Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa women's soccer coach David DiIanni joins the show to discuss the upcoming season

Episode Date: February 16, 2022

We are joined by Iowa women's soccer coach David DiIanni on today's show as he discusses his path to being the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes soccer team, the team's unprecedented path to the NCAA tournament during the Covid year, and what his expectations are for next year's team. Plus, we tackle the hard-hitting journalistic questions like is Coach DiIanni a fan of the hit tv series Ted Lasso, does he like Casey's pizza, and what his favorite restaurant in Iowa City is. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline..net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey y'all, welcome back Hawkeye Nation to another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Podcast Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade, excited to be back for another episode today. We are joined by a very special guest. We are joined by the head coach of the Iowa women's soccer team, David Diani. David, how are you doing today, man?

I'm doing great, Andrew. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I absolutely appreciate it. It is a pleasure to have you on. I appreciate you obviously getting back to me and whatnot. And the women's soccer team, I feel like people don't get a chance to watch them enough, so I wanted to make sure we covered the soccer team as much as possible. So I appreciate you coming on. Before we get into the Iowa soccer team, I want to talk about your journey, though,

because it's kind of an interesting journey. I was doing some research. I started out at the high school level, I want to talk about your journey, though, because kind of an interesting journey. I was doing some research. I started out at the high school level, moved up to Grand Valley State, and then got to Iowa. What has that journey been like for you? Well, it's been an eventful process, but an exciting process, to be honest. You know, what's interesting about my career

is I've only been a head coach. You know, what's interesting about my career is I've only been a head coach. So most of my, except for, you know, the very, very beginning of where I was maybe a JV high school coach, you know, as an assistant, you know, back in 1998. But most of my career has been a head coach. so it's been kind of learning by mistakes. To be honest, it's been trial and error and trying to grasp new ideas and what works for me and my coaching voice and what's my philosophy? So all of it was kind of transitional and trial and error, use, keep, throw out. And it's been it's been very exciting in that regard. And even at the age of 49, I feel like I'm still trying to trying to develop who I am as a head coach at the Big Ten level. And that can be challenging because, as we know, it's a very, very strong conference in all sports.

So I think the other part is I don't I really once I'm at an institution, I really try to develop, you know, who I am. I try to develop the culture and I don't change jobs an awful lot. And so it's been easy on my family to be able to integrate themselves into the community. And for me, you know, the administration have been, have at both schools in particular, have been very, very patient and very excited about the process. Absolutely. And you're, I feel like the last couple of years, you've really been hitting your stride at Iowa, making a couple of tournaments, which is super fantastic. Two of the only three tournaments the women's soccer team has made in the history of

Iowa women's soccer so definitely hitting your stride there did you always want to be a coach? I did you know I think everybody when they go to college and they're you know they they're you know they're a student athlete they they envision having great you on the field and, you know, going on and playing pro and whatnot. And early on for me, quite honestly, I thought I had a good career. I was at an NAI school that was very successful, but it was very obvious to me that I was a good soccer player, but not a great soccer player and you know my mind started you know moving into you know the hows and the whys and in the tactics of of uh of of the success as a team and so it became a track that I started moving into and then one of my my my major my undergrad was education so you know I talk a lot about teaching, you teach the game of soccer,

you don't, you know, and then, you know, that's, that's first and foremost, and then you coach the game. And so I think the elementary track, the high school track and the education kind of lend, lend itself to a different area, which was the soccer field. So I, I had always enjoyed that process. I enjoyed the development of, of players and development of people. And I think, you know, whether you're in the education world or you're in the athletic world, they're very similar. Absolutely. Um, what was the track? Were you on the education track? What was the grade you were hoping to eventually teach if you were a teacher? Well i actually did teach um oh yeah so when i came out of college i i was a high school coach for a long time in college for four years and

that same high school private catholic school jackson lumen christie um hired me as a teacher in the social science department and so i coached varsity girls, and I taught six classes, so really quite enjoyed that. Some of the best years I've ever had, actually, as a coach and a teacher. You see them every day, and you shape lives in a different way. Absolutely. My wife is a teacher, so I have a soft spot for teachers. She's no longer in the profession, but she was there for five, six years, and it was one of the most enjoyable, one of the also most challenging professions, I think, that people don't always realize. Super cool. How was that recruitment process to come to Iowa? You spent a lot of years at Grand Valley.

You had a lot of success there. Did Iowa reach out to you? Was Iowa on your radar when the previous coach ended up going to Dartmouth? What was that process for you well yeah I think the first off you know Grand Valley is such a unique school you know it's size-wise it's you know the big the biggest school in the country for division two so and and and all the departments their athletic programs they all have a chance to win national championship every year so you know when you're there and you have that as your your pedestal and that's what you're trying to win that championship or you know we had gotten the program to a position where all but one year we were in the final four um i think eight of the last nine years we're in the

final four you know there are a lot of opportunities for us for me to move on but there were there were opportunities that maybe i didn't envision them to be different or better than Grand Valley State. And I knew a lot about the Big Ten. We'd play Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, play a lot of Big Ten schools in the spring season. And so I was very familiar with the landscape in the Big Ten. And so I'd kind of always said, if I'm going to leave here, I want to leave to be challenged professionally at a higher level. And again, nothing against a Mac school or Horizon level program, but I thought I was already doing that. So when Iowa did call and they had an opening I knew Ron Rainey pretty well and I had always looked at the Iowa City and University I was

I'd never been but I always looked at hey they don't have a men's program so there could be something special about being the lone soccer program there um and I knew that they had you know it was I I looked at it as being something dormant like ron had had done really well in 2013 but they had a good yeah a good team but i didn't see that as having a culture yet um i didn't see it as ira city having soccer fans um and the athletic department supporting it how i you, you know, really probably needed to be supported. So when they called in and I was, I don't, I'm not sure, maybe I, I, I'm not sure I want to come and, you know, Jane, Jane Meyer was like, just take the visit. I think

you'll be surprised. And, and quite honestly, to, to her point, I was, the people were fantastic. To her point, I was. The people were fantastic. The Tiger Hawk is just a world-renowned, you know, emblem. And the people at the state of Iowa are just bleed black and gold, you know, and that's not a knock against the Cyclones. But the reality is, you know, you don't say, hey, go cyclones in every airport. They say, go Hawks. And that, that, that just took me over and I thought it was a place I could raise my family.

And I was so excited because that's what happens when we recruit every recruit that comes to Iowa city. You're like, I did not know this existed. And it just became a passion that I wanted to be a part of. Hey, Hawkeye Nation. We have to pause the conversation with Coach David Deani real quick. I want to tell you about Bilt Bar because this is the time of year where some of your New Year's resolutions are becoming a little bit more difficult. One of those might have been to eat healthy. Mine certainly was.

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You can find the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get podcasts at and also on YouTube by searching Locked on Hawkeyes podcast for free wherever you get podcasts at and also on YouTube by searching Locked On Hawkeyes that's super cool I think for me so I grew up in Iowa I went to Drake University for undergrad but I always knew I wanted to be

an Iowa Hawkeye at some point so I finally decided to take the plunge and got into grad school and whatnot so going there now but always was very interested in that and my best friend, his dad has passed down the fandom to him. He goes to every game. I got season tickets, so I can definitely understand the bleeding,

the blacking, and the gold. It's pretty cool to hear you say that. You mentioned you wanted to be challenged in a different way. What has been the biggest challenge for you being the head coach of this women's soccer program? Well, it's interesting you ask that question because I think, you know, coaches have an understanding of who they are, you know, no matter what program you're in and what works for them.

And, you know, I think you have philosophies as to, you know, how to build a culture because you've got to be comfortable in your own skin. So that, that part was, I think, relatively seamless. You, you know, you have an idea of who's a good player, you know, what, what, what, what are you looking for in terms of character, you know, in, in terms of a prospective student athlete, I think for me, and it's much more difficult now than it was when I came in in 2014. But the challenges were professionally and tactically. The day-to-day operations in terms of recruitment, it's a battle to get the best student athletes to come.

You're battling against Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois. The SEC comes up a lot. Like, so there's, it's a battle every day. It's got to be your lifestyle. What do you sell? You know, what are you selling? What are you about? And you got to work on recruiting every day, just a little bit, or you get left behind.

I think the other part is, you know, the in-game preparation. There, there, and it's only gotten better. The Big Ten for women's soccer is really strong now. And this past year, we finished fourth, and we didn't even make the NCAA tournament, which is insane. But from top to bottom, the coaches have changed. Investment in women's soccer has increased. So facilities are great now.

You know, institutions want to win in our sport. So professionally, I was at a pretty high level, you know, trying to win national championships every year at Grand Valley and getting to the Final Four. And I look back now and go, man, I could have done so much better if I was a little bit better in-game preparation or the national championship, I should have done this.

I got caught a couple times in the Big Ten. I'm okay saying that. I was not prepared to coach against who I coached against. But that's why I came here. I'm a pretty fast learner. The last four or five years, as we've gotten the players we need to get get in this program to compete in the big 10 we've we've done pretty well absolutely so so what do you look for in a player when you recruit them so one of my buddies is uh was recruited for for college soccer and he

kind of mentioned that a coach he talked to said that uh they look for one or two special traits because there's so many good players out there you want a team that can stand out in one or two special traits because there's so many good players out there you want a team that can stand out in one or two specific things what are you looking for when you're recruiting a player i think they fall into two categories i think first of all character is is really important you know it's a challenge there's a lot of adversity specifically at this level of college athletics uh it'd be great to say hey you came in you were started freshman year and you're you know started senior but the reality is you have adversity that you face. There's other people who want the same goals as you. And then you have to, you know, your job is to be a student athlete first. You'd be a student first. You have to go to school. Those things are all very

challenging. So high character, raised by good people, and hardworking is really important. I think the second part to that is having an understanding of who are you recruiting as a player and how do they fit into your system? Everybody has this system and recruiting to those players in those systems is very important. I can go and get any players. I can fill a roster very quickly, but as a frontrunner, do they like to press? Do they want to defend? Do they want to hunt the ball?

Are they athletic enough to be able to stretch the game? As midfielders, can they tackle? Are they technical? Are they creative? Are they courageous? So I think they have to fit into your system as well i think it's got to be a bit more it can't just be one size fits all um and then and then really defining those those characteristics to these play you know these potential student athletes so because you don't want them to commit to the university of iowa

if they don't want to do some of those things that you're asking every day so i think they come into a lot of you know it's character based do they want to graduate from the university of iowa do they want to take that experience seriously and then you know as soccer players or you know lisa bluter if you can't shoot the three you're not playing on lisauter's team. If you can't grind in the post, with some post moves, you can't play for Jan Jensen, right? Like everybody's got something. And I think ultimately what you've learned at the University of Iowa, if you want to be a Hawkeye student athlete,

you've got to want to develop and get better. Kirk, Lisa, Fran, Dave, Deani, doesn't matter. You've got to want to get better. We're going to make you better because we can coach. And ultimately that's, that's what matters if you're going to come to Iowa city. I love that. That's super awesome. So how would you classify your preferred style of play? Is it more direct or is it more possession based? Or does it kind of change from game to game? Yeah, I think it's, it's really dependent on the players you have in your program. I want players that want to learn and that are open to getting better and can rethink on their own a little bit.

You're certainly going to give them a foundation how we want to play. We're going to be in your face. We're going to press defensively. We're going to be athletic. But in the end of the day, everybody has video, everybody's well coached. And so your ability to adapt on the field, we don't have timeouts. We can't, you know, I can't only coach from the sidelines so much. So they've got to be able to adapt to what they see. And that starts with practice and that starts with our teaching. So I would say it's a little bit of both.

We, you know, we, we've got to be good enough to be able to keep the ball. But when we're pressed, we want to be athletic enough to be able to go direct and punish people for, for playing that style. So I think we, a little bit of a hybrid, to be honest. I like that. Yeah. And with college, obviously the substitution rules, a little bit of a hybrid, to be honest. I like that. Yeah. And with college, obviously the substitution rules are a little bit different than the professional model. People can go in, they can come out. Do you prefer that substitution model or would you rather have

a more concrete, once you go out, you're out? I think in the women's game and the men's game in college, I think it's important to have a little bit of freedom substitution wise i think there's a lot that goes into that you have more players that play so you have more people that are more happy and you're you know but the reality is i think when you start talking about periodization we just don't have enough time to be able to build our our student athletes fitness wise we have 12 days of preseason we don't right now and this might this might change and i think it will change but right now we don't have access to them in the summer so for us to say hey we're going to run with 90 minute players

with four substitutions it's just not going to happen. You know, it's just, you're going to have, we already have a little bit more freedom in substitutions and we're still having probably too many injuries in all sports, not just soccer. So I believe that there will be a legislation change that we will have access to our players in July, a little bit similar to basketball. It's much needed.

Volleyball is going to be along with that same ticket. And really it's driven by the student athletes saying we want access to our coaches more often and we want to develop as players. And that's a good thing. All right, y'all. One more pause of the conversation with Coach David Yanni. We'll get back to that in just a second. But I want to remind you with football season being over,

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Yeah, completely agree. So by my count, when I looked at the roster, it looks like you're losing three kind of full-time starters from this past year's squad that went 12 and six. Riley, Olivia, and Samantha.

How do you go about replacing three starters on this squad, and what are your expectations going into next season? Well, I think if you have a good culture and you recruit well, you hope that there's a next man up, right, or next woman up. So we're in that position right now trying to figure out, you know, with our offseason, who's developing, who's going to take it, you know, change their role and take on more responsibility. And I think that will be really important. You know, I think we have some players that, that maybe played a different role

in the fall that are really something, you know, really close to challenging for more responsibility. Kenzie Rowling, a Waverly, Iowa girl. I think she still breaks the record for leading high school goals in the state of Iowa. She had a good year. Anybody who scores six goals is a good year in the Big Ten, but had some physical challenges and got sick and just never could. It's hard, you know, to, for a freshman to, to adapt that quickly.

She's she's on fire right now where we have some grad transfers that are coming in next year in that position up top. And so it's, it's my job to replenish the roster and it's our players jobs to be able to expand their role and walk through that door when the door is open. Definitely. This keeps rolling right into the perfect seamless transitions here. But with what you're saying about what I want to ask next. So speaking of grad transfers, you landed Cassidy Formanek out of Houston.

What was the impact of landing her as a grad student, someone who has significant experience playing high level soccer? And how did you identify her as a transfer target? Well, I mean, our portal is, you know, one of the benefits to the COVID year is the portal is pretty heavy right now. And, you know, a lot of people, females in particular, are using that COVID year to start the process you know with master's classes you know and Cassidy first of all has been an incredible addition she's having it in an awesome off season right now already and there's no substitution for a 22 year old woman who's played a lot of minutes and in a high level. So how did we get her? Blair Quinn,

one of my associate head coach, his career has made it his way through the University of Houston. So he has coached her for a year or two before he came to the University of Iowa. So that was the first thing. He could vouch for her character, her work ethic, who she was as a person. And we had a need, we had a need to upgrade, uh, at center back. We needed to get more athletic at, uh, at the back, um, losing Olivia Howe Wig and, uh, Alicia Ganeef is a young center back who played a lot of minutes, but we, you know, we didn't have enough depth.

Sarah Wheaton has played a lot of minutes for four years there. So we need to, to manage her minutes. So, um, Cassie is exactly what we thought she was. She's a leader. She's physically prepared to play at this level and she's a good soccer player. Love that. Um, and so going kind of transitioning to just the Iowa team in general, what was it like

winning that first NCAA game in Iowa history um and how did you keep your team motivated throughout a rough start to begin that season and know that there's still an opportunity that lies ahead I mean a pretty if we're being honest that's uh pretty unprecedented to make that kind of a run yeah I think they've they've they've coined the word like you know it's uh it was the story that way that no one thought you could write um you know I think they've coined the word like, you know, it was the story that no one thought you could write. You know, I think the last two years has been a lot for everyone, you know, with COVID and the pandemic. And certainly the beginning of that fall with the stoppages. And we had some, you know, we had quite a number of student athletes that first summer, unfortunately, not able to train.

And we had a lot of stoppages through the fall and we just never got a rhythm. And we never got, you know, and the biggest thing challenge was we had a great class of freshmen that were doing online classes that we thought were going to help us right away. And we just never got a rhythm. And, and early on, we struggled losing, you know, creating a core of who we were as a team. We lost some games that we never would have lost, you know, if later in the year and we didn't lose later in the year. So about halfway through we we had, quite honestly,

and this is a credit to our student athletes, they stayed bought in. We started getting a little bit more production from the freshmen who were very talented. Mike Engels, Riley Fetty, Maggie Johnson, some really good players that just weren't ready to play. And it was a Big Ten season only. We didn't have non-conference schedule,

which usually you can use as a buildup. So we got thrown right into the Sharks, you know, water, and they weren't ready. So I remember this vividly. We lost to Minnesota at home, played Penn State on a Sunday, lost 1-0, really should have tied the game. And our team was like, we're doing everything you're asking, coach. And I'm like, you are, but we're not ready to win yet. And that's just, I believe, I need more.

This level needs more. And I could see like, they really should have said, we're done. And they didn't. They said, okay, they showed up the next day. And we just went on this run where we won, I think five or the last six games. And still wasn't enough. You know, we still were at the bottom in a normal year. We would have missed the big 10 season, but we went on that run and that run just went, you know, took off and we went to Illinois. They were all, they had this big presentation for their new facility. We beat them. Then we played Minnesota, beat them.

And then, I mean, what we did in Penn State was unreal, you know. And, you know, this was all with about 12 players. We didn't have a depth. We didn't have a bench. But our sport in particular, but athletics is just what's so inspiring about the NCAA tournament and the runs. Like what we made was it's momentum, right? You start feeling good about yourself.

You get a – you know, your hair sticks up on your arm, and you start – you'll walk a bit taller. And that's what our team did. We just believed. walk a bit taller and that's what our team did. We just believed. And, um, honestly getting the NCAA game against Mercer, uh, against, um, um, Mercer, um, who you have to play. Yeah. Um, the first NCAA win was, was unbelievable. Um, and then quite honestly, we should have beat UCLA. You know, we, we were one zero up with five minutes left to go. And, but, um, but, but that's how you create culture and that's how you create a foundation.

And, um, I'm just really proud of that group of women that stayed bought in when, when things were struggling. Yeah. Uh, Campbell was the Campbell. Oh my gosh. My friend was the coach there. That's awesome. Yeah. I will say, um, that run was, was amazing. And it was honestly the first collegiate soccer I'd ever watched. So, I mean, I think that's, uh, it's pretty cool that, you know, what you all were doing, I think was resonating with, with everyone across the state and as, as Iowa Hawkeye fans. And, um, it's something now I tried to try to catch whenever I can, the games going on.

I'll be completely honest, I'm not the most soccer-savvy human being, but I understand when you score, and that's good, and I understand a few things. So it's been pretty cool to watch that growth. And then you turn it into this season, go 12-6. Now, what are the expectations for next season? Yeah, no, I appreciate you being honest and transparent about that. I think that what was good about it is, you know, we had it in here.

Wrestling was, you know, Tom Brands with Texas. Hey, we're watching. They picked up a recruit, Kenzie Rowling's boyfriend. Like, it just kind of becomes a train, you know, of momentum. And you just, it doesn't matter what sport it is, you're just fighting for the Hawkeyes, right? You're cheering on the Hawkeyes. So I think for us, it's just important

that we just don't fall off our core values. You know, our core values are being fit, working harder than everybody else, you know, putting time in to develop as a player. And you can do that, right? When you have success and sometimes you become a bit short-sighted and start cutting corners.

And I think it's really important that you realize how you got there and how hard it was to get there. And it's hard to get there successful, but it's even easier to slip back into, you know, a bad culture and, you know, in a bad season. And I think for us, we just talk about that an awful lot is the investment has to be greater than the reward. And the reward is almost, you know, it's like, almost like, you're not, you're not shocked when you win because you, you, you know what you put into it.

And winning is not as important to me as it is losing. Losing you can learn lessons from. Losing, like winning should just be part of the process. You know, it's the cherry on top. Oh, great, great, good, awesome. We expected to win. Now we move on. Jerry on top. Oh, great, great, good. Awesome. We expected to win. Now we move on. And we,

for me, I'm a, I'm a very big coach that's invest in the process. And, um, and if you're cheating it every day, you're going to get caught. So for me, it's, you know, we have a pretty young program right now. Our players are pretty young. So they're learning what, what, you know, what the process is about. And it, it, it, it's hard. It's hard. The process is hard, but, but you, you know, you can't cheat life. Can't cheat success. It's life lessons. Not just, not just in soccer, but overall in life. Well, I have one last question for you and then a few just kind of quick questions. So I appreciate your time. And if you need to go, just let me know. What is,

what is one thing you would like Iowa Hawkeye fans to know about the women's soccer team and and women's college soccer in general well i think for college soccer in general i think it's it's an incredible sport that takes an awful lot of physical stamina and investment to accomplish and perform at the highest level. I think that in the end of the day, our sport is something that goes along with women's basketball and softball that if the NCAA and if universities invest in it, fans follow. There's no doubt about that. And I think it's the most popular sport in the country, you know, not just on the men's side, but on the women's side, but in the world.

And so it's a universal sport that I think everyone can go. Once every four years, you got the World Cup. Once every four years, you got the Olympics. So it's always something that you can go back and relate to. And families are around televisions, no matter whether you know the intricate details or not. With regards to Hawkeye soccer, I think we will always be appreciative of the opportunity to put on the Tiger Hawk, the black and gold. We will always be a blue collar program that will grind for success. And I think it's easy to follow, you know, and just like you said, in 2019, you know, we didn't, we weren't as talented as UCLA,

we weren't as talented as UCLA, but we were in that position because we were a team and a program that were merged as one. And I think you see that amongst our, our entire athletic department, you know, they're led by great leaders, a grid led by great coaches, starts with Gary Barton all the way down.

But we, we, we, we get better and we invest in the process, and you better be ready for a fight. So that's what's exciting about our athletic department. That's what's exciting about all the programs within our athletic department. It's pretty cool to see, and I think about the field hockey

and seeing the wrestling team and the soccer team and the basketball team and everyone's there supporting all these teams. It's pretty cool to see the amount of support from an Iowa Hawkeye program perspective. So to coach David, Deani, I really appreciate your time today. I have a couple of very, very lighthearted questions for you. So first off, do you like Casey's pizza? And if so, Casey's or come and go pizza oh great question uh Casey's I love that what's your favorite Casey's pizza you know everyone's gonna say breakfast but I actually just like the basic uh pepperoni nice cheese I I like the sauce actually I I'm a hundred percent the same breakfast pizza is not my jam it's the it the pepperoni. Honestly, a day old Casey's

pizza, oh man, I'm on a road and it just tastes so good. All right. Favorite restaurant in Iowa City? Oh, that's a great question. I love Chophouse. I think the Chophouse, they got a great beer wall. They got great steaks, great chickens, good sandwiches. I've eaten there a lot. Second one would be Stella's. Okay, and what's your go-to beer? You know, I like a Kona. I like a Kona Wave, a little bit of Fruity. And then probably the second one would be something from Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo

because I spent so much time there. Bells, something from Bells. Okay, nice. I always have to ask this question. My best friend, he loves soccer, and he always asks me to ask this question. Do you like pineapple on your pizza? I do. I do.

I'm Canadian, so I've got to go with it. I don't often get it, but I don't mind it at all. Okay. And final question for you. Have you seen Ted Lasso and do you like Ted Lasso? I'm a big Ted Lasso fan. I'm a big Ted Lasso fan. I think it's a great show. I think that it's comedic. Great actors, actresses. I can't wait. I binged on it. I can't wait for another season to come out. Absolutely. I think it's one of the most impressive shows ever created.

It's hilarious. It also has really nice, talks about a lot of really deep things, but does it in a way that people can see it and understand it and comprehend it, but also leave and be understanding that without being overly upset, I guess is the best way to put it. Yeah, a lot of great life lessons, quite honestly, that are woven in there to a soccer program, but are really just about living life, right?

And being successful and being a good person. Ultimately, it's about being a good, good human being. Yeah. Someone was telling me the other day I was doing something. I was upset and like be a goldfish, Andrew. That's awesome. I love it. Well, Coach Yanni, I really appreciate your time. It has meant the world for me to be able to chat with you. I'm really excited for next year's team and the season we'll be watching.

And for all of you fans out there, I highly recommend checking out getting Big Ten Plus so you can check out all the Iowa women's soccer games that aren't on the Big Ten channel. Any last words from you, Coach Gianni? No, I really appreciate the opportunity to speak about our athletic department and our program and truly just the Hawkeye Nation.

Absolutely. As always, Hawkeye Nation, appreciate you all tuning in. Have a fantastic day and let's go Hawks.