2014 Preseason Underway

Today we hit the one week marker since the girls arrived on campus here at Gustavus for the 2014 fall season, and we couldn't be more excited. The team has been working hard every day and the coaching staff is incredibly excited about what the incoming class has to offer, as well as the returning leadership from many of the upperclassmen veterans on the team.  We have a very young team, so many of the returners have been working to help many of the newcomers adapt to the new faster speed of play as we approach our first games coming up soon in Gettysburg, PA. The coaching staff has been very impressed with the new talent on the team, as they'll be excellent additions to an already exciting group team dynamic. As three-a-days have been winding down, the team has been focusing much more tactically all coming together to introduce our new players to our Gustie style of play.

Women's Soccer Preseason Update
Posted on August 20th, 2014 by Nick Hoelmer 

The Gustavus Adolphus women’s soccer team returned to campus to begin preseason training on Friday, Aug. 15 and has been hard at work ever since.  With 10 incoming freshman, the team looks to be young once again, but head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie is optimistic about the progress that has been made in less than week’s time.

“We have a fairly young team, but everyone is coming together really well,” said Burnett-Kurie following Wednesday’s practice. “The upperclassmen are leading a lot and taking the new players under their wing and we’re seeing a huge amount of progress. We’ve rebuilt the system…and now that the culture is established, we can focus on being a lot more dangerous and competitive.”

The Gusties will kick off their season by heading east to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to take part in the Gettysburg College Tournament on August 29 and 30. There, Gustavus will compete against Carnegie Mellon University on Friday at 4 p.m. and Gettysburg College on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Courtesy of Gustavus.edu/athletics

What We are All About

Who are we?  What are we about?  What does that mean for your development? How will you grow as a player and person during your career at Gustavus?  Do we care about our student-athletes more than soccer players?  Are there open lines of communication?

Ahhh, the questions circling every recruits head.  So many questions and all of them play a pertinent role in making your college decision.  One blog post will not answer them all, but we hope as you keep up to date with our new posts and learn more and more about our wonderful program, most of them will be answered.  So for today, lets start with our program philosophy:


What is the program GROUNDED in?

The mission of NCAA Division III athletics is to provide student-athletes with an opportunity to excel on the field, in the classroom, and within the greater community.  Our program philosophy emanates from this mission and is grounded in encouraging and supporting our student-athletes to be the best individuals they can be in all aspects of their lives.  Our success as a program is not measured solely by a win-loss record, but also by all the accomplishments of our women’s soccer players.  This is achieved by building a team culture that develops the individual assets of each player and prepares the team to succeed at the next level, with a simultaneous understanding that the game, program and athletes are constantly evolving.  


We develop students of the GAME.

We believe in developing students of the game.  For our program to succeed at the highest level, each individual within the program should have a strong understanding of the game as a whole: know how to develop rhythms and movement, possess the ability to think and adjust on her feet, and appreciate each position’s and student-athlete’s role and responsibilities on and off the field.  The best way to accomplish this is to develop the all-around soccer player.  To be a great forward an athlete needs to recognize the perspective of a goalkeeper, the vision of a defender and the movement of a midfielder, as everyone connecting and working together on the field is key to accomplishing our program goals.  It is through the asking of questions that engage players in the analyzing and dissecting of the game and the exposure to situations that force them to read their surroundings and make quick decisions that this understanding is reached.

Relationships and RAPPORT are a cornerstone.  

For our approach to prove successful, it is important to develop a relationship and rapport with the players where they respect and listen to their coaches and fellow teammates, while feeling comfortable voicing new ideas and concerns.  We believe in having a two-way dialogue allowing players to share ownership of the objectives and goals of the program, emphasizing leadership development, and improving mental toughness.  By providing athletes with ownership of plans, decisions and goals, their motivation and effort increases. We strive to think about our athletes and find time in our days to talk to every player as we feel this is vital to the program’s success both on and off the field.  It is critical to not confine one’s relationship with players to soccer alone as it is our responsibility as their coaches to help them achieve excellence in all aspects of their lives. 


We believe in empowering YOU. 

Ultimately, soccer is an expression of creativity, intelligence, teamwork, communication, leadership skills, competitiveness, and athletic skills.  To achieve greatness on the field, each player needs to be comfortable expressing their abilities and passion for the game. The more comfortable players feel with one another and their skills, the more ownership they take of the program, and the more they will hold themselves and their teammates accountable.  By empowering student-athletes, inspiring them to strive for excellence, engaging them in their collegiate athletic experience, developing them as leaders and encouraging them to learn and work hard in all aspects of their lives, we strongly believe the Gustavus Women’s Soccer program will be able to compete on a conference, regional and national level.