Sunday Sit-Down with Mizzou Soccer coach Stefanie Golan
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
ABC 17 Sports Reporter Collin Anderson caught up with Mizzou Soccer coach Stefanie Golan in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-Down.
You can watch ABC 17 Sports Reporter Collin Anderson's full chat with Coach Golan on ABC 17 SportsZone at 10:30 on KMIZ.
You can also find a full transcript of the interview below.
Collin Anderson: Welcome back. It is Sunday sit down time and I am joined by Mizzou soccer coach Stephanie Golan. Coach, how are you doing? How's your summer been? What have you been getting up to,
Stefanie Golan: Man, it's been so busy, you know, I, I think like that's, that's the time for most people to get a break. Our stuff really picks up, you know. We've been recruiting a ton, running camps, and you know this year we have a new acclimation period, so we got to start with our, our women earlier than we ever have. So we're already back and at it and sweating our faces off in this heat right now.
Anderson:Right, you guys start your season really early, just in a couple of weeks you're ready to get going at the start of August. What's that kind of been like having to train kind of through the summer to be ready to get going?
Golan: I think like one, I'll say our women did a great job over the summer of staying ready, right? Like one of the, one of the favorite saying in, in life is stay ready so you don't have to get ready, and our women came back fit, and like we had increased our fitness standard and they crushed it and you know that's one less thing that we have to worry about. And having this extended period leading into preseason we're really able to lay the framework for how we wanna play different things like bringing the new players into the system and and everything and so it's at this place where when preseason hits, yeah, we get to train for longer periods of time, but we're not smashing things into two a days and and everything like that so you get to really like do it in an appropriate way. They're gonna get the recovery that they need, you know, we're able to bring in some team building pieces and other. Uh, other things that that really matter at this time of year and you know I think we're chomping at the bit to get going and you know we've got our, our first exhibition August 5th so um that's what we're looking forward to right now.
Anderson: I know you've said you've been on the summer, you've been a lot of recruiting, big freshman class coming in for you. What's that kind of look like for a bunch of these new girls that are coming in experiencing college soccer for the first time?
Golan: Yeah, I think you know we had a couple of them come early, so they were here all spring, uh, so it's really, um, you know, 3. New freshmen and one transfer that we picked up in that spring portal who are who are the new ones and you know they've come in and again this acclimation period is great because it's not like hit the ground and get your face smashed in or anything like that you know it's like hit the ground and get brought into the process and you know they they've been great they've been really coachable, um, obviously the physicality and the speed of play are going to be the two biggest things for them to adjust to and we're not gonna really truly see what that looks like until play somebody else right? like in our in our environment, you know, it's definitely physical it's definitely all the things that that they're gonna experience on game day, but it's how do they bring that in that environment that's gonna matter. So we're we're excited about the the new group and ready to ready to get rolling
Anderson: of course a huge contingent of returning girls as well, a lot of them stepping up into those junior and senior seasons. You graduated a handful of girls last season. Who do you kind of expect to take up and be like one of these leaders on your team? To coach this this new group that you've put together,
Golan: yeah, I think you know we've got a great group of women, and I think that there's already a good group who's doing that in different ways. Riley Wilkerson has been one who has really stepped into a vocal role in that way. You know she, she is very, very passionate about the game. She's passionate about winning and so she's one who, when it comes to holding standards and things like that, very, very high level, but I think across the board that junior and senior class are really stepping into that. I think a couple. Of, um, you know, a couple of the rising juniors have come back and really taken a step from where they were even in the spring, and in the spring we took steps forward, um, you know, I think Landis Canada and Mia Devrouax both have taken a big step forward in terms of kind of their overall maturity and just kind of, um, having more confidence in their ability to like step forward and lead a little bit more than they than they have, and they're both players who have played a good amount for us, but they've never had to be kind of that. Um, in, in that kind of a role, and they've both already demonstrated the, the willingness to do that.
Anderson: We've talked about some of the new faces on the team and some of the returning faces. Let's talk about the new playing surface that you guys have, right? Walton Plaza, um, tell me a little bit about that. What's, what's that been like having seeing that get renovated and, and all of that?
Golan: Uh, we're, we're pumped and you know, the, the first opportunity that we have to, to play on it is against SLU I mean it doesn't get much better than, than that and so, you know, like. We have a new playing surface for our practice field as well and oh my gosh, that is, that's been insanely like refreshing, um, you know, we've always had to train on our game field and you know now to have a practice surface to be able to uh to call our own has been a huge step in the in the right direction. Our women are loving that, you know, they have a place that they can go and they can do some extra on their own without feeling like, oh, am I gonna impact, you know, the eighteens or something like that to where game day, they've they've. Roughed it up a little bit. So you know, every, every day that we go out we're looking down at the at the game field saying, you know, God, I can't wait, you know, um, but we're we're very excited that the first opportunity on that field is against SLU and you know hope to have a big crowd at that one.
Anderson: Now SEC play obviously really close to making that SEC tournament last season, a heartbreaker for you guys. Where do you take that next step? How do you break into that that tier where you can be making the tournament?
Golan: Yeah, I think, um, you know, for, for us we didn't give up a ton of goals. Last year like in games were were very tight, so we've got to score more goals. I mean plain and plain and simple, you know, the game's about scoring more goals than your opponent, and we've got to create more high quality opportunities on a on a consistent basis and so you know this first part of the acclamation period we have actually focused on the defending side of it of just making sure that that everybody is up to up to speed with what we want that to look like and we're flipping over this week to the attacking side of the of the ball and we're really excited to see because some of those new players are in our attacking third of the field, um, you know, so for, for us we feel like we, we are a team this year that can score in a variety of ways. Now we have to find the right combinations of players to play together to create those kind of opportunities.
Anderson: Give me one thing that fans should be excited about to come out and see you guys play this season.
Golan: Man, there is a hunger in this group, you know, like they, they have come back. They are competing with each other at a, at such a high level already. Like they are challenging each other. Physically, mentally they're holding one another to standards right now. Like there is a hunger and a belief in this, in this group that they can be the ones to break through that that wall. So we're, we're really excited because I think the mentality is there, the togetherness of this group is there, the want to be challenged is, is there, and you know we like what we've seen in terms of their energy consistently to this point.
Anderson: Perfect. Well, coach, thank you so much for joining us for this edition of Sunday Sit Down.
Golan: Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
Anderson: For the rest of you guys, we'll be right back after the break.
