In a season that ended in the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals, the Ohio soccer team held its opposition scoreless 10 times, including a nine-game shutout streak from Sept. 12 to Oct. 15.
Bobcats' assistant coach Jim Welch, who joined the team in May 2003, had a hand in that.
This past year I did a lot of work with the goalkeepers
doing individual training and stuff like that Welch said. I think one of the biggest aspects of goalkeeping is the mental side of the game Welch said. Always being focused and helping your teammates be focused ... it's one of the areas we've worked on with our goalkeepers in the last couple of years.
Soccer coach Stacy Strauss knows that having a teacher like Welch can be invaluable for a lot of her players.
Obviously he brings great playing experience
which allows him to have a good tactical understanding of the game
Strauss said. He has a great ability to communicate it to our players. (The goalkeepers) have improved on their focus and consistency and have eliminated a lot of mistakes in the last few years he has been here.
Welch, like many young athletes across the nation, began playing soccer when he was a 5-year-old in Mansfield, Ohio.
My parents were interested in getting me involved in it
Welch said. They were actually my first coaches. They knew very little so they were reading books and asking lots of questions.
The early start paid off for Welch, who played on numerous youth teams, including a 1994 under-17 team that won a national championship. In 1995, Welch was selected to the under-18 United States National Team Pool.
During college, Welch attended and graduated in 2000 from Marquette. A four-year starter for the Golden Eagles, Welch holds the all-time school records in career saves (385), career shutouts (26) and career wins (42).
Marquette coach Steve Adlard, who coached Welch since he was 11, admires Welch for his dedication on and off the field during college.
I've had him since he was a tiny kid
Adlard said. He worked very
very hard
and he was one of those guys who could always never get enough training. In my time coaching him in college
he had extra training whenever it was legal to do it
and then when he finished his eligibility
