Transcript from Paula Wilkins' press conference
September 07, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 7, 2010
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin head coach Paula Wilkins spoke with the media at Monday’s press conference. A transcript can be found below.
Paula Wilkins: Thank you. I’d like to say that ideally we are not where I would want us to be at this part of the season. We knew this was going to be a challenging start to our season. Obviously playing three teams in the top five was going to be a challenge, and I think in the long run this is going to be an important series of games for us in terms of building. The result we got on Sunday I’m happy with because I think it’s a steppingstone in the right direction. It’s always good to see a freshman get a goal and get that under her belt, and get the first goal of the season for the team.
We saw some great break points on Sunday, and we’re going to keep building on that and learn from every experience we have with the top ten teams that we played.
QUESTION #1: Paula, I know this is a different team, but last year kind of started similarly, as far as struggling to score goals, a young club. Can you draw from that at all, after the first few matches?
WILKINS: Yeah, we talked about it, and one of the difficult things was a lot of players put the results off on playing good teams. We had to take a step back and tell them that that rationalization is sort of a copout. We did have some problems in terms of that stuff. I think it’s them still trying to find their feet. I knew rebuilding this program was going to be a bit of a challenge, and we thought this was a challenge that these guys were ready to take.
The other part is, and this is always the part as a coach you don’t want to use, but we’ve had some injuries. Laurie Nosbusch and Paige Adams, our returning forwards from last year, have not been back. Well, Laurie came back this weekend, but was not there in the opening weekend. It’s been a challenge getting new people in different places, but I think by getting them in different places we’ve gained some more experience that in the future it’s going to help us.
But like I said, on Sunday, we really made some steps, not just in terms of the result, but just in terms of playing and being a little bit more calm and patient with the ball. I think (when) playing both UCLA and Portland, we got very scared and harried, and so the things that we do well, we didn’t do well. But on Sunday, we kind of reaffirmed that stuff, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.
QUESTION #2: You allowed three goals on set pieces this last weekend. Was there something similar that happened on each of those goals? Was there a certain problem that you saw?
WILKINS: It’s a good point. Actually, of the five goals we’ve given up all year, four have been on set pieces, so the good news is I know what we need to work on. The other good news is that the defense has done very well, only to give one goal up in the run of play. One thing is that we’re giving away too many fouls. I’m not happy with our play in the second half. In the first half, we’ve been fantastic. That kind of leads me a little bit to believe that fitness is a problem, some focus.
I think that’s the youthfulness of our team still, and that we have, I think the leadership needs to come out in the second half. But they’ve all been sort of different goals, and it’s really interesting, the set pieces, when we correct one part of it, another part fails. And so I think we all know what we’re going to work on this week.
QUESTION #3: Can you tell us a little bit about Kodee Williams, where she’s from, how you got her, and what type of career you expect out of her?
WILKINS: Kodee is definitely a bright spot. I think she’s gotten better in each game already this season. She’s originally from Toronto. We have a bunch of Canadian players, and when I first started this program and started to rebuild it, I talked to a lot of (them and) said, you’re going to have to be part of the recruiting process. And she was a good friend of Lacy Warner’s. They had been on the Youth National Team together, (so we) sort of had a conversation.
What Kodee brings to us is something that both Paige and Laurie lack, in terms of athleticism and being able to get behind people with speed. She showed that a little bit on the weekend. I think it’s going to be more encouragement. She’s a bit of a perfectionist, so she puts her head down a little bit, and then we’ve got to work on that to be a little bit more consistent. I think when that consistency happens, she’s really going to be a main goal scorer for us.
QUESTION #4: When you do you think Laurie will be 100%? You need her to be 100%.
WILKINS: Yeah. And you know, this weekend, she saw flashes of it. I think being out with the injury a little bit kind of set her back, and she wasn’t really played in. She basically didn’t practice much before the games this weekend, so (she was a) little bit of rusty. I think the great part was, I sort of put some stuff off on fitness, but the second overtime against Washington, I thought she was very good. And her leadership came out, and she really made a step in that way. And I think a good week of training this week will get her back in sort of the mindset. She’s getting used to playing without Paige up front and playing with Kodee, and the different things that they do in getting familiar with each other.
QUESTION #5: What went into the decision of picking Lauren Gunderson in goal against Portland, and what did you think of her performance?
WILKINS: I thought Lauren did very well. To be honest, between her and Michele (Dalton), they both bring different things to the table. She had been doing so well in training and (we were) pretty confident that we thought it was necessary to. I think that’s a little bit like Bret (Bielema) would talk about (in terms of) depth. I thought she did a good job. I would say that neither of the goals were sort of her responsibility. She could have done maybe one or two other things to organize the game and control the game. I think that’s what Michele does a little bit better, but Lauren is not much further behind.
I think it’s going to be competitive. I think it’s going to be sort of up in the air. I’m really happy to have that because what we’re finding with the program is that it’s all over the field that we’re having some competition and some stuff in practice. I think that only makes the team stronger at the end, and they help each other, so it’s a good thing.
QUESTION #6: After you guys lost to Cincinnati, 1-0, you said that the team needs to develop a collective team identity. Are you any closer to that, do you think?
WILKINS: I think after the Portland game we got a lot closer. As a coach sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and realize the things that you’ve got to do and how to show a young team direction. The players after last season, I knew that we got a little further than we probably expected to get, but I had to keep reminding myself that they need direction, and they need leadership, and they need me to show them the way because it’s not exactly there yet.
After the Portland game, I think they really took a step in that direction. What I’ve realized as a coach is that every day I’ve got to make different little things for them to do, just to push them and make them better. So it’s been exciting. After getting obviously three losses in a row, as a coach you take a step back and (are) pretty frustrated, but I also think this is a really interesting challenge. To get them to move in the right direction on Sunday was a step in the right direction, and for me, I’m going to keep trying to figure out how to solve it.
