After the Miami game, Coach Yo Murphy of the Tampa Breeze took some time to speak with LFLUnlaced about his team and their season.

Q: Talk about that loss against Philadelphia

Yeah, you know that ended up coming back to bite us because we had the opportunity to win a game we really should’ve won to be in a better situation. That Philly loss, because of penalties … you know it wasn’t because of talent or because of coaching… we just made some dumb mistakes.

Q. What were some key points you wanted to make for this game (against Miami).

We wanted to be efficient. We knew Miami was a good team so we went over technical stuff and really (focused) on being efficient and making big, explosive plays with the girls we have – Brandyce, Tiffani, Liz, Denisha – just trying to get the ball in their hands and make big plays and just run the score up.

Q. Plans for next season?

Man, heal and lick our wounds a little bit! You know, we’ve got a good core of girls and I’m hoping that they bought in and really enjoyed the league and like the direction things are going, so what we’re going to do – I know it’s an old cliché – is go back to the drawing board. I think we did a lot of things right. It’s the first time these girls have played tackle football and its the first time I’ve coached football. I played a lot of years of football, so I can sit back and see what I did wrong and try to make it right.

Q. You played in the CFL, you played in the NFL, you played in NFL Europe. How does the LFL compare to those?

It’s football, you know? It’s football. It’s like I tell guys all the time that talk trash about it. I gave tickets to three of my buddies that played, combined, 35 years in the NFL and they didn’t say one thing about the girls; they talked about football! And that’s the bottom line. When I played football, it didn’t matter what country, what size, who was against me, I just played, and that’s what I tell these girls all the time. I’m proud of them.

Q. All of these girls have backgrounds in other sports. Do you feel that any particular sport made them better prepared for football? What were some of the challenges that you had in teaching them to play, to catch, and things like that?

We had a lot of great athletes. They might have thrown the ball around with their boyfriend on the beach or whatever, but I think the biggest thing was relaying how to do stuff technically right. You know what I’m sayin’? Like, we would tell them a wide receiver split, and they’d look at you like you’re talking Chinese. So, just little tiny stuff, like huddles and what a line of scrimmage was. But once we did, we started crawling and crawling and crawling, and all of a sudden we went to a sprint. So, we were frustrated for awhile but once they picked it up (snaps fingers) it blew up. It was good.

Q. Traditionally, women’s sports are non-contact. This is the first time a lot of these girls have been hit. Did you have any problems with them getting over that fear?

Oh yeah. Still having problems! (laughs) One thing I was telling these guys, because a lot of our coaches want them to be in pads all the time, is “Look, we ain’t gonna be able to teach them aggression. Once they get hit they’re gonna realize that they’re gonna keep getting hit or lick somebody.” Some girls aren’t really sure which way to go, but they’re a team and they’re going to do what they need to do. That’s why I’m proud of them, because its foreign; it’s foreign soil. It’s a tough game; you saw some of the hits out there. When you’re sitting on the sideline (as a player), you have to re-think if you want to go back in there. (laughs) So, I’m proud of them.

Q. Jen Langston played most of last week’s game with a broken arm. Did you want to talk a little bit about that?

Yeah, you know, she’s something special. We were begging her (to get out of the game). I was like, “Look. Relax. We’re gonna beat these guys.” But all she wanted to do was go back in for one more play. I tell ya, we finally get her to quit playing and her arm’s hanging by her side! Just a real tough person. Not just (because she’s) female or anything. Just a real tough person, and I’ve got so much respect for her and the heart she has. You know, she’s crazy! (laughs) But I love her for it.

Q. Did you know Carie Small was a recovering cancer survivor?

Yeah, I did! And you know, there’s tons of stories out there. Carie comes from Ft. Myers* every day for practice, sometimes 3 or 4 times a day. She told me all that and I was like “Carie, why are you out here?” And she said “I just wanna play.” So, she’s something special.

*Ft. Myers is about a 2-hour drive, each way.

Q. Do you think she’s going to come back next year?

Man, I hope so! You know, I need to look all these girls and tell them I want them back. But, we’ll have to see. Some of these girls are real young and have a lot of stuff going on.

Q. Turbulent twenties?

Exactly! Exactly.

Q. Are you going to have them on any sort of off-season conditioning or motivate them to do it on their own?

Yeah, you know, I train athletes – I’m a performance trainer at Saddlebrook – so I’ll get with the girls and we’ll do some stuff. I’ll always be there for them. In our profession, I think they’ll come and I’ll work with them.

Q. A lot of these girls come from different sports backgrounds. Do you think any particular sport was better as far as preparing them for football?

I would say the lateral sports were the best, like soccer. Basketball, too. We have a couple of softball players that were good athletes. But really, the soccer players had such good lateral movement and they were really on top of it.

Q. Emanda Doscher had some strength training. Did that give her an advantage over some of the other girls?

Oh yeah. She’s a big, strong girl. And she really let them know it! She was on one leg tonight and still doing damage.**

**Emanda was playing with a torn ligament in her knee.

Q. I promised you one last question and that was it. Thank you, Coach.

Sure, thank you.