Match Report: UC V's Asbury University

    Going into our game with Asbury University it was hard to believe it was to be our final game of the season. As a team we have come so far, and yet the time since that first training session in August seems to have gone by so quickly. For myself and all the players it was the harsh reality that this was to be it for our 2012 season.

Match Report: UC v's Campbellsville University

    As we took to the field to play our final conference game of the season against Campbellsville university we were in good spirits. The day was senior day, and it was a chance to show our only senior Toni Dempsey just what she means to the program. It is a massive achievement to play college soccer for four years, and as I have always tried to stress, it is not a right, it is something that must be worked for every single day. Toni has not only done this, but she has also come back from two knee surgery’s that have kept her out for close to two whole seasons throughout her career here at Cumberland. Toni has given her all in everything she has done throughout her four years and we wanted to honor her in this game with a quality performance and a result to match.

Match Report: UC v's Pikeville College

A great exponent of the American College Soccer season is that there is always a fast turnaround between games. Loosing to Shawnee State hurt, but we knew that we had little time to dwell on this, and we had to look forward to our next game against Pikeville College. Another conference game meant that we had to be up and ready to play. Conference games are never easy, and they are a true test of physical as well as emotional capabilities.

Match Report: Shawnee State v's UC

    Playing two games in a week is always a tough ask of an athlete. Soccer is a sport that requires focus and concentration along with a high level of physical fitness. There are very few other field sports that can compete with the demands that soccer places on its players. It is also the most beautiful sport, it is pure and allows for individualistic expression within the team dynamic. Unfortunately its simplistic nature is often overshadowed by players overcomplexity and inability to continuously do the simple thing in order to see out the best interests of the team. No matter how good the individual, soccer is about the team. If the team does not work for each other then the ability of one or two players is null and void.

Match Report: UC v's Purdue Calumet

    Team sports test our ability to do many things. They test our belief in others, our willingness to cooperate, and our ability to sacrifice. A talented team is more than just a group of players with great ability, it is a group of players who are able to focus more on the collective effort of the team than the personal accolades that they may be bestowed with. As an example we just need to look at Real Madrid from 2000-2007 and the signing of their ‘Galacticos’. During this period Real Madrid bought Luis Figo (£38.7), Zinedine Zidane (£46), Ronaldo (£30), and David Beckham (£25). This accompanied with the stars they already had meant that Real Madrid at this point were the most expensive team ever assembled. But although there was initial success, this philosophy was not effective at bringing the European dominance wanted by Real Madrid. Talent doesn’t always guarantee success, it takes a cohesive unit to bring success. If not even Real Madrid and the best players of that time could guarantee success through talent, it proves it takes a whole lot more.

Match Report: UC v's Lindsey Wilson #3

    Sport is a fickle environment. With every game comes expectation, and with every game comes the prediction of a result. There will always be a favorite, there will always be a better individual or team. Win and they will love you, lose and they will forget you. But sport would not be what it is if the outcome was known, if the best team always won. Sport is the spectacle it is because on any given day any individual or team has the ability to cause an upset.

Match Report:Georgetown v's UC

   At the halfway point of the season it would be easy to look at our record and see our failures as negatives. Outside of our little cocoon I am sure that is how people see it. But I see things differently. Our record is a reflection of us as a team yes, but it is far from a reflection of the character shown, or the talent and work ethic we have as a team. We have failed to live up to our own expectations. We have failed to get the results up to this point, and we have failed to fulfill our true potential. But failure is only negative if you look at it in a negative light. Nobody has ever achieved anything without failing. It is a part of life. Successful people and groups persevere. The only true failure is giving up. It is in the darkest moments that champions are born. It is in these exact moments that people make a choice, they are either going to quit, or they are going to give everything they have got to being successful. 

Match Report: UC v's Union College

Local rivalries are always a big part of our schedule at the University of the Cumberlands, and there is no closer rivalry than Union College. Located around 30 miles away it is a local rivalry that is always fierce and intense. We went into the game looking to build on previous performances and get the result that we have been working hard for throughout the season.

Match Report: Cumberland University v's UC

   As the season wears on we continue to find ourselves in unfamiliar territory as a team. Playing great soccer and not getting the results we are working so hard for is frustrating to say the least. Added to the fact that we are conceding so many goals whilst not been able to find the net ourselves is somewhat of an anomaly for myself and the program. Over the past week or so I have been working hard to look at where I am going wrong as a coach and where I can fix the problems. As the head of the program I must take full responsibility for its shortcomings and do all I can to solve the problems we face. With this said, the players have been fantastic, continuing to show a great attitude in every practice and game. To show such an unwavering belief that things will turn round takes guts, and to get back up every time we are knocked down shows the resounding commitment they are showing to the program.

Match Report: Rio Grande v's UCWS

    Soccer and life are rarely simple. We will fail far more times that we will ever be successful. But in order to succeed we must first taste the bitterness of failure. As Michael Jordan is quoted as saying:

Match Report: Bluefield College, Midway College, and Brescia University

   Having three games within the space of four days is very much a double edged sword. Win all three and you have had a truly spectacular four days. Lose all three and it feels like your season has just fallen apart in such a short space of time. This been said, every opportunity must be looked on in a positive light, and we must take our chances when they come along. As a program each of us is doing what we love to do within a group that we love and appreciate.

Match Report: UC v's Bryan College

   Adversity is often a word thrown around all too easily as an excuse for things not quite working out. It is easy to say that things got tough and that the problems we faced were just insurmountable. The hardest thing to do is to understand you are going through adversity and continue to fight. We are all capable of succeeding when everything falls into place. The sign of a true competitor is succeeding in the face of all adversity.

Match Report V’s Montreat College

    There are some moments in life and as a coach when you wonder if you are doing the right thing. If the message that you are trying to pass on is the best message possible for the audience and players you have. Then there are the moments that take your breath away, when you know that everything you have done and said has been acknowledged, and your audience or players have done everything you have asked of them.

Match Report: UC v's Carson Newman

    As the sun climbed above the Appalachian Mountains on Saturday 25th August, the new look University of the Cumberlands Women’s Soccer team prepared for their first scrimmage of the season against a Division II Carson Newman College also going through a transitional stage after such a successful and storied history.

There is Always English Pride

    While football (soccer) is the worlds game, it was given to the world by the English. It is our national sport, and we boast the best and most exciting league in the world. While from August to May the Premier League is a showcase for worldwide soccer talent, the focus over the next few weeks will be on Euro 2012, and for myself the England team.

The Moment 'The King' Changed Football

    As I reflect on making it to and past a half century, I feel it is apt to look at one man and one moment that changed my footballing life forever. In my life I have witnessed some great events. I have seen some spectacular moments, moments that have taken my breath away, and also some unexplainable and devastating moments. In just my lifetime we have seen the rise of technology that allows us to perform tasks and function at a level most never thought possible. We have seen the world change forever with the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the rise of terrorism and the events of September 11th, 2001. The world has seen and lost some spectacular people, including the deaths of Princess Diana, Michael Jackson and Sir Bobby Robson.

Bringing Down The Berlin Wall

Thought of the week 6

    Soccer and sport can teach us much about life. When things are going well in life we rarely question it, but when things take a turn for the worse we often wonder what we have done to deserve it, or what we have done wrong that such things would happen. The same can be said in soccer. When we win we often take it for granted without focusing on the things that got us there, and when we lose we are often times overly critical or ourselves and our teammates.

The Art of Coaching

    When we think of art I am sure many of us will think of famous paintings and buildings that have provided the world with pure beauty. What many of us will probably not think of is sport, or more specifically for this blog, soccer. But surely soccer must be considered an art-form.  It is a spectacle that is watched in every corner of the globe, whether it be on a wet and windy Sunday morning on the park, or on a Saturday afternoon at Old Trafford in front of 75,000 fans. What many people may fail to differentiate between is the art and the artist. While the players provide the visuals with their skill, the artist is the man who is stood or sat over on the sidelines. The art we see in games does not just happen, it takes much practice and an incredible vision and determination by the coach to produce their magnum opus.

Paul Scholes- The Unseen Genius!

    When we think of soccer today, many would think of FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi. This is understandably so, as at the time of writing they are the most complete soccer team on the face of the earth, playing a brand of soccer most could only dream of. With this been said, when Pep Guardiola, the current manager of the Catalan club was asked who he would sign if he had the opportunity, his response may surprise a lot of people. His answer was simple and firm, Paul Scholes.

"Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes – he is the best midfielder of his generation,"-Josep Guardiola

Thought of the week 5

    In sport there are many things that have a bearing on individual performance and the result of the game or event. While athletes must work rigorously on all aspects in order to prepare themselves for whatever it is they do, the most important aspect for an athlete is confidence. While we can observe and see that top professional athletes possess skill sets that often times seem miraculous, what sets them apart is the confidence they have in their skill set and not the skill set itself.