Instant Interview Replay: Rob Donnenwirth

Instant Interview Replay: Rob Donnenwirth

10/02/2003

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- ECU women's soccer coach Rob Donnenwirth joined ECUpirates.com for a live Instant Interview on Thursday, Oct. 2. Following is the complete transcript of his responses from the live chat session.

ECUpirates.com : Thanks for joining us, today, Coach. Sorry for us running late ... moderator's fault!
Rob Donnenwirth : Great to be here. I'm looking forward to answering your questions.

Gregg J : what can be done to increase the number of people at the games?
Rob Donnenwirth : I think the reason it's hard to get big crowds is due to the times of the games. We don't have lights yet, so a 3 p.m. Friday game is tough to get to for students and fans. I think there have been a lot of positive change to our facility and there will be more to come. I don't think there's a timetable for lights, but I think we will get great crowds once we do.

TJ : How would you evaluate the teams success this season thus far?
Rob Donnenwirth : We really upgraded our schedule. We've played three top-10 teams and we were right there with them. We are disappointed that we didn't pull a victory in one of those games. Moral victories only go so far. For us to get an at-large bid, we need to upset one of those teams. We hope that playing these top level teams will better prepare us for conference play. We have at times not played to the level that we can. But overall, I think this is the most talented group that we've had and October is going to be very important to us in the conference.

Jay-Z : What do you look for in a recruit?
Rob Donnenwirth : We look at four areas. We look at their technical ability, tactical ability, physical ability, and psychological. They need to be strong in certain areas. Some of our players are more technical than others. Some just have pure speed. But the most important thing to me is that they are winners, are going to buy into our team concept, and love the game.

: how do u think your team did againist wake forest?
Rob Donnenwirth : I thought we played well. We defended with low pressure early in the game and let them come at us. I felt we did a good job with counter attacks. Defensively, even though they possessed the ball, they never really got behind us. Their one goal came off a corner kick, which we lost an assignment. In the second half, we switched to a 3-4-3 formation and were able to put pressure on them the last 15 minutes. This is a team that beat two top-10 teams last week and they are very technical, good speed. We didn't feel we could come out with as aggressive a system for 90 minutes. But, as I've said, we're through with moral victories and we missed some opportunities to score.

Ben S : What do you think of the W-USA folding up? What can of impact will this do to womens soccer?
Rob Donnenwirth : I think that the W-USA still has a chance to recover for next year. It was very disappointing to hear the news, especially right before the World Cup. However, I've heard there are many corporations that are now looking to invest. Before this year, we just didn't have enough investors in the league. I think it's critical that this league succeeds. It gives so many opportunities for players to continue playing and these players are great role models for youth players. If you've never been to a game, it's a great atmosphere, the players sign autographs after the game. My daughters love to go.

lee : why not play a 3-4-3 more- seems to make a big difference when you do.
Rob Donnenwirth : We may look to do that more. I feel it's difficult for us to play a 3-4-3, however, when other teams play with three forwards. It does give us more opportunities on the attack. At this point, I'm not so sure we can play against top level teams for 90 minutes this way.

Mark S : Rob, everyone's familiar with the recruiting process for basketball and football because of all the media attention it gets. Please describe your recruiting process for the women's soccer team.
Rob Donnenwirth : Recruiting is a 12-month a year job. We attend various tournaments across the country that bring in all the top club teams in the country. Club soccer is more important that high school soccer for our recruiting. We get to see a lot of players at one site. Women's soccer recruiting has become more cut-throat in the last five years. A lot more pressure is being put on players to commit early. In a way, it's becoming a lot more like basketball. It's a tier-one sport at a lot of schools now.

Beckham : Have you ever had a boy dress up like a girl to play, like in that movie with Rodney Dangerfield?
Rob Donnenwirth : I don't think that's legal. I'm sure it's some sort of NCAA violation, but I'll look into it!

Bill : What is the best way to get Women's Soccer information when we play on the road?
Rob Donnenwirth : I think ECUpirates.com gets everything up before anybody. Our Conference USA web site has a women's soccer roundup page that has scores from all the schools that day. And if you want to get scores nationally, nscaa.com has a scoreboard.

Keng : Hey there coach, Who you think can give United State a tough match in this year's World Cup? they look unbeatable so far.
Rob Donnenwirth : I think the two teams that the U.S. has to watch out for are Germany and Brazil. There's a good chance we will face both of them.

Wes : What's your biggest challenge as head coach?
Rob Donnenwirth : I think our biggest challenge is being able to recruit region-level kids. What I mean by that is, the country's split into four regions. Each region has a regional team. These are the types of players that we need to get to the next level. We have a couple players that have been on the regional pool. We continually go head-to-head with some of the top schools in the country. Other than that, we really just need to develop the players that we have here. We do a lot of extra individual work with players. We try to facilitate team chemistry and that is one of the reasons that we've been successful.

SOCCER FAN : Do you feel that the athletic department/university is doing enough to support your team at home games? What do you think could bring out more fans to the home games?
Rob Donnenwirth : I wouldn't have taken the job here if I didn't feel we could win. Things have consistently gotten better since I've been here. We still need a better facility, but that is in the works. I have confidence that the athletic department will get us where we need to be.

Wyld Pirate : Coach, do you think women's soccer will be the determining factor on whether we accept a bid to the ACC or not?
Rob Donnenwirth : Have we received a bid?

Wyld Pirate : Coach, would you agree with the Jim Rome school of thought, that soccer is not a sport?
Rob Donnenwirth : I watch Jim Rome from time to time and he likes to create some controversial subjects. There's no doubt that many Americans still don't understand the game. But more kids play youth soccer than baseball in this country right now. I think it's a great sport for kids. It's great physical activity and teaches you how to compete. I feel that satisfies the definition of sport.

Beckham : Do you worry that the passion that comes from scoring a goal will lead the gals to removing clothing articles? Does the NCAA have rules regarding this?
Rob Donnenwirth : I think Brandi Chastain opened up a whole can of worms during the last World Cup. FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, actually has banned this practice for men or women. I feel pretty confident that our team will be able to control themselves.

ECUpirates.com : Thanks for joining us this afternoon, Coach. We are out of time for today. Any closing comments?
Rob Donnenwirth : Thanks for all the questions. If you're able to attend a game, we'd love to see you cheering on the Pirates!

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