COACH SPEAK: Detroit Men's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2008
Q: How have your preseason workouts been so far? Which areas have you've been pleased with?
A: The workouts have been pretty good so far, which have been carried out on our brand new facility. But, we do need to keep on working on our fitness level.
Q: Six of your team's 10 setbacks were by one goal last year. What kinds of things can be done to reverse that trend in 2008?
A: We need to score more goals than the other team and we definitely need to improve our overall discipline. Last year, some of those losses came due to a lack of discipline.
Q: Renato Susnja scored seven of your team's 20 goals a season ago. How important will he be in 2008?
A: I think more what is more important than him scoring the goals, is that he has to be a leader of the team. He is going to start the season as a center back, which is a different position for him, but it is needed because we are weak in that area.
Q: It appears you have another young team. How important will contributions be from the sophomore and junior classes?
A: I am not a big believer on contribution from any specific class because the bottom line is that whether you are a freshman or a senior, you will be looked at to contribute. We do our best to bring in athletes who are college ready as freshman, so I think we will get a good contribution from everyone on the roster.
Q: Talk about your newcomers. Who has stood out to this point?
A: Talking about a few of our new players, I think Sam (Seppo) will turn out to be a hard worker and a quality forward in the conference. Adam (Philp) will be a steady backline for years to come for our program and Jon (Bowman) gives us a natural lift on the left.
Q: What kinds of goals have you set for this year's team (both on and off the field)?
A: The expectation we have is to win every game that we play and to compete. We did a very nice job of competing last year, even though we took it in the chin on some close games. A major goal that we have every year is to win the conference championship so we can advance to postseason play.
Q: Preview your non-conference schedule. Have you added any new matches or tournaments?
A: Conference play is always hard. If you look at the conference games they are all tough games; no one can count on a victory. If you expect to win the conference you have to win games on the road, that's the key. We have some tough teams on our non-conference schedule, but that will help prepare us for Horizon League play.
Q: This is your 17th year at Detroit. What about the school makes it such an attractive place to coach?
A: The school has been very supportive throughout the years. Every year the battle is to compete with the top schools in the country. Recently, the University has made strides with new facilities and investing in our sport, which I believe will make for an exciting next couple of years.
