute matches, 1 each against Houston Baptist, Baylor and Trinity. All three opponents are ones we have not seen since my time here at TCU. For us that's great, as we've wanted all spring for our girls to have to deal with being on the road and adversity. Having to make tactical adjustments according to the games on the fly is another huge piece of the growth of the team.

Houston Baptist is a very strong program that will be moving up to Division 1 on both the men's and women's soccer side (it will be great to have another D1 men's soccer program in Texas). Baylor is going through an adjustment with a new coach this spring. Trinity is a very well coached DIII program that has been to the NCAA quarterfinals 2 of that past 3 years.

Next fall we play 12 of our games at home, so getting used to being on the road this spring is huge! Looking forward to three great games and GO FROGS!

Feel The Rhythym!

OK, so I have to admit I got sucked into American Idol last night and their fundraising show for various charities across the world. Outside of being a huge U2 fan, so the part with Bono really got me, the other part I really enjoyed was Gloria Estafan. Not that I'm a huge fan, but I do think her song "The Rythym is Gonna Get You" (I don't know the actual title), has a lot to do with soccer.

If you watched any of the champions league games, over the past 2 days, you could see how there seems to be a beat to everything they do. The flow of the game is just amazing. It's no wonder Brazil is such a power and why drums have always been an intrical part of any great soccer atmosphere.

I've never built a team around great atheltes, I've always built it around great soccer players, and our current group here at TCU is no different. We've got a very talented group of midfielders that have the ability to dictate the rythym of the game, and when it's on it something very special to watch. Between Chelsea Cody, Lizzie Batten, Kaylie Garcia and Michelle Nguyen we've got a unique group with an uncanny ability to feel the rhythym!

Water Balloons Away!!!

The girls worked their tails off for an hour and half today so we finished up with a great purple versus white game - capture the flag with water balloons! If they hit someone with a water balloon they went to prison. Was a blast and for 15 minutes it was great seeing the different strategy's come out. I think each team went through all 200 balloons and was surprised there was not mutiny and attack on the coaches!

In the end, the Purple Team won, pulling them to within 4 points of the white team!

Random Notes From Texas Tech Match

I'ts been a couple of days since my last post as there's been a lot going on. First and formost, I want to make sure that everyone keeps Coach Mark Plakorus and his family in their thoughts and prayers. Mark is the most dedicated, hard working indvidual I have ever come in contact with and we're extremely lucky to have him as a part of our program. I not only consider him my partner in coaching here at TCU, but one of my best friends in the world and we only hope his parent's health improves.

For the game versus Texas Tech just some random notes:
-I thought we established we have a width game in Jenna Hayes that can be very dangerous. Everytime she got the ball wide to her feet and went at players something great happened.
-I was excited that Kaylie Garcia got 90 minutes in for the first time, and she scored a goal late in the game! This is a huge stepping stone for her.
-Lizzy Karoly once again was a handful. I don't think we got her the ball enough, but she did a great job when she did get it.
-I felt we did a decent job of keeping posession and was happy that our backs looked to get forward on the switch.
-I loved the fact we scored a brilliant goal off a corner. It's something we've worked on so it was great to see the result.

We started 8 freshman, so with the system being a little complex that we're asking them to play, I was pleased with some of the results. This week we'll tweak a few things to allow the girls to play with a bit more confidence and relax a bit more on the field. I think we get that and we'll be in great shape!

Meet A New Horned Frog: Katie Runyon

Katie Runyon is the first Horned Frog to hail from the state of Illinois. Katie is from Quincy, IL where she is a three-time all-conference performer at Quincy Senior High School. She is the first Blue Devil to receive a scholarship in soccer. Runyon will don the Purple and White after leading Quincy in scoring and being named to the all-sectional squad in 2007. She has helped Quincy post back-to-back conference championships and a regional championship runner-up during her time as a Blue Devil. Overall Katie has earned four letters in soccer and one in tennis during her time at Quincy High School. Katie plays club ball for Missouri Premier and led them to a runner-up finish in the state championship in 2007. Katie, like fellow 2008 class member Alex Matthews, was a player who caught our eye at the Dan Abdalla Soccer Academy this past summer and made an impact on our staff. She is a competitive speedy flank player who will be a great addition to the Horned Frogs. We feel she is going to get much better in the college game and has the intangibles that we definitely want in our program. Welcome to TCU Katie!!!!

Meet A New Horned Frog: Lindsay Holmes

Lindsay is the second member of our 2008 Class that hails from our homestate of Texas. A native of Dallas, Lindsay plays club soccer for Texas Spirit ’90, one of the top teams in North Texas and USYSA Region III. She was a teammate of current Horned Frog Julia Slater on Spirit. Lindsay is a defender and has been captain of the team the past four seasons while leading them to a birth in the Region III Premier League. Lindsay is a player who combines great athleticism with very good skill, allowing her to be an impact in attack once she wins the ball. She is also a very intelligent player who is extremely composed under pressure. Lindsay comes to TCU following a standout career at Plano West Senior High School. She was a second-team all-district selection as a sophomore and junior while leading Plano West to the 2007 UIL Class 5A State Championship her junior season. We are excited to welcome Lindsay to TCU as we feel she is a great player who has a lot of potential to keep getting better and will be able to help us in a variety of spots. Her ability defensively and coming forward will enable her to be very explosive attacking from the flanks in the midfield or the backline. Welcome to TCU Lindsay!!!! We are looking forward to your arrival on campus.