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University of Houston Athletics
Bill Solberg Chat Wrap
9/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 18, 2001
Bill Solberg: I'm here and ready to take your questions. Fire away!
St. Germain, Wis: Billy,Are you looking forward to returning to you Alma Mater to play in the C-USA tournament.
Bill Solberg: Absolutely! I have a lot of great family and friends back home in Wisconsin, not to mention Marquette University. My first concern is playing the type of intense soccer needed to make it to the tournament. C-USA has definitely been improving over the years and we are working to really compete for a C-USA championship. Thanks for the question! I look forward to seeing you in Milwaukee in November! Big Time (Houston): Where do you see your program in the next few years? What do you look for in a recruit?
Bill Solberg: I see our program competing for the Conference Championship year after year as well as making it to the NCAA tourney. Once you make it to the NCAA tournament anything can happen. As far as what I look for in recruits, we like to recruit character, athletic ability, and academics. We look for student athletes that have an incredible passion and love for the game. Thanks for the question Big Time! Milwaukee: Just want to know when the best coach in the USA is coming back to the Milwaukee Area?
Bill Solberg: Hopefully my team will be back in the Milwaukee area for the C-USA tournament. That is definitely one of our goals. I always love to return to Milwaukee for vacations and for competitions. Like Houston, Milwaukee has some of the greatest people in the world! Thanks for the question! Jason (Walnut Creek, CA): Coach -- We appreciate all you've done for UH in the past 12+ months (especially the win at Texas last year). Has there been much discussion with the team about the slow starts they've gotten off to in the past three years and was there a certain way you addressed that this year? Thanks!
Bill Solberg: The win against UT was a great great win for the program! We tried to address the slow start this year by taking our pre season off campus this year. This was the first year we tried something like this and we feel it really brought the team together on another level. We focused on being more fit, a new controlled and composed style of play, and the concept of family. I believe we are much stronger because of this and hope to continue to be able to take the team off campus for pre season. I also think that having 10 experienced seniors to lead the group really helps! Thanks for the question! Chris N. (Houston): Coach -- what happened to former goalkeeper and then assistant coach Michelle Denomme?
Bill Solberg: Michelle decided to find work in her major. I believe she is working with a television station here in the Houston area. Thanks for the question! AJ - Dallas: Coach Solberg - Tell us about Robin Cate. I noticed she came to UH via LIU. What's her story?
Bill Solberg: Robin is originally from Houston. She transferred from Long Island for her junior and senior year. This year she has already earned C-USA defensive player of the week for the first week of play. Robin took it upon herself to work extremely hard this summer in the weight room and on her fitness. She has already proven she is top goalkeeper in the Conference. Don't be surprised to see her name come up several more times during the year for defensive player of the week! Thanks for the question! Sara (Houston): Where do you think that your strengths are with this years team?
Bill Solberg: I think our strengths this year are in our experienced players and we are able to go 22 players deep off the bench. The seniors are in a postion to really lead the team to a C-USA championship and with the talented players across the board on the team we should be very successful! Thanks for the question! Chris (Charlotte, NC): What is one thing that the team can improve on?
Bill Solberg: I think we need to improve on finishing a little bit more. We have focused a lot on organization and communication across the field in pre season. This past week we really tried to focus on getting more shot opportunities. We also focused on, when we do get those opportunities we really want ot keep them on target and make the goalie make some saves! Thanks for the question! Sara (Houston, Tx): Have any newcomers made a significant impact this year?
Bill Solberg: We recruited a very very athletic class. All of our newcomers have made a great impact on our program. Their work rate, and speed of play continue to help us in both practice and in games. As of right now we only have one freshman that has started and that is Nikki Hawkins. She is a very crafty knowledgeable player. All of our other newcomers are competing daily in practice for starting spots. Thanks for the question! Soccer Fan: Coach, I've heard women's college soccer coaches in the past complain about the lack of "attractive" soccer being played by some of the teams at the highest level. These coaches noted that a "route 1" style of soccer prevailed. What is your take on the state of women's college soccer in America?
Bill Solberg: There is more and more pairity in College soccer and I think you will see that the teams that really try to educate their student athletes how to play the game better, will be the teams that win more championships. There are several collegiate teams that have built their programs to a point of playing very organized soccer and have seen their programs succeed more and more as the years go on. We are trying to play the same team style and team game. I think this will pay off in the long run! Thanks for your question! Gorman Thomas (Milwaukee, WI): Who is your favorite all-time Brewer?
Bill Solberg: Has got to Be #19! Robin Yount! coogs1: What is the feedback from the local soccer scene on the rise of the UH program?
Bill Solberg: We have really tried hard to make it to local clubs and have open clinics at different areas in Houston. (All within the NCAA rules and regulations) The feedback has been really great and we are going to continue to try to get out in the community and raise the awareness of the Lady Cougar soccer program! Tom Glutowitz: What is your favorite kind of sausage? 1. Brats 2. Polish Sausage 3. Italian Sausage
Bill Solberg: Gotta go wit da Brat dare hey! Matt McMurphy: Bill, you are doing such a good job with the program that I wonder what the story is regarding your contract. Will you be getting an extension soon?
Bill Solberg: I aprreciate you support and the question. This past year I signed a two year contract. I love the people here in Houston, I love the entire staff I get to work with here, and would love to be here for a long long time. As long as we continue to be successful, I am confident that the people here will take care of me! coogs1: Where would you rank us within CUSA right now?
Bill Solberg: It's tough to predict where we rank right now in C-USA. On any given day any team can win. I would like to think we are in the top five of C-USA. Thanks for the question. Steve (NYC): Coach, I think I saw you at the UH/Rice baseball regional. Thanks for your great support of UH! You have a big year of recruiting to do. How are you and your staff working to address our needs? How is recruiting going so far?
Bill Solberg: Recruiting, we feel we are right where we need to be right now. We have been in contact with some of the top recruits in the nation and have great feedback from all of them about our program. We lose ten seniors and are looking to replace them with seven or eight top recruits in the nation that will continue to help us succeed on a national level. Thanks for the question! Matt McMurphy: Great win against Rice! What was it like to coach against Chris Houston for the first time since she left the Cougars? Was it weird coaching (and beating!!) your mentor? Maybe she could stand to learn a few things from you. . .
Bill Solberg: Yes the win against Rice was nice. It was weird coaching against my former boss. I have so much respect for her and what she has done for soccer. Coach Huston and I are very good friends and continue to help each other and talk on a daily basis. But still a very nice win for us! Thanks for the question! Steve (NYC): Coach, which area of the team (forward, midfield, fullback, goalie) is the strongest this year and how do you play into that strength? It appears that goalie has been quite good given the low scores of our opponents.
Bill Solberg: I really believe that we are strong and organized across the field this year. I think it is very difficult to find a weakness with this years team. We have experienced seniors in all areas of the field and hard working great soccer players surrounding them. We are very talented across the board! Thanks for the question! tristatecoog: Coach, yu've gotten a lot of great girls from Texas high schools, but I'm curious if you expect/hope to get some more players from the Midwest and particularly the Milwaukee area this year? Which recruiting need (i.e., position) is most important this year?
Bill Solberg: We are going to continue to recruit the top prospects in the nation. A lot of which are located right in our backyard. However, we never want to limit ourselves. I still have some great connections in the Midwest area and hope to continue to be able to use those connections. Thanks for the question! Shawn (Orlando): Good morning, Coach Solberg. I see that this weekend you are up against Charlotte, a team whom the Coogs have had quite a rivalry with for the past several seasons. Have you done anything differently in terms of preparing the players for the kind of high-intensity game that this has the potential to be.
Bill Solberg: First off, I see you live in Orlando and I must first apologize for my Milwaukee Bucks knocking you out of the playoffs! Ha ha! Now to answer your question, we love to watch game film and get scouting reports from several different teams. I also believe that our new style of play will be very successful against Charlotte. Thanks for the question Shawn! UH misses you! JJ (Houston): Who is responsible for the recent success Robin Cate has shown in goal?
Bill Solberg: Robin has worked extremely hard in the off season, but I also have to credit my assistant Joe Kirt for much of her success. Joe works daily with our goalkeepers. He works extremely hard to prepare our keepers week in an week out. He is extremely valuable to the success of our program and our goalkeepers! Thanks for your question! Roslyn (Houston): I wanted to let you know that you did a great job beating Rice. You guys did a really good job on defense during that game. What are your plans to keep the defense in such good shape?
Bill Solberg: Thank you for your question. We are playing more of a zonal defense. It is a much more organized style of defense and when run appropriately is very difficult to get past. I was brought up by some great coaches that have used and perfected this style, hopefully we will have the same success as they have had in their programs! Thanks for your question! Byron (Dallas): Your soccer program at UH and the coaching staff are really impressive. My daughter plays and I was wondering if you do any recruiting in the Dallas area?
Bill Solberg: First, thank you for you comments. We continue to recruit the state of Texas very hard. We have several players currently from the Dallas area. Our staff makes numerous trips to Dallas recruiting. The talent pool in Dallas is incredible, much like Houston. Thanks for your question! Donovan (Dallas): How good will the Bucks be this season?
Bill Solberg: Ok, I have to answer this one! I hate to jinx anything but watch out for the Bucks this year! NBA championship is definitely in the making! By the way, Pack in the Superbowl: count on it! Donovan (Dallas): Despite the nations tragety do you think the week off will help your teams focus as it heads into what should be a challenging Conference USA schedule.
Bill Solberg: With all that has happened the past week, it kind of puts everything in prospective for all teams. As a team we have met with our administration and discussed the recent tragedy. We will be as focused as we can be. We will continue to keep everyone in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks for the Question!
Bill Solberg: Thank you everyone for all your great questions! I'm sorry I was not able to answer all of them. If you would like to ask any other questions please feel free to email me at bsolberg@uh.edu and I will answer them as time allows. In the meantime thanks again for your continued support of our program. Go Coogs!
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