Coaches Corner: Girls Soccer Ryan Tierney
The ReSporter: Wow, what a week for your team. When did you have an idea of what this team might accomplish?
Coach Tierney: “I was excited after last season. I knew coming back this year we had great seniors and a strong junior class, so coming into the season I knew they were capable of accomplishing anything. The first game that stands out would be the one against Marble Falls. We tied them and that began to get us thinking that we could accomplish good things. This has been the toughest schedule we have had and we played a lot of really good teams close, but going forward we have been focusing on elevating ourselves by fighting to beat those quality teams.”
The ReSporter: You had an earlier loss this season in which you said, that the team you played help give the team an idea of your district opponents. Looking back, how do you think this team would play if the game was played today?
Coach Tierney: “We have come along way since then. We have played a variety of strong opponents that have given us good model to what our district would be like, but we continue to look forward. We definitely learned from those games and we are a better team because of them.”
The ReSporter: You have mentioned on how physical this team has played, what do you do to have that trait or is some of those gifts that the many of the girls already possess?
Coach Tierney:“Honestly it is a trait in which many of the girls have developed. I preach physicality because it’s apart of their identity as a team. We practice hard and that translates to games. There are times at practice I have to limit contact because they get after it so much. It is a game changer at times. If we use our physicality right we frustrate teams and can keep ourselves in tough games.”
The ReSporter: How do you prepare for the second round?
Coach Tierney: “We take what we’ve learned about opponents and build off of that. We have to watch a lot of film and pinpoint weaknesses and we have to rehearse at practice to take advantage of their faults. We also have to recover and stay healthy. This point in the season is tough on the body, so it’s a balancing act.”
The ReSporter: What has this team done differently than past clubs that has set them apart?
Coach Tierney: “The main difference is the commitment level. These girls give up a lot of time to this game because they love it. They do a lot of work and have been since the pre-season.”
The ReSporter: Thanks Coach now go ride a Greyhound this week!!