The U17 Krush Black team, part of the Florida Kraze Krush soccer club recently won the state title, regional championship, and are now competing for the national win in Germantown, Maryland.
By Jacob Engels
The U17 Krush Black team, which has played together for 5-6 years, first under Central Florida Kraze Krush and now under Florida Kraze Krush, is vying for the national title this week. The team is led by several highly recruited players, who are going to schools like North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of Florida, South Carolina, Clemson and UCF to name a few. The girls come mostly from Orange and Seminole County, with a few other players from around the state.
Below is our EXLUSIVE interview with their coach, Hue Menzies who also serves as the Executive Director for Florida Kraze Krush. Players Jill Richards, Emily Tipton, and Gabby English also shared some insight about the season so far.
Hue Menzies, Head Coach for U17 & E.D. for Florida Kraze Krush –
What has been your best tool this season to get the girls ready for tournament competition?
Managing their training intensity and making sure they are doing the things, (hydrating, proper diet and enough rest) off the field to maximize their performance.
As a coach, what have you found to be the best way to help the girls bond as a team?
Social media has been a big part of keeping them together. We have players on our team that lives in the Panhandle, Jacksonville and Vera Beach… therefore having practice on weekends was a big plus. We established a unified team goal for the year. We have limited parent involvement on trips, therefore the girls travel together as a team. We rotate the players has roommates on the road. At the end of the day, they all get along and making sure they get to socialize among themselves.
How do you turn missed opportunities on & off the field into teachable moments?
We have had some major injuries to our team, but we have included those players in everything that the team does. If players were injured they had to travel and come to practice, even though they couldn’t participate. They are still a major part of our success. Being on the sidelines has been a great learning tool for those players. I have given them time to speak at half time to the team. Their input to the team has been valuable and it reinforces the methods we are trying to teach. Each of those injured players have returned to the field a more tactical player.
Jill Richards, — Senior in the fall. Attends Winter Park High School, 9 years on team. Position: Defender. Verbally committed to Elon University.
Since the start of the season, how have you helped improve yourself away from practice?
Away from practice my focus has been on strength and conditioning. Coming back from an ACL reconstruction I spent multiple days a week at Spectrum Sports Performance working on getting in the best shape to come back strong and compete at a high level.
What has been the best advice your coach has given you so far?
The best advice Coach Hue has given me is that I am not entitled to anything. Nothing worth having will ever come easy.
What do you do differently in regular season vs tournaments (regionals, playoffs, nationals)?
During the regular season I have the mindset of what is going to be the best for me in the long run. How do I take care of myself so I will be able to play the whole season without any setbacks. At tournaments my mindset completely changes. I have to think in the moment and play each game one at a time not worrying about the next.
Emily Tipton, — Senior in the fall. Attends Lake Mary High School, 2 years on team. Position Defender. Verbally committed to University of Central Florida.
Since the start of the season, how have you helped improve yourself away from practice?
I have a gym in my garage that I use so I can get stronger and more flexible which helps me when I step on he field. My dad is my motivator and second trainer. He takes me to a secret sandpit we found a few years ago and we work on my agility, speed, and endurance. I also go on long runs around my town to focus on my conditioning. I’m never away from practice because in my free time I go to the fields by my house and practice my shooting, dribbling, and touch on the ball.
What has been the best advice your coach has given you so far?
Probably that the journey has just begun for us. Just because some of my teammates and I are committed verbally to colleges to play soccer does not mean at any point in time we can stop working to be better. By Hue implanting in our heads the mentality of always improving in any way we can showed and keeps showing me things I never thought I could do before. It also has shown me how great of an athlete I have come to be and can still be. Things only get harder from here on out!
What do you do differently in regular season vs tournaments (regionals, playoffs, nationals)?
Every game whether it be a league game or a tournament, is a chance to prove myself. When I get on the field it doesn’t matter what the occasion is, I just play my game the way I know how. For big tournaments we train and focus on more game situations and set plays. When we know we’re going to a big event everyone knows what’s at stake and we put in extra work. Instead of a regular season state ranking or title, it is now a regional or national title for our team, which is a much bigger deal.
Gabby English, — Senior in the fall. Attends Winter Park High School, 8 years on team. Position: Goalkeeper. Verbally committed to San Diego State.
Since the start of the season, how have you helped improve yourself away from practice?
I’ve spent a lot of time focusing my own game by improving my strength and stamina in the gym and in my own private trainings. Also, I spend a lot of time visualizing and mentally preparing myself. As a goalkeeper it’s imperative to have great team chemistry so this year I focused on becoming really close with my team.
What has been the best advice your coach has given you so far?
The best advice Coach Hue has given me is that I’m not entitled to anything; I get what I work for. He always expects us to give 110% no matter what we do and giving up is never an option. He was taught us that hard work shouldn’t just be on the field; it should also in the classroom. Hue has definitely impacted my life more than he can imagine and has shaped my into a well rounded young lady and I thank him for that.
What do you do differently in regular season vs tournaments (regionals, playoffs, nationals)?
During our major tournaments I made sure our team focus was where it needed to be. I kept reminding our girls how close we were to achieving our goals and how imperative it is that we work together if we want to reach them.
We will keep you updated on their progress at nationals throughout the week.
Jacob Engels, is the Founder of East Orlando Post & Seminole County Post. He is a seasoned political operative who has led numerous statewide political groups and has worked on several high-profile local, statewide, and national races. Jacob has been interviewed on national television & radio programs, with his work having been featured in the Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Washington Post, Miami Herald and other publications nationwide. He can be reached at info@eastorlandopost.com
