Point is, coaches really should be looking for players who are technically gifted.
TU Women's Soccer Fall thread
- Thread starter TU_BLA
- Start date
Maybe, but whatever it looks like, I care about results. After a very rough start the new coaching staff has got them winning. Kragyhorpes first year never looked all that pretty, but winning was a habit.
Anyone know why we aren’t playing Arkansas, Okla State, OU, KState, etc..? We play Missouri St, Central Arkansas, Kansas City, Arkansas St, and Arkansas Pine-Bluff.
I’m with TU_BLA regarding technically sound players. ECNL players aren’t all created equal but most should be fairly technically sound. We signed a large group of such players in our last class. Suppose it comes down to a coaching and recruiting philosophy. If you’re not a top 25 program do you focus on technically sound players or athletic players? I know opinions vary even at the club level. The goal is of course to be able to sign great athletes with superior technically ability.
Just my 2 cents, being great technically is very difficult to achieve just by attending team trainings. The best technical girls usually have spent hours and hours training outside team practices. It’s a skill which requires years to acquire.
I’m with TU_BLA regarding technically sound players. ECNL players aren’t all created equal but most should be fairly technically sound. We signed a large group of such players in our last class. Suppose it comes down to a coaching and recruiting philosophy. If you’re not a top 25 program do you focus on technically sound players or athletic players? I know opinions vary even at the club level. The goal is of course to be able to sign great athletes with superior technically ability.
Just my 2 cents, being great technically is very difficult to achieve just by attending team trainings. The best technical girls usually have spent hours and hours training outside team practices. It’s a skill which requires years to acquire.
soft non-conference schedule allows for some confidence to be built in a young program with a new coach. However, this doesn't make it easy when we hit the conference schedule and have to play the likes of SMU, UCF, USF, Cincinnati etc. which are all good to very good teams.
I'd like to see improvement in the non-con and at least being competitive against the good sides in the AAC . I saw an interview with Coach Rhein after the Creighton game and he mentioned the score lines at the OSU festival were not indicative of the quality that they played that weekend.
I've said it a few times...they are actually pretty sound in the back. The defense looks pretty well organized. They may not be able to athletically match up with some of the better attackers we will play but it isn't a tactical or shape deficiency. I'm not 100% sold on the GK as well.
No different than football and basketball. They have the advantage in recruiting. Why risk that playing a G5 team?
I understand the rational. However, we’ve played those teams (except for Arkansas) in recent past seasons. This year seems to be a change in scheduling philosophy. As TUBla said…maybe young team with new coaching staff.
I would very surprised to learn that TU was foregoing lower cost travel game opportunities based on philosophy. It’s more likely those teams now refusing to play us or the inability to be available when they want to play.
After the 0-2 start and -7 GD in those games, they've played pretty well and respectable. The conference loss to USF was a tight match all the way whereas last year USF throttled them. Maybe Jim is making a case to have the job permanently. The players seem to be responding to him and his staff. The next recruiting cycle will tell us a lot about whether or not he's up for the job.
He mentioned before the game vs Creighton that the scores in those 2 games were misleading that he felt his team played much better than the score lines may have indicated and that a couple of mistakes ended up in the back of the goal against them and they couldn't cash in on the mistakes the other team made.
Lost 0-2 to Memphis. Memphis might be the best team in the conference this year. TU drops to 1-3 in league.
Not sure what the plan is going forward with the coaching staff. Have a hard time believing Jo Johnson gives up her head coaching gig at Jenks with no guarantee past this season. I don’t think this team is that far away from being competitive in conference.
Women continue to put in work. Had a double overtime tie with 3rd place ECU. Tulsa is one game under .500 overall and 1-4-1 in the league. Every AAC team is .500 or better currently.
Seems they are making some progress, no idea if keeping the interim is the way to go, but there seems to have been some good points to the tenure so far.
Proud of the girls for overcoming a pretty rough start to the season.
Seems they are making some progress, no idea if keeping the interim is the way to go, but there seems to have been some good points to the tenure so far.
Proud of the girls for overcoming a pretty rough start to the season.
I think the support is there to keep Jim around especially if he keeps the assistants on board with him. I do think TU might test the water some and see if there is a splash hire they can make. IMO, Yolanda Thomas is at the top of that list and if TU can get her in, they shouldn't hesitate to do it. Next would be Derek Pittman, former TU men's GK and current UTSA women's soccer head coach. He has built the program from the ground up and they just clinched their first berth into the CUSA conference tourney. I think the two of them bring instant cred on the recruiting trail both locally and regionally and there's enough talent regionally to build a consistent winner here.
I'm impressed with how competitive they've been when they haven't been the last 2-3 years in the AAC.
I’m hoping they keep the coaching staff in place at least for another season simply for continuity unless there is a home run hire out there. The ladies have been more competitive but they still reside in last place in the conference. Would like to see what this staff could accomplish given another year. I like the recruiting class they have coming in.
Season
Season complete. I definitely saw some improvement and they did get pretty competitive, but you are right the results didn't show in W/L records. I agree unless there is just some sort of homerun out there we should give this staff another year. They show more progress and a few more wins, then a regular two or three year contract should be extended. If we regress or maintain it might be time to take a chance.
The women showed grit and represented us well, I liked the growth, hopefully the ladies can keep it up for next season.
Season complete. I definitely saw some improvement and they did get pretty competitive, but you are right the results didn't show in W/L records. I agree unless there is just some sort of homerun out there we should give this staff another year. They show more progress and a few more wins, then a regular two or three year contract should be extended. If we regress or maintain it might be time to take a chance.
The women showed grit and represented us well, I liked the growth, hopefully the ladies can keep it up for next season.
Thought I would update this thread in light of all the talk on the mens side. TU women signed 7 players to their 2022 class. Three of those girls are local TSC players. Not sure about the overall talent signed but it’s nice to see an emphasis on local kids. Important season for the program. Need to continue to show improvement.
It looks like the coaching staff stayed intact which is good. I saw some improvement last year and I think Jo Johnson is the one with the connections to local HS soccer, right? There's a ton of talent in the area and TSC's 04s, 05s, and 06s all have a lot of talent. There's an 06 girl who was a FR last year at Summit Christian, Kaylee Gibson, who was honorable mention All State. I can tell you she can flat out play. Her mom played at TU and her dad played at NSU (her dad was my son's coach for a year at TSC). She would come to the boys training and would flat out school them. She's tiny, maybe 5'4" or so but fast and has great touch and she also picks out the far post on shots with great accuracy. Hopefully Rachel and Jo have her on their radar to keep watching. Summit Christian won't ever be great because they don't have the depth but she's playing ECNL at TSC and is a primary player on the 06 side. Union has a couple of rising SO who started last year on their state semifinalist team.
I think Jo has really helped with the focus on local players. Kaylee being 5’4” may actually help TU as some of the bigger programs tend to have a predetermined model for what a women’s soccer player is suppose to look like. Hopefully Jo will follow the 07 area girls who are playing for Energy. A few of those players are elite.
TSC told the girls that recruiting will now largely be up to the individuals. The club had long sold Yo’s connections and provided assistance in that area. Guess with Yo’s departure the policy has now changed.
Which is interesting because at a Blitz (Academy FC) parent meeting last night, Reis told the parents the goal is to get his kids in front of as many college coaches as possible. He also mentioned that Derek Larkin (Rogers St HC) will help players connect with college coaches, even if it's a competitor. TSC loves to let everyone know when a kid who was a part of the club at some point commits to a college program.
ECNL players obviously get exposure at national events as well as high level tournaments. We saw college coaches everywhere at the Dallas Cup and Surf Cup. I worry about the ECRL and DPL players. There are so many small colleges. Hard to network by individuals who have few contacts in large numbers. I really like the Rogers State coaches. Very accommodating and approachable. Blitz did well to have Derek and Jake associated with its club.
Yeah, my son is going to start training on Mondays with Larkin's 05s because of a meeting conflict when his 06 team trains later on Mondays. He's been to a couple of Larkin run sessions and they are phenomenal. The pace is quick, they have intent and purpose. Even the scrimmages have intent other than just playing. I know one of the drills Larkin runs is called the Fulham drill...and the best part about this drill is it incorporates every layer in their position and works, touch, passing, shooting, and even the GKs get involved in their footwork, decision making, and shot stopping.
Blitz (Academy FC...need to get used to calling it this) also has the NSU HC on its staff as well (Rob Czlonka).
Is OSU not a top 25 team this year? They have been pretty consistently one of the better Big XII teams the last several years.
No. They were 9-6-3 last year and 4-3-1 in conference. OSU is projected to finish 5th in the Big12 this season. They aren’t a bad club but not near as good as they were a few years ago.
Go on ….
Reading this is the best message of the day. It would make for an excellent bed time story.
There’s a few people out there close to the program that suggest we’ve gone in the wrong direction. The freshman are going to have grow up or this year could be trouble. Personally, I’d like to see a technical director over both teams.
Interesting concept. Do any other D1 programs have a technical director like you suggest? Tulsa probably has 2 or 3 people capable of said position.
If you haven’t noticed, I’m an interesting conversationalist and exceptionally polite person. I haven’t looked it up, and usually good ideas are thought out by multiple people, but as far as I know I’m the only one who has suggested it.
They do...but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating. We lack some serious athleticism and speed in the back. I thought Beedy played well but the 2 CBs just couldn't keep pace with the OSU forwards. We will be susceptible to over the top play if the other team is running out a forward with that amount of speed.
I was encouraged by TU's response in the 2nd half as they seemed to carry the play more and were a little better in possession. Maddie Tokarchik is a beast of a player in a 5'3" frame.
TU does lack a pure finisher...that was pretty apparent as they never seemed to find the one person in or around the box to threaten the goal.
First half was rough. There were some encouraging moments in the second half. Something the girls can build upon. I like the talent in the Soph and Fresh classes. Also like the recent emphasis on recruiting locally. Not sure this group is good enough athletically to compete with top 25 teams but I am expecting improvement as the season progresses as the young girls gain D1 experience.
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