Erin Chastain (@ChastainErin) has served as DePaul University Women's Soccer Head Coach since 2007. Earlier, she spent five seasons at national soccer power Santa Clara University as an assistant coach. During her tenure with the Broncos, the program reached the championship game of the 2002 NCAA Championship, the semifinals in 2004 and the quarterfinals in 2005. She also helped the program to West Coast Conference titles in four of her five seasons. Erin also spent time during her first three seasons at Santa Clara working with several youth teams in the Bay Area, including the DeAnza Strykers and the North Valley Tornadoes.

In this video, Erin details the difficulties a freshman athlete can face. For many, it's just a matter of being away from home for the first time, perhaps feeling the challenge of new freedoms and responsibilities around making their own choices on a daily basis, and struggling to balance heightened academic and athletic demands.

One thing that can help is arriving on campus in peak physical condition. Chastain finds that many players who consider themselves fit, still are not prepared for the rigorous fitness of collegiate sports. She also recognizes that individuals will make these adjustments in the course of a wide variety of timeframes, whether pre-season, in-season or post-season.