BOONE, N.C. – For App State Soccer, the goal this spring was simple: for each player to elevate their game.
"This spring was a huge emphasis on individual development," head coach
Aimee Haywood said. "Bringing the level of the individual players up so that they could bring the best versions of themselves to the team for the fall."
It didn't take long for that approach to be validated. A road victory at Tennessee on March 3 proved to be a litmus test for the team.
"It set a standard for the spring – this is the level we're capable of," Haywood said. "I thought it was a testament to the fact that we make a point to always train at a high level."
In that game, and in all five spring contests, every player played for the Mountaineers. That meant the opportunity to not only showcase the skills that had been honed in training sessions throughout the spring, but also to develop on-field chemistry with a new contingent.
"There were more natural opportunities for combinations and pairs to train together," Haywood said. "We also try to be really intentional in our training sessions trying to group certain players together, even if it's just in a passing drill. Players who are likely to play together on the field are paired together just so they are establishing getting to know each other's tendencies and habits."
The design of the spring was very deliberate and methodical. From one-on-one film sessions to technique-based work on the field, such as high-repetition shooting and defending, Haywood and her staff drew up a detailed plan for individual growth.
With a large senior class departed and only three newcomers joining the team this spring — incoming freshmen
Lauren Smith and
Reagan Hamilton and freshman transfer
Hayden Petrick — there was the opportunity for a more narrow-focused approach.
For the early enrollees, the spring season was especially valuable. Haywood felt that they got a "massive head start" on the fall, achieving progress that otherwise wouldn't have been realized until October by being exposed to the speed and physicality of the college game.
In addition to seeing so many individuals take their skills to the next level, the primary takeaway for Haywood on her team's spring was on the focus level – the consistency in which her players were able to maintain elite-level focus for an entire match or training session.
"I think they owned their training this year from a soccer-specific focus, which is obviously a winning habit," Haywood said.
She was particularly impressed with the way her players took growth and feedback from one day and applied it to the next. Next stop: the fall season.
"I'm really excited about the direction that we're going," Haywood said. "We're going to have some new faces in the starting 11 in the fall, with several starters from last year graduating, so that's exciting, but it also provides a bit of work for us to do to make sure that they're ready."
