By: Kaitlyn Belile
Senior defender Erin Weir is currently ranked second in the country by the NCAA with .89 assists per game, and third in the country for total assists with eight recorded. Weir was also recognized as the MAAC’s Defensive Player of the Week.
Even though Weir has found herself a lot of individual success, she shares the same goal as the rest of the team; to make it to the tournament. The stats just come along with the team's success. The team’s current goal is to continue winning games, and that only happens when each player plays at their best.
Weir prepares for games by staying hydrated, getting enough sleep not just the day before games, but three or four days, and carb loading the night before. She believes that a big help for her is seeing the trainers, “because they’re able to pinpoint little nicks I have.” Weir says the lead up to games is the time to get into the right mindset and mentality in order to be in the right state. Unlike many athletes, Weir does not have a game day ritual because, “some games don’t go as planned, so I figured a ritual can’t carry it on.”
Success comes from many different factors, especially for athletes, but Weir says that the environment and people around her helps to contribute to her success. Having supportive teammates that have a similar work ethic around her is a big help. When the team finds a rhythm that works for them, all of the other pieces of the game fall into place. She says, “I think not just what the team does for ourselves on the field, I think what we also do for each other off the field plays a crucial role in building team morale that essentially pushes us to be better.”
Weir has a lot of praise to give to past coaches, her mom and her sister. “I think who put me to this level and made me the player I was, was two coaches I met along my way in my journey to play collegiate soccer. I think, to this day, someone who has been through it all with me would be my mom. It’s nice to have someone so supportive, so willing to help me pursue my dreams in any way, shape, or form whether that be taking time out of her individual day, driving me places.”
“[These are] the typical parent things, but I think that woman has gone beyond what was expected of a parent in that state. Playing Division One soccer was my dream as a kid, and I think if I didn’t have the people I came with along the way, then I don’t think I'd be in the place I am.” Meanwhile, her sister, “will wear T-shirts with Erin Weir on it, or [bring] posters with my face on it. She is just there to hype me up and be the most supportive there is.”
Weir and the team are back in action for a conference game on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. in New Rochelle against Iona.
Photo Courtesy of Tom Wolf
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