In Their Own Words: Julie Hanley
July 11, 2007
Throughout the 2007 season, members of the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Kansas soccer team will offer their thoughts on various topics in the first person. This week, junior Julie Hanley is in the spotlight. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
On her mindset for the 2007 season:
“I’d honestly just like to come back and win the starting role again. We have two new keepers coming in along with (senior) Colleen (Quinn) and (junior) Libby (Dix), so it’s going to be a challenge. No matter what happens, I just want to have an impact on the team and help them as much as I can.”
On competing with four other goalkeepers:
“I think it’s going to be nice, it’s going to be a good training environment to have more keepers. We’ll be able to do more small-sized stuff with the team and we’ll all be pushing each other. Maybe there’s a little bit of pressure, but I’m actually looking forward to it. I think it will be good for the team.”
On the team’s expectations for the upcoming season:
“There won’t be any excuses this year. We felt the last two years that we had done enough to get (to the NCAA Tournament), but we were on the bubble and we didn’t make it. This year there shouldn’t be any excuses for why we shouldn’t advance farther in the Big 12 Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament. Anything less than that would be a major disappointment because we’ve been right there the past two years.”
On the mindset of being a goalkeeper compared to a field player:
“It’s similar to being a field player (which I was until my junior year of high school), you have to go in prepared both mentally and physically. But for a goalkeeper, especially me, it’s more mental. You may play 90 minutes, but not see the ball for 85 minutes and then the last five minutes you’re getting pummeled. You need to be ready for that. When you’re a field player, you always have the ball at your feet and you’re more involved in every minute of the game.”
“Obviously, when you make a mistake as a goalkeeper, it usually ends up in the back of the net; where if you’re a field player you have some hope that somebody else can pick you up.”
On what she does to stay focused during a match:
“It’s something I’ve worked on a lot, and continue to work on. I try to stay involved in the game as much as I can. I’ll communicate with the back line, saying little things here and there to let them know, `hey, I’m still back here.’ I also use my feet to stay with the ball when we swing it around (on the offensive end) it helps make the time go faster when I’m not making a save. There are times when it can be slow back there, which is a good thing, because it means we’re playing well, but it can also be a little boring.”
On goalkeeping coach Kelly Miller:
“Kelly is great. He knows his stuff and he’s broken a lot of my bad habits. He’s really easy going and a good guy to train with. I think he’s really helped me in a lot of areas along with Colleen (Quinn) and Libby (Dix), and I know they’ll say the same.”
