Coaches Mick Lyon and Mike Freitag visit the Hoosier Den for "Chalk Talk," answering questions and giving away prizes. Here are some of their questions and answers.
When did you first become interested in soccer?
(Note: Lyon is from England; Freitag grew up in St. Louis)
Lyon: I was eight years old. In England, as soon as you can get out of the crib they put a pair of boots on you.
Freitag: Once you got to kindergarten and first grade, you started playing soccer.
Talk about women's soccer.
Lyon: It's definitely getting better. There are more and more girls playing. There are more and more girls playing that are much better athletes than there were five or ten years ago. Right now Brazil, Germany, England they're putting resources at the highest level to get better and better players.
What brought you to IU?
Freitag: I knew nothing about Indiana soccer when I was being recruited. Joe Kelly, who used to be the women's coach at IU, he was from my high school. Fortunately I liked what I saw, and it was the best decision I ever made.
Lyon: I knew the history of soccer at Indiana University, and I wanted a piece of that. The girls are trying to get on the same path and trying to do the same things.
The combination of athletics and academics:
Lyon: Everything in England is about the professional level. There's no other country that does sports and college.
Soccer in America:
Freitag: It makes me feel good when I see all these shin kickers running around, playing the game. It's a sport that anyone can play. When you become the ball, you become the quarterback, you make the decisions. You're just out there, and you're playing. No Xs and Os. There's a freedom about the game which is why it's called "the beautiful game." It's not a complicated game. It's simple. I think there's a beauty to it that there's not a lot of scoring. There's no timeouts. You have to think on your feet.
What would opposing teams say about your team?
Lyon: We're a very tough team. Definitely teams come to Indiana, they're in for a tough match.
Freitag: I think teams will think we're skillful. Right now we possess the ball very well, maybe to a fault. It's something we as a team have to realize you can possess the ball, but you have to know it's about shooting the ball and stopping the ball. We're not being balanced.
Soccer is surprisingly a very physical game.
Freitag: I think the more skillful the team, the less contact there is. By being stronger and fitter you get less injuries, you are able to meet the physical confrontations. I think when Mick and I played there was more hitting going on. There's no need for crunching behind tackles.
Lyon: I watched (the men's team) play last Thursday against Notre Dame, and the skill level was immense. It's not even the same game (from when I played).
Freitag: I think everyone wants to see "the beautiful game," but I don't think anyone wants to see the fight taken away.
Describe the Notre Dame match.
Freitag: I go back and I look at the game and I'm pissed off. It's been a frustrating year. We started off the preason 2-0 and I think our heads may have gotten really big. But again we play a very, very competitive schedule. We're not used to losing many games. When we have four losses, a lot of people questions what's wrong with the team.
Lyon: What people don't realize is that everyone wants to beat Indiana. This is such a phenomenal institution, if that name is on the schedule, they want to play their best against you. Indiana and soccer, those names go together.
How imporant is it to have solid crowd support?
Lyon: We keep looking for that group that's going to come out and support the team. We've been to some places where the crowds are out of control.
Freitag: Even when I played we had good crowds. Crowds come when you're winning. But every place we go, it's Indiana soccer. We have to get like the clever Englishmen, where the crowds sing and have chants. So many people still sit on their hands. You want to get out there and be part of it and cheer. We're very appreciative of the support we get here, but we want to continue to get more fans to come out.
