Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: ‘Ride the Wave’ – Yeagley, Hoosiers Set for Latest NCAA Opportunity
11/23/2024 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sixteen years as a head coach, and seven years as an assistant coach before that, have steeled Todd Yeagley for whatever challenges that await.
On Sunday, Indiana's NCAA Tournament challenge starts with Akron (12-4-4), a 1-0 opening-round winner over Princeton on Thursday night, in a second-round matchup at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The No. 14-seeded Hoosiers (10-4-5) seek to make another deep NCAA tourney run. They have reached at least the quarterfinals five times in the last seven years with four College Cup appearances in that span.
With 203 career victories, one national championship and three national runner-up finishes on his resume, Yeagley is well versed in team preparation.
How has his coaching approach evolved over the years?
"I would say I'm probably a little more demanding than I was in the earlier years," he says. "I probably pick and choose my moments better. That's where I gained some wisdom.
"I feel more sure in the moment of what we need to give. The more you're in it, you constantly remind yourself that kids want discipline, they want accountability, and you have to give that to them. Sometimes that can be tough, but they all know it's in a good way."
Losing to Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten tourney on Nov. 7 means IU will face a 17-day break between games. Overcoming that, Yeagley says, requires good training and having a deep, competitive team.
The Hoosiers did the first, the coach says, and have the second.
Staying sharp included last week's 70-minute team scrimmage (regulation games are 90 minutes) along with some rigorous training sessions.
"The scrimmage was a fun day," Yeagley says. "The guys enjoyed it. They were smart about it. The game had a lot of temperature to it, in a good way. That was important.
"We tried not to kick each other too hard. Bail out of a challenge.
"Last week was a great week. The training has to be good, and it was. I'd be more worried if I didn't think our training was really good. We're in a good place physically and mentally."
It helps, Yeagley adds, to have players such as forwards Collins Oduro, Tommy Mihalic, Samuel Sarver and Justin Weiss; midfielder Jack Wagoner and Patrick McDonald; defenders Quinton Elliot, Jansen Miller and Josh Maher; and goalkeeper JT Harms who understand what's expected of them.
"Then there's the personality piece where everyone knows his role," Yeagley says. "There's no uncertainty. They know where they are and embrace it.
"If you have guys uncertain at this point, that's when you have questioning."
Questioning was blasted away when IU bounced back from a slow start to end the regular season on an 8-0-2 run and earn a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State, the NCAA tourney's overall No. 1 seed.
Along the way, the Hoosiers found their scoring touch, starting with a 2-2 tie at Ohio State and then a 3-2 road victory at Wisconsin. They scored two or more goals in 10 straight games to end the season.
"When you're having issues scoring," Yeagley says, "it's making sure they understood all the good things they were doing. Right when we needed to see that in action, right when we needed a result, to score three goals against Wisconsin was one of those little flipping moments of your season."
IU's three goals against the Badgers came on just five shots.
"In that game," Yeagley says, "we were more composed around the goal. We didn't need 15 shots. That's all right. We can get this done. You need to see and feel it on the field, and that came to fruition."
It came, he adds, by staying steady and not over-reacting. That was true then, it and will be true the rest of the way, starting with Akron on Sunday.
"When you have good moments," Yeagley says, "enjoy it. Ride the wave. Feel it. Manage the highs and lows. I like riding the highs. That's why you saw more emotion out of me this year. We're all in it together."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sixteen years as a head coach, and seven years as an assistant coach before that, have steeled Todd Yeagley for whatever challenges that await.
On Sunday, Indiana's NCAA Tournament challenge starts with Akron (12-4-4), a 1-0 opening-round winner over Princeton on Thursday night, in a second-round matchup at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The No. 14-seeded Hoosiers (10-4-5) seek to make another deep NCAA tourney run. They have reached at least the quarterfinals five times in the last seven years with four College Cup appearances in that span.
With 203 career victories, one national championship and three national runner-up finishes on his resume, Yeagley is well versed in team preparation.
How has his coaching approach evolved over the years?
"I would say I'm probably a little more demanding than I was in the earlier years," he says. "I probably pick and choose my moments better. That's where I gained some wisdom.
"I feel more sure in the moment of what we need to give. The more you're in it, you constantly remind yourself that kids want discipline, they want accountability, and you have to give that to them. Sometimes that can be tough, but they all know it's in a good way."
Losing to Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten tourney on Nov. 7 means IU will face a 17-day break between games. Overcoming that, Yeagley says, requires good training and having a deep, competitive team.
The Hoosiers did the first, the coach says, and have the second.
Staying sharp included last week's 70-minute team scrimmage (regulation games are 90 minutes) along with some rigorous training sessions.
"The scrimmage was a fun day," Yeagley says. "The guys enjoyed it. They were smart about it. The game had a lot of temperature to it, in a good way. That was important.
"We tried not to kick each other too hard. Bail out of a challenge.
"Last week was a great week. The training has to be good, and it was. I'd be more worried if I didn't think our training was really good. We're in a good place physically and mentally."
It helps, Yeagley adds, to have players such as forwards Collins Oduro, Tommy Mihalic, Samuel Sarver and Justin Weiss; midfielder Jack Wagoner and Patrick McDonald; defenders Quinton Elliot, Jansen Miller and Josh Maher; and goalkeeper JT Harms who understand what's expected of them.
"Then there's the personality piece where everyone knows his role," Yeagley says. "There's no uncertainty. They know where they are and embrace it.
"If you have guys uncertain at this point, that's when you have questioning."
Questioning was blasted away when IU bounced back from a slow start to end the regular season on an 8-0-2 run and earn a share of the Big Ten title with Ohio State, the NCAA tourney's overall No. 1 seed.
Along the way, the Hoosiers found their scoring touch, starting with a 2-2 tie at Ohio State and then a 3-2 road victory at Wisconsin. They scored two or more goals in 10 straight games to end the season.
"When you're having issues scoring," Yeagley says, "it's making sure they understood all the good things they were doing. Right when we needed to see that in action, right when we needed a result, to score three goals against Wisconsin was one of those little flipping moments of your season."
IU's three goals against the Badgers came on just five shots.
"In that game," Yeagley says, "we were more composed around the goal. We didn't need 15 shots. That's all right. We can get this done. You need to see and feel it on the field, and that came to fruition."
It came, he adds, by staying steady and not over-reacting. That was true then, it and will be true the rest of the way, starting with Akron on Sunday.
"When you have good moments," Yeagley says, "enjoy it. Ride the wave. Feel it. Manage the highs and lows. I like riding the highs. That's why you saw more emotion out of me this year. We're all in it together."
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