updated 10.24.06

The husband and wife team of Steve and Misty Jones are attempting to do the impossible at Houston Baptist University (Texas).  Instead of starting one soccer program, the duo are charged with building two programs - a men's and a women's team.  Follow them and players through the first season of competition. 

Diary entry #3 - October 19, 2006
Misty Jones, Head Coach-
I guess I am pleasantly surprised with the team and our 9-3 record at this point. You never know what you have until you get them in and start training. Once we started training, after a couple weeks, I saw we had talent, and I think now the expectation has risen. I think I expect a lot more out of them than I did the first couple weeks. It's been a nice surprise. 

You never know until you start playing matches how you are going to match up with your opponents, so we've played a variety of different levels like the NCAA Division I schools in Rice, Prairie View and Texas Southern and NCAA Division III Howard Payne as well as our conference games, and I think we see that we match up well against the different teams. I am very pleased with that.

The first year squad that I had before at Northwood University (Texas) we had less time to get ready, and we had different problems like we only went into with 10 players, so I had to pick up some players on campus that hadn't played before, so it was a different experience. It was a different group.  That team had two forwards that were in the top 10 in the country in scoring and sort of carried the team. This team has more depth as far as numbers. I think we have a more talented group, and I think we have a bigger core of players than I had there. If both teams played, who knows what would happen. I had to make tactical changes up there due to how we played.  We've had to make tactical adjustments this year because of injuries. It's just different.  I've enjoyed both experiences putting together the first year teams.

Sara Faulkner, D/MF, So. -
I am surprised because it is a first year program, and usually, first year programs aren't as good as we have been. I think we've done well.  It's a good surprise.  We came in and we jelled really well, really quick. We learned about each other and how to play together.

The 1-0 overtime loss to Bacone College (Ohio) was a hard loss for us because it was our first conference loss, but we came back against Northwood, and we got a big win.  I think we learned from the loss, and we are ready to play.

Diary entry #2 - October 2, 2006
Misty Jones, Head Coach
In the last few games, we've played well defensively and had two shutouts, so I'm happy with that.  I don't think we finished all the opportunities we could have.  I think the scores could have been a bit different.  We have some injuries, though.  We lost one player for the year, and we have a few girls who have been plagued with injuries, so we have to rely on some girls that we normally don't have to rely on, and they are doing a good job.  We've been off to a good start, and I'm pleased with how we have played. 

We're starting conference, and I think we will play well.  I hope we continue our winning streak and get two wins this weekend. I'm happy to see us progressing.  We have had to change our system because of some injuries, so I think they have adapted to that pretty well.

Alicia Noah has been the Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Week two weeks in a row and was a nominee another week.  She has scored 12 goals in eight matches. I think Alicia has done a good job for the most part finishing.  She has a great supporting cast behind her, and there are a few girls who religiously feed her the ball. She's good 1-on-1, and that's the best way she works.  A lot of her goals have been breakaway goals.  She's great statistically.  A lot of her shots have been on goal, and the goalkeeper has either had to save it or it goes in.

Janae Perez, MF, So -
I think we've played well so far with the amount of injuries we have faced. Overall, the team has been good.  Everyone has a heart on this team.  They play hard.  We know every time we step on the field everyone is going to work hard. It's a good feeling to know that everyone is going to work hard every time we step on the field.

We've done better than I thought we would. After the first day it was like `Oh my gosh.  What was I thinking?' That has changed.  We've played really we together and come together quickly.  We've done really well. It's turned out great.

I feel like I have had more experience playing competitively than some of the other girls on the team, so I am like a silent leader.  I think I do a great job of leading by example.

Diary entry #1 - September 15, 2006
Misty Jones -
The hardest thing I think was the time frame format to recruit. We needed to get two whole teams of eligible recruits to come in, and also be successful.  We knew we were going to take our hits with a first year program, but you hate to come in and lose a lot of games by a lot. It's hard to do that, and then it's hard to rebuild every year. I think the biggest challenge was getting that foundation in a small amount of time that we can build on for years. I think getting good quality players who were available in April was also hard. Getting kids who could also meet the academic requirements of the school was a big challenge.

We had to order uniforms, and the whole shebang. We had to do all of those logistics.  On the flip side, I think it's great that we didn't have to take over someone else's program, and you can start the tradition. We have a fresh start and are setting the standards. We get to build our traditions and start out on a new foot.  In that regard, it's good.

On the first day, we played a game called possession. I think after the first day, I went home, and I said `Oh no, we can't play that again' because they didn't get it, but now we play it and the girls get it like clockwork.  I think for a lot of the girls it's a progression.  They were rusty; they hadn't played in awhile. Some of them didn't know what to expect.  I only had a handful of girls who had played collegiate, so they didn't know what to expect.  The college game is a lot different than club or high school soccer.  It's a lot quicker.

We did a ton of fitness, and except for the ones who played collegiate, most of the girls didn't know there was that much running involved.  It was neat to see the progression from the first day.  A run on the first day that most of the girls could not finish is one that everyone now finishes.  These girls needed to get to know each other.  They needed to learn to play with each other.  We needed to incorporate a system of play. Plus, the fitness. We are getting on the same page now. We have been getting better.

Our first game, we won 4-0, but we didn't play as well as we wanted to.  Our opponent only had seven players by the end of the game.  That game was a little frustrating for me and for the girls because I try not to look at the end result, but also how we were playing. We had almost 10 days before our next match, and we worked specifically on a lot of things. It was good to see when we played our next game, how quickly we scored and how we moved the ball and our shooting had improved tremendously.  It's good to see that progression.   I'm pleased we moved the ball quickly and we were finishing. They are getting the system down.  They know where they are supposed to be. I think our conference games are going to be challenging.

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