CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Even though their scheduled season was moved to spring, the Thunderbird women's soccer team has been hard at work this fall preparing for whatever lies ahead. Recently, Thunderbird women's soccer coach Kai Edwards took the time to answer a few questions about what he's seen out of the team this fall.
Q: How have you seen the team develop over the past couple months?
A: The group is coming together and developing their DNA and what they will be known for when they train and play. Each player is growing both as a person and a player, and challenging themselves to stretch their limits to new heights. They are inspiring the coaching staff with their competitive spirit and dedication to SUU women's soccer.
Q: How do you feel like the team has responded to the adversity?
A: These conditions are different and the student-athletes have done well finding solutions to problems. They have raised their GPA, trained more and found other ways to excel during a difficult situation. These times are tough for everyone.
Q: What athletes have really stood out to you and taken a leap?
A: Gigi (Gabriella Pagani) has taken off with her performances every day. She gives every last ounce of emotion and physical energy in everything she does. Emilia Eir Palsdottir is pushing herself past limits that she never knew she could push past. Watching her grow is inspiring teammates. Allyson Carlisle and Rachael Hunt compete at everything while smiling. They run hard to beat each other, then in training they compete for every ball and work very hard in their small group functional sessions to improve. Alex Roberto is pushing and bringing the freshman along. She is showing them everyday that she is an example they can follow. These players are growing a lot quickly. I would say most of our players have taken a big leap but this group has stood out the most.
Q: What challenges of playing a Spring Season excite you?
A: It is new for everyone. We will be dealing with more weather challenges then in the fall. "Every disadvantage has its advantages," and we will find a way no matter what gets thrown at us.
Q: How do you feel like you've improved as a coach during these unprecedented times?
A: We as a staff have had to adapt with what comes at us. Class schedules, players having to be held out of training, no games and many other obstacles have made it so we have to be able to pivot quickly and appreciate what we do have and not think about what we don't have at the time. We get to train. We have an awesome coaching staff in Mario Felix, Maggie Sherman and Alexander Zermeno. Our graduate assistant, Bri, is top notch and runs the program from behind the scenes. Our strength coach Allison Lowrance goes above and beyond to warm up players for every session, extra workouts and workouts during training for those who can not participate for whatever reason. Stephanie and her interns have given such quality, caring, and hard working hours, it is amazing. Jillian, our manager, takes photos at training which helps highlight the program. Our student-athletes are blessed to have a good group around them of people who care a lot about their progress. All of this makes my job "easy".
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