TicketsAug. 11, 2009
Michelle Salmon begins her second season as head coach of the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team. Here's a closer look at coach Salmon.
Question 1)
What are your three most played songs on your IPOD?
Wow that is a good question. Music is a big part of my life, I love attending concerts and seeing new up and coming artists and bands. I believe the most played songs right now would be; Amos Lee "Freedom", "The guy that says goodbye to you" by Griffin House and "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. All three songs are mellow, but have something to say.
Question 2)
What is your favorite Cincinnati restaurant?
I have a few restaurants that I frequent: York Street Café in Newport has great atmosphere and great food. For lunch I feel Beacon's Market has some of the best sandwiches in the city. I also really enjoy Arnolds because they always have music, usually bluegrass, and the atmosphere is very laid back.
Question 3)
What do you love the most about your job?
The players! I love the idea that we as a team get to form a culture that has high expectations and standards, not only for ourselves, but for each other. To see the progress these young woman make in four years in terms of confidence, strength as an individual and independence is pretty remarkable!
Question 4)
How does the Women's Pro league affect the college game?
First off, it solidifies our sport. It allows players to have aspirations to continue playing after college. We have several players here at Cincinnati that will have the opportunity to continue playing after they are finished with their eligibility. By having the WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) it provides our players, as well as youth players, an opportunity to see soccer at the highest level on a regular basis. As the WPS season gains more momentum the quality of the games and the players in the league has risen. A great example of that is the game I saw the other day (Chicago Red Stars vs. LA Sol) and it was an end to end soccer game with a lot of scoring chances for both sides.
Question 5)
Your college coach was April Heinrichs, the former US Women's National Team Coach; how did playing for Coach Heinrichs shape you as a coach?
April is a fantastic person. She is loyal, smart, has a great sense of humor, and is intensely competitive. I loved playing for her, she is demanding and expects a lot from you, when I played for April I thrived in that environment. She loves the game and her love and passion for the game is contagious. As a coach, I learned from April that each of us has our own unique style of communicating, and you must coach from within yourself. We may have similarities but we all have our own style. In coaching it is important to stay true to yourself and coach from within your own personality. April is still a large influence in my life. In fact I recently had the opportunity to spend 10 days with her in Portugal at the Algarve Cup and she is still challenging me to be my best self. I tell our players to surround yourself with people that challenge you to be your best. In a nutshell April's largest influence on me as a person and a coach is to surround myself with people who challenge me to be the best I can be. That is why I love to coach this team and work with Chris and Amanda each day; they challenge me to be better than the day before.
Michelle Salmon took over the reigns of the Cincinnati women's soccer program in 2008, becoming the fourth head women's soccer coach in school history after spending two seasons at Ball State.
In her first season at UC, Salmon led the Bearcats to their most successful season in the BIG EAST Conference. UC accomplished a 10-win season, earned its best finish in the BIG EAST regular season, and made a BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinal appearance. Cincinnati's 10 wins was its best in a season since 2002.
Senior midfielder Kristin May was named to the 2008 all-BIG EAST conference women's soccer second team under Salmon's guidance. Additionally, May and classmate Kim Sykes were named all-Ohio first and second team, respectively.
Academically, Sykes earned her third College Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honor and 13 players were placed on the coveted Topcat scholar list (3.5-4.0 GPA) and another five players were named to the Bearcat Honor Roll (3.0-3.49 GPA).
Rounding out the successful 2008 season was the announcement of Kim Sykes earning UC's Female Scholar-Athlete Award and earning the most prestigious female-athlete award at Cincinnati, the Helen Norman Smith Award.
Salmon guided the Ball State soccer program to unprecedented heights in her two seasons at the helm of the Cardinals. She led the team to its first ever Mid-American Conference regular-season championship in 2006 and wasted no time capturing the programs' second in 2007. The two-time MAC Coach of the Year held a 26-9-5 record, including a 17-3-2 mark in league play, while at BSU.
Salmon led Ball State to a 13-5-2 record in 2007, which included a 9-1-1 mark in MAC play. The Cardinals became the first team in MAC history to win back-to-back outright regular-season titles, while the nine MAC victories tied for the most in a single season in Ball State history. The Cardinals finished the season ranked 10th in the Great Lakes Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and 14th in the Great Lakes Region by Soccerbuzz.
Ball State received numerous accolades for its play in 2007 as a program-record seven different players were named to the all-MAC teams. The seven players honored are tied for the most ever in MAC history by a single team. Ball State also excelled in the classroom as the Cardinals placed a program-record four players on the Academic all-MAC squad.
The Cardinals were led by the top defensive unit in the Mid-American Conference and one of the top squads in NCAA Division I last season. Ball State only allowed 13 goals against for the year and just five goals against in MAC play. The Cardinals finished 16th in the nation in goals against average (0.626) and 35th in shutout percentage (0.50). The five goals allowed in conference play are the fewest allowed by a MAC team in 10-game plus season. Ball State posted a school record seven straight shutouts during the 2007 season and finished the year with 10 total shutouts.
In her first season at BSU, Salmon guided the Cardinals to their first ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship with a 13-4-3 overall record and an 8-2-1 mark in MAC action. The Cardinals' 13 victories were tied for third most ever in a single season while the eight conference wins are tied for most in program history. Salmon guided the Cardinals to a regional ranking in nine out of the 13 weeks during her first season (Great Lakes Region - Soccerbuzz). Under her tutelage, the Cardinals excelled both on and off of the field. The Cardinals had four players earn First-Team All-MAC honors, marking the first time in program history that feat was accomplished. She also placed three players on the NSCAA All-Region team -- the first time BSU has had multiple players on the All-Region squad. Senior midfielder Amy Holst also became the Cardinals first ever ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, earning second team accolades. BSU also had three players named Academic All-MAC under Salmon's guidance.
Prior to Ball State, Salmon spent six seasons as head coach at University of Maryland-Baltimore County. In just her second year at the helm of the program, she led the squad to the Northeast Conference Tournament finals and tutored the Retrievers to a second-place league finish with an 11-6-2 mark. A former all-American in soccer at Maryland, Salmon served as UMBC's assistant coach in 1999 before being appointed head coach prior to the 2000 season.
Salmon, who holds a USSF `A' license, has served as a senior regional staff member of the United States Youth Soccer Association, where she helped evaluate players' development and impact on the regional scene. She has also been the assistant coach of the United States Under-15 National Team and served as the USYSA Under-16 regional team head coach.
In the summer of 2008, Salmon served as one of eight U.S. Under-14 National Program staff coaches who interacted at the Under-14 level between National, State and Region coaches and administrators. As one of the coaches, she helped to discover the top young players in the nation and took part in U.S. Soccer's Development Academy in Carson, Calif.
Salmon captained the Maryland Terrapins in 1997 and 1998 and led the program to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1995 through 1997. In 1996, she was selected as a pre-season all-America candidate. She finished her outstanding career second on the Terrapins' all-time assists list.
Salmon participated on the United States Olympic Festival squad in 1998 and represented the United States as a member of the Under-20 National Team from 1993 to 1995, as well as the Under-16 Team in 1991.
Salmon was an all-American as a prep standout at Old Mill High School (Md.) and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. She still holds the Anne Arundel County scoring record with 90 goals and 15 assists.
Salmon graduated from Maryland in 1998 with bachelor's degrees in government and politics as well as criminology and criminal justice.