Halloween in April: An Annual Tradition

The tradition lives on! Our annual Halloween in April themed practice took place on Friday, April 19th. The rules remained the same; costumes had to be appropriate and functional, meaning we had to wear them all practice. With the standards set high last year, we channeled our creative sides and this is what we came up with. Hope you enjoy!

The whole team :)

Tracie, Nicole, Bryant, and Bentley were the Avengers!

Megan as a nun and Kait as "salt" (Grindlay was "pepper")

Keki and Adams were ghosts!

Honey Boo Boo, a Jazzerciser, and Superwoman :)

We always get a good laugh out of Halloween and April (and so do those who catch a glimpse of our practice!) It's a fun way to end the spring season and enjoy one of the last days we can all train together before summer rolls around. I can't wait to see what the girls come up with next year!

Go Hounds!

Kait #5

Introducing the 5 Newest Hound Pups!

Our family has grown this week with the addition of five incoming freshman who signed on National Signing Day. Liz Behrends of Noblesville, IN, Jocelyn Evans of Cincinnati, OH, Jenna Linxwiler from Greenwood, IN, Hannah Mangus of Noblesville, IN, and Whitney Whitehouse from Cary, IL are the newest pups to join the Women's Soccer Team!

Click here to read the link from the UIndy Athletics website!

The team and I are very excited to welcome this talented group of girls on campus in the fall and hit the ground running! [literally... :)]. I've been lucky enough to meet most of these girls, and I have no doubt that they will bring a lot dedication and passion to our team, and will definitely contribute both on and off the field in our pursuit of a National Championship. Our 2013 preseason schedule is coming along great, and we will open up play on the second day of preseason at Indiana Wesleyan, who's always a strong opponent. Regular season opens up September 6th with a home match against Ashland! I'm already getting goosebumps!

Again, to all the incoming freshman, WELCOME! We're so happy you've decided to bring your talents to UIndy, and we look forward to meeting you in the fall. If you've got any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact me or any of the girls on the team. Good luck finishing up your senior years and club seasons, see you in the fall!!

Go Hounds!!

Kait #5 

Updates and Schedules

The UIndy Women's Soccer Team got the BEST letter in the mail recently. Tom Sermanni, the women's national team head coach that we trained with a couple weeks ago, sent us a hand written letter thanking us for participating in the session at the NSCAA Convention. I'm very proud of my team's performance, and we are honored to have gotten this opportunity that very few have gotten. Thanks to Coach Sermanni for allowing us to participate and for his support of the UIndy Women's Soccer Team!!

HOW COOL IS THIS?!

Even after this training session, the 2013 spring season has continued to go extremely well for us. I've honestly be so proud of my team lately. All of our hard work is really coming together both on and off the field. We are making great improvements in the weight room and in fitness sessions, and we also obtained the highest team GPA last semester out of all the women's sports teams on campus! We've got several community service projects in the works, and we've recently committed five new talented incoming freshmen. Feels great to be a Hound!

Our 2013 spring game schedule is also being finalized. Coach Kiley announced this week that we will play four Division I schools away this year including Ball State, IUPUI, Butler, and Xavier, in addition to our alumni game on April 20th at Key Stadium. Stay tuned for exact dates and times to be posted ASAP!

Go Hounds!

Kait #5

A Great Day to be a Hound

January 19th was a GREAT day to be a Greyhound. The day started with an hour training session with the newly appointed women's national team head coach, Tom Sermanni. Yes, you did read this correctly....we really did train with Tom Sermanni! We were demo players at the 2013 NSCAA Annual Coaching Convention for a session he designed focusing on combination play and possession. There were hundreds of coaches from across the country gathered in the audience to watch and learn from the best. After the session, we even got a chance to catch up with our own Geoff VanDeusen, who was head coach of the Greyhounds until 2011 when he took a job with the NSCAA.

The team with Coach Tom Sermanni!

After the session, we had the opportunity to explore the 2013 NSCAA Annual Convention (held just 10 minutes away from campus at the Indiana Convention Center). Some of us ran across Tony DiCicco, a former women's national team head coach, and many professional players like Marta, Michelle Akers, and Kristine Lilly also made appearances at the convention. The entire experience from start to finish was incredible, and we are so fortunate to have had this opportunity. In my three years as a Greyhound, this was easily one of the coolest things I've been a part of.

Bentley, Crump, Tony DiCicco, KJ, Kait, and Bryant

And as if all this wasn't enough, we also volunteered for an hour alongside the UIndy men's soccer team as buddies for a group of TOP Soccer athletes. As many of you already know, this is not our team's first experience volunteering with TOP Soccer, which is a soccer program for children with disabilities. This session, like the session with Tom Sermanni, was open for coaches to sit in and learn how to adapt some common soccer drills and make them functional for all types of athletes. Working with the athletes is always a rewarding experience and is guaranteed to put a smile on our faces. Their love of soccer and competitive spirit is very inspiring to us. I'm sure we'll be seeing them again in the future!

Nicole, Kiara, Tracey, and their buddy, A.J.

Alex and the girls :)

 

Check back in for updates on our spring schedule as we continue our pursuit of the Division II National Championship!

Love,Kait #5 and Megan #1

Final Earnings for Free2Play Campaign

At the end of our 2012 soccer season, we had scored a total of 27 goals. From all of the pledges combined, we raised $32.25 for each goal scored this season! This brings our grand total to $870.75! This is an incredible amount of money to have raised by playing the sport we love so much. Our team was unified by this passion to end slavery, and we are very grateful and proud that we had the opportunity to use our position as collegiate athletes to bring awareness to such a worthy cause. To all those who pledged this season, THANK YOU SO MUCH! We appreciate your support and sacrifice more than just a simple "thank you" can express.

For those who have pledged, you can make checks payable to University of Indianapolis Women's Soccer. They can be mailed to the following address:

University of Indianapolis Women's Soccer

1400 East Hanna Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46227

Again, on behalf of the team and coaching staff, thank you so much for supporting our fight to end slavery!

Love,

Kait #5 and Abby #25

Honoring Our Seniors

Today was a day filled with extra inspiration for the Hounds. Not only did we continue to pledge money for Free2Play as we have all season long, but we also designated this game our Pink Game for breast cancer awareness in addition to honoring our seniors in a day filled with senior recognition. For the past four years, the UIndy Women's Soccer Program has been blessed by the hard work and commitment of four very talented and dedicated athletes, and this was our day to show them our appreciation. We were also very lucky this season to have our senior athletic trainer, Greg, join our family. He has sacrificed countless hours to keep us healthy and ready to compete, and for that we are incredibly grateful.

Greg,
On behalf of the team, we apologize for being such a high maintenance team :) hahahah. In all sincereity though, we wish you all the best in your future, both in grad school and beyond. The next team you get to work with is so blessed to have a trainer who is so commited to seeing his athletes improve and so invested in the program. Thank you for everything you have done for us, it has not gone unnoticed!

Presenting Greg with his gift from the team!

Senior day consisted of a senior recognition before the game and a banquet held afterwards. Nicole Duncan and Megan Fee worked hard to put together a video for the seniors full of pictures and memories from their four years as Greyhounds both on and off the field. It also included a personal section towards the end where a personal message was spoken about Nell, Haley, Brea, and Conway. There were a lot of laughs and tears as we celebrated the careers of our 4 older sisters.

The seniors and their families :)

Nell, Haley, Coach Kiley, Conway, and Brea with the senior gifts

Grindlay knitted them crimson and grey scarves :)

Nell, Haley, Conway, and Brea,

We think we speak for the whole team when we say that it's been an absolute joy and honor to play with you all for the past 3 years. The memories we have made with you will be ones we will hold onto forever, and we hope you know how much we will truly miss you next year. Without you four, our program would not be where it is today. Thank you so so much for the years of dedication, sacrifice, traditions, and family you have created for our team to carry with us into the future. We know that no matter what you face in life, success will surely find you. Thank you for everything, you all are truly amazing people with bright futures ahead of you!

With all our love,

Kait #5, Abby #25, and the rest of your hound pup sisters

Free2Play Update!

It's definitely been a busy couple weeks for the Hounds!! We've been on the road travelling for games and studying for exams this week, but through it all our team has managed to score 7 goals on the season so far(and there's definitely more to come!). These seven goals total $208.25 raised for Free2Play all while playing the sport we love so much. For those of you who are still interested, you can still join the movement with us!! It's not too late to pledge :)

We're off to McKendree and Bellarmine this weekend to continue our quest for the GLVC Championship and raise some more money and awareness for Free2Play! Good luck to all the other Hounds competing this weekend as well, let's all bring some wins home to Indy!

GO HOUNDS!!!
Kait #5 and Abby #25