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Women’s Soccer 2022

HuffyCane

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As mentioned by Lawpoke, this season will tell us a lot about the growth of the program the previous two years. Local kids can help the program, yes. This season local kids have to help the program.

Sweet new unis btw. The revised script Tulsa logo looks sharp on them.
 
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Like the unis. I’m still a few years away from being able to give much insight into specific girls TU is recruiting. I do know the 2024 and 2025 Tulsa area classes are really good and deep. 2026 is weak at this point statewide.

Excited about the season.
 
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The freshman from Bixby/TSC continues to impress.
Frederick? She's a stud. Giselle Urquiza is also from Bixby and gets some minutes out of Bixby/TSC. She was an absolute monster in HS.

And you're right...the 2024 class is absolutely stacked in the Tulsa HS ranks. And I think Nathan Doll has the 2006's at TSC and he has that team playing at a really high level.

What I am encouraged about is TU has only given up more than 1 goal, 2X in 9 games and one of those was a 3-2 win. The other was a road game in Omaha to Creighton, a team that hasn't lost this season. Yes, TU still needs to find a way to score more goals and finish the chances they create, but it seems they have really improved on the defensive end of the field and if you can defend well, you will eventually find a way to get results in games. Right now the program seems headed in the right direction. We are seeing improvement from last year and we are seeing some improvement in the quality of players they are recruiting and getting to come here. It will be nice to land 1 or 2 of those Tulsa area players that has offers from OSU and OU that will make an immediate impact.
 
Frederick? She's a stud. Giselle Urquiza is also from Bixby and gets some minutes out of Bixby/TSC. She was an absolute monster in HS.

And you're right...the 2024 class is absolutely stacked in the Tulsa HS ranks. And I think Nathan Doll has the 2006's at TSC and he has that team playing at a really high level.

What I am encouraged about is TU has only given up more than 1 goal, 2X in 9 games and one of those was a 3-2 win. The other was a road game in Omaha to Creighton, a team that hasn't lost this season. Yes, TU still needs to find a way to score more goals and finish the chances they create, but it seems they have really improved on the defensive end of the field and if you can defend well, you will eventually find a way to get results in games. Right now the program seems headed in the right direction. We are seeing improvement from last year and we are seeing some improvement in the quality of players they are recruiting and getting to come here. It will be nice to land 1 or 2 of those Tulsa area players that has offers from OSU and OU that will make an immediate impact.
Yes. Jordan Frederick. She was named the AAC rookie of the week last week and followed that up with the game winner yesterday. Recruiting definitely appears to have improved.

There are some high level girls playing out of the Tulsa area in the 06 and 07 birth years. Girls who will receive offers from OSU, OU, Arkansas, etc.. we need to get a few of those. The 08 and 09 years don’t currently look as strong but there’s still plenty of time for those girls to develop.
 
The strength and conditioning of the players appears to have been elevated. I don’t know if that’s the players commitment getting stronger, coaching priorities changing, new S+C coaches, the new training table meals, or a combination of all of that, but they look ready to play and most are finishing strong. That’s a definite improvement over years past.
 
The strength and conditioning of the players appears to have been elevated. I don’t know if that’s the players commitment getting stronger, coaching priorities changing, new S+C coaches, the new training table meals, or a combination of all of that, but they look ready to play and most are finishing strong. That’s a definite improvement over years past.
So my son's HS coach told all the parents he doesn't believe in requiring weight training for the players for several reasons. 1) Most weight training is not designed for soccer performance. Big bulky players are not necessarily needed for good technical skill or touch. 2) For HS players, many are also playing club or active in other sports so the physical strain on their bodies including 5 days of HS practice in the afternoons and 3-4 days of club practice PLUS 2-3 games each weekend for most of the players is way too much to also require weights in the AM each day. He coaches a high level WSA girls team (I think 08s) and they just completed a weekend of 4 games at a tourney and he knew several of them still had to report to weight training at 6am on Monday. He firmly believes it is too much strain on the bodies of players.
3) He preferred more of a conditioning program. Some short sprints followed by some longer distance running. He said players will naturally get stronger through this type of training plus lots of touches/strikes on the ball.

Just different philosophies out there and I guess it's wherever the coach sees results in training and games that they're going to stick with an approach. Usually if you watch a Union game, they're going to outrun most teams they play against. Bixby and Broken Arrow are trying to out physical teams and pound them into submission.
 
So my son's HS coach told all the parents he doesn't believe in requiring weight training for the players for several reasons. 1) Most weight training is not designed for soccer performance. Big bulky players are not necessarily needed for good technical skill or touch. 2) For HS players, many are also playing club or active in other sports so the physical strain on their bodies including 5 days of HS practice in the afternoons and 3-4 days of club practice PLUS 2-3 games each weekend for most of the players is way too much to also require weights in the AM each day. He coaches a high level WSA girls team (I think 08s) and they just completed a weekend of 4 games at a tourney and he knew several of them still had to report to weight training at 6am on Monday. He firmly believes it is too much strain on the bodies of players.
3) He preferred more of a conditioning program. Some short sprints followed by some longer distance running. He said players will naturally get stronger through this type of training plus lots of touches/strikes on the ball.

Just different philosophies out there and I guess it's wherever the coach sees results in training and games that they're going to stick with an approach. Usually if you watch a Union game, they're going to outrun most teams they play against. Bixby and Broken Arrow are trying to out physical teams and pound them into submission.
Different philosophies are interesting. Most the upper level players I know concentrate on weight training for core strength and explosiveness. Flexibility is also a focus. In fact, several upper level coaches at TSC encourage yoga for their players. Some in fact have brought a yoga instructor in for several sessions.
 
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Different philosophies are interesting. Most the upper level players I know concentrate on weight training for core strength and explosiveness. Flexibility is also a focus. In fact, several upper level coaches at TSC encourage yoga for their players. Some in fact have brought a yoga instructor in for several sessions.
But that is not the focus of most HS strength coaches who treat every sport like it is football and look to bulk up arms, quads, etc. Honestly soccer coaches should have their teams focus on things like yoga and pilates for core strength as that will allow them to get better with their balance and that core strength will also allow for more powerful strikes as that power is generated through core strength and proper technique.
 
Different philosophies are interesting. Most the upper level players I know concentrate on weight training for core strength and explosiveness. Flexibility is also a focus. In fact, several upper level coaches at TSC encourage yoga for their players. Some in fact have brought a yoga instructor in for several sessions.
We did yoga in high school in the 80s before conditioning. Which I didn’t mind at all - the Pom Pon girls typically joined us.
 
But that is not the focus of most HS strength coaches who treat every sport like it is football and look to bulk up arms, quads, etc. Honestly soccer coaches should have their teams focus on things like yoga and pilates for core strength as that will allow them to get better with their balance and that core strength will also allow for more powerful strikes as that power is generated through core strength and proper technique.
My daughter is in cross country and they do a moderate amount of upper body strength training, you can't run effectively without decent upper body control. I don't know that much about soccer but if you want to run far and fast and maintain body control even if you're not getting bumped, quad, glute (especially glute) and hammy strength, and hip strength for stability, is critical but with explosiveness focus more than slow twitch workouts like weighted squats (tho those are useful too). They should have the track coach come in and work on conditioning. She actually does more upper body in cross country than in soccer for some bizarre reason.
 
My daughter is in cross country and they do a moderate amount of upper body strength training, you can't run effectively without decent upper body control. I don't know that much about soccer but if you want to run far and fast and maintain body control even if you're not getting bumped, quad, glute (especially glute) and hammy strength, and hip strength for stability, is critical but with explosiveness focus more than slow twitch workouts like weighted squats (tho those are useful too). They should have the track coach come in and work on conditioning. She actually does more upper body in cross country than in soccer for some bizarre reason.
I would think proper technique with the arms as well as using them to help propel you is a key in any running, sprints or distance. My son went to a a speed and sprint camp that Joe Dial did for employees' kids at ORU one summer. He preached line (never letting any body part cross over your mid line during the stride including your feet or your hands and always trying to get things moving in as straight a line as possible, AND....being relaxed through your shoulders, neck, and chest. He said muscle tension in the upper half of the body is one the things that robs a runner's speed. This is why when they do slo mo's on world class sprinters, their cheeks bounce around like a bloodhound's jowls.
 
My daughter is only 12 but she will do strength training once she hits puberty simply due to the physicality of the girls game. Girls are mean :)
Amen to this. Half the girls around here also play hockey and there's a lot of body checking that carries over. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a girl line up from 20 yards away full speed into the dribbler, no effort at all to play the ball.
 
I would think proper technique with the arms as well as using them to help propel you is a key in any running, sprints or distance. My son went to a a speed and sprint camp that Joe Dial did for employees' kids at ORU one summer. He preached line (never letting any body part cross over your mid line during the stride including your feet or your hands and always trying to get things moving in as straight a line as possible, AND....being relaxed through your shoulders, neck, and chest. He said muscle tension in the upper half of the body is one the things that robs a runner's speed. This is why when they do slo mo's on world class sprinters, their cheeks bounce around like a bloodhound's jowls.
Usually if you're upper body is tight, it pulls your upper half forward, which moves your center of gravity forward, which means your foot has to impact the ground farther out in front, which creates a braking effect and limits the push to the back, which limits application of the glutes, which are your largest muscle group that evolved specifically for that use and hammies. If you're crossing the center line, then you're rotating to get your foot forward and backwards, which uses the lower ab, hip and back muscles to spin your hips to whip your leg forward and backwards, and those muscles are much weaker than the glutes and hammies. It's pretty amazing how little things sap speed.

The hard part is that your body does what it does so it's not just a matter of thinking "don't cross the center line". There are muscular or structural issues that make your body work that way that have to be undone and retrained.
 
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TU with a test tonight as they travel to Tampa to take on USF. This game will reveal a lot about where in the rebuild TU is. USF is 7-1 against us since 2014 with the only loss being a 3-2 TU win in Tulsa in 2014. Last year's game was a 1-0 USF win in 2OT, and most of the others were not terribly competitive. USF is usually hovering around the top 25 but this year they are struggling with consistency coming in at 3-6. They've lost to Houston in conference (UH is usually not very good in women's soccer). TU and their defense have a chance tonight...they need to have Frederick on point with her finishing.

Prediction: TU comes home with a 1-0 win.
 
Girls lost 1-0 and were simply out played from the start. Long road trip combined with a young squad resulted in a rather lack luster effort. Still believe we are a recruited class or two away from contending in the AAC. Still encouraged.
 
Girls lost 1-0 and were simply out played from the start. Long road trip combined with a young squad resulted in a rather lack luster effort. Still believe we are a recruited class or two away from contending in the AAC. Still encouraged.
They defend well as a team and they scramble well in the back. You are right they need to add some talent and tech skill through recruiting. The 1st touch for most of the players is reminiscent of 12 year olds. There's no reason a player at this level can't receive a pass and it pop up waist high. That happened on so many occasions last night the youth coach in me was coming out. The inaccuracy of passes, the not keeping your head up and seeing what's developing. TU had a great chance to break in front in the 2nd half with a streaking left winger and the right wing with the ball decides to dribble into the corner and take the defender on 1v1. The team is better but until everyone on the team is able to execute basic fundamental and technical skills the game is predicated on, they will struggle to find a consistent attack or even play simple possession soccer.
 
They defend well as a team and they scramble well in the back. You are right they need to add some talent and tech skill through recruiting. The 1st touch for most of the players is reminiscent of 12 year olds. There's no reason a player at this level can't receive a pass and it pop up waist high. That happened on so many occasions last night the youth coach in me was coming out. The inaccuracy of passes, the not keeping your head up and seeing what's developing. TU had a great chance to break in front in the 2nd half with a streaking left winger and the right wing with the ball decides to dribble into the corner and take the defender on 1v1. The team is better but until everyone on the team is able to execute basic fundamental and technical skills the game is predicated on, they will struggle to find a consistent attack or even play simple possession soccer.
The training drills a lot of upper level coaches do
for receiving the ball and touch simply aren’t effective imo. Coaches train hours upon hours at receiving the ball and one touch. We’ve all seen the Rondo drills The problems with those drill are 1) the passes generally have little pace and are from close range 2) the drills are at a relaxed pace and not at the speed and urgency of game time situations.

Coaches needs to step back 20-30 yards and fire balls at the players starting at an early age. They also need to train players to receive balls under pressure and teach that the first touch needs to have a purpose in additional to simply controlling the ball.

That’s my soccer rant for the day and applies to the girls side. From what I’ve seen the boys side does a better job at teaching these skills. I do believe many college coaches under value the ability to receive a ball with purpose. They tend to focus on athletic ability and other skills. I equate it to basketball coaches who over value athletic ability instead of the ability to shoot and pass.
 
The training drills a lot of upper level coaches do
for receiving the ball and touch simply aren’t effective imo. Coaches train hours upon hours at receiving the ball and one touch. We’ve all seen the Rondo drills The problems with those drill are 1) the passes generally have little pace and are from close range 2) the drills are at a relaxed pace and not at the speed and urgency of game time situations.

Coaches needs to step back 20-30 yards and fire balls at the players starting at an early age. They also need to train players to receive balls under pressure and teach that the first touch needs to have a purpose in additional to simply controlling the ball.

That’s my soccer rant for the day and applies to the girls side. From what I’ve seen the boys side does a better job at teaching these skills. I do believe many college coaches under value the ability to receive a ball with purpose. They tend to focus on athletic ability and other skills. I equate it to basketball coaches who over value athletic ability instead of the ability to shoot and pass.
+1000000000
 
Wild stat of the day:

There will be 19 former Solar players on the field tonight for the Texas - TCU women’s game.
 
M
The training drills a lot of upper level coaches do
for receiving the ball and touch simply aren’t effective imo. Coaches train hours upon hours at receiving the ball and one touch. We’ve all seen the Rondo drills The problems with those drill are 1) the passes generally have little pace and are from close range 2) the drills are at a relaxed pace and not at the speed and urgency of game time situations.

Coaches needs to step back 20-30 yards and fire balls at the players starting at an early age. They also need to train players to receive balls under pressure and teach that the first touch needs to have a purpose in additional to simply controlling the ball.

That’s my soccer rant for the day and applies to the girls side. From what I’ve seen the boys side does a better job at teaching these skills. I do believe many college coaches under value the ability to receive a ball with purpose. They tend to focus on athletic ability and other skills. I equate it to basketball coaches who over value athletic ability instead of the ability to shoot and pass.
There is no substitute for the players on their own developing the mental awareness, visual acuity, and reaction time to prepare to pass the ball properly. You only learn this skill by doing. On your own. With friends. With enemies. Pelada. Pick up.

Only then will the physical drills with coaches have any real effect. Coaches fine tune. They do not teach past age 12. If the girls are having trouble receiving and distributing, they weren’t practicing effectively earlier in their career, they weren’t developing on their own, and so they lack the physical ability to control the ball when it is sent with the direction necessary at the college level to retain possession. In short you wonder if they should be playing at this level at all.
 
Women earn a 1-1 draw with Cincinnati last evening. Currently sit in 3rd with 5 pts (1-1-2) with one of the draws against East Carolina (in Greenville) who sits atop the standings.

This team is a lot closer to being really good than they are to being bad. They still struggle to find the quality in the final 1/3, but they sure are pretty good defensively. They've only conceded more than 1 goal in 2 games (2-0 L to Creighton, 3-2 win over MoSt). If Jim and his staff can convince one pure goal scorer to come to TU, you could have a situation like when Ryan Pore arrived for the men and all of a sudden 4-5 other good players emerged as recruiting steals (i.e Kyle Brown, Lawson Vaughan).
 
It often takes only one player with credibility saying the right things to visiting recruits to make a coach look like a genius.
 
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TU women take a 3-0 win over Houston in Houston yesterday. Good result for TU as winning on the road is always tough. And again, TU's defense showed out and played really well. Big game this coming Sunday vs UCF in Tulsa.
 
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TU women take a 3-0 win over Houston in Houston yesterday. Good result for TU as winning on the road is always tough. And again, TU's defense showed out and played really well. Big game this coming Sunday vs UCF in Tulsa.
Could have made some money betting the board the women would have a better conference record five games in than the men :)
 
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Could have made some money betting the board the women would have a better conference record five games in than the men :)
There's a difference between being the hunter and the hunted and I'm 100% positive the TU men are getting completely shafted by officiating to the point I'm thinking it might be an actual conspiracy.

But the women are playing well right now and Jim and his staff seemed to have started their rebuild and fix from the back which is wise. You may not win every game but you have a better chance if you don't allow many goals at all.
 
We hope to see them play on the 23rd when we’re in town.
 
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