Coaches Corner for June 8th: Connor Doyle, Boone Boys Soccer

With us on coach's corner, KWBG, get a chance to wrap up the Boon Boy soccer season. Head coach, Connor Doyle, joining us as the Torridors had season come to an end with a loss at Carlisle in the first round of postseason. And I know, coach, when we kind of went into talking about Carlisle, it was going to be one of those games that, listen, we saw them early in the season. They've obviously improved. We've improved. Boy, they got off to a real hot start, though, didn't they? Yeah, you know, it was, the game definitely went a lot better than it did the first time. The score won't totally show that. But before the end of the first half, I think there was, you know, three minutes left. And we were only down. I think it was three-zip or four-zip, you know, whereas at the first time we played them earlier in the year, it was at that point, you know, 8-0, 9-0. So we were pretty happy with where we were at at those final three minutes. Unfortunately, they put, I think, three in. So I think it was four-zip, and it ended up being 7-0 before the end of the half. So they got three in a matter of, like, three minutes, which was very unfortunate. And just not how we wanted the end of the half, because, you know, we truly had some shots on goal that we didn't have in the first game. You know, we had some momentum going for a while. They were out there, heels. You could tell they were scared a little bit. You know, we had them nervous at some moments at the beginning of the game. But yeah, you know, they got some talented players, and we weren't able to handle all the firepower that they had. But part of our guys, how they fought, because, you know, the first time we played, we were definitely out of sorts, and it was a tough one. And then the second time, it was just a completely different game. We looked better. We looked a lot better than we did the first time. Connor, is that a tough one when you're going into half time and they're able to kind of get that little bit of a flurry at the end of the first half? Because, you know, like you said, it could have been 4-0 going into half, and that a little easier, I think, to probably talk about. I suppose giving up those, like, you know, like you kind of talked about there at the end, that's probably pretty tough motivation-wise going into the break, isn't it? Yeah. You know, Zeke, my assistant and I, we talked about it. You know, going in, I mean, before they even got to that three-minute mark, we're like, God, we're playing really well, and we, you know, we put some things together, and we definitely transformed. And, you know, after the first three minutes, we were like, oh, God, I just, the wind out of our sails. And you could tell it, they kind of demoralized the guys a little bit, and, you know, we heard that we held on as long as we could, you know, that second half, they only needed to get, you know, three more to put it to 10. And I think we got all the way down to about the 10-minute markers, 10 minutes left in the game. So we did what we could, and unfortunately, just didn't go our way. Such a young group. I know it was a lot different, you know, of a post-match conversation than it was, obviously, a year ago with us, you know, a senior-laden team. What did you talk to the kids about, though, afterward? You know, I just told them how proud of them that I am. You know, they, the adversity that they kind of, you know, they went through, you know, a lot of the kids compared themselves to those, you know, from the year before, you know, saying like, you know, we got big shoes to fill and this and that. You know, I understood that completely, but I kept my mind throughout the year that that team that, you know, finished with that awesome record with all those seniors, their first, you know, freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, they took their licks, and it wasn't, it wasn't pretty. A lot of, there's a lot of games that ended up being 10-0, you know, 8-0, whatever it may be. But, you know, they stuck with it. They didn't just throw in the towel and give up, and they kept fighting them by their senior year. You know, the results were, the results changed, and, you know, it started going in their favor, and that was just a testament of who they were, and it's kind of, you know, just relay that back to those guys that, you know, just because you had a rough year, we can't just throw it in, we can't just give up, you know, you guys are going to be back, you're going to be better, and if you stick with it, you just can do, do exactly what that team did, you know, last year. So, stick with it, don't just give up, because, you know, things will get better, it's not always going to be like this. I know when we talked throughout the season, that was the one thing that you always told me on the air and also off the air about this group is, listen, I know there's some struggles, I know there's some 10-0 losses in here, but these kids come to practice every day, they come to game day, prepare, they're ready to go, maybe if the results don't, you know, kind of go our way. I know that was the one thing, Connor, you really appreciated about this season. Yeah, definitely, and that's tough to do. It's not something that I necessarily experienced as a player, so I can't, it wasn't something that I could necessarily relate to, but, you know, coaching it, I've seen it firsthand, and, you know, it does pay off eventually. It sucks for a while, and that's hard for kids to understand, but this is a good group that I think they took it pretty well, and a lot of them are already getting, you know, soccer practices going for the summer, they're joining soccer leagues, you know, Iowa games, teams, so it's close to you that it didn't just totally wreck soccer for them, which has kind of always been my fear. So, happy to see that, and excited to see what they can do next year. What about the future? You know, Connor, you talked about last year's group, the stuff that they had to go through. Is this a group, and I know it's not, we don't know, we got a ton of sophomores and juniors, we don't know what two years down the road is gonna necessarily show, but do they have that possibility? Is that chance for them to do maybe something similar to that group from last year? Yeah, definitely. You know, we got some talented players, it's just some of them just need to literally, things that they can't necessarily control by the way, their bodies just gotta grow a little bit, get some more size on them, you know, get some of these kids in the weight room. We were just, you know, outsized. That was one of our biggest things, being a young squad, and experienced, you know, playing against, you know, just kids that are three, four years older than you. That's tough, and I think that, I do believe that these guys stick with it. They have some talented players, you know, you clean up some things, and I really do think that they have the opportunity and the chance to be successful. So they just gotta stick with it. I know they got a player or two that's gonna be joining them next year from a different school that should help them out quite a bit. So that'll be exciting to see. Connor, thank you again so much for all the scores and all the coaches' corner interviews this past year. I know we would love to get a couple of W's here, there, and I think, like you said, I think the future is definitely going to show us that, but thanks for a great season, and we really appreciate it to all your time. Awesome, thank you, Ryan. You bet. Connor Doyle again joining us. Boom Boys Soccer here on Coaches Corner.