The Yellow Armband: Getting Better All The Time
10/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 21, 2009
Each Wednesday of the 2009 season, one of the Michigan women's soccer captains -- Jackie Carron, Alex Jendrusch, Amy Klippert and Kylie Neschke -- will give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the U-M program.
The Yellow Armband with Amy Klippert
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 -- Getting Better All The Time
As our season has progressed it can obviously be said that our abilities to learn quickly in school are also dominant in our ability to learn quickly in soccer. Our team has moved on from holding the ball while under pressure to, now, holding the ball under pressure and turning the defender. This may seem like almost the exact same drill we have been doing for three weeks because it is the exact same drill we have been doing for three weeks. It is not our fault that our perfectly sculpted and fragile figures cannot hold off the heft of muscle that our opponents carry. Therefore, we must work extra hard on our physical play.
Aside from the usual technical work of our training sessions, our team's main focus has been resting our bodies. Because we lack a full healthy roster, it is necessary to keep our bodies as healthy and rested as can be. Since we are so far into our season, it is not as important to keep pushing ourselves in training as much as it is to rest and prepare for the next game. In order for our bodies to reach our maximum healthy-status, Athletic Trainer Tina Scully has been feeding us electrolytes and extra-cold ice baths.
This past week, our game against Purdue, although a loss, was a great challenge for us. We played or hearts out making the 19th team in the nation looks like amateurs. We used our smooth, fancy footwork to confuse them and dazzle them as we easily maneuvered around the field. Yes, we did miss a few open-net shots, but Shaq misses free throws all the time so we were just doing as the professionals do. Haley Kopmeyer had a phenomenal game dodging, dipping, ducking, and diving. She was brick wall like always. Our game against Purdue was the best we had played so far. We glided off that field with our heads held high because we knew we were leaving the better team.
Three days later we played against No. 22 Indiana and the Big Ten Network put us on the grand television. We didn't even need to wear makeup or do our hair because our natural beauty stills shines through our sweat; giving us a natural glow. We went into double overtime with Indiana and the game ended scoreless. We played strong and we connected well. Our team's strength is being able to pass around other teams and work the ball up the field and we do it gracefully. Even though Sarah Stanczyk completely bulldozed a girl eight times her size into the sharp gravel of death, the game went smoothly.
It is safe to say that our team has improved tremendously this year. With our amazing coaching staff, superb trainers, and brilliantly clever media guy, how could we not get better? Everyday we push each other and motivate each other because we all want to be the best that we can. It has been a bumpy season, but we are always enjoying the ride (even though I lost my wallet on the way back from the Purdue game, sorry Mom). For all you women's soccer fans out there, stick with us because we are where the party is at. Hail!
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