Yeagley: More than 25 years of success

Every single freshman class in the 28 years of the IU men's soccer team has been to the Final Four. Five times the Hoosiers have come back to Bloomington with the national title. Since the soccer program began, IU has played more than 600 games, winning 85 percent of them. It's all happened with head coach Jerry Yeagley patrolling the sidelines.\nYeagley sat down for an interview to talk about the past success of the Hoosiers and the success he feels is to come. But he said it all starts with the right attitude.\n"When we take the field, we want our players to have that confidence and that attitude that we're Indiana and we're at the top," Yeagley said. "You're going to have to show that you're better than Indiana, rather than, 'Gosh, are we any good? Are we really going to be able to do this?'"\nYeagley pressed the issue of not resting on past accomplishments but rather to improve on them, and that's what makes his team winners year in and year out. \n"It's a positive motivator," he said. "Rather than sitting on your laurels and saying we've done all this, it's 'Hey, this is what's expected from this program.' You develop a winning attitude where you expect to do well."\nYeagley feels the 2000 season is a perfect example of focusing on the present instead of the championships of the past.\nLast season, IU ended its reign at the top of the Big Ten as they lost a 1-0 contest to Ohio State in the championship of the Big Ten tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Yeagley saw that as a true shock to his team, because they expect to win the conference crown every year. But he said that loss seemed to sum up their entire regular season.\n"We started off giving up goals in bundles, something we don't do here. We finally solidified defensively a lot better, and we made a good run," he said. \nEven though the team finished well over .500 on the regular season, the loss to Ohio State in the conference tournament left the Hoosiers in limbo, because they didn't receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. IU had to rely on an at-large bid.\n"We had some good quality victories along the time like against Virginia, Maryland and Penn State during the season as well that we felt might get us in," he said. "But there was a question that we might not get in the tournament, let alone make the final four." \nIU did eventually make it into the tournament but were dealt a bracket that Yeagley said made him chuckle. The Hoosiers had to go on the road to defend the back-to-back national titles, and the first stop was at undefeated and number one ranked San Jose State. IU easily won 4-0. \nAfter flying back to Bloomington for a few days, the Hoosiers had to head back out west to face off with PAC-10 champions, Washington, but again IU came out on top, winning 2-1. In the third round, Yeagley's squad headed to the East coast where top seeded North Carolina was waiting. IU beat the Tar Heels on their home field 1-0, taking them to their fourth consecutive Final Four.\n"To go on the road and win one is tough enough against top-ranked teams, but two or three times, that team really exceeded expectations," Yeagley said.\nIU lost their Final Four semi-final matchup against Creighton, but considering the Hoosiers lost 4-1 to the same team earlier in the year, Yeagley wasn't too upset with the loss. \n"(Creighton) spanked us," Yeagley said of the regular season match-up. "We played the same team (in the Final Four), and it was anybody's game. We were up 1-0, and Ryan Mack got hurt. He had a muscle bruise and kept trying to go in and he wasn't effective. That was a big change in the game."\nWith the 2000 season concluded and the beginning of a new season upon him, Mack finds himself in the same position as last season -- injured. But this injury is a little more serious than a bruise. \nDuring the IU youth soccer camp in Bloomington this summer, Mack tore his ACL during a demonstration for the campers. The National Player-of-the-Year candidate is expected to be out until at least September or possibly the entire season. It is possible that Mack will be red-shirted, giving him another year of eligibility at IU.\nWith his best player on the shelf, Yeagley is looking for help in his offensive attack from anywhere possible. \n"(Mack) is 22 years old, mature, three years under his belt and to try and replace that with a 17-18-year-old freshman, you just can't do it," Yeagley said.\nBut placing a freshman on the field is something Yeagley says he's going to have to do -- uncharacteristic of IU soccer.\n"At the end of spring we feel that we hope we can count on some freshmen to play immediately, and most years if a freshman can play, we don't count on them," he said. "We say, 'That's a bonus.' Pat Noonan, Ryan Mack, Nick Garcia, they're the exceptions when they can step in and play (as freshmen), yet they're generally not impact players immediately."\nWith the assortment of new faces and the loss of its best player, the IU soccer program isn't listed as a national favorite such as in years past. Yeagley said in one poll they aren't even ranked, but that isn't deterring his drive for the 2001 squad.\n"The juices get churning and the adrenaline gets flowing every year and that's the drug a coach has to get them going and I don't know if you can get that from any other thing," he said. "I really love that feeling. We're going to be trying like heck to win the Big Ten, to have a great season and to make it back (to the Final Four)." \nThe 2001 Final Four is in Columbus, Ohio, and while Yeagley is eager to get back for the Hoosiers' fifth consecutive year, Yeagley will probably still be seen in that city regardless of how well the men's soccer team does.\nYeagley is what he considers a "Crew Junkie." Columbus is home to the Major League Soccer team "The Crew," which Yeagley's son and former IU standout Todd Yeagley plays for. Rumors had been swirling about the Crew offering Yeagley a coaching position because of his interest in the team. Yeagley said he has talked to the Crew about a position but said he has no interest in taking the spot.\n"I've been offered jobs by a number of professional teams, dating back to the early '80s, and the Columbus Crew has talked to me," he said. "I have the best job for Jerry Yeagley that there is in soccer. This is the arena that's best for me, and I feel where I can make the best contribution, plus I love IU and Bloomington"