Let's find let's find out about breakfast and breakfast food. So that's kind of an opening kickoff brought to us by our friends at Kickoff Coffee and Kickoff Coffeeco dot com first and foremost KCD.
Where you be, how's it going?
I am home?
Still?
Isn't that crazy?
Oh?
I mean normal answer?
Considering all of the moving that you have done recently and everything that has gone on in your universe, the fact that you are locked in place is kind of strange.
It's the longest time period I'm going to be home for a while or have been home for a while, So I'm enjoying it for a little.
Bit while it lasts.
All right, So let me ask you this, since I'm an opening kickoff mode right now, what do you traditionally do for breakfast? Considering that you are the at of the two of us, you are the athlete, what do you traditionally do for breakfast?
I am like kind of one extreme or the other.
I'm either like a smoothie or like one of those like energy protein like peanut butter, chocolate chip balls, you know those things just to have a little something with my coffee, or I'm like a brunch like eggs, bacon, a bagel, sandwich with all of that, like and I go hard at that, and I probably don't eat much for lunch.
So I'm like one extreme.
Or the other, okay, because the reason I ask is, you know, I because of just trying to get everything ready. It's like I'm grabbing stuff out of the I'm grabbing stuff out of the kitchen.
And they give you sixteen of.
This particular product that you buy and they say that the daily serving is three.
That doesn't work.
No, no, And that's what I'm saying.
It's like, so I'm you know, in my situation, literally it's like, okay, five and a third.
This does not compute.
So do you carry it over to the sixth day or do you just say to hell with it and do the four on the one day like Friday or something just to empty out the container?
You just finish it off. It's like when you have an unread text or an unread email and it bothers you. That's what I would feel like if I had the extra one, like, finish.
It off, let's go okay see, And that's the thing.
It's like for me, I'm like, look, there's gonna be a day with four and I'm just gonna have to deal with it. So, like I said, it was just staring at me this morning as I was going into the kitchen, I'm like, wait a second recommend it daily
serving is three. There are sixteen of them here, So I was I was kind of freaking out a little bit, and I didn't know if I was alone in my assessments of just making sure that you know that I was approaching this correctly and that my guilt should just be kind of off to the side and not worry about it.
Nah, you're fine, I'd say, go for.
It, Okay, I support that. Okay, just checking That's opening.
Kickoff rot was by a friends at Kickoff Coffee and Kickoff Coffeeco dot com. Casey is far better at breakfast than I am.
Okay.
Yesterday in we're going to talk a little college or probably talk a lot of college, maybe a little MLS, whatever else is on your mind here As you met Leadoff on Tuesday yesterday you were paired with our friend Glenn Davis and got to hang out and watch wake in Mississippi State. What some of your takeaways from that particular match. As we are in the early season crossover part of the non conference schedule early returns from Wake and Mississippi State.
Well, I mentioned on Friday when we're looking at this, that there's a lot of ACC versus SEC matchups in these non conference schedules. This was another one that I was really excited about because Mississippi State has a new coach, Nick Zimmerman. He's been there six years and as an assistant. This is his first year as head coach and taking on a coach Antony Dlouz, who's been there for twenty nine years, a Wake Forest program that's very well established
College Cup finalists last year. I thought it would be very unique to see how this matches up because when talking with both coaches, Nick Zimmerman even said they want to possess the ball as well, and everyone that follows in CAA women's college soccer knows that's what Wake's m O is, and so I was kind of looking at it going let's see if Mississippi State can get some possession. Not only did they get the win, but they had the vast majority of possession in the game at their
home field. It was a really good performance all around from them, So I was really impressed with Mississippi State. And that's not to say Wake Forest wasn't good either. Going on the road second game in the weekend is tough, but Mississippi State showed that they can play with.
The best this year.
And I want to go.
I want to go back a step because for those that follow you on the social media's you, you had the chance to go back to your old haunt also on the weekend, and you had to be there bright and early.
We saw your cup of coffee. I guess it was coffee that you.
That you It was coffee. It was coffee. Yes, I brought that in. I needed it.
I had to arrive at like ten am, So that's an early that's an early arrival for me.
For broadcasting you you ain't kidding, And it was a chance for you to go back to to the Alma and check out North Carolina in their early part of the season. So takeaways from that broadcast as well what happened there?
Well, before I get into the broadcast, you seemed really upset with me last week that I only owned one Carolina mug. I went to Franklin Street and I got the ultimate Carolina mugul rameses. I was like, I cannot be talked to like that, so I have to get another Carolina mug, and I did went to the student stores and got one, So there you.
Go, John, Nothing wrong with that, Nothing wrong with that at all. I mean.
And the size of that mug that is a ram I mean literally did That's the size of a ram truck. That's not just a ram case it is And I think I.
Could fit my whole pot of coffee that I brew in the morning in this in one go, so it gets its money's.
Worth for sure. But yeah, so I was really I don't know, I don't know how to describe it.
Just grateful to be able to go on campus, you know, like you said on my Instagram story, walking through where I used to train and into the state. Just to have that opportunity was just a nice personal moment for
me to be able to do it. From a soccer perspective, the expectation was that you and c would bounce back after playing Georgia and having that loss against a team like Rice, and even speaking with Brian Lee, the head coach of Rice, he has been trying every year to schedule against the reigning national championship for the past four years.
I think he's accomplished that three out of the last four years, and he said, we know it's going to be a huge task, but it shows us where we're at and it gives us some confidence that we can come up against anyone. So they take that into their conference play. So the expectation was that you and c was going to win this game, and they did. What I'll say is I don't believe. And this isn't just from an alumni perspective, from a truly analytical perspective that
it's not all doom and gloom. Because they have two losses early in the season, one of their senior defenders in midfielders, Tessa Della Rose, is still out. She hasn't seen in any minutes this year, and she's a huge leader and catalyst for success for this group. And their entire starting roster is incredibly young sophomores and freshmen, with
only Kate Fosse and Olivia Thomas as upper classmens. So while they figure all of those little kings out, while they figure out their goalkeeping situation, I think it's going to be completely fine as they start to get into conference play.
When you look at the non region I mean, right now through the ACC. You look at Pitt who's run the table. They won their first four. Stanford has won their first four, and the numbers are staggering that they have put on the board so far, nineteen goals scored in their first four matches. They've only given up two. Virginia undefeated, Duke undefeated. Florida State undefeated right now at two and zero, and they've scored seven in their first two.
Notre Dame still hasn't lost. And then you get into a couple of one lost teams so far with Louisville, Miami, SMU, Syracuse, votech Wake Forest, they're all three and one. I don't know, maybe they all find the same folks to beat up on or something.
I don't know.
BC col they're hanging out just a little above five hundred North Carolina. Your your heels are two and two. Clemson off to a hiccup. He start at one to one in one, NC State at three and one going through this first four matches in the ACC, I guess we you know early returns on, all right, so I guess give me all right, Well, let's play let's play stop light, all right, Let's go red light, yellow light, green light. Okay, after the first four matches, is there
anybody right now that's like red light? You know, danger Will Robinson kind of a thing. After the first four matches? Is there anybody in the red light category for you?
In C State's going to have a tough year.
They have a new head coach, Gary Higgins there, who's had a lot of success, but they've been down for a couple of years and so it's not one of those one year project type of things. So it's just sticking with the staff, the new staff and getting through this season I think is going to be incredibly difficult for them. So I would say they're the main one right now that I'm not surprised at the start because there's a lot of work to be done for the new coaching staff.
Okay, So along those lines, how patient as a rule are administrations these days when it comes to soccer From what you've been able to gather, if it's a new coach, if it's a new coach and a new coaching staff, how patient are they are they looking at immediate returns? Has the pressure been dialed up in this era when it comes to sports and soccer too.
Does it drift off to there or is there more patients.
When it comes to new administrations and new soccer coaches and things like that, what have you been able to observe.
One of the things you always have to think about is how early is the recruiting process, because back five six years ago, before we started having the transfer portal and everything, it would take a good three to four years minimum to see your players come in because women's soccer recruiting was so early in the high school game.
Now it is still early.
Especially for your powerful conferences, but because you have the ability to have transfers, there's a little bit of a tweak of expectation that it's a little bit earlier. But I would still say in the first year, even two years, you're not looking at vast turnarounds. What I think administrators are really looking at, and from conversations I've had when I was in the college game, was what does what does the team look like? Are they heading in the
right direction? What's the whole morale and thoughts around the team. And then you want to see those little results here and there that you get that maybe you shouldn't have gotten, and that's kind of shows that maybe the next year will be the turning point.
Tacy White hanging out with us, going over college soccer, and we got a couple of things up our sleeve a little later on here in the segment, as Casey Bat's lead off here on our Tuesdays on SDHAM, all right, we did red light. Who's in the yellow light for you right now? Who you kind of sitting there going? I don't know one way or the other after the.
First four Well, I think wake Forest and Clemson are interesting for two different reasons. I think they're both yellow light in some ways because wake Forest in a more positive yellow light going to green was three and oh coming into the game against Mississippi State. They beat SMU, they beat LSU, and they beat Villanova, so a couple of really good wins in there. Then went on the
road against a good Mississippi State team and lost. I don't think that's going to define their season by any means, but they do have a really young team that everything clicked early. So I think there's a management piece now of how do you deal with the loss and how
do you solve it and come back? So I think that's an interesting one to watch, and I think Wake's going to be very good, but I still put them there because it's a bit of an interesting point in the season for them to deal with that first loss with a lot of freshmen and sophomores in their roster. Clemson, you mentioned one one and one. I said, I think it was two weeks ago. I was going to say that I think they'll have a better year this year. They lost a lot of players last year into the NWSL,
so it was a rough one for them. So I think jury's still out on them to see if they can.
Turn the tide.
And so, since you have Wake heading into the green light category, who are your green lights? After the first four? Who has has it been a pleasant surprise so far? Has it pretty much been chalk of Yeah? I figured these folks would be here.
It's pretty much the usual suspects in a lot of ways. Obviously, Stanford being new to the ACC is a usual suspect from a national perspective, not necessarily ACC so I would put them in there. The amount of goals is pretty insane, I will say that. So you got to tip your hat to that Florida state we know is always going to be a national contender from doing their first game though, and watching them their dynamic attack, it's even more than
I think they've had in the last few years. They've always been a possession oriented team and really war opposition down. I think they have a really good balance of let's just get after it and then let's slow it down and be more methodical.
Yeah, because you've got to go see them against those the lowdown dirty cheaters from the University of South Georgia.
James.
I'm not just supporting them because of you, but I will so I will be honest a lot on the way.
But they're good for sure, no doubt. Sec.
Right now, you know you're still looking at non regions Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee. Tennessee went out west and it's just basically started thumping folks. They're taking care of business out in the Pacific time zone before they come back here.
They're all four to no. Georgia Vandy three and one.
Mississippi State once once again the match that you called with wake out of the blocks, they've won their first two A and M. At two OHO and two the low down dirty cheaters have actually won twice. I don't know how that happened. I guess they cheated Oh, Missus two and one, Auburn two to one and one, LSU at five hundred, Arkansas at five hundred, Missouris at five hundred, Texas one two and one. Early returns red light, yellow light, green light in the SEC What do you think, Oh.
That's a good question. We have to start with Tennessee.
I'm gonna go the other direction because that makes that loss that you and c had early in the season looked very good. When you start going to the West Coast and beating up on top programs there as well. Joe Kurt has been with that program for a number of years. I don't even remember how long. I believe, and don't quote me on this. I believe I was playing at North Carolina and he was an assistant goalkeeping coach. It was either then or just after under Ange Kelly.
I know he was there for a while, So to see him step into that head coaching role, I love that just from a colleague perspective and that he got that opportunity. But he has this team rolling, so they're in a really good spot. So for a green light, definitely Tennessee. I would even say Georgia is kind of in that green light, maybe yellow light still kind of to see what's going to happen. But Mississippi State is a team that I think is in.
The yellow light.
They got a big win, like we said, first, wake Forest tenth in the country at the time, but with all the cancelations early in the season, they really hadn't been tested. They had only played Jacksonville State in a handful of exhibitions. Now, just wonder after getting that big win, do they use that as a catalyst and it shows really how good they are or are they just highly motivated.
They hadn't played games. They're at home under the lights with wake Forest coming to you, and so they met the challenge, which there's something to be said for that. And Nick Zimmerman is known to be a great motivator. He organizes his teams very well.
So will that be.
Something that they can sustain throughout the whole year? So I'll be interested to see that.
Okay.
Joe Kirk, by the way, after since you appropriately filibustered for me, mainstay on the Tennessee sideline since two thousand and seven, UT soccer head coach by vice Chancellor and eighty Danny White April twenty ninth of twenty twenty two.
I was so close.
I graduated six last season, so I thought it was close to when I was playing so a lot of years.
There's your there's your crossover with Joe Kirk. Let me have you put your coaching hat on for a second? Non region schedules or non conference schedules and you are in a position to lay out a grid to get you ready for conference play whatever conference you were in were you? Are you of a mind that you want to challenge yourself and whatever the non region schedule is, line them up? And if I go and eight, I'm oh, and eight? Do you want to mix? Do you want
to blend? Do you do the do you do the belt curve to where you try to build into a non region schedule? If you're a schedule maker as a coach, which method would you pick and how would you address it when you're talking about a college schedule?
Well, how honest do you want me to be?
Now?
I'm scared put it out? I mean, that's what we're here for.
I'm not a very controversial person, but I'm gonna say a couple of things that are just real. Uh, It kind of depends on where you're at in your coaching right, So how long have you been somewhere, how is your team performing, because one of the things you have to be careful with is going too hard and it looking like there's not a successful season, because some athletic directors and administrators define success only by wins, even at women's soccer.
So if you've had a.
Couple bad years, you don't want to go crazy and start zero to six. That's not looking good for job security. So I'm gonna be honest right there. That's part of things when you're not in a good spot as a college head coach. So I wanted to address that first. But let's say everything's hunky dory, you're not worried about it, and you're looking at your schedule. My personal philosophy has always been that conference is really what matters.
So you have an amount of.
Time preseason plus non conference to find out who your team is, and that means what are we good at, what are we exposed by, and how do we evolve that or change that in a really short amount of time. On top of that, you have to think about the mental side of the game. I've always been very big on the confidence side and building the mentality side. And mentality and building confidence doesn't just mean that you win
every game. Like we talked about earlier, Rice wanting to play the defending national champions, teams like that, Florida going to Florida State first game of the year, talking with Sam Bohan. They want to see how their team stats up and then they can use that to build confidence that they can go into conference play and compete with almost everybody. And so all of those factors come into play so that when you hit conference play you.
Can be rolling.
Then how do you keep people from freaking out, whether it's on your roster or just out in the community that are fans and boosters. If that number to the right in the wins and losses, if the number of the right of the dash is bigger then the number on the left. As you're going into conference play, how
do you keep people from freaking out? How difficult is it to sit there and have them understand the context of why you did what you did, even though you might be three and five, two and six or whatever going into conference play.
It's so hard because it's a roll of the dice, Because what if you don't perform in conference, then your plan.
Does kind of go out the window.
But being in the community, being in the media and kind of putting your vision out there and your message just like you would to your players, is important to your stakeholders and to your community and to your boss things like that. Everyone needs to understand that vision to a degree, just at different levels. And so you can get ahead of those things with how you communicate to
the people that genuinely care about your program. Ultimately, wins matter, and we know that, yes, this isn't pro sports, but the reality is the landscape is changing and winds do matter. Is just how much is that going to trickle down and permeate into the Olympic sports like a women's soccer, like a men's soccer, and other sports along that line.
All right, before you get out of here, believe you've got New England and Charlotte coming up this weekend in the MLS's and as of right now, revs they know the pressure that they're under. And you listen to Leo Campana, you listen to Caleb Porter, it's like, yeah, we know, we know, we know. You don't have to remind us we're on an Upswing. Just kind of bear with us
here a little bit. Right now, they're favored seven forty kick on the thirtieth and Charlotte comes comes to Foxborough as a plus one seventy three, So they're a slight dog in your draws, a plus two seventy with Charlotte, you know, you kind of don't know what you're gonna get with wilf' saha on a daily basis. Is Wilf gonna sit there and complain and gesture and gesticulate widely to fans who are not happy with his output. Christian Coalina continues to stand on his head when it comes
to being in net. They've had a couple of acquisitions come in in the secondary transfer window. New England kind of sitting with who they are, but they brought in this guy named Matt Turner to kind of help out between the sticks. Early thoughts as you prep for that one coming up this weekend.
Charlotte is in great form. We know that with their series of wins that they're seven in a row right now, but their home record is really where they hang their hat, and so they have to go on the road to New England. They've shown that they can do that, but will be very interesting. What I think will help them is that they just played a game against Red Bulls that they did not have the majority of possession, and that's not normal against a Red Bulls team who usually
likes to play in transition. This year, they're possessing a lot more. Charlotte showed that they can sit in defensively in that four four to two block and use the attacking transition and then see out a one zero game. There's a lot of different ways you can win and that's something that they can take into this game. I'm not saying they can't possess against New England, but when you go on the road sometimes it's a little bit
more difficult. But they're in such great form and there's so much confidence that they have with not only scoring goals but getting shutouts. But I have to say this. I mentioned the mentality piece. New England is in a must win situation in every single game.
Now.
I love this time of the year because this is where you see that sometimes tactics are important, which I love, but sometimes you throw them out the window. Sometimes players just have to step up. There's mental sides to things. There's courage, there's bravery, there's just getting after it. And when you have a team that has their back against the wall, you really don't always know what to expect. So will New England be able to use that as a catalyst to be able to get results because ultimately
they have to have it. They're very far off the playoff line, so these three points are vital to them.
New England right now thirty one points, eight points out of the nine slot and the play in eight twelve and seven, three, eight and two and Fox Buro this year, which is kind of an odd duck. Charlotte right now fourth in the East, seven on the spin, fifteen wins on the season, but they're four to nine and one away from the bank and so we'll see what happens.
Seven point forty is a part of the Big seven thirty kickoffs on Saturday, and as always case, it's great to pull through the universe and see what's going on in the world of women's soccer. What else you have on your mind? Any other parting shots before you get out of here, doesn't have to be anything to do with soccer. Is there anything else on your mind that you want to get off your collective chest?
Yes, Yes, I have some exciting news, which is that I figured out how to turn off my email notification so they don't ding during during this interview and I was messing around with it. I'm like, it is that simple. I didn't know that because I think it was.
Two weeks ago.
I said I don't know how to do that, and I after that, I thought, that's really not very smart, Casey, so you need to go figure that out.
So exciting news, absolutely, and you're a step ahead of it when it comes to me. As always, Casey D. You know you've got a place to hang your hat whenever you got something on your mind. It's always ready to catch up with you in your normal Tuesday slot bat and laid off when it comes to women's soccer and the college game across the board. As always great to see him, my friend. Don't be a stranger. We'll catch up soon.
Sounds good. Have a great week.
There goes Casey and there goes Casey D. Where she be she'd be at home,