The Post Season Is Here! | Kickin' It With The Wolverines Ep. 9

The regular season is in the books, and it is post season time for high school soccer. 

The Lady Wolverines finished the regular season with a win on Senior Night against Southside, and turn their attention to their first game of the playoffs against Jonesboro. 

Head Coach Kerry Castillo joins Alyssa Orange with the latest from the pitch. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Hello and welcome into another episode of Kicking It with the Wolverines. I'm Melissa Orange, Kia's head coach Carrie Castillo, and we have reached the postseason, which is crazy to think about. I feel like it was just February that you and I sat down for the first time and started talking about what the season could hold, what it could look like, the players you had coming back and new additions, all the things. And here we are, you know, a couple months later trying to get ready uh for the postseason. Before we jump to that though, I want to talk about that last week of the regular season with wins over Fayetteville and Southside. So let's jump into kind of how your team ended the regular season.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Yeah. Well, we actually lost to Fayetteville.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yeah, we actually lost to Fayetteville. Very good game. Just Fayetteville this time of year starts hitting their stride. They just know how to get postseason ready year in and year out. And any it's tough to win a game of checkers in Fayetteville. I mean, they just get up for any kind of competition that's in Fayetteville. And so nothing changed. It was the same. It was just uh a great game, highly contested game. It was back and forth a lot. We had a lot of chances to score, and soccer is like that sometimes. It doesn't matter how many chances you've you've got to make good on them, and they make good on theirs, and they beat us. And so hats off to them on it.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

So when you look at it, we we've talked about you know losses and ties with Bentonville, uh, always a learning experience. Uh, what do you think your team took away from it?

SPEAKER_01 1:48

You know, it showed us a lot of things that we hadn't honed in on enough. Um, things that I had been worried might be things places where we had gaps, and especially going into the postseason. And so for those things to manifest themselves in a game setting, it really solidified that thought. And I was like, okay, well, now I know exactly where to turn focus to for the next week of training uh before we get into the playoffs. And so, you know, nobody likes to lose, but you have to take away something, right? You have to take away something. So yeah, there was lots, there was lots there that we could that we could learn.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

And you also were able to turn the corner, so my apologies, but a big time win over Southside to really just end the season. And not only was it a big win, but it was also senior night for you guys.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah, that's always special. Senior night's always special, and it's always emotional, right? And so you have to manage, you know, those kinds of things and and do right by the seniors, but also by the team at the same time and and pay respects to all of those entities, and and you want it to end special, right? You want it to end special and to come off of a loss and have senior night, you know, some people may look at that and go, wow, that is not the game I would want to play after a loss, because you know, how are you going to respond? But our girls responded phenomenally. Their play was just we couldn't have asked for better in the manner in which we played, and so we we really challenged them with um the question of can you make today about being a great teammate? And that means you give everything you have, all of your energy to being a great teammate in every way you can. And they just responded so well, it was great. It turned out to be a great night.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Well, you scored eight goals, I believe that's what you're so it's not not a bad day at the office at all.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Um that's always good too.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

In the regular season, right? Um, but you know, you look back and and and do you guys have time, right? It's senior nights, the regular season um is coming to a close. You got to quickly turn the page to the postseason. But do you have any time just to reflect on how the regular season went start to finish?

SPEAKER_01 4:20

We talk about that with them a little bit at a time every day, and and what we can take away from every week. And uh we we also have tripwires uh that we call them every single day, like, hey, this is what has happened over the last few days. This is what we're going to focus on today. And so with this week and today, especially after you know, last week and uh losing to Fayetteville, winning against Southside. Now we're going into the playoffs, and the seniors' last official practice will be tomorrow. And so, again, we pose the question how can you be a great teammate? How can you be a great teammate? And so we really want them to put that into action, and so we do, we do, we make time at the beginning of every practice to reflect on everything that we're experiencing, you know, no matter if it's good, bad, or in between. And so that was our that was our focus today is to reflect on look how far we've come. Yeah, here's what we have left. We only have this much time left together. Let's make it great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Yeah. Yeah. How do you how do you kind of you know switch gears mentally as a coach to help get them prepared for the the one and done mentality that the postseason brings with it?

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Yeah, we create scenarios and practice more in the weeks leading up, and especially this week, three minutes to win, you know, and they play 7v7 or some kind of small variation, and one team is winning, one team is not. You have this much time to win, and we give them specific tactics that they have to carry out and try and pressurize the situation in the same manner that that the game where we take penalties every day. And so we're trying to recreate pieces of the game that they'll experience for them every day in training. But at the same time, we try and add an element of fun because we don't want them to just be pressured, we want them to be able to thrive in the pressure, right? And be able to break the anxiety associated with the pressure. And so there might be a fair bit of uh um, oh, what's the what's the term that they use uh when they're like um making fun of each other? What is the what's a great term for that? When they're roasting each other, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they are and it's uh especially during penalties relentlessly, and so you know that breaks some of the anxiety and and adds an element of fun to it because they're having fun and teasing one another, and it's it's great to have that kind of rapport with them, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, yeah, it absolutely is. Well, let's break down the bracket, and I've got it pulled up, so I'm gonna go ahead and reference it right now. Uh for the six A uh in Conway, right? So you guys are gonna go down to Hendrix College and play. Uh, you're the three seed out of the West, and you'll play six seed Jonesboro. Um uh look looks like Thursday morning at 11 a.m. Um on your top bracket. You've also got Cabot and Harbor, you've got Rogers and Conway, who have the two buys that'll play the winner. So if you guys win, you'll play uh Conway. Uh down on the other side. I guess the good news is when you look at this bracket, Bentonville's on the other side of the bracket. Um, Fayetteville and Pulaski Academy, Bryant and Rogers Heritage, and then Mount St. Mary's Academy and then Bentonville down there as well. So when you we saw the bracket, and I know you guys kind of had a really good idea of what it was gonna potentially look like right before it came out. Um, how do you think this fares for what you guys' strengths are?

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Uh, you know, we talked to the kids today, they were asking questions about the other teams. You know, I haven't seen them play, I've seen film, but haven't watched them play. But if we just do what we're capable of, then everything should take care of itself. But I I I like our chances. Uh, we've talked about all year long from the very beginning, from I mean, in July when we got the entire team together and looked at our roster, we said this is the roster of a team that can win the state championship. And so that nothing has changed that belief whatsoever. We still know that we have a good chances anyway. I mean, when you look at our conference, the 6A West, that one point separated first place and third place. So, you know, Bentonville is just by tiebreaker points. We had the exact same amount of points from uh wins and ties, etc. And Rogers had one more point than the both of us. So I'm it they both um tied and we tied with each of them. So we're right there. We're right there. I love our choices, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

And it's a really harder to get ready for that first one. Um, or is it just like, hey, we just got to prepare for for what we what we can, and and like you said, if we play our game, then I believe we have success.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

I really honestly I like playing someone that we haven't played in the first round because they just don't know what we're going to do, you know. Uh they and you know, the same could be said the other way around, but I'm gonna ensure that I do my homework, you know, and that I have my team ready to go. And uh I like to think that we've got a really potent offense, you know, and a very stingy defense. And so I love playing somebody we haven't played uh because it adds an element to the game for for our team uh where they have an edge, you know, a competitive edge about them and focus. And so, you know, let's let's say we go into this first game and and get a win under us. Now we're gonna play with more confidence going into the next round. And hey, we've been here, you know, we've we've been to the quarters and semis every year. I've been at West. And so this is not a this is not a new journey or a new stage for us, right? Uh it's an expectation at this point. That's right, that's exactly right. And this is what they've asked for, and that's what I'll use to remind them. Hey, you asked for this moment, this is what you've been striving for. So let's just relish them.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

Yeah, that's what you come to Bentonville West to play soccer for. Uh, you said you don't really know much, uh, but when you do look at Jonesboro and and you've got experience on that side of the state, anyways, like what do you think that they're gonna bring just to the table in general with the way that that they play, knowing what you know or don't know about them?

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Yeah, always very physical, um, always have some pace, um, always uh organized. Yeah. So I'm just even from uh the days of when there was just a five-day conference that all of the five, six, and seven day schools were lumped into, Jones Borough still had that identity then, organized and aggressive. And so nothing really has changed with them. So we know it's gonna be a tough first round, but the kids are looking forward to it. They really are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

How do you change? Uh you look at the schedule. I mean, you play at 11 a.m., right? So you're gonna travel down on Wednesday uh with a Thursday morning game. How does maybe anything change at all because you're playing, you know, in the morning versus you know after a school day, for example?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

You know, there's not a whole lot you can do just because you have school, right? Um, that can get them ready for that. Really, the most important things to take care of are the variables that are going to affect them mentally once the game starts. I mean, you know, these kids have been playing soccer for years, and so you know the biggies, right? Anxiety, confidence, and managing just the different situations for the team and tactics that we know they'll see. And if we prepare them for those things, then when the ball starts rolling, that's what they have to manage. And and when ready to manage those things, then they can better manage the game. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

The game should be the easy part at that point.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

The struggle, hey, let me tell you, the struggle is gonna be getting them up at seven o'clock for breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

Right, right. The game will be easy.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

No, please cake.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Right, right. You just get you got to make sure they eat breakfast. Or uh, I don't know. I don't know. High school kids drink coffee these days, which is crazy, I guess, but maybe get some coffee in them as well. Uh, but these are kids too, you know. You know, you've got a lot of girls on your team who play travel soccer, so they're used to the travel, getting up early, staying in hotels, all that kind of thing. So this isn't a new atmosphere for them, per se. So it's just, you know, what's next? And and you have to really rely on that, you know, you you talk about preparation, but just also um maturity that they have.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Yeah, yeah. And we and we actually sent out today a detailed schedule for like nutrition schedule of when to drink water and how much to drink and how many carbs to to eat per these different times. And so what we try to give them is as much structure in this unknown experience, I guess you could say, you know, where the norm changes. They're not in school all day long and then come to the school and get on a bus and just go play a game where, you know, total somewhere totally different, et cetera. And you got all these variables that you can't control. And so we try and create as much structure around that as possible, uh, and then hold them to that and and remind them of okay, this is what we're doing at this time, and where there's no deviation and we're all on the same page and doing the same thing, and that way we can remind them of those other variables that they're gonna see in the game, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Of course, drink water, don't eat McDonald's, French fries, no Chick-fil-a, like all the stuff.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Pretty simple game.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Nothing like that.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Yeah, nothing like that. No, I'm I'm excited. It has been really fun to watch you guys grow and and go through the regular season. And I know we've really just built it up, and and I don't want to build it up too much because the postseason is what it is, but it's an opportunity, right? And and so it's it's really cool that we are finally in this moment because we've been talking about it for quite some time now, you know, what this means and what it can mean for this program that you've been able to put together and the lineups you've been able to put together. So I'm excited to see what happens in Conway. I'll be following along as much as I can.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Good. We're hey, we're excited. Um, you know, we we know that Conway is going to have uh, you know, let's say we see them in the we would let's get past the first round, but we'd see them in the second round, and we knocked them out last year. And so I know, I know full well that that their kids and coaches are gonna show up with a chip on their shoulder per se, you know, and wanting to eliminate us. And so we'll be ready. We are gonna be ready.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

But well, in my short amount of time talking about uh six A soccer, I just don't think there's any love loss for any program in any division.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

So it's funny you say that because you know, when our kids are playing, it's some of the collisions you would think, wow, these these people really don't like each other. But as soon as the game is over, the the there's so many of the club teammates that you know that know each other, they're hugging and the coaches are hugging and laughing, and just a few seconds ago or yelling across the field.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

No, I get it. Yeah, as someone again, like when you play travel and you get to play with all of these girls, like I remember one of my best friends from high school played and we played travel a little bit together and we played rec together, but then she went to a different high school and she was like one of the best pitchers in uh the state and in the region. And I would always get a hit off her, and they'd always be like, Casey, what are you doing? I was like, I I know her tells. I know how to, you know what I mean? Like I know her too much too well. Yeah, um, how do you get a hit off of her? Well, you know, I've been around her my whole life, so you know, so I can also see too that you play against teammates that you play with all the time, you're like, Oh, hey, coach, she's really bad and she favors her left or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 16:35

You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:36

So I get it.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Every game, every game, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Oh, well, it'll be really, really fun. And of course, as we've talked about, that first game against Jonesboro at 11 o'clock on Thursday. So I think we've reached that point in uh our episodes that we love so much, and that is our feel good moment of the week. So from last week, what you got for me, coach?

SPEAKER_01 16:57

It's gotta be senior night, yeah. It's gotta be senior night. Um, ooh, yeah, my daughter. Uh it was it was you know, she's a senior, and so we I got to walk out with her, my wife, and and her twin sister and my little boy. We all got to walk out together, and you know, I've never been on that side of it. I've always been on the other side shaking hands, you know, and so the finality of that really, really slammed me. And I told the seniors, uh, you know, hey, right before the game, right before kickoff, I told them, hey, usually I would take you guys into the den and the weight room and and tell each of you individually how much you mean to me and and you know how much we'll miss you and everything you did for the program. But tonight, it's too hard. Yeah, I'll I'll get to you, but tonight it's just too hard. You know, I will find you in the next week and we'll have that conversation. But tonight, let's just enjoy each other, you know, and let's just soak in the moment that way it's not, you know, I didn't want it to be about my emotions, right? Around my own kid. I wanted it to be about all of them, all of the seniors. And so um it was just so special because some of those kids I've been coaching since they were like 10 years old, and they're seniors, you know, and my little girl I've been coaching her since she was four, you know, and so seeing all of them, you know, her as well, but seeing all those that I've been coaching so long, just they're about to go be adults, you know. It's just special. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, we send them out on a high note with a big win, and uh they all played great and just enjoyed each other, just enjoyed just so much joy on the sideline and on the field.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Yeah, yeah. Well, and you're also allowed to wear that dad hat every now and then.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

I feel like that was definitely uh uh a good time to put the dad hat on.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

It was for sure was. I loved it.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

I love ending our I love ending our episodes with these feel good moments. How makes everyone that will you you want you're done listening, you're like, I feel good now. That was really cool. That was a fun story to share. So thank you. And I'm sure uh that was really, really special. And I'm sure those emotions are far from being anywhere close to being over because I hope you guys knock on wood around me, have a lot more soccer ahead of you uh these next few weeks. So again, no season play, it's here and it starts with you guys on Thursday. Coach, as always, appreciate your time. Thank you so much. Thank you guys for listening and joining us. And remember, you can follow along if you can't go to Conway. I know these games are broadcast, right, Coach?

SPEAKER_01 19:43

They are, they sure are. Yep. AAA broadcasting them and everybody.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

That's right. So you'll be able to watch, even though if you can't be there in person. But for Coach Caracastio, I am Alyssa Orange. Thank you so much for joining us right here with Kickin' It with the Wolverine.