As President Monson stated, we want to be a light even to total strangers.. Dream big dreams and find your passionitis never too late. Many years ago we recruited a young lady who had a special talent and gift for the game. Our profession is out there for everybody to critique, she says. Her mom went on to explain that her daughter loved soccer but was from an area where there werent any members who played, and she was slowly losing interest in attending her Young Women group, seminary, and even church on Sunday. She built up the program from an extramural sport into an elite NCAA competitor. For several years I have had the opportunity to participate in a team race that takes runners through some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. overrideCardHideByline= What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. "We are thrilled to have Ellie coming to BYU," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. Her 200th win happened on Sept. 24, 2007 when BYU beat Washington 2-1 at home. Our society is trending away from the spiritual and becoming more secular than ever. "I have known Ellie. 490 Tanner Building The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Legends Brandon Doman. We must always stay on the lighted path and search for those things that we know to be true. This new team was understaffed and had a limited number of fans due to a lack of exposure or interest in womens sports as a whole. 4) and its first-ever No. We must be disciplined and dedicated, and we must look for opportunities to learn and grow. As members of the Church trying to build the kingdom, we can be assured that we are prime targets. I have the opportunity several times throughout the yearwhether at practice, before a game, or at halftimeto try to motivate, inspire, and remind the girls of what they are capable of and how amazing they are. The winner will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal between Rutgers and Florida State. I expect to be the best, and when Im not, I try to learn how I can be better.. "This means a lot," Rockwood said. overrideButtonText= Ill be true, Things are even busier once each season is over, Rockwood says, as all the things she must put off throughout the fall catch up to her. A long list of All-American soccer players has emerged from BYU's program and Rockwood's influence. "We have had our ups and downs, and just like any team, you battle through the rough times and learn from them and try to play our best soccer at the end of the season. So please accept this blanket as a token of my appreciation. I think we always felt the program would be successful, so we werent surprised, Smith-Bretzing said. Ive been there, done that. Some of our competitions were hours away. Any doubts or questions of her being able to lead the team into a new era were gone. The day I pledge Itis something that you cannot put into words. Colohan buried the shootout's first kick officially marking the end of her brilliant BYU career. [Be an Example and a Light, Ensign, November 2015]. BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) September 10, 2021 BYU is another prestigious women's soccer program that longtime head coach Jennifer Rockwood leads. Many years ago I was in the middle of some very challenging situations that not only caused me much doubt in my abilities but also made me question my own path. Pure Offense: BYU leads the nation in shots (24.5/match) and ranks second in shots on goal (10.2/match) for an NCAA-high 3.50 goals per match. I believe that one of his greatest tools is to provide situations in which we doubt ourselves, our unique spirit, and our mission here on earth. They play with heart, for the love of the game, and just for fun and enjoyment. archived form does not constitute a republication of the story. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. They surround us each day, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. Now the Kaysville, Utah, native will take her talents to the professional ranks. Life is a journey, and we must always embrace iteven when we are asked to do something that we thought was absolutely unimaginable. If BYU womens soccer fans have learned anything from Rockwood, it is that success always follows this program. "We knew we had the potential, but we wanted to put it all together so she can finally have this awesome accolade to an amazing career at BYU. BYU finished the season after falling in the Elite 8 to No. Billings became the first ever trainer for the soccer team, and Smith-Bretzing was one of Rockwoods first assistant coaches. Yes, life is hard and we are all challenged, and at certain times we are challenged more than at other times. I was very shy, she says. Once I had passed the arrow, I would scan again, trying to find another redlight. Everybody knows more than you do about your job. http://speeches.byu.eduJennifer Rockwood was head coach of the BYU women's soccer team when she gave this devotional on 15 March 2016. Brigham Young Univers. While it seems risky to turn down a great job offer or leave graduate school early, Brian Hill's journey led him to start his own company that helps give others a second chance. Im pretty sure in todays world my scenario would not happen, Rockwood says. The search didnt go on long. As part of my job, I have the opportunity almost every week to tell young people, their coaches, and their parents what an amazing place this is: a university where students can reach their highest potential athletically, academically, socially, and spiritually and where everyone understands that they are not perfect but where they are committed to being their best. All I can do is try and pass on what I have learned.. It is truly one of the hardest and most time-consuming aspects of our job, but it is also one of the most rewarding because we have the opportunity to recruit some of the finest young women who are playing at the highest level in their sport. Im not here to just win games, she says. only for your personal, non-commercial use. I know whats right Love yourself so that you can love others. Fortunately I was blessed by the tender mercy of a friend who must have been inspired to send me a poem that appealed to Mother Teresa. Several years ago President Gordon B. Hinckley said at a BYU devotional: You came because you wanted the BYU experience, although perhaps you could not define it. They will spend countless hours together at practices, in the weight room, and on the road throughout almost every weekend during the season and the summer. BYU regularly maintains a consistent Top 25 ranking. As I take my place, I will stand Would someone who doesnt know you know that you have the light within you? Clinging to the light is a choice, and often that choice is challenging. I was young, I was cheap, and I had been here, so I knew a little bit about the soccer community.. She also became the first MWC coach to eclipse the 100-win and 200-win marks with a shutout at Milwaukee-Wisconsin, 2-0, on Sept. 23, 2000. It was coached by a former player, Rockwood, and had seen some promising results. Sara Sparhawk and Lyn Johnson find joy in bringing entrepreneurial opportunities to women everywhere through their company West Tenth. While I walk in the light of God my mind is open. The pain of being so close to winning it all must have hurt, but as she normally does, Rockwood could only think about how much this meant to her players, especially to her two seniors Colohan and Tucker. Wemust always seek for the light, and we must light the way for otherstoday more than ever. What have I gotten myself into? she recalls thinking. In 2005, she led her team to its first national seed (No. minutes. "The head coach has to lay down the law, but she still has the ability to give players confidence. [Be a Light to the World, BYU devotional address, 1November 2011], On our team, we often talk about the importance of representing ourselves at the highest levelabout how wearing the name Brigham Young University on our jerseys means much more than just being another college team. Division regular season and conference tournament champion Ye are thelightof the world. When the school announced plans to move to Sandy, Utah, and a new school called Meridian was established in Provo, Rockwood hesitated over her next movebut not for long. Do the hard things. supports HTML5 video, Estimated read time: 7-8 Phenomenal experience for all of us some really special seniors, Rockwood said. The Cougars have a challenge against Santa Clara, their WCC rivals with a 15-5-2 overall record and the reigning national champions. Be honest and frank anyway. A powerhouse offense that consistently ranks among the top shot-takers in the country, Rockwood's teams aren't afraid to shoot. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. She went on to graduate from BYU, serve a mission, and bless the lives of all those she came in contact with. Can I really do this?. Check it out online at speeches.byu.edu. no time to be drawn away from the things of the kingdom of God. [7] Rockwood began to have immediate success. Following a successful month and earning a 6th seed in the NCAA Tournament, BYU Soccer Head Coach Jennifer Rockwood joins the show to discuss how the team ov. Generally speaking, however, it was also seen as a male sport. View the profiles of people named Jennifer Hill. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to live together again as one eternal family. Some may have been talking about Michael Jordans recent un-retirement and his upcoming return to the powerhouse Chicago Bulls. Throughout junior high and high school Rockwood acted as a four-sport athlete, in soccer, basketball, softball, and track. What an adventure! You can't score if you don't shoot, and the 27th-year head coach has rarely if ever chastised a player for shooting too much. As you can imagine, it was a bit disconcerting, and it was very challenging to stay on the path. BYU, in part due to Title IX legislation, began its search to field another competitive womens team to add to its growing collection that already featured the likes of basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. Jennifer Rockwood delivered a BYU devotional address titled "Drawn to the Light" on 15 March 2016. This poem has had a profound impact on my life, and I refer to it often. It is very hard to describe. She is the only coach the school recognizes since the club joined NCAA competition in 1995. Sometimes the more progress we make toward the light, the more temptations may come. Much of the challenge lay beyond the coursework, however, as Rockwood also fought inner battles each day. I didnt necessarily get the best grades, Rockwood says of those tough upper-level classes, but I took pride in working as hard as I possibly could and making it through.. [4], Rockwood coached high school soccer for the Waterford School girls' team and the Meridian School's boys' and girls' teams prior to gradating from BYU. He wants so badly to help us reach our potential, and He will, if only we will let Him. "She's done so much for this program, and even for me personally," senior forward Makaylie Moore told BYUtv. The Cougars scored 25 goals in the next five matches, sparking a six-match winning streak and 12 of their next 13. Aggression is the key in soccer, but so is patience, calmness on the ball, and tactical awareness in a game that can resemble both a chess match and a track meet and sometimes in the same 45-minute half. But it forced me to be prepared.. Just shy of her 30th year overseeing the program and two years removed from BYU's entry into the Big 12 Rockwood has put it all together for a historic run leading up to Friday night's run-in with reigning national champion Santa Clara. He searched for deeper meaning in his experiences, and he learned from some of lifes simple truths. I took that opportunity to see where it would lead, she says. I was super excited that we could get to do this. 1 seed in 2012, Advanced to the Sweet 16 sixtimes (1998, 2000, 2003, 2012,2016 and 2019), Advanced to the Elite 8 three times(2003,2012 and 2019), Led BYU to 13regular season and eighttournament conference championships and won conference championships in 16of her 25seasons, Led team to four-straight regular season conference titles twice, once in the MWC from 1999-2002 and in the WCC from 2012-2015, Finished with a winning record in 24of 26seasons, Reached highest national ranking of No. To take His name, I will be strong But the word was out. history.lds.org/article/lost-sermons-wilford-woodruff-january-1864?lang=eng. In 1996 and 2012, Rockwood was also Region Coach of the Year. It was becoming a battle for her parents to keep her moving in the right direction. It actually came to a point at which I had to make the decision to ask her to leave the team. Unfortunately, due to BYUs recent start as a NCAA sanctioned team, the relatively unknown WAC teams that BYU played against, and the limitation of only 48 teams that entered the tournament, the Cougars did not play in the NCAA tournament that year. There was a handwritten note on top, and part of it read: I am an inmate of the Utah State Prison. Whether these are choices about who to recruit or about playing time, these decisions often cause issues with players, parents, and familieswho, needless to say, are not too happy with me. Rockwood previously earned the honor in 2012, 2014 and 2018. National champion In addition to launching the high school sports program at Meridian and coaching both the boys and girls soccer teams there, she became the athletic director for the junior high. As a child in Chile, she watched soccer every day. BYU women's soccer head coach Jennifer Rockwood reached her 400th win at BYU on March 6 against Loyola Marymount, putting her among the winningest coaches in the NCAA. In order for us to hold up our light, we must believe and remember who we are, where we came from, and what we were sent here to do. I would like each of you to think about some of the individuals who have helped you get to where you are today. Here are some words of wisdom that I believe They want us to know, to repeat to ourselves, and toalways remember: You are a beautiful child of God, made inHis perfect image. In 2019, the Cougars entered the NCAA Tournament as the only undefeated team in the country with an 18-0-1 overall record at the close of the regular season. In the October 19, 2013 match vs. the San Francisco Dons, Rockwood would amass her 300th win. So much of the time, we need that little spark to keep us going.. BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood celebrates after the 4-1 Cougar win over South Carolina in the NCAA quarterfinal match at South Field in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. Olivia Wade is so good on the wing. Can you imagine a young girl, twenty-five years ago, who had just graduated from college, coaching a high school boys soccer team? [5][6] After graduating, she became the club team's head coach in 1989 and led them to two Western National Collegiate Club soccer Association (NCCSA) Championships in 1993 and 1994. Each new season of recruits will be a major influence in our lives, so we must choose wisely. Both loved the game, but neither had any prior experience in helping a soccer team adjust to a new, higher level of play. Be kind to yourself so that you can be kind toothers. I didnt really believe a lot in myself the first few years, she says. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. And then comes the summer, when she oversees BYUs soccer camps, which bring more than 2,700 children and teens to campus over a period of seven weeks. While their initial season was not perfect with some bumps along the way, the team finished with 11 wins and a winning record. You could just tell that she loved soccer., Smith-Bretzing said that she also respected the process by which Rockwood was able to lead the program when she became head coach. We can look to the west and appreciate the view of the lake, travel east and be enveloped in the canyons, or drive south and take in the magnificence and serenity of the red rock. Without the light no man can see. BYU Cougars women's soccer [@byusoccer_w], "Moabite's granddaughter soccer coach at B.Y.U. Uh, so how do we do that?. or superseded by additional information. If Rockwood knows one thing, it's recruiting, and she certainly knows how to mine the state's top soccer prospects and turn several of them into professionals. To many in South America, soccer was akin to a religion. They worked hard, too; they're so gifted, their formation and tactics from the coaching staff it all plays into it. It was 1995, and Rockwood had just signed a contract to become the inaugural head coach of the newly sanctioned NCAA Division I BYU Womens Soccer programat the highest level of intercollegiate athleticsdespite having no prior Division I experience. We all know that we live in a world in which there is increasing darkness, in which lines are blurred and the separation between the light and the dark is getting larger. American Fork's Ellie Walbruch, who helped UCLA win a Women's College Cup national championship last year, joins the show to talk about her decision to transfer home and play for BYU women's soccer, her relationship with longtime head coach Jennifer Rockwood, and the Cougars' first season in the Big 12 Conference. . This was her program now. Far from a program, that's a dynasty, a consistent achievement layered by the individual bricks of three decades of top athletes the majority of which came homegrown from Utah and the surrounding region. As surely as there is light, there is darkness. New episode and podcast released each week, focused on the team the Cougars play. These are questions we must ask ourselves on a daily basis. Before long, she was accepting an offer. To this day, the only sport I really watch is BYU womens soccer. These athletes include Shauna Rohbock, Katie Larkin, Jaime Rendich Beck, Aleisha Rose, Michelle Jensen,Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall, Michele Vasconcelos, Ashley Hatch, Cameron Tucker and Mikayla Colohan. Photos by Bradley Slade, Marriott Alumni Magazine Always give everything your best effort. I feel like I have the dream job, she says. I know that I will not necessarily tell you anything you havent heard before, but I hope that I might remind you of what you have always known and of what can so easily be forgotten in our demanding lives. In that time she amassed an overall record of 128-25-9. She lived her life to the fullest, fulfilled her mission on this earth, and was taken home to her Heavenly Father after a car accident in 2012. However, when she came back to Provo, an opportunity arose to work for BYU athletics when she took on the role of womens sports publicist. But I think for me personally, I was like maybe this is what I am supposed to be doing because it doesnt make sense that we are having all of this success.. Structural Info Known for movies In this experience and in life, the lighted path is not always easy to follow, but it is the only way to reach our desired destination. He understands and he reminded me that we cantexpect to have chances to succeed at the game-changing visible thingsunless we are working to master the little things, and the bigthings are ultimately dependent on how hard we are willing to work.. Soccer? She won her 300th game over San Francisco 2-0 on Oct. 10, 2013. She is the only coach the school recognizes since the club joined NCAA competition in 1995. During Kate Toronto's first day of classes at BYU Marriott, she watched in awe as Marcy Fetzer taught a class on human resources. President Monson stated: We become examples of the believers by living the gospel of Jesus Christ in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Do good anyway. Completing her 21st season in 2015, head coach Jennifer Rockwood has taken the BYU women's soccer team to national prominence and has established herself as one of today's premier coaches of Division I soccer. Reading or replaying the story in its . The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Her parents thought maybe it would be good for her to be around some members of the Church who also loved soccer. There was no lighted path, and there were no signs or obvious markers. I will never get to see a game in person. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Love them anyway. 1 seed in the NCAA College Cup, the first women's program at BYU to ever be awarded a 1-seed. So, too, have been the players, led by MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist Mikayla Colohan, the Cougars' first-ever three-time first-team All-American who has 18 goals and 15 assists this season and ranks second all-time in goals, assists and total points in program history. The Cougars were interested in Swensen-Haslam, who during her time with the Bingham Miners was an all-state forward. 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