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Union 2010-11

Re: Union 2010-11

Flarrow said:
Please advise any big, high scoring forwards who are looking at D1 schools to give Union a look especially if they want to make a difference on a team (any big, high scoring forwards will give Union a look; from the other bench).
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I'm usually not a big fan of program-bashing posts, but you did get me to laugh with that line. And if anyone is entitled to be disgruntled, it is a Union fan. This is hardly a knee-jerk reaction.

Over time, Union has gotten better, on the ice, if not in the standings. Note, I've never seen them play, not the current edition, nor heaven forbid, the versions that seemed determined to ensure names like Botterill and Corriero had a permanent place in the record books. But they once were routinely embarrassed, and now, the most goals they've give up all year was 6 to a loaded BU squad.

Is it possible to do better than Assano at Union? Sure. I have no doubt that if Shannon Miller decided to take on Union as a project, you may not win national championships, but you'd definitely be opening the ECAC tourney with home ice. So maybe that's the answer -- go raise money, a lot of it. For a quick turnaround, it will take a name coach, not someone at their first D-I head post. The game would be better off if no program sank to the bottom and stayed there, so I truly hope that the Dutch are able to improve at some point.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

ARM said:
So maybe that's the answer -- go raise money, a lot of it. For a quick turnaround, it will take a name coach, not someone at their first D-I head post. The game would be better off if no program sank to the bottom and stayed there, so I truly hope that the Dutch are able to improve at some point.
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I don't want to harp on it, but I was serious in my earlier suggestion. Start a friends program, get behind it, and raise some money. No it's not the entire answer, but it's like chicken soup..."couldn't hurt". I'm not sure that a first time coach can't succeed, but I'll leave that to others to debate. All I know is that I've met Claudia and Ali a few times and have been favorably impressed with both.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

I don't think Arm was saying a first time coach can't succeed. I think he was just saying it will likely be a slower more gradual process.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Exactly. It is harder to recruit if the kids you're approaching have no idea who you are. That's another reason Chu will be a big asset; just about every recruit in the US and Canada knows who she is.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Flarrow said:
“Union college is a great school (yes) and good place to play hockey if you are a player who wants to get on the ice and contribute toward the building of a successful team (not necessarily true). There is also the opportunity to watch much high quality men's hockey being played (a D-1 woman hockey player picks a school so she can watch the men play?). Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of Union is its central location. The team can travel to most of its games in a bus trip of a couple of hours (wow—that’s Assano’s ace-in-the hole recruiting incentive- short bus rides?). Please advise any big, high scoring forwards who are looking at D1 schools to give Union a look especially if they want to make a difference on a team (any big, high scoring forwards will give Union a look—from the other bench). Only time will tell. (4 years and counting…)”

“Feelings, nothing more than feelings
Trying to forget my feelings of love
Teardrops rolling down on my face
Trying to forget my feelings of love
…
Feelings, woo-o-o feeling it,
woo-o-o, feeling again in my arms
Feelings”

From MORRIS ALBERT "Feelings"

"Most ball games are lost, not won."
"Can't anybody here play this game?"
Casey Stengel

Says the ‘bitter parent’ (ha –just shows what you don’t know): I know all you fans and parents feel/believe things are getting better, but from the stands, I just watch the same old same old. Just where do you see improvement?
And again: Does anyone, other than shotblocker, know how long Assano’s contract runs?
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Big high scooring fwd's, ah.... better bring some skilled D's with that picture- best D's this year are both Freshmen. They are a better team over all.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

ARM said:
Exactly. It is harder to recruit if the kids you're approaching have no idea who you are. That's another reason Chu will be a big asset; just about every recruit in the US and Canada knows who she is.
Click to expand...

Agree!
 
Re: Union 2010-11

ARM said:
Exactly. It is harder to recruit if the kids you're approaching have no idea who you are. That's another reason Chu will be a big asset; just about every recruit in the US and Canada knows who she is.
Click to expand...

Don't take this the wrong way but most Canadians are trying to forget her...a formidable foe indeed.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Gotta say, the Cornell game was ...interesting. Good for U--scoring late, and no penalties!
Gave the crowd what they wanted!
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Flarrow said:
Gotta say, the Cornell game was ...interesting.
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Well, you did better against Cornell than Mercyhurst did on games played 3 days apart, so take that as a sign that the program is doing something right.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

If you'd seen the game, that probably wouldn't be the lesson you'd take away from it...Cornell lost it more convincingly than Union won it, but U did play hockey!
 
Re: Union 2010-11

So another long season drags to an end...
I wish ADK11 had posted earlier--I would've had an answer that no one else was able to provide...
ADK11 April 24 07
Nice article in today's Schenectady Gazette on the Asano hiring (sorry no link - they're a pay site). AD McLaughlin said he liked the instant credibility of the Harvard connection and her experience both playing & coaching at a school with great academics (interesting that now both Union hockey coaches came thru Harvard..). Article mentions that she signed a four year contract, which I know is not big news anywhere else, but is a good sign at U which typically does just one-years (Leaman was the first coach in college history to get a multi-year deal). From Asano's quotes it sounds like she understands the reality of the huge task ahead of her, but is very upbeat and enthusiastic. IMO this is exactly what the program needs.
Give four years have passed, I still maintain Asano is/was definitely NOT what the program needed.
And the question remains, fans, friends, families and others--should she get a renewal?
And, BTW, Congrats to Leaman and the men's team on a GREAT season!
 
Re: Union 2010-11

I think these girls and Coach Asano are doing their best to transform in a short amount of time. What more can we ask of them? If a girl is given an offer to go to Cornell knowing she may not touch the ice unitl her junior year and is given an offer to Union she is unfortunatley going to pick Cornell just based off of reputation. Its hard to make a name for yourself without the players. I know union is going to start winning it just takes time. I have seen some extremley raw talent sign to a team and sit the bench! It is painful to watch actually. Julie Chu will hopefully draw some players in and help the team build some confidence. I see this team going places,, especially because the games are somewhat close! There was a couple blow outs like the Cornell game 8-0 but, there were also some very competitve games. CONFIDENCE IS KEY! They dont have the Lameroux's or kessels, they have to depend on eachother instead of key players. They need a few players who take the pressure under their wing and go put in the neccesary goals! They also must rely heavily on their goaltending.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Season Win Loss Tie Head Coach Captain(s)
D III years
1999-2000 4 19 0 Fred Quistgard Michelle Tardif
2000-01 3 19 2 Fred Quistgard Melissa Johnson
2001-02 8 16 2 Fred Quistgard Theresa Rourk, Jessica Easton
2002-03 11 14 1 Fred Quistgard Jamie Laubisch, Courtney Riepenhoff, Molly Semler
2003-04 4 29 1 Fred Quistgard Jamie Laubisch, Courtney Riepenhoff
the move to D I
2004-05 5 27 1 Tim Gerrish Jamie Laubisch, Courtney Riepenhoff
2005-06 3 24 1 Tim Gerrish Kate Gustafson
2006-07 4 26 0 Tim Gerrish Kelly Lannan

2007-08 3 27 2 Claudia Asano Stephanie Gilbert
2008-09 2 29 3 Claudia Asano Lundy Day, Stephanie Gilbert
2009-10 5 28 1 Claudia Asano Jackie Koetteritz, Marissa Gentile
2010-11 2 29 3 Claudia Asano Perri Maduri, Marissa Gentile

And the question is...Asano in 2012?
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Looking at overall W-L is misleading because strength of schedule differences. Most of the variation in wins probably depends on whether the program scheduled D-3 or quasi D-I opponents like Sacred Heart.

Fairest way to see if the program is making progress is by looking at the ECAC goal differential over time. It's a fixed schedule, more or less, and goal differential is a finer measure of progress than wins and losses.

2010-11 18-76 Asano
2009-10 14-75 Asano
2008-09 15-88 Asano
2007-08 16-84 Asano
2006-07 15-151 Gerrish (22 games)
2005-06 10-126 Gerrish
2004-05 18-130 Gerrish (20 games)
2003-04 9-133 Quistgard (18 games)

The team clearly improved defensively as soon as Asano arrived. Spare the explanation that Lundy Day is solely responsible for the improvement when Asano arrived. The team has allowed fewer goals in the two seasons since Lundy graduated.

The differential has improved from -136 before Asano arrived, to -68 her first season, to -58 this season. I agree with you in the sense that I expected more improvement in Asano's tenure since she arrived, but I see no case for replacing here unless the team is clearly stagnant or in decline.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

Thanks Dave 1381. I agree with these stats. If you run all games with the conference games the same trends are revealed.
A couple of points to keep in mind.
Gerrish was transitioning the team from DIII to DI. In all his years, he was playing young women who had come in to Union to play D-III hockey. His were the first D-I recruits, and one of his tasks, for which I will always respect him, was to integrate the players--and he did. He brought in several players who could have played at other schools, but he convinced them to come and try to help a program make the years-long effort to jump to DI.The DIII players continued to see playing time until they graduated, and their heart often allowed them to 'play-up' in inspiring games (read:losses). One of his last recruits, as far as I know, was Lundy Day, who committed to the transfer from Maine before Asano arrived.
Day was not the only reason for the good defensive numbers--but she was incredibly important. She routinely turned away quality SOG; it was often the case that the defense could not clear the zone, and the opposing teams would get second, third and more attempts to score on one offensive possession. Day was remarkable.
One of my biggest frustrations in watching Asano teams is that it seems she is unable to get the players to either learn or execute any systems. Yes, the individual defensive efforts are better, but the transitions out of the zone, from defense to offense, remain painfully weak. Offense seems to be beyond her.
How does a team break out of this difficulty? Nate L. offers a great, at-home example. You recruit very capable players, get them to play as a team, coach them to play their best, then let them do it. Union Womens Hockey desperately needs a coach with those abilities. Asano has had four years, and I not only have not seen her demonstrate this talent, I've often seen her coach in ways that destroy such team cohesion.
But that's just my opinion, from the stands.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

If you dont mind me asking what exactly have you seen from Asano that has destroyed team cohesion?... do you mean frustration? or body language? Flarrow, you make great points and I respect all of your knowledge, but I think the hardest part about making this team better is simply recruiting. Luckily the talent pool has been increasing year after year and not everyone can go to Cornell and Wisconsin. Union needs a few stars to shine and help create a new legacy! There are teams like brown who have had plenty of years and very experienced coaching who cant win either. They also have the BROWN education to help them attract girls! I feel a change coming on from Union they have a staff of all Harvard graduate coaches and a star olympic player, im sure they will figure it out.
 
Re: Union 2010-11

It would be thought provoking if he hadn't totally missed the mark.

The tone of the article, to me, is one that is meant to trash the head coach and remark that she should not have been retained. The reality is there isn't a single coach that has ever been successful at Union. At some point, it's not the coaching.

Instead of calling the coach into question, perhaps he should have dug a little deeper into what the underlying problems may be that have not allowed any coach to be successful there.
 
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