Player Journal: Noah Heim - September 2017

Noah returns to Marquette as a redshirt freshman and backup goalkeeper to Junior Luis Barraza. Read his previous journals here.

How did you spend the summer getting prepared for the season?

This summer I played for the Madison 56ers in the Premier League of America, where I actually ended up on the team of the season. After class Monday-Thursday, I would head to the gym and get a lift before I would go into Madison for training. Getting fitter and stronger were a must for this season. It was a pretty good routine because it was kind of like I had never left school and I wouldn't be surprised by the work load of the regular season.

 

Entering your second year with Marquette, what’s the goal for yourself to be able to look back and say this was a successful season?

I think that a huge thing for me this year is really helping my team and teammates out in whatever way possible. Growing everyday is necessary in the NCAA, more specifically the Big East. The more players that you can have growing at a quicker pace, the better off you are going to be. Pick someone up when you see the struggling, hold people accountable, demand better, and being the best you possibly can. These are just some of the places I've been focusing on helping my team be better.

 

Photo: Maggie Bean

Photo: Maggie Bean

You step into graduated senior Mac Wheeler’s shoes as the number two goalkeeper. What stands out about Wheeler’s game that you’ll try to incorporate into yours?

Mac never had to face that many shots. That's because he could had such a good sense of how to solve problems before they got 18 yards away from him. That man was a field general. When he told someone to move, they went because everyone knew that Mac knew what he was doing. This is something that I need to incorporate into my game, and it's all about flow of the game and predicting what's going to happen or what could happen next. 

Player Journals - A Look Inside the Collegiate Game

Read first firsthand from goalkeepers sharing their insight on the in's and out's of being a collegiate athlete.

Bobby Edwards - Junior, Monmouth

Erin Scott - Junior, Campbell

Noah Heim - Sophmore, Marquette

 

Player Journal: Bobby Edwards - September 2017

Junior goalkeeper Bobby Edwards returns to share his thoughts on his new school, Monmouth University. Click here to read his previous entries.

How did you spend the summer getting prepared for the season?

As was the case the previous two years, I spent my summer with the U-23 New York Red Bulls PDL team. I’ve spoken previously about the high level of professionalism I’ve experienced there and the honor it has been to play on this team, so I’ll likely be repeating myself here. The team finished as the PDL regular season champions and that is a testament to the quality of players assembled and the standards set for the practices. Coach Rob Elliott repeatedly emphasized the need for us to push ourselves at each session to reach our top form. The message I took away was that in order to play at the professional level a player must acquire the habit of consistency. It is not good enough to have flashes of excellence; a player must be locked in consistently in practice in a way that will carry over to match day.

It is this commitment to consistency that I hope to bring with me to this fall’s college season. The season moves quickly with generally two games a week and it’s over before you know it. So there is no room for dips in performance.

In addition to my time with Red Bull, I made frequent trips to the Monmouth campus to train with my teammates who live in the New Jersey area. Many of the incoming freshmen and my fellow transfers took part in these training sessions. So we got a good jump on the team building that is critical for a good season.

 

What’s the goal for this fall to be able to look back and say this was a successful season?

Monmouth has a strong tradition of competing in the MAAC, having won nine conference championships. Our goal this year is to win the tenth. I think I can confidently say all of us would consider anything else to be a disappointment. One of the things I’ve learned here in my time at Monmouth is that mediocrity is not acceptable. We push ourselves and one another to give our best effort. There is a genuine belief among the guys that not only do we have a team capable of winning the MAAC, we also have the potential to make a deep NCAA tourney run as well. Everyone from the seniors down to the freshmen are buying into the program, and each week we are playing with more and more confidence.

 

Goalkeepers are typically looked at as a leader of a team, whether it’s with the captain’s armband or being the one who organizes the team out of the back. How have you handled transferring to a new team but also leading your team as a goalkeeper?

As a transfer, I was fortunate to arrive on campus last year at the start of the second semester. The spring season, while fundamental for team’s development, is much more lax when compared to the fall season. So this gave me a more relaxed atmosphere to adjust to my new environment and begin to establish the kind of friendships that make for great team chemistry. Our summer sessions built on this as well. I also had the advantage of having known four of my teammates from playing with them at St. Benedict’s Prep, which has its own strong tradition of soccer. So as we began preseason, I didn’t really feel like a newcomer – I felt like one of the guys.

We are fortunate at Monmouth to have midfielder Colin Stripling as our captain who, because of a redshirt, is beginning his fifth season as a part of this team. Colin commands the respect of the entire team. But his leadership goes beyond that: he has a gift for creating a sense of family among the team. He knows the balance between a commitment to working as hard as we possibly can while at the same time enjoying one another’s company. So in seeking to be a leader on the team myself, I’ve been fortunate to take my cues from Colin’s example.

As a keeper, I work most closely with my backline and in this regard, I have been really fortunate to have the four guys who are playing in front of me. Out of my entire career, I’ve never felt more confident in my back four. Each one of them are not only extremely talented, but they have a commitment to work rate that isn’t rivaled anywhere. Luke Bromley, Joey Gudzak, Mike Luke, and Andy Martinez have made my job easy, not only by making clutch plays but also through constant communication. Often, goalkeepers are constantly shouting at their back line, when in reality there needs to be a flow of communication between all parts of the unit. This is where we excel - all four guys have bought into this principle. 

 

What’s something off the field that you’ve enjoyed about Monmouth University?

Like I said in my last journal, I’ve been in a happier state of mind since transferring. I really couldn’t wait for preseason to begin. Off the field, I find myself truly enjoying the people I’ve met at Monmouth. I’ve heard it said, “You can take the kid out of Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey out of the kid.” That would probably describe it the best. To me, Monmouth just feels like home. The word family is often tossed around in a lot of team environments, but I truly see my team as family. 

And you can’t beat being close to the Jersey Shore. It’s just a short walk from the campus to the beach and after a tough workout in preseason, nothing quite beats jumping in the ocean. Goalkeeping is also extremely mentally draining at times, so sometimes it’s needed to walk down to the beach, regroup and find a sense of calmness.

Picture1.png
Picture1b.png

Player Journal: Erin Scott - September 2017

Erin Scott enters her junior year at Campbell University, after transferring out from Creighton last semester. Click here to read about Erin's transfer process or read up on other goalkeepers in the college game.

Goalkeepers are typically looked at as a leader of a team, whether it’s with the captain’s armband or being the one who organizes the team out of the back. How are you handling transferring to a new team but also leading your team as a goalkeeper?

I can honestly say transferring to Campbell was the best thing that could have happened to me. Right when I got here for preseason, everything truly felt right. Things starting clicking on and off the field and everything just felt extremely right, which I am very grateful for because that is not always the case for transfer situations. This is a really special group of girls; they are truly some of my best friends already. It makes it so much easier to be successful on the field together, when we get along as well as we do off of the field. There is a great level of competition at training as well. We truly have our sights set on our end goal and we are doing everything we can to make sure we come out to practice each day and get better.

I think that whenever you come into a new program you must prove yourself first and gain the trust and respect of your teammates. Of course, there is always room for improvement but I have been doing everything I can in training to get better, and with that I make those around me better. It was hard to me to relax and get rid of the initial nerves at first but once I settled down and became comfortable with the team I was finally able to gain that confidence I needed and play to the level that I am capable of. One of the biggest roles a goalkeeper has on the field is communication. So regardless I think being vocal out of the back naturally gives a goalkeeper leadership-filled position.

 

What’s the goal for this fall to be able to look back and say this was a successful season?

We have set very high standards for ourselves in training and in games and having these high standards will make it second nature to push ourselves to reach our goals. We are really taking it one week at a time and focusing on the short-term goal, which is winning games. I think we have had a great mentality going into games, we truly play every game as if it were a championship game, so when we are called to play in an important game like that we will be more than ready.

It is awesome to see this team develop, more specifically our freshmen have been playing great this year. Certain freshman are truly making a big impact on the game which is inspiring. We are currently 3-2 and have only allowed two goals in those five games which is great. We are working hard to make sure things stay going in that direction and keeping balls out of the back of our net. On the flip side, we have scored fourteen goals in those five games, which is also amazing. It is really great to see our forwards and midfielders have the success they have been having. With these statistics and seeing the way we have been playing lately, the opportunities are truly endless for us. There is so much potential within us and I can’t wait to see what we are capable of.

 

What’s something off the field that you’ve enjoyed about Campbell University?

Campbell is truly a special place. It really is an extremely close community. After every single home game, we always have a tailgate afterwards put on by families that live close enough. Everyone always pitches in in some way to make sure we have food after the games. It really allows our families to spend time together off the field and for us as teammates to get to know one another’s families. It is awesome to see faculty and staff members at our games cheering us on. Our athletic staff at Campbell is seriously the best, whether it be our strength and condition coach driving to our away games to warm us up or our athletic director taking time out of his day to come out to one of our training sessions. Everyone truly cares about us and wants to see us succeed.