IU Coach Amy Berbary said she doesn’t believe in rebuilding.
“Never,” Berbary said. “It takes too long. There isn’t enough time for it.”
She said she believes in winning.That surprised her team during its first meeting together. IU was coming off a season where it missed the Big Ten Tournament. It hadn’t finished better than eighth in conference since 2007.
But none of that mattered to Berbary. She was brought in to try to win games.
“I told them the first day when I met them that I was in the business of winning, and they all looked at me like I was completely nuts,” Berbary said. “I told them I don’t know what’s been going on around here before, but we are not going to take five months, not a year, not two years.
“We are going to do something with this program.”
Berbary has seemingly revitalized the IU women’s soccer program in her first year. The former Auburn assistant coach has led the Hoosiers to their best start in program history, going undefeated in non-conference play.
Senior defender Lara Ross said she believes Berbary has brought key change and a new focus to the program.
“She definitely came in strong,” Ross said. “She didn’t come in thinking this would be a rebuilding year. She is really focused in on making this team win.”
Berbary said she believes she was brought to IU to help win games. Her competitive attitude has rubbed off on her players.
“She is really competitive,” senior midfielder Lisa Nouanesengsy said. “She has helped us become more competitive, which has really helped.”
Part of her competitiveness comes with a new focus on winning conference games and getting to postseason tournaments.
Before the Big Ten season opener against Minnesota, Berbary showed a highlight reel of non-conference schedule wins.
When the video ended, Berbary told her team to forget about it — conference play was starting and nothing else mattered.
“Before the game we put together the highlights of our goals,” Berbary said. “We said when we walked out of the locker room and began the second half of our season that we aren’t going to talk about the first half anymore.”
The highlight video was just another facet of Berbary’s system. What matters to her is getting the wins her team needs to move forward in the season.
“She takes a new approach to a lot of things we do,” Ross said. “She puts a lot of focus on RPI and just getting to the Big Ten Tournament. We are starting small with our goals and building from there.”
Berbary admittedly came into the program as an offensive minded coach but overhauled her system when she realized her defense’s strength. That accounts for IU’s 21-2 non-conference goal differential.
“She has put a lot of focus on defense,” Ross said. “She has been working with the assistants with that, and it has really come together. That’s why we’ve been so successful.”
Nouanesengsy said she believes the success has stemmed from the entire team being on the same page.
The team is virtually made up of the same pieces from last season’s team, but she said she believes that Berbary’s leadership has made the difference in games.
“Amy is really focused on the details, which we have always had a problem with in the past,” Nouanesengsy said. “Some of these games that we have only won 1-0 were because we are paying attention to the details. We might not have won a similar game last year, but now that we are focused on the little things, it helps.”
Although she was always focused on winning, Berbary said she was impressed with the way her team improved since the time she was hired.
“My internal expectations are always to win,” Berbary said. “I was going to get this team to win whether we were talented or not. Surprisingly, we have had a lot more talent than I originally saw in February, and we have been able to cultivate it.”
The biggest surprise to Berbary this season has been the students she coaches. She gives all the credit to them.
“I think what has surprised me this year has been the team’s mental focus,” Berbary said. “They come out here every single day bright-eyed, ready to listen. They do what we ask them to do to their best ability.
“Having kids like that is all you can ask for.”
Follow reporter Sam Beishuzien on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen.
