Rising sophomore Daniel Kelly has spent the spring learning a new role as part of the Hoosiers' back line. |
Spring Ball: Q&A With Men's Soccer Coach Mike Freitag
April 9, 2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind -
Indiana men's soccer coach Mike Freitag discusses his team's progress as it enters the final portion of its spring schedule, culminating in a match with the Mexican Youth National Team on April 22 at Armstrong Stadium.
What are your goals during the spring season?
One, you want to prepare your team to be better for the fall. But you also want to get some new players time to get their feet wet. It is their time to really shine. You have what you think may be your starting 11 for the fall and you want to get them time playing together, but then you also want to incorporate new players and see how they do. There is a little bit of a dilemma there because you only have so many minutes of a game to play and you want to balance that a little bit.
A good example of that is our game against Louisville (on April 1). It was a good, sold game so we did not substitute much. In our games against Oakland and Michigan, which were on the same day, we had two separate teams play.
So it is a little bit of both. You want to prepare for next year and what you think is going to be your starting team, but you also want to see the reserves get some time to show you what they can do.
Looking at the areas where you lost players from the 2007 team, what has been your focus this spring?
Last year we played out of a 4-4-2 and three of our four backs are gone. So a big concern is getting organized in the back so we can defend. In previous years we have played out of a 3-5-2, and we did last year at the beginning of the season. But we found for the makeup of our team it wasn't the right system.
We are playing out of a 3-5-2 this spring. We have two new people in the back that have never played there for us. Kevin Alston is there, but Rich Balchan is now back there along with Daniel Kelly. This system in the past has been very good to us. It is a system I like to play, but you need to have the people to do it. Right now we are experimenting with having those three in the back and so far the experiment has been pretty good. We haven't give up much defensively.
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How are Rich Balchan and Daniel Kelly developing in their new roles?
They are doing very well. I think we are at the point where the guys in front of them feel very comfortable. Rich Balchan has been a young man who has exceeded our expectations, especially in his first year. We knew he was a good player but he has shown even more than expected as demonstrated by his inclusion in the U-20 National Team. He has never played in the back for us but we have thrown him back there this spring and he's done very well. He has a feel for it. One thing you don't want in defenders is for them to be casual. You want them to take care of things and he is very good at that. I think with playing three (in the back) everyone has a heightened awareness of being in a defending mode. What is nice about all three of them is they have good speed, good recovery speed. They know each other and are all very good on the ball.
Right now it has worked out for us. And what that gives us is an extra player in the midfield that can help our attack. For example, last fall (freshman) Andy Adlard was kind of the odd man out. Andy is a very talented player but because we played out of a 4-4-2 he wasn't on the field. So this gives us an opportunity to get him back on the field.
Last year one of the areas of concern for the team was the attack. Have you seen anyone stepping up this spring to give you that scoring punch?
I still don't think we are finishing like we should. We are still creating chances, and that is the good news. We continue to emphasize finishing in training, but I would like to see an improvement in that. We've got some players coming in that should help in that area. But I have been happy with the understanding that is developing between (rising senior) Kevin Noschang and (rising sophomore) Michael Roach. They have been putting themselves in good situations but maybe the finishing hasn't been as good as it should be. But I feel good that they are creating chances.
Last year Brad Ring really stepped up and took a leadership role on the team. Has that effort continued into this spring?
Brad is one of the top players in the country. He is a young man who anyone would be happy to have on his team. He is a competitor and is physically powerful and explosive. And he loves to get into tussles defensively; he is a very good ball winner. But he is also good on the ball and can play offensively and score some outstanding goals from distance like he did last year.
He continues to grow as a player, but he needs to become more of a vocal leader at times. We continue to help him make strides in that area.
Last year key players missed good portions of the season due to injury. How is the health of everyone this spring?
We talked about the lack of scoring last year, but our two leading scorers (Darren Yeagle and Brian Ackley) from the year before didn't really play. Ackley was hampered with a hamstring injury all year and Darren was out with his knee. It will be good to have those guys healthy. Right now the health of the team is good. In fact I saw Darren Yeagle running today and it is good to see him back running. Ackley and (John) Mellencamp are back 100 percent and it is nice to have those players back and have that depth.
I can't allow an injury to change the focus of our team. I look at our team and I see a lot of guys that can start. And you need that competitive environment everyday at practice so the cream comes to the top. I could play numerous different lineups and still put a very good team on the field.
Last year a lot of your younger players took on important roles toward the end of the season. How has that experience translated into their play this spring?
We have players who can contribute. If someone is not playing, someone else can step up. (Rising sophomore) Neil (Wilmarth) had some great moments last year, scoring the winning goal at Notre Dame; Billy (Weaver) is a young man who knows what IU soccer is about. He has had a very good spring and is leading by example. He is a competitive young man who wants everyone to get on the same page and compete. So at times he can be hard on younger players, but that can be a good thing. Daniel Kelly played up front for us last year but I think he likes the switch to back. I think he may feel more comfortable. He is very versatile but he has jumped on board in the back and is playing well. Alec Purdie was hurt last year as a freshman but so far every game he has played this spring he has scored a goal. That is not too bad. Andy Adlard and Michael Roach were both freshmen (last fall) and are having good springs.
You just see kids starting to grow and adjust to the college game. People don't realize it is not that easy to just walk in and play. You may have been "all-everything" but it takes an adjustment period to get used to college soccer.
You challenge you team in the spring with games against NCAA tournament teams UIC, Louisville and Notre Dame, as well as College Cup participant Virginia Tech. Why face such a demanding schedule in the spring?
That is what we want. You only have five opportunities in the spring; I want them to be competitive, good games to help us prepare for the fall. I want my team to be tested and the only way you get better is to play against good teams. We can go out and get a spring schedule where we win games 4-0 but you don't get any better that way.
How exciting and beneficial is it for the team to be able to go up against an international squad like Mexican Youth National Team on April 22 at Armstrong Stadium?
Not many schools in the country get this opportunity. Not many colleges are going to go and play a national team in the spring. It is exciting because you know they will be talented. You know a majority of them, if not all, are young professionals. They are the best kids in a country that is a soccer-playing nation. Besides the talent we will play against, we know it will be a great atmosphere. We've had over 5,000 fans at these games and it is a knowledgeable fan base. It just creates a great atmosphere and our guys love to play in that environment.
Looking ahead to the 2008 season, do you think we will continue to see the parity in college soccer that has come about over the last few seasons?
I think there is parity; there are more and more teams that can have a good year. Whether they have consistently good years, I think there are maybe 10-12 schools that are in that realm such as Connecticut, SMU, UCLA, Indiana, Virginia, etc. There are some that you know will always be there because they have developed a tradition. But you look at a school like Ohio State and they had a great year last year. Their senior class came together and gave them success. UMass was another interesting one as a school that has limited scholarships to offer but they found the right chemistry to be successful.
There are no easy games anymore. I think the player pool is like a Bell Curve and the curve has gotten wider. There are more and more good players. I don't know if there are more and more exceptional players, but because that curve has gotten wider there are more good players and more good coaches. If you can get enough good players under a good coach then you will get a quality team. Everyone needs to be on their toes, or you will get beat.
