Wilkins addresses media
September 23, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Wisconsin women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins addressed the media at the weekly press conference on Monday. Wilkins discussed the young talent and her thoughts on beginning Big Ten play this week.
Click mid=2531"> --> here for the archived video and read the transcript below.
OPENING STATEMENT: I am real excited to be back here at this press conference. I think that the most exciting part of our season so far has been the success of our freshmen and our underclassmen sort of rising to the occasion. Built some confidence with our non conference schedule, and we're real excited to have Illinois and Purdue here this weekend, and we're hoping people come out and see us. I think we're beginning to create a great product, and we hope people are out there to support us, especially in our Big Ten run.
QUESTION #1: Paula, are you seeing the confidence grow with this team with each and every match'
WILKINS: Yeah. From the first game, when we played Milwaukee, you would have thought they had never played a game of soccer in their life, they were so nervous. And as the season has gone on here, you can really see, I'm starting 5 freshmen, and I think any time you start 5 freshmen when there's 11 people on the field, you have sleepless nights. But the enthusiasm this group is bringing and the ability that they 're taking baby steps so much is so exciting, I think, for the upperclassmen and for myself.
So they take steps, big steps forward and little steps back every so often. But if your freshmen are doing most of the scoring or producing most of the scoring, I think for the future of the program, that looks great.
QUESTION #2: You're talking about trying to turn things around. How important is it to get off to a good start in Big Ten play'
WILKINS: I think it's important, especially for confidence. This team 's confidence has been a little bit fragile, and I've been trying to help that along. We've had slow starts because they sort of wait for other teams to dictate the pace, and I'm trying to convince them to do different.
So I think for the Big Ten, it's going to be important, though if you look at our Big Ten schedule, the opening part is probably the best teams in the conference with Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, and Penn State. So we're going to get our feet wet really fast, and I think that's going to help us at the end of the season, and I 'm excited for the challenges. And we look at everything as a challenge here, and the players have responded so well.
QUESTION #3: With your reliance on freshmen, talk a little bit about Taylor Walsh as a leader and sort of working with them and bringing them into the college atmosphere.
WILKINS: Yeah. I think Taylor has been one of the reasons why we've been successful. I think when young players come in, that instantaneously upperclassman can feel threatened, and I think she's done the exact opposite. I think she truly believes in building this program and leaving her legacy as a leader. She has been completely and utterly selfless in what she's been doing, and I think that's enabled us to get better.
And she's the biggest fan of Laurie Nosbusch right now, who's doing quite well. And it's great to see that because I think that's when they buy into the program and just not to their own accolades. And vice versa, I think most of Taylor's goals have come from Laurie, so I think that sort of relationship has paid off, and very excited for it to continue in the Big Ten.
QUESTION #4: Do you have a better feel of where your team might be in this Big Ten mix '
WILKINS: No. I know what I want it to be, but it's sort of any given day right now, it's been an exciting roller coaster ride. I was saying that we put together 45 minutes of a good half and then 45 minutes of a poor game. So but this freshmen class, we've had some inconsistency, but I think we're sort of middle of the pack. And it looks like in the Big Ten, it can go either way at any time, and I'm hoping that we get the benefit of most of that. We have six home games this season, which you've got to win your games at home to be successful, so I'm excited to see that.
You know, every game, they make me believe more and more, and they do some amazing things. And then they go, sometimes you go like, what the heck just happened there' But that's part of why I came here is building the program. And like I said before, these guys, they make me want to get out there and coach and make them better, and you can 't ask for anything more as a coach.
QUESTION #5: Of the freshmen you have out there, do you have a few in the back end ' And if so, does that make your nights even more sleepless' Because obviously, you got to keep the ball out of the net.
WILKINS: Right. No, actually, the ones in the back are all sophomores. There's three sophomores and a junior, which doesn't make it any more comfortable. But we have a goalkeeper, a senior goalkeeper in there, so that does well. I think at one time, the defenders said they looked in front of them in one game, and they said they saw six freshmen in front of them, and they were like, oh, my gosh. And I thought to myself, those are sophomores telling me that.
So having that group together for another three years, it's going to be good. And I'm going to be excited about what they're going to do, and I'm going to keep pushing them to make them better. But, no, it doesn't make it any easier having all sophomores back there.
