EWING – A day after the TCNJ women’s soccer team had its third conference victory, head coach Joe Russo was back on the field leading a practice of freshmen and sophomores.
At first it might appear as a rigorous practice for the day after a game–players darted from one end of the field to another, alternating between sprinting and jogging. For younger players that may not gotten much game play, or any at all, this practice was their workout.
Not all 31 players on the women’s soccer team had the chance to play during the game against Rutgers University Camden on Wednesday, Sept. 27, but Russo wants to make sure all his players are all getting their exercise in.
It is impossible to tell exactly how much energy a person is exerting just by looking at him or her. In order to get the most accurate information about an individual’s energy output, the Lions keep track of their exertion levels by wearing heart rate monitors. This way the players, and the coaches, can determine from there how much energy a player is exerting.
“Depending on who played a lot, and how many times they were in the red zone…we have to catch the kids up to the other group,” said Russo. The majority of the team, the players primarily out on the field on Wednesday, were spending their recovery day inside doing a pool recovery program.
Through health-calculated practice in between games during the week, the Lions’ have thrived. They have an 8-0 season and are now plowing through the New Jersey Athletic Conference with 3-0 record. Every day other than Sunday, when there’s not a game, the Lions put in the effort to prep for every game as a new challenge.
“It’s been a good start,” said Russo, while reflecting on their season. “Hopefully we can continue to stay healthy and keep pushing through.”
Where there is a successful team, there is often a successful coach, and Russo has proven to be one since the inception of the women’s soccer program in 1990. He has worked to develop the team for his 28 seasons and has a coaching record of 482-62-40. Last year under his leadership the Lions ended their season with an overall mark of 17-1-2 and dominated the New Jersey Athletic Conference, ending with a 9-0 record.
One challenge a coach has to face is the prospect of new recruits and a new dynamic. The line-up is different
every year as some players graduate and freshmen are added.
“The personality of the group changes from year to year,” said Russo. “There’s never two alike.”
Regardless of year-to-year changes, the Lions have lasted as a strong competitor. Russo attributes the Lion’s
success to the leadership that the team has seen over the years. “The culture and standards have been set, and the kids that are in the leadership roles guide the younger players into that,” said Russo. That way, younger players can learn from each other to see that “this is the way it’s done and this is how [the Lions] do it.”
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