Up next in our interview series comes from Josh Moser who is the head coach at Cal Tech. Their season begins on March 3 when they host Penn St.-Behrend before heading to participate in the Cal Lutheran Tournament. Last season was a tough one for Cal Tech as they went 1-19, but the team looks to be much improved.
1. What expectations do you have this year for your team?
Essentially just to get a little better each day. We have a group of women who have very little experience with the game compared to most NCAA programs, which means we have to be very good and disciplined in the areas where we can have a chance to compete. We wont roll over anybody, but if we can swim and take care of the ball and execute on special teams, we could surprise some people.
2. What are the strengths of your team?
Our team speed is so much better than it was even a year ago. The women have been in the weight room consistently and it shows in their swim times. We also are much healthier than we were a year ago today. If that stays true* we should go pretty deep onto the bench, which is unheard of for Caltech Athletics! (*knock on wood!)
3. What would qualify to you as a successful season this year?
Tough to answer. I do not like putting up win totals and such because it relies on so much going right and I just want to focus on doing things excellently. Special teams is always important to me. If we can be over 60 percent on our 6 on 5 that would be huge for us as a team. It also would probably lead to a couple more wins! Our program has never won a conference game at the varsity level, and that would certainly qualify as a special and successful season were we to do that...but we have a TON of work before we can start thinking about that!
4. Can you tell me about your incoming freshman for this year and how they will fit into the team this year?
We have a bunch, and you never know how they will pan out. Connie Hsueh looks to be leading the goalie competition and we are very excited about her prospects. She has a ton of pressure between the position itself and knowing she is replacing our team MVP from a year ago, but she seems to be dealing with it well and trying hard each day to outwork her teammates. A very good sign.
5. What players do you think could have a breakout year?
Juniors Hanna Dodd and Carly Bond are coming back from debilitating shoulder injuries a year ago, and if they stay healthy look out! Carly is a converted swimmer who has worked hard in the weight room and could be a very valuable role player, and Hanna is as talented as anyone in the country at the D3 level. She will do a little bit of everything for us, but where she truly excels is shooting the ball. She will take a lot of pressure off our more inexperienced centers by constantly being a threat. If she can maintain her health throughout the year it will be like having a star recruit-she was playing on one arm last year, and still was second on the team in scoring!
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