JMU Changing Styles, Making Most Of Fall Practice

Sure, the Dukes like every other fall sports team impacted by the coronavirus would’ve preferred for their season not to be postponed until the spring. But they are making the best of the situation and relishing their extra opportunities in practice.

“We’re changing our style a little bit this year, so we’re in the transition stage,” senior forward Ginger Deel said.

Deel, the Dukes’ 2019 top scorer with eight goals, said JMU is becoming more possession-based in style and installing a new diamond formation ahead of coach Joshua Walters’ third year leading the program.

Last season, JMU finished 9-12-1 overall and 4-4-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association with a loss in the conference tournament championship game to top-seeded Hofstra.

“If you’re ever going to take some silver lining out of the COVID [situation],” Walters said, “one of the positives is we have time to look at this and be detailed about it. This time of year we’d normally be about winning games and we’d be playing multiple times a week. In that model, you don’t have a lot of time to coach.”

Walters said the personnel on his roster dictated his decision to alter how the Dukes were going to attack and that the preparations actually began last spring before the pandemic hit. He said before everyone was sent home, he was encouraged by how well his group played while using some of the new tactics during a scrimmage which pitted JMU against George Mason, Richmond and Virginia Tech for 45 minutes apiece.

“It just fits the players we have,” Walters, a former assistant at UCLA prior to landing the JMU gig, explained. “I think we have players that enjoy having the ball and wanting to play that style, so it kind fits them. I think the first two years we played a style that fit those players and now we’re in a way where I think it’s the right choice based on the players that we have.

“You think about how to get the best players on the field together and that’s where we started. We were working backwards with thinking about the players who we believe are pretty influential on the team and how do we build it around them?”

According to Walters, Deel and fourth-year junior Hannah Coulling, who is moving from defender to forward, could play pivotal roles come spring when the team begins their unconventional campaign.

Coulling, a Salem native, had four goals and three assists last fall.

“I’m definitely excited to be back somewhere where my instincts are kicking in now,” Coulling, a former forward for Salem High School, said of the position switch. “I’m honestly willing to play anywhere and I’m willing to be on the field wherever, so for me it’s not a big deal. But I’m excited to play wherever that is and if I’m scoring goals, then I’ll take it.”

Said Deel: “I think the style helps. I have the easy job of slipping the perfect balls away and we have the strongest midfielders I’ve seen on our team ever. … The things they do out of nothing are so fun to watch. I catch myself watching them sometimes and I’m like ‘Oh gosh, I have to make a run,’ and I think so it’s going to be an even better year. I think we’ll have even more goal scorers and I’m excited.”

Deel noted midfielders set for significant contributions are senior Ebony Wiseman, junior Annie Sorando, junior Iris Rabot and freshman Lexi Vanderlinden. Wiseman was a first-team All-CAA pick and Deel was a third-team All-CAA choice a year ago.

Walters said junior defender Sarah Gordon is very reliable. Gordon led the Dukes in minutes played last season.

“I think we’re going to be a pretty good team,” Walters said. “Like I look at it and I’m excited about where we are and how deep we are and how many threats we have.”

JMU is now on its fourth week of fall practice after a hiatus following its summer shutdown and postponement of the season.

In the spring the Dukes are likely to play one conference game per week, Walters said. The NCAA is allowing competition to begin as early as Feb. 3 and selections for the NCAA tournament will be made on April 18.

At this point, though, Walters and company will keep their focus on perfecting the changes they feel will propel them forward once they start playing games again.

“You need time to build it up and need time to change the style,” Coulling said, “and we’re able to do that now and use the girls that are coming in and already here to make that style and that play 10 times better than it would be if we didn’t have that time. So I think it’s been a really awesome thing for us to see the positive.

“Having the opportunity to build on what we know and build on the things we’re learning every single day has been great, and I think that’s probably one of our greatest strengths right now – having the time to be good at it.”

Editor’s Note: This story is the last in a series of stories examining the teams at James Madison as they return to practice following long layoffs and postponed or abbreviated seasons due to the coronavirus.