Ripon Preview - Jim Kulas

Ripon is always looking to improve as a team and as individual players like any team in the Midwest Conference. As a group we feel like we're finally going to be a team that isn't in need of so much rebuilding like we did during the last two seasons. We were very young in the 2008 season with over 12 freshmen on the team, many which saw a lot of playing time. And in the 2009 season we surprised some teams in the conference, and weren't far at all from getting to the Midwest Conference tournament, even with a new coach and some transfer players. We have a very strong group of guys coming back next season and we are very optimistic that we are going to have some very strong seasons to come. Our goal like any other team is to make and win the Midwest Conference tourney and move on to the NCAA tourney.

Like most teams, we experienced some injuries last season to players that are hard to replace on the fly. Across the defensive line is where most of them came from. We had one center back tear his meniscus, another one with a problematic foot injury, and couple were playing with ailing injuries for almost the entire season. One of our goals for the 2010 season is to remain healthy all around so we don't have such set backs.

One topic that has been brought to my attention after reading some of the posts on the Cheese Athletics site is that someone has heard that we have or are going to lose some guys from last year. I'll clear it up now. We are losing a few guys, but the reasons that you see on the site are false. We are losing them strictly for financial and academic reasons, but one up side is that we didn't have any seniors last season so we have juniors, to be seniors, that we are looking to play an important role in our 2010 successes. We also have a couple key players that are returning from injuries that happened before the 2009 season started that kept them out for the entire season. So we're looking forward to having them back in the lineup.

As far as who we want revenge on next season, we want to beat every team in the conference. There isn't one team that we want to beat, we want to beat all of them and it's our goal for the 2010 season to do so.

http://www.cheeseathletics.com/College/2010/RiponCollege.aspx

I like the confidence. Thanks for clearing the air on losing starters. Depending on how many you actually lose, you can rest assured, other schools lose plenty of players on a year by year basis.

If you want a real horror story, ask a Carroll player who they will be losing (not due to graduation) for the 2010 season.

I don't remember who i picked on the survey on the main page, i twas either lake forest or Ripon. I really think one of them may sneak in the back door to the tournament. I honestly don't know who would miss from last year.

that's why they play the games i guess.

Ollie Octagon wrote:If you want a real horror story, ask a Carroll player who they will be losing (not due to graduation) for the 2010 season.

who?!

It's all second hand information but I heard a few of their recruits have failed out and one of their starting defenders, not sure who, has also failed out.

This might not be correct but I heard they lost another player to surgery, apparently it takes over a year to recover. Not sure who or what position, ask Drago.

RE: Ripon Preview

It’s great to see that returning Ripon soccer players are having a positive attitude toward their 2010 season. It is this positive approach which athletes need to foster after having a season that did not live-up to their expectations.

In response to the exodus of players due solely on financial or academic situations, is a somewhat misleading statement. There are most certainly partial truths to this statement, however, the bottom line to the final decision in many of these cases, is the return of Head Coach Lance Gordon.

In the recent off-season, I was made aware of information into the state of affairs of Ripon’s soccer situation and the leaving of players. I appreciate the posture that this Ripon player takes toward the unfortunate situation in the coaching problem with RC soccer and what players had to endure during last season.

On a closing positive note, RC has a good core of players who will return as Juniors and Seniors. These players will keep them defensively strong, as they have two years of playing experience, but the ability to score and be offensive has taken a serious hit. I wish only the best for all athletes of all teams and have a great summer.

I do not follow Ripon closely, however, I am aware that during the 2009 season, one of the goalies quit. My understanding is that he quit due to the coach. I don't know if he was the starting goalie, but I do know that he started and played the whole game against LFC. The coach may or may not be the issue with these other players, but for this one, he was.

LFCDAD wrote:I do not follow Ripon closely, however, I am aware that during the 2009 season, one of the goalies quit. My understanding is that he quit due to the coach. I don't know if he was the starting goalie, but I do know that he started and played the whole game against LFC. The coach may or may not be the issue with these other players, but for this one, he was.

your right...but with a new coach comes adjustments for the whole team...no matter what you do as a coach, not everyone on the team is going to like the coach or his desicions...some players have different ways of viewing things, and some players aren't always going to agree with the coaches decisions...but the coach makes the decisions...in the case of our goalie quitting there was a disagreement between him and the coach...they tried to work out the problem and in the end the goalie thought it would be in his best interest to leave the team...you have to remember that the coach is still learning himself about the players and the play of the conference...

Work out differences? Sometimes coaches need to come in with some kind of a backbone in laying down the law. At the same time, if they come in with a cocky and arrogant adittude, then the players will feel that.

Sometimes I get the feeling that the coaches that are qualified for the college or big time club jobs are only the ones with the credentials and not the know-how. It's a shame but what I have seen of Mr. Lance Gordon, I have not been impressed.

Ollie Octagon wrote:Work out differences? Sometimes coaches need to come in with some kind of a backbone in laying down the law. At the same time, if they come in with a cocky and arrogant adittude, then the players will feel that.

Sometimes I get the feeling that the coaches that are qualified for the college or big time club jobs are only the ones with the credentials and not the know-how. It's a shame but what I have seen of Mr. Lance Gordon, I have not been impressed.

in just his first season as head coach, he lead the team to the a best conference record since 2005...yeah its only 4 years and the conference record was one game below .500, but he had to come into a brand new group of guys, had to try to understand the MWC style of play (and coming from a junior college, i think it could kind of hard to do, personal opinion), had to help gel returning guys with transfers, had to reestablish a discipline that the previous coach failed to do, plus he himself had to get to know each and every one of his players...for his first season, even though there were some rough times, i think he did pretty well, again personal opinion...next year will tell how he really is as a coach for the redhawks...if there are controversies like last year, how the recruiting class is that is brought in, and what the team achieves on the season...these will all be deciding factors

am i wrong? what does everyone else think?

I liked the strides you guys took. This conference needs more horses to get any respect for at-large bids in the NCAA tourney. We are a long way from it but closing the gap every year.

Considering the past seasons Ripon has had, I think Gordon has done a great job. Too early to judge a coach on just one season, time will tell.