Quoted: Men's Soccer Fall Camp
8/19/2020 3:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Below is a partial transcript of Zoom press conference with Indiana head men's soccer coach Todd Yeagley, midfielder Joe Schmidt, and defender Spencer Glass on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Head Coach Todd Yeagley
Q. On the new facility…
YEAGLEY: I am excited for our seniors, who finally get to be in the facility. Obviously, we are not using it in the same capacity as we would be if it were a non-COVID-19 time. We are very pleased for them. The smiles on the guy's faces when they toured the facility for the first time said it all. There has been a lot of disappointment in the last four to five months and we need more days like that, days that are just pure excitement and appreciation. We spoke often about it, we would not be in this beautiful new facility if it were not for the groundwork laid by so many people that are important to the program, whether that is the players and staff that helped build this into what it is today to the friends and supporters that gave, that invested so much into our program. This was all privately funded through friends of the program and people that really care deeply about Indiana and about IU Soccer. We are very fortunate for that.
Q. On keeping a positive mindset…
YEAGLEY: We tried to stay really present. We had a really good time with them, interactively, through the whole spring and summer. We were very intentional with that. We got creative and did a lot of fun things and used a lot of the same technologies we are using today. I think that helped to make sure they stayed connected. We tried to give them some of these exciting things that were forthcoming, we obviously knew the facility was soon-to-be finished. They have been here for a little bit, many of them came back in July to start some workouts, and they saw it every day being worked on. To finally see it finished, I thought everyone did a great job of minimizing the exposure of the facility so it was really a surprise, it was so cool to see them get really excited for what this does. It gives us a home, one location for us now. We can be in one spot. Our athletic trainer, our offices, the lounge, their locker room, a warm-up space, a beautiful turf room for them to get touches when they want pre and post practice, obviously that is difficult right now, but when things feel a bit more normal. It has been a long time in the workings for this. A lot of hard work went into putting this together.
Q. On the potential of a spring season…
YEAGLEY: There has not been any final word on the spring. I think, right now, as we have seen in the last five months, everything is fluid and on the table. The word of the year, fluid. It is the ultimate challenge to stay focused on what we know. Sometimes we know very little. All we know is that we can prepare. We have a very competitive group. Our guys are very motivated to continue to train and move forward with that. With the season hopefully on the horizon, that certainly gives them extra motivation to make sure they are prepared. We did that. The guys came back really sharp and fit. That was all on their own. I speak to my peers and other people around the country and they say their kids were not ready. Our kids were ready. They are motivated to win, motivated to put more trophies here for IU Soccer, and many are motivated to play beyond Indiana. All of those things together allow us to move forward with a lot of focus.
Midfielder Joe Schmidt
Q. On the roller coaster of the last week…
SCHMIDT: I think a roller coaster is a really good way to describe it. It has definitely been up and down. I think everyone was really excited to get back on campus a couple weeks ago and see everyone. It was a really long summer doing everything on Zoom and not being able to see anyone, so everyone was excited to get back. Then on our first day of training we were definitely riding a high and then a couple hours later it was 'by the way, you guys are not playing any games this fall.' That was definitely tough news, but it is news that we definitely have to be understanding of and trust the medical experts who ultimately made that decision. But after that, this new facility is absolutely incredible. It is something that I never thought I would experience while I was here. I think that everyone is excited to slowly start using it more and more.
Q. On a fall season with no games…
SCHMIDT: We started a little group and called it 'Bass FC' so we have five or six guys that have been bass fishing a lot. Those are the more country boys. Then we have the Country Club Boys that go golfing. So, we have a couple of different groups and a lot of fishing and a lot of golfing. A.J. [Palazzolo] and I have been running through all sorts of movie series, like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. We are just finding creative ways to spend our time. Obviously, once school starts, we will focus more on that.
Defender Spencer Glass
Q. On new aspects of leadership this year…
GLASS: A big thing that Coach always says to the older guys is that you lead by example. I think that when you are not with everyone on or off the field and everyone is in different cities, it is kind of tough. Having to use technology to reach out to the guys, check in on the younger guys, the older guys you have lived with and been around, so you have those personal conversations off the field and group messages joking around. But, trying to have the team stay in touch, we always say how important family is here, so having that family aspect when you are not seeing everyone day in and day out, has been tough. Keeping connected, I will give the coaches credit for that as they have done a big portion of that, just trying to get to know each other a little more and stay connected. I think that having that chemistry, whether it is just watching film and saying this is what I do, but you cannot practice that on the field. The disconnect of not being with your brothers every day has been tough.
Q. On staying prepared despite the shutdown…
GLASS: I think it shows the mental toughness of our team. The message from the older guys was that we knew Yeags was going to fight for us to continue to practice like we are now, so whether it was called two weeks ago or we were going to play one game and get called, I think that everyone's mindset each year is that we are working towards December and a national championship. This year, we have to flip a switch and work a harder for a little longer for May or whenever we can hopefully play for that title. We realize we are going to have to grind out a little longer, but the message we are telling everyone is that it does not change for us. We are still coming and practicing at the same time and doing the same things, but it might be for a little longer. We took a day or two when it finally got decided and that was a little tough to hear, some people expected it, but it is just the mindset that it will be a longer, more challenging road to a national championship. We are up for it.
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Head Coach Todd Yeagley
Q. On the new facility…
YEAGLEY: I am excited for our seniors, who finally get to be in the facility. Obviously, we are not using it in the same capacity as we would be if it were a non-COVID-19 time. We are very pleased for them. The smiles on the guy's faces when they toured the facility for the first time said it all. There has been a lot of disappointment in the last four to five months and we need more days like that, days that are just pure excitement and appreciation. We spoke often about it, we would not be in this beautiful new facility if it were not for the groundwork laid by so many people that are important to the program, whether that is the players and staff that helped build this into what it is today to the friends and supporters that gave, that invested so much into our program. This was all privately funded through friends of the program and people that really care deeply about Indiana and about IU Soccer. We are very fortunate for that.
Q. On keeping a positive mindset…
YEAGLEY: We tried to stay really present. We had a really good time with them, interactively, through the whole spring and summer. We were very intentional with that. We got creative and did a lot of fun things and used a lot of the same technologies we are using today. I think that helped to make sure they stayed connected. We tried to give them some of these exciting things that were forthcoming, we obviously knew the facility was soon-to-be finished. They have been here for a little bit, many of them came back in July to start some workouts, and they saw it every day being worked on. To finally see it finished, I thought everyone did a great job of minimizing the exposure of the facility so it was really a surprise, it was so cool to see them get really excited for what this does. It gives us a home, one location for us now. We can be in one spot. Our athletic trainer, our offices, the lounge, their locker room, a warm-up space, a beautiful turf room for them to get touches when they want pre and post practice, obviously that is difficult right now, but when things feel a bit more normal. It has been a long time in the workings for this. A lot of hard work went into putting this together.
Q. On the potential of a spring season…
YEAGLEY: There has not been any final word on the spring. I think, right now, as we have seen in the last five months, everything is fluid and on the table. The word of the year, fluid. It is the ultimate challenge to stay focused on what we know. Sometimes we know very little. All we know is that we can prepare. We have a very competitive group. Our guys are very motivated to continue to train and move forward with that. With the season hopefully on the horizon, that certainly gives them extra motivation to make sure they are prepared. We did that. The guys came back really sharp and fit. That was all on their own. I speak to my peers and other people around the country and they say their kids were not ready. Our kids were ready. They are motivated to win, motivated to put more trophies here for IU Soccer, and many are motivated to play beyond Indiana. All of those things together allow us to move forward with a lot of focus.
Midfielder Joe Schmidt
Q. On the roller coaster of the last week…
SCHMIDT: I think a roller coaster is a really good way to describe it. It has definitely been up and down. I think everyone was really excited to get back on campus a couple weeks ago and see everyone. It was a really long summer doing everything on Zoom and not being able to see anyone, so everyone was excited to get back. Then on our first day of training we were definitely riding a high and then a couple hours later it was 'by the way, you guys are not playing any games this fall.' That was definitely tough news, but it is news that we definitely have to be understanding of and trust the medical experts who ultimately made that decision. But after that, this new facility is absolutely incredible. It is something that I never thought I would experience while I was here. I think that everyone is excited to slowly start using it more and more.
Q. On a fall season with no games…
SCHMIDT: We started a little group and called it 'Bass FC' so we have five or six guys that have been bass fishing a lot. Those are the more country boys. Then we have the Country Club Boys that go golfing. So, we have a couple of different groups and a lot of fishing and a lot of golfing. A.J. [Palazzolo] and I have been running through all sorts of movie series, like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. We are just finding creative ways to spend our time. Obviously, once school starts, we will focus more on that.
Defender Spencer Glass
Q. On new aspects of leadership this year…
GLASS: A big thing that Coach always says to the older guys is that you lead by example. I think that when you are not with everyone on or off the field and everyone is in different cities, it is kind of tough. Having to use technology to reach out to the guys, check in on the younger guys, the older guys you have lived with and been around, so you have those personal conversations off the field and group messages joking around. But, trying to have the team stay in touch, we always say how important family is here, so having that family aspect when you are not seeing everyone day in and day out, has been tough. Keeping connected, I will give the coaches credit for that as they have done a big portion of that, just trying to get to know each other a little more and stay connected. I think that having that chemistry, whether it is just watching film and saying this is what I do, but you cannot practice that on the field. The disconnect of not being with your brothers every day has been tough.
Q. On staying prepared despite the shutdown…
GLASS: I think it shows the mental toughness of our team. The message from the older guys was that we knew Yeags was going to fight for us to continue to practice like we are now, so whether it was called two weeks ago or we were going to play one game and get called, I think that everyone's mindset each year is that we are working towards December and a national championship. This year, we have to flip a switch and work a harder for a little longer for May or whenever we can hopefully play for that title. We realize we are going to have to grind out a little longer, but the message we are telling everyone is that it does not change for us. We are still coming and practicing at the same time and doing the same things, but it might be for a little longer. We took a day or two when it finally got decided and that was a little tough to hear, some people expected it, but it is just the mindset that it will be a longer, more challenging road to a national championship. We are up for it.
@IndianaMSOC
For all the latest on Indiana University men's soccer, be sure to follow the team at @IndianaMSOC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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