Wilkins talks about going to the Sweet 16
November 16, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 16, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - After one of the most exciting weekends in recent memory for the Wisconsin women’s soccer program, the Badgers now prepare for the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1993. The Badgers head to Boston on Friday, Nov. 20 to face second-seeded Boston College in the third round of the tournament after a thrilling pk shootout and a 1-0 victory over third-seeded Central Florida.
Head coach Paula Wilkins met with the media on Monday to talk about the Badgers exciting NCAA run. Wilkins talked about the team effort and how they got here. A complete transcript is below and an archived video can be seen here.
Opening statement
I’m really excited for the players after this weekend. Obviously, we thought we were a little bit on the bubble getting in the NCAAs, and then to come away with two home victories in pretty dramatic fashion, very excited for the players and I think it’s a major credit to them in terms of where we started this season. Again, we’re starting nine freshmen and sophomores, and I think every game we had this season was a learning experience from, for them, and it showed that they’ve learned and they’ve processed all that stuff and everything we’ve talked about in training.
We’re really excited about where we are, and we think every experience is going to be a good learning experience for them. We’re excited to go to Boston. Pretty familiar, being from the East Coast, with BC. Very good team that actually won the ACC this year, which is a pretty difficult task, having North Carolina in there every year.
You know, the great thing about our team this weekend was that players that hadn’t scored goals this year stepped up in big roles, especially in the shootout. Players who had played minimal minutes actually came through with big goals for the program, and I think that’s exciting to see, and obviously very promising for our future.
You mentioned maybe being a bit on the bubble going into this weekend. So how surprised or how confident were you that you’d be sitting here today talking about going to the Sweet 16 and planning for what was next?
You know, I thought we got a really good draw in the NCAAs. We, getting to host and being on our home field is great. I think on Friday we had over 1,000 people at the game, which is one of the highest attendance we’ve had since I’ve been here. And I think that atmosphere alone helps you in terms of where they are. You know, both teams were very good, and they were hard fought games, as all NCAA games are, so I thought we had a chance in these games. And like it was all season this year for us, it’s a one-goal game. The players don’t make it easy for me, but they’ve been in so many of those games that I was confident that, you know, in those situations that we were going to be successful.
I think in a PK shootout, you never know. It’s a terrible way to decide a game. And for the first time in my career, as a player or a coach, I finally got the victory on a shootout. So really happy it was here. I just, I had to change colors, that’s probably what I had to do, and states. So really happy for the players and, you know, of all the experiences they went through this year and the teams that they’ve played, I had confidence that they could come through this weekend, just didn’t know how and where and who, and those people proved themselves.
Coach, Alev Kelter took a couple of hits yesterday and went down a couple of times. Is she doing okay physically?
Yeah. She is, if you have ever met her, she’s a pretty strong physical specimen. You know, they were especially giving her some major physical attention off the ball, especially after the play, and I thought she dealt with it really well for a young player in terms of maturity of not reacting too much to it, just stayed really focused at the end of the game when we needed her to do certain things.
And to take that sort of punishment as a freshman, and not lose her head, and get herself in a situation where she’s getting a yellow card or retaliating and not doing the things that we’ve asked her, I think is commendable. And, even for her, I think that’s the growth in the season for her. I think at the beginning of the year, that would have been a little bit different. I thought she really made a commitment for the team in terms of, instead of dealing with her own individual situation, she looked for the team rather than herself.
Paula, is a weekend like this a major step in the building of this program, and does it maybe even accelerate the process?
Yeah. You know, beginning of the year, we talked about being in the top half of the Big Ten and getting an NCAA bid. Those were our goals. And I think the experience that these players are gaining now, especially since they’re so young, will have a benefit, if we use it in the right direction. And we’ve talked about that with the team, about how we need to understand what the NCAAs are different. They had no player who had had that experience before, so now, having that experience, they understand what every NCAA game is about, what the pace of the game is going to be.
I was really proud because I thought Sunday was one of the best games we’ve played all year and that they’re heading in the right direction, and they took all the information I gave them about the NCAAs and used it. So you know, having said that, you know, over the next couple years, I think that’s really going to benefit the program.
Paula, when you took over three years ago, did you totally tear things down and rebuild or are you renovating?
A bit of both. I think some of the players that are here right now that are older had a huge part of buying into my philosophy and changing the culture. And without them, I think the new players I brought in wouldn’t be in the position that they are right now. I always think it’s difficult.
I talked to a lot of the older players and said, you know, when you came here, you didn’t buy in, you didn’t come for me. And they were willing to be flexible enough to change and do some of the things I asked them to do, which I think is a difficult thing for players. And I think they created the culture to allow the under, the younger players to be themselves, to get the experience, and to support them, and that’s made a huge difference. So in terms of being on the field, having all the freshmen and sophomore on there, it’s a little bit of renovation, but in terms of the program and the culture, that was just a little bit of a tweaking.
It sounds as if there was more missing than just talent, that there had to be a philosophy change, that there had to be a culture change, in your mind.
Yeah. And I think that’s just teaching players hard work and asking them to do more things they didn’t think they can do. And I don’t think they had been stretched. You know, there was some talent here, but they were a little bit unsure of themselves. And I think giving them the confidence, and we always talk to the players about where confidence comes from, and it comes from preparation.
And you know, it was taking two years to make them understand that their preparation gave them confidence to be on the field, and it didn’t come from me and that I wasn’t a magic pill. They really developed that themselves. So I think that it was there, it just had to be sort of encouraged and prodded and encouraged again and reinforced. I think they’re really seeing the advantages of what they did. You know, I think you talk to players all the time about hard work and where it can get you, and right now, they’re understanding it.
Are you happy, Coach, with the balance of your team from the top to the bottom of your roster right now? I believe Roxanne Carlson’s goal yesterday was her first point of the year. And is that a confidence boost for your team to have someone be able to come in off the bench and provide that?
Yeah. I think, you know, especially on a weekend where you have to play two very big games, and very difficult games, on a Friday and Sunday, to have players come off the bench, you can bring something to the game. You know, she also had a great, you know, most people always focus on the goalkeeper in shootouts, but both her and Krista Liskevych, who played minimal minutes on Friday, both hit their PKs, which is outstanding coming in cold off the bench, and I think they should be commended for what they did.
But that goes to training. That means that in the atmosphere that, I know Roxanne didn’t have some minutes earlier in the season, the Big Ten season, but she’s still competing and training as hard as she can because she knows her opportunity is going to come around. And to be honest, it’s one of the biggest opportunities that she had, and she did a great job, and that has to do with her focus and training and what she’s been doing there even when she wasn’t getting the minutes on the field.
You know, you talk about players and you talk about being selfless, and I think that’s a great example of building a program here, those players buying into the big picture of what they’re being a part of, and she should be commended for that. And there are many other players that you don’t see their names, and you don’t see their stats or what they’re doing in practice, but they’re making this program better.
