Southern Virginia University Women's Soccer
Coach Ryan Foster

D.III? What does it mean?
I figured I'd provide some more information about what Southern Virginia's planned move to NCAA D.III means. Straight from the D.III website is this information (and just so everyone knows, our administration and our athletic department were doing and trying to incorporate a lot of these things before we even started a move to D.III).
What Division III has to offer

- Division III athletics provides a well-rounded collegiate experience that involves a balance of rigorous academics, competitive athletics, and the opportunity to pursue the multitude of other co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities offered on Division III campuses.
- Division III playing season and eligibility standards minimize conflicts between athletics
and academics, allowing student-athletes to focus on their academic programs and the
achievement of a degree.
- Division III offers an intense and competitive athletics environment for student-athletes
who play for the love of the game, without the obligation of an athletics scholarship.
- Division III athletics departments place special importance on the impact of athletics on
the participants rather than on the spectators. The student-athlete’s experience is of
paramount concern.
- Division III athletics departments are dedicated to offering broad-based programs with a
high number and wide range of athletics participation opportunities for both men and
women.
- Division III places primary emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition,
while also offering 36 national championships annually.
- Division III affords student-athletes the opportunity to discover valuable lessons in
teamwork, discipline, perseverance, and leadership, which in turn make student-athletes
better students and responsible citizens.
- Division III features student-athletes who are subject to the same admission standards,
academic standards, housing, and support services as the general student body. The
integration of athletics with the larger institution enables student-athletes to experience
all aspects of campus life.
- Division III encourages student-athletes to take advantage of the many opportunities
available to them, both within and beyond athletics, so that they may develop their full
potential as students, athletes, and citizens.

FAQ's and Answers.
I figured I'd present some questions I get in recruiting and the answers.
1. How does team travel?
We travel by luxury van. Meaning we have air conditioning, and the radio usually works (much to my dismay sometimes. Lady GaGa? Justin Bieber? My ears bleed!).
2. Where do you eat after the games? Do I have to pay?
The team budget takes care of meals, and we only eat at the finest establishments. Che Taco Bell, Cafe Subway, Ristorante Domino's and such. The girls really like Chipotle too.
3. How far do we travel to games?
The average distance is about two hours. Some games are really close (6 miles away) and others a bit longer. We have three trips to D.C. this next year so we're excited about what we can do after the games there.

Signing Day!
Well for a lot of people today is signing day. We use to send out letters of intent for recruits to sign, but with our move to D.III that is now a no-no. What does that mean for the recruit who is committed to us? Are they not allowed to sit up with teammates and announce their decision. Are they left out in the non-signing cold?
Not really.
Any recruit who wants to be part of a signing day ceremony can. They just can't say they're signing for SVU or sign a piece of paper. They are more than welcome to say something like, "I have committed to attend Southern Virginia University. I am receiving academic aid to attend the school, and I am going to have an opportunity to play soccer there!"
Pretty simple, isn't it? This kind of statement shows you're coming to the school, but you're coming to the school for school, and not necessarily the athletics. A subtle difference, but you can still wear an SVU shirt, or hat.
I hope signing day is great for you, and hopefully you're not signing anything, which means you're coming to play for us!

Nothing really new. Just a cool picture. We're excited for the open house this weekend, and the chance to meet potential new players and teammates for 2012. Hope to see you there, or maybe we'll catch up with you in May!

We Need Video!
We're a small school, and that means that budgets are always pinched. Especially in tough economic times, it means that we are unable to go out and see every one of our prospects play. It means that we have to be wise in how we spend recruiting money. Also with a move to NCAA D.III we are no longer allowed to have recruits try-out or join our team for practice. What that means for every recruit we talk to, is that we need video of your playing! We need it to be of a decent amount of time (A 40-second clip doesn't really help), and it needs to be more than just highlights. Anybody can look good and be recruited if they just show scoring or saves, but real recruits get picked up when they show them doing a lot of things, and even failing. It gives a coach a realistic idea of what the player can do, and it allows for our staff to get an idea of how you would fit in to our team, style of play, and what potential you have. Dens as much as you like, or upload it to Youtube or Vimeo. We'd love to see it, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

They're smart too!
I often tell recruits that they should intend to go to college for an education, and they "get" to play soccer. We really feel that earning your degree here is one of the most important things. We're lucky because we recruit athletes who want to play a sport they love on top of the great education they get here at SVU. It's moments like this that make me very proud of my team, and reinforce that our program is headed in the right direction, regardless of what season's results might be. The university released the President's and Provost's list. Students have to have a 3.5 to be on the Provost's list, and if they're in the top 10 percent of their graduating class then they are added to the President's list. We had 9(!) between the two lists. This is the most we've ever had, and makes up a third of the entire team! This is highly commendable. The list is as follows (An * means they are on the President's list):
Jacqueline Barlow MaKenzie Lundquist*
Meghan Blackham* Tamara Nagle
Amber Key Laura Schow*
Bryndel Kindred Jade Sorensen
Kristen Longenecker
Well Done Ladies!

Happy New Year!
I hope that everyone had a great holiday break. I'm excited for what 2012 is going to bring. Our program is looking to take the next steps to be competitive at the NCAA D.III level! A lot of great things are likely to happen this year for the team, athletic department, and the university as a whole. I'm looking forward to being a part of it, and I'm excited to see what our 2012 team is going to look like. We're hoping to build off the success of the past, and heading in to the unknown of what SVU women's soccer would look like as an NCAA D.III member. I hope that I'll have the chance to speak with you soon, and hope you have a great new year!

Happy Holidays!!!
The Southern Virginia Women's Soccer team wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, and a happy new Year! We hope that everyone has a great holiday break, and we look forward to a great new year, and the opportunity to meet those who will become the next members of the Knights soccer program. Hope you've been good and Santa brings you all you asked for. Until next year!