Photo by: Tom Lynn
Baggot: For Wilkins, 'It's never been about me'
August 22, 2023 | Women's Soccer, Andy Baggot
Wilkins is approaching 300-win milestone, but passes credit on to players
Wisconsin women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins handled the question about her pending milestone as you might expect. She denied its existence.
This was a few days before Wilkins and the Badgers opened their 17th season together with home matches against Kansas and Illinois-Chicago at the McClimon Track and Soccer Complex. Sitting on 298 career wins, Wilkins was asked about the meaning of reaching 300.
"I haven't gotten it,'' she said of the achievement. "It's not meaningful at all to me.''
Wilkins, who amassed 119 wins at Penn State from 2001 to '06 and came into the new season with a program-record 179 at Wisconsin since taking over in 2007, ultimately decided to let the most popular soccer coach in the world express her feelings on the matter.
"My favorite line from Ted Lasso – it made me bawl – is when he wanted the title of his book changed from the Lasso Way, saying 'it's not about me. It never was.'" she said, referring to dialogue from the celebrated fictional character played by Jason Sudeikis. "It's never been about me."
"That's a milestone,'' Wilkins acknowledged of the 300-win plateau, "but it's really about (former UW players like) Kodee Williams, Cara Walls and Sheree Gray (from Penn State). It's about those kids. That's what it's about. My (career) is just a mirror of what they've done.''
Wilkins watched her latest collection of talent begin the season with a scoreless draw with Kansas before claiming a 1-0 victory over UIC.
Joining the 300-win club this week would be a memorable achievement for Wilkins and the unranked Badgers in more ways than one. They play at second-ranked North Carolina, owner of 21 NCAA titles, on Thursday before facing fourth-rated Duke, a three-time national runner-up, on Sunday.
Wilkins is the winningest coach in UW history (180-95-50, .631) and currently sits third on the all-time Big Ten Conference list for career victories. She's vying to become the 27th coach with NCAA Division I experience to join the 300-win club.
Now the third-most tenured coach at Wisconsin – Mark Johnson took over the women's hockey program in 2002 and Todd Oehrlein became the head coach of the women's golf team in 2003 – Wilkins is trying to make a Big Ten title contender out of a roster that features nine seniors and nine freshmen.
One of the seniors is Emma Jaskaniec, the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2022 who accounted for a team-best 10 goals and a league-best 24 points last season. She did all that damage in 15 games before sustaining a season-ending injury.
Wilkins said she's easing Jaskaniec into the mix with the idea of having her up to full speed in time for conference play that begins Sept. 15. In the meantime, Wilkins is looking to lean on above-average depth.
"Our willingness and their ability to support each other and be relentless with teams because of the depth,'' she said.
Wilkins was asked if she expected to spend 17 years at UW.
"If you'd asked me (then) if I'd be here this long, I couldn't even tell you it's been this many years,'' she said. "I don't even feel like it's been 17 years. It seems like five. I guess when you're having fun, time flies.''
Wilkins said one of her goals upon arriving in Madison was to lift Wisconsin from the vicinity of the Big Ten basement to its highest peak. That idea was realized in 2019 when the Badgers won the league title.
"First to last and back to first,'' she said of her initial plan.
UW has qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times during the Wilkins Era, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
"It's taken some time, but what I've found is I've really enjoyed that growth,'' Wilkins said. "I was part of it at Penn State as well. However, I've liked the building part and I think now I really like the soccer community here. I like the people in the Midwest. I really like who I work for.''
This was a few days before Wilkins and the Badgers opened their 17th season together with home matches against Kansas and Illinois-Chicago at the McClimon Track and Soccer Complex. Sitting on 298 career wins, Wilkins was asked about the meaning of reaching 300.
"I haven't gotten it,'' she said of the achievement. "It's not meaningful at all to me.''
Wilkins, who amassed 119 wins at Penn State from 2001 to '06 and came into the new season with a program-record 179 at Wisconsin since taking over in 2007, ultimately decided to let the most popular soccer coach in the world express her feelings on the matter.
"My favorite line from Ted Lasso – it made me bawl – is when he wanted the title of his book changed from the Lasso Way, saying 'it's not about me. It never was.'" she said, referring to dialogue from the celebrated fictional character played by Jason Sudeikis. "It's never been about me."
"That's a milestone,'' Wilkins acknowledged of the 300-win plateau, "but it's really about (former UW players like) Kodee Williams, Cara Walls and Sheree Gray (from Penn State). It's about those kids. That's what it's about. My (career) is just a mirror of what they've done.''
Wilkins watched her latest collection of talent begin the season with a scoreless draw with Kansas before claiming a 1-0 victory over UIC.
Joining the 300-win club this week would be a memorable achievement for Wilkins and the unranked Badgers in more ways than one. They play at second-ranked North Carolina, owner of 21 NCAA titles, on Thursday before facing fourth-rated Duke, a three-time national runner-up, on Sunday.
Wilkins is the winningest coach in UW history (180-95-50, .631) and currently sits third on the all-time Big Ten Conference list for career victories. She's vying to become the 27th coach with NCAA Division I experience to join the 300-win club.
Now the third-most tenured coach at Wisconsin – Mark Johnson took over the women's hockey program in 2002 and Todd Oehrlein became the head coach of the women's golf team in 2003 – Wilkins is trying to make a Big Ten title contender out of a roster that features nine seniors and nine freshmen.
One of the seniors is Emma Jaskaniec, the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2022 who accounted for a team-best 10 goals and a league-best 24 points last season. She did all that damage in 15 games before sustaining a season-ending injury.
Wilkins said she's easing Jaskaniec into the mix with the idea of having her up to full speed in time for conference play that begins Sept. 15. In the meantime, Wilkins is looking to lean on above-average depth.
"Our willingness and their ability to support each other and be relentless with teams because of the depth,'' she said.
Wilkins was asked if she expected to spend 17 years at UW.
"If you'd asked me (then) if I'd be here this long, I couldn't even tell you it's been this many years,'' she said. "I don't even feel like it's been 17 years. It seems like five. I guess when you're having fun, time flies.''
Wilkins said one of her goals upon arriving in Madison was to lift Wisconsin from the vicinity of the Big Ten basement to its highest peak. That idea was realized in 2019 when the Badgers won the league title.
"First to last and back to first,'' she said of her initial plan.
UW has qualified for the NCAA tournament nine times during the Wilkins Era, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
"It's taken some time, but what I've found is I've really enjoyed that growth,'' Wilkins said. "I was part of it at Penn State as well. However, I've liked the building part and I think now I really like the soccer community here. I like the people in the Midwest. I really like who I work for.''
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