Nov. 13, 2007
Charlene Morett - Press Conference transcript - 11/13/07
Head field hockey coach Char Morett met with the media on Tuesday following the weekly football press conference to discuss her team's upcoming trip to the NCAA Final Four.
Q: Did you think you were going to beat them [Maryland]?
A: Yes, I felt with this team when we started training last February that it was a very talented and it was a very committed team. We sort of joke with this group because we started the season on the road against two top-ten teams and won both games. I think the girls, at that point, felt that we should just zoom ahead to November, forgetting that we had to play all of these games in between. It's a very talented team and we finally got on roll, I don't think our record necessarily reflects the high-caliber team that we are.
Q: You played a tough schedule and had an up and down season. Explain the road to get to where you are now and how you guys did it.
A: As I said, we started out on the road against Old Dominion and Virginia where we picked up two wins which were very key. We do play a difficult schedule. Our RPI was, I believe, six or seven. That type of schedule prepares you for the tough competition at the end. So, the girls know that they can play with anyone. We may not have always had the goals at the end of the game to win the game, but we certainly had the effort. That was certainly something that kept me confident. I think, as I continue to tell the players, you have to keep your head up, you're playing very well. We started playing very well, I'd say, just coming into the second week of October. We might not have won every game, but we were rarely outplayed along the stretch, especially the last couple weeks. Every game, we have played better with Sunday being our best performance to date.
Q: Is this team going to the Final Four to win or just to be there?
A: They're going to win and I know they've seen the competition. They've played North Carolina. Unfortunately, we really took a shellacking down there. But they know that they were just very flat and Carolina was very good. They know Connecticut they can play with, it was a very even game statistically. They didn't get the results on the scoreboard. Wake [Forest] is a great opponent for us, it's another ACC team. They play a very similar style to us. We have to get through Wake first and see where we go, but we are definitely going down there to win the tournament.
Q: You talked about how you played Carolina and Connecticut. You haven't seen Wake Forest this year, what are you going to do, specifically, to prepare for Wake Forest?
A: We've seen a lot of tape. The one good thing about being in the Big Ten conference is that you have your comrades, they're sending you tape. I think the irony is that Wake had to go up to Big Ten country and beat two Big Ten teams [Michigan State and Michigan], which they did 3-2, 3-2. We went down to ACC country and beat two ACC teams. You have two teams clashing from two great conferences. Wake has Michelle Kasold, who is very talented. She was on the U.S. Under-21 team. I saw her play this year in China with both Allie Scola and Jen Long from our team. She's pretty much the mainstay for their team. I think that it's going to be a very similar game to Maryland. Maryland and Wake have played each other twice this year with each getting a win. So I think it's going to be a very similar style to Maryland.
Q: When you get to this time in the year, what do you need to do to win games?
A: You need to believe you can win them and I think that's the biggest step our team took on Sunday. We've gone to Maryland for seven straight NCAA games that we've played at College Park. This will be our eighth straight NCAA game at Maryland. So we're very confident playing at that venue. I think the big step is to believe it and make sure that you play great defense. Our defense was outstanding this past weekend. Taking those two wins into the weekend is a big confidence boost for us.
Q: Last time you were in the Final Four you played Wake Forest in the championship. Kiersten's [Wood] sister Kelly was on that team. Now you have Kiersten in her first Final Four, Kelly won three championships, how does Kiersten help this team and what does she mean for you?
A: Kiersten, Mallory Weisen, and Britney Long, those three came in as freshmen and just really wanted to be a part of a national championship team here at Penn State. They're just very committed, and now that they're in driver's seat as seniors, it's been very comforting to me. Kiersten, she's seen her sister compete in the Final Four and she know the excitement that goes with the opportunity to compete there. She just feels it's her turn. It's interesting because we played Wake when her sister played. She's just such a strong competitor. She's been playing injured all year with a stress reaction. She doesn't really practice, she just gets out on the field and plays. I think she's got a lot to do, as does Britney Long, with the heart and soul of our team.
Q: You heard Joe [Paterno] fielding questions about his longevity and how long he has to stick around. Seriously, you've been in for two decades, how much more will you do this? Are you in for the long haul?
A: I can say it won't be until I'm 80. You can put that down in ink. I honestly don't know how he does it. He's absolutely an inspiration. I love what I do. I think along with Joe, we both love what we do. We're passionate about the sport and we're passionate about Penn State University where we get to do it. We always have done it the right way here. We get outstanding support in so many different ways like sports medicine and academics. It's an easy place to really keep your tenure going here. Being a Penn Stater myself and having three great assistants, Sharon Herlocher is a volunteer, Annie Zinkavich, and Lisa Love makes my job a lot easier and so much more enjoyable. One of the neat things about going to Final Four is just all the e-mails and cards you get from the former players. That just makes it that much more special. I turn 50 in a couple of weeks, but I'll be here for a while. Not till 70 though.
Q: You've always done it with hard-working Pennsylvania kids. Other people have said go out and get some superstar from Australia or the Netherlands. Does this kind of validate what you're doing here at Penn State and what Penn State Field Hockey is all about?
A: I appreciate that question. We take pride in that. There are times where we have looked at maybe bringing in some foreigners in to help us. My players and the alums give me a lot of heat about it. But I love to teach. I look at myself not just as a coach, but as a teacher of the sport. I love to teach the skills, I love to try and inspire the players to try and play at their best. Knowing that I came out of Pennsylvania from a blue-collar family and Penn State gave me the opportunity with a scholarship to come here, that meant so much to me. The kids that I recruit, it means something to them. I'm not sure how much it always means to the kids from the other countries, I don't know. I don't know because I haven't really gone down that road. I know it means a lot to the Kiersten Woods and the Britney Longs and Mallory Weisens. It means a lot to these kids.