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Off the Pitch with Coach Ray Reid:
Oct. 31, 2007
I cannot believe it is the last week
of the regular season! It is unreal how fast this has gone by. It seems like it
was just yesterday when we started pre-season (Aug. 15). The past eight weeks
have flown by.
Our last regular season match will be this Saturday, November 3 at Seton Hall.
Coach Manfred Schellsheidt is the senior coach in the league and has done a
great job over his career at Seton Hall. The kickoff will be at 1:00PM.
As the regular season winds down, I wanted to acknowledge the people "behind the
scenes" who help make our program run and never really receive the credit they
deserve for it.
Maria Murray is our Program Aide and she is exceptional. She keeps me and
our office together and is very efficient and organized. She really does a great
job of making the office go and is our "MVP". We would be lost without her. She
is a tremendous people person and is great at working with our players. Although
she is young, she is like a second mom to these young men. Her compassion and
warmth go a long way with our players.
Alissa Clendenen is our Sports Information Director. I can say, after
working with her for three years she is one of the top soccer SID's in the
country. She is passionate about what she does, her work speaks for itself and
she does a great job of getting the "UConn Soccer" message out there. She is
outstanding with computers and designs and creates great pieces for us. She has
a great mind for ideas to promote our program.
Stephanie Milazzo is our Athletic Trainer and really works hard at her
job. In a program like ours, where we have some international players who are
not used to trainers, it can be a challenge. Also working with a coach who wants
players to be ready to train everyday can be very difficult. She has a great way
with our players and does a great job of getting our student-athletes back on
the field. We are very lucky to have her.
The person who holds our medical group together is Dr. Tom Trojian. "Doc
T" is an outstanding sports doctor who really is critical to our program. He
understands our players and makes the soccer student-athletes a priority. He is
very approachable. He provides our team with expert medical advice and is one of
the leading sports physicians around. He has a great way about him with our
players and I always hear from them how he is one of their favorites. We are
fortunate that he is the doctor working with our team. I have a great respect
for his opinion and trust him with our players. He is the perfect "professional"
for our team.
Becky Taylor is our Academic Counselor and works in the Counseling
Program for Intercollegiate Athletes. She is a great asset and contributor to
our program. She works very hard with our student-athletes to assist them in
their quest for academic excellence. She is a counselor, disciplinarian and
mother, all in one. She helps our student-athletes reach their potential in the
classroom and in the community. To put it simply "SHE CARES". We have been
spoiled with her on our team since she first walked in the door in 2002.
Finally, a guy who gets no credit and really deserves a lot is our Strength and
Conditioning Coach, Chris West. He is not your typical weight lifting guy
but he understands the athlete of today. He combines speed and power with
quickness and agility. We use heart monitors with every player in our program
every day. This cutting edge technology allows us to monitor how much our
players exert, how fatigued the are and what we can demand and expect in
training. There is no other men's college soccer team using this technology and
we get the benefit of it because of Coach West. He has made an unbelievable
difference in the conditioning and performance of our soccer athletes and
provides us with a tremendous competitive edge. His knowledge, passion and
loyalty are a big part of our program's success.
I must mention once again that Julius James has been selected as one of
10 finalists for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Each finalist was
selected based on his contributions on the field, as well as in the classroom
and community. In addition to being a two-time All-American and Hermann Trophy
candidate, he is highly involved in the Husky Sport program and will graduate in
3.5 years with a degree in resource economics and a minor in geography.
Finalists were selected from a list of 20 candidates in each division, based on
personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. While the on-field
performance thus far during the college soccer season was a factor in
determining the finalists, the criteria also includes a large emphasis on the
classroom, character and community service.
The 10 finalists are on a ballot that is open to public voting until Wednesday,
Nov. 21. Fan balloting, available on the award’s official Web site, will be
combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient
of the award that will be given out during the College Cup weekend, Dec. 14-16.
Please vote here:
http://soccer.seniorclassaward.com/10316/playercard.aspx
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