WASHINGTON– This may not be the 2020 season that Head Coach
Dave Nolan of the Georgetown women's soccer team was imagining, but he's been navigating his way through it all since March when the COVID-19 pandemic started to directly affect Nolan and the way he interacted with his team. He had lots of high hopes for this season that he was never able to put into play, but this just means he has much more to look forward to in the future. Nolan has been keeping the student-athletes busy throughout it all though, as well as himself.
How have you been keeping busy over the past six months during the pandemic?
Nolan: These are certainly unprecedented times and as crazy as it sounds, these past six months have flown by. The hardest part of this is missing the daily interaction with the players and with the current status of the University, that's not possible in any shape or form for now. In addition, the NCAA has placed all sports in a "dead period", which prevents off-campus recruiting, but also curtails us from meeting any recruits who visit campus. Personally, that has meant a lot of hikes (I try do five miles most days), lots of Netflix and lots of reflection on our program and how we can improve things when life does get back to normal.
What are some ways you've been keeping the team together even though you are all not physically together?
Nolan: Summer was a real challenge as the prospect of having a fall season seemed to fluctuate daily and I felt as we couldn't control the outcome. Therefore, we tried to keep the girls looking ahead with things they could control. We set up weekly Zoom meetings with panels of alums talking about their experiences and careers, which was fantastic. Our alums were so generous with their time and advice and I know the players enjoyed and appreciated them.
We also took the emphasis off of the usual summer workouts and tried to keep things light and varied but also fun in our weekly Zoom chats.
Now that classes have started, we have tried to get their focus back and make this fall as close to our regular fall when possible. Our Zoom chats are more focused on team building, leadership and player development in nature and we are constantly looking for ways to engage the team.
How is your staff dealing with the newcomers to the program since they aren't on campus?
Nolan: All of our freshmen have been involved with everything that we have done all summer and, thankfully, they are playing soccer with their club teams this fall while at home which helps. They appear to be well-integrated, all things considered.
If you were to be playing at the moment, how would you have predicted the 2020 season to go?
Nolan: I know the team was super motivated to get back on the field. Last fall, though considered successful by many, was something we felt we could improve upon. We had hopes of reclaiming our BIG EAST crown and making another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. We were excited to have
Grace Nguyen back, as well as a talented freshmen class, two impact transfers and the return of
Boo Jackson and
Charlie Kern from season-ending injuries. I was confident that we had the tools needed to be very successful.
Is there one specific thing you miss the most about being on campus with the team right now?
Nolan: That's simple, I miss the players, as do all the staff.
What are some things you have been telling your players throughout all of this?
Nolan: The one thing I keep stressing is to keep in mind that college soccer is one of the most important, unimportant things. Without meaning to downplay its significance, I do want them to know that these times we live in are hard and unprecedented. There are more important matters in life and I don't want them feeling sorry for themselves. However, I, and they, have the expectation that when we do step back on the field together for the first time, we are 100% ready to pick up where we left off.
