Troy University Athletics
Stuart Gore Previews Juniors and Seniors
8/16/2023 11:23:00 AM | Soccer
TROY, Ala. – This year's Troy women's soccer team has 11 upperclassmen, including nine seniors and two juniors. On a team with nine freshmen, their leadership and experience will prove to be invaluable.
This is the final segment of a three-part series highlighting each of the classes – freshman, sophomore and upperclassmen – prior to the Trojans' regular season opener on Thursday, Aug. 17, against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. Head coach Stuart Gore answered questions and gave his thought on each class.
Q: With there only being two juniors on this year's team, what is their spot like in the locker room? The underclassmen are still trying to figure out how to balance everything that comes with playing college sports and the seniors are sort of on their final journey in college sports. Where do the juniors fit in?
Gore: If you walked in the locker room, you wouldn't be able to divvy them out by class to class. You wouldn't see it. They're friends with the graduate students and other classes.
Q: There is no question that this year's team has endured a lot of change over the course of the last eight months. What role do the upperclassman play in keeping everything together? How have they handled all the change?
Gore: I think for me the seniors were the biggest components of change. They were the ones that were happiest at the end of the spring. They really have felt that this is going to be a true fresh start. This is their "swan song". They want to go out on a high. The seniors that have come with me from Northwestern State are used to winning. That's what they want to carry on doing. I'm really pumped for the seniors.
Q: How important is the upperclassmen's role in leading the nine freshman that are on the team and keeping the camaraderie that successful teams need to have?
Gore: You need them to come in and be honest with the coaches. Saying things like, "I think the last couple of sessions have been really hard, can we do something fun?" or "I think we're meant to do a double session tomorrow." Coaches can get very tunneled vision very quickly. It's nice knowing that seniors can come in and be honest. It helps us coaches.
Q: Going into the regular season what group excites you the most?
Gore: The senior group, and I think it's because of that leadership. I want to see how they can do when we start winning games. When we're winning games and closing out, instead of the nerves kicking in. That's where you give up a couple of goals in the last 10 minutes. Having that sort of free-thinking spirit, "We're going to close out the game, we're going to win the game."
This is the final segment of a three-part series highlighting each of the classes – freshman, sophomore and upperclassmen – prior to the Trojans' regular season opener on Thursday, Aug. 17, against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. Head coach Stuart Gore answered questions and gave his thought on each class.
Q: With there only being two juniors on this year's team, what is their spot like in the locker room? The underclassmen are still trying to figure out how to balance everything that comes with playing college sports and the seniors are sort of on their final journey in college sports. Where do the juniors fit in?
Gore: If you walked in the locker room, you wouldn't be able to divvy them out by class to class. You wouldn't see it. They're friends with the graduate students and other classes.
Q: There is no question that this year's team has endured a lot of change over the course of the last eight months. What role do the upperclassman play in keeping everything together? How have they handled all the change?
Gore: I think for me the seniors were the biggest components of change. They were the ones that were happiest at the end of the spring. They really have felt that this is going to be a true fresh start. This is their "swan song". They want to go out on a high. The seniors that have come with me from Northwestern State are used to winning. That's what they want to carry on doing. I'm really pumped for the seniors.
Q: How important is the upperclassmen's role in leading the nine freshman that are on the team and keeping the camaraderie that successful teams need to have?
Gore: You need them to come in and be honest with the coaches. Saying things like, "I think the last couple of sessions have been really hard, can we do something fun?" or "I think we're meant to do a double session tomorrow." Coaches can get very tunneled vision very quickly. It's nice knowing that seniors can come in and be honest. It helps us coaches.
Q: Going into the regular season what group excites you the most?
Gore: The senior group, and I think it's because of that leadership. I want to see how they can do when we start winning games. When we're winning games and closing out, instead of the nerves kicking in. That's where you give up a couple of goals in the last 10 minutes. Having that sort of free-thinking spirit, "We're going to close out the game, we're going to win the game."
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