Laid-back approach working

There are two philosophies to coaching. A coaching staff can be stern disciplinarians, barking instructions from the sideline. Or, they can be laid back and teach through hands-on examples, a laid-back attitude and humor. Credit coach Mick Lyon and his staff with the latter.\nThe women's soccer staff said they realize the season is a long, often arduous one. For the sake of keeping the team fresh in practice -- which leads to better performances in games -- the coaches usually are seen joking with players, and even donning uniforms and running drills and scrimmages with them. This approach seems to be working, as IU is currently 8-5-2 (4-3-2, Big Ten) and in 5th place in the conference, and have qualified to play in the Big Ten tournament.\nSophomore midfielder Kim Grodek said seeing the team's three coaches, Lyon, and assistants Ian Rickerby and Sara Kloosterman, running around in practice is humorous, and allows the team to relax while preparing in the middle of the week for a game.\n"The coaches make it fun when they are out there with us," Grodek said. "We work harder when they are pushing us on the field."\nLyon said he and the staff do not always participate in drills, and sometimes it is only out of sheer necessity. \n"With a couple of the girls hurt, and a small squad some days, we just run out there so we can play 11 on 11," Lyon said. \nUsually the presence of the coaches participating on the field is essential in preparing for an opponent. The staff is able to show the Hoosiers in practice exactly what they should expect once they play the actual games. This technique has allowed IU to become better prepared for the rigorous Big Ten schedule, and the different style each opponent has.\n"We as coaches know how the opposition plays," Lyon said. "We have scouted the other teams, so we try to go out there and simulate how the opposition will play against us."\nRickerby has coached with Lyon in the past. The team often finds the two of them barking to each other as they pass back and forth in the simulated game. Sometimes, the team marks up with one of the coaches and plays their mentors as tough as possible.\n"When things are going right, this is a good approach," Rickerby said. "We hope that some of the things that we do out there will rub off on them."\nLyon said he also likes to use his time out on the field to help work on a weakness one of his players might have. He likes to force his players to work on their mistakes, and hope to have problems fixed before the team competes.\n"We will go out there and pick a player, and force them to fix a problem they might have had in a previous game or practice, and teach them to make quick decisions," Lyon said.\nIt can be intimidating having to scrimmage with a coach, but Grodek said she and her teammates are un-phased by playing against the coaches. It is usually a time for them to go out and relax, while strengthening their skills.\n"We go out there and play with them as we would play anybody else," Grodek said. "They go easy on us anyhow, and make sure they do not hurt us or play us too hard."\nWhile most teams in this part of the season normally get flat with the redundancies of practice, the Hoosiers still have a bounce in their step and a good attitude during practice.\n"It is a long season," Rickerby said. "We keep them loose and enthusiastic. If the coach doesn't have enthusiasm, it can wear off on the team."\nThe coaches all have extensive playing backgrounds and are in good shape. \n"We like to show the team then we are real people who can play," Lyon said. "And not just people yelling at them from the sideline"