Georgia Allen hates a messy locker. If it’s untidy, she said, then her mind’s cluttered as well, and that seeps into how she plays on the field.

As one of the senior leaders on the team, she tells her teammates to take pride in their locker space. How that area looks shows others how much you care, and that builds trust.

“If you can look at each other in the eye and go, you know what, that person really cares, then you can have trust,” Allen said, “And trust is everything in this sport.”

Being more individually accountable, starting with the player’s lockers, has been a purposeful and concentrated shift in the mentality of Syracuse (2-4-2, 0-0-1 Atlantic Coast) as it tries to move on from six-straight seasons finishing at or below .500. With a new head coach, Nicky Adams, the Orange are trying to fix the “little things” off the field, Allen said. That can add up to affect the team’s play on the field.

In past years, players have shown up late to practices and other team meetings, Allen said. On certain days, the wrong number of pinnies or balls were taken to practice. What seemed insignificant at the time, Allen said, became a part of the team’s identity. In Allen’s three years at Syracuse, the Orange have a 12-27-5 record.

Adams has already increased the intensity of practices to foster more competition within the team. She’s also wanted to rid the team of “selfish” mentalities, Adams said. Instead of staying up late or going out on a night before a game, Adams wants her players to think about the consequences of those actions on the rest of the team and make a better decision thereafter.

“If we let little things go, they’re going to go on the field,” Adams said. “People are going to forget to man-mark a certain player on a corner kick or we don’t pick up somebody or whatever it is.”

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Adams’ “ultimate professional” on the team, Allen, played on the U-21 England national team earlier this season and has been around senior England players before.Senior members on her national team have told her she doesn’t belong on the team because of her mistakes, Allen said, but instead of folding from the criticism, she’s worked to improve her skills. She knew her teammates just wanted to make her better.

At SU, Allen said she pulls players aside in the locker room, puts an arm around their shoulder, and lets them know what’s worked for her in the past and what hasn’t. Then she lets them decide for themselves.

There’s a “laundry list” of other things that Adams wants to change about the program. Coming in, she felt SU’s practices were far too lackadaisical. So first and foremost, she wants to cultivate a more competitive atmosphere in practice where players are trying to push each other in every drill, Adams said.

“If you’re going to win in the ACC, you gotta be able to compete with each other at home,” Adams said. “And so that’s the first thing that I’ve been focusing on changing, and they’ve done a great job.”

Fitness is another necessity Adams is trying to build. She’s giving the players less down-time between and during drills, so they constantly have to think on their feet, she said. It’s building not only physical, but also mental stamina, which has been evident in games so far as SU is no longer just sitting back and putting players behind the ball. The Orange have pressed in most matches they’ve played this year. Not for the whole game, but typically for about 10-15 minute stretches spaced out within the game.

Syracuse has not won a game since August and scored just one goal in September. It’s time to show how the small things have added up.

“We have the capability to beat teams in the ACC and there’s no doubt in that,” Allen said. “We just need to apply ourselves, and we need to focus in on the details.”

Published on September 22, 2019 at 11:04 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder