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Inside Look: Women's Soccer Preseason
by Kelsey Newborn '12
Thursday August 20
The anticipation is over. All the hard work of summer is about to
pay off. Preseason, one of the most dreaded and loved words for an
athlete, has arrived at Washington College. The turf sizzles with
late afternoon heat as the screams and giggles of seven female
athletes echo throughout my suite. We've moved in and now
it's time to get to work. For us, this preseason is all about
change. Last season was a tough one to say the least and armed with
a new assistant coach fresh from Wake Forest, Amanda Lebo, and a
deeper desire to play and play hard, we set out to the track for
the first practice- timed runs. The mile goes by faster than we all
expected and coach Julika Blankenship seems somewhat happy with the
times- everyone will need to step up her game tomorrow.
Friday, August 21
With breakfast sitting heavy in our stomachs, we once again return
to the track. This time, we are cranking out the two-mile, a
surprisingly grueling race, that has us all feeling exhausted and
wondering why we ate anything at all that morning. Then finally,
the moment we were most looking forward to - time to actually play.
After a practice focused on foot work and basic skills, we are off
to rest and relax. Training session two brings about more of the
same. Scrimmaging and speed work are the name of the game during
the evening. Finally, drenched in sweat but unbelievably happy, we
return to our rooms for some Hannah Montana, girl talk, and
bed.
Saturday, August 22
This morning, I saw the sun rise. As anyone can imagine, I
wasn't thrilled. Morning power hour is a great way to start
the day and coach Jonnie Jenkins knows just the right buttons to
push to really get us working hard. Apparently sore muscles is the
name of today's game but with a full field intersquad
scrimmage at our second practice, we begin to feel the excitement
of seeing a stronger, faster, and more skilled team come together.
Butterflies start to build as I lay in bed thinking about the
scrimmage now only four days away. Can we really be ready?
Sunday, August 23
God may have rested on Sunday and clearly he must have known
something we didn't because here we are once again on the
turf. Both practices seem to go by remarkably fast. Maybe
it's the nerves about preparation for the upcoming scrimmage
or maybe it's the fact that we are having fun pushing each
other to our physical and mental limits. Whatever the reason, day
four files by in a blur of pushups, sprints, goals, and passes.
I'm starting to believe we will be ready and apparently the
rest of the team agrees. We decide to make our team's theme
for the season (something we have every year) with a question,
“Do You Believe?” There are so many things that we are
striving for this season and so many hills we have to overcome, but
as long as we believe in ourselves and work harder than we have
before, we will make them all happen.
Monday, August 24
Surprise, surprise, double sessions again! Today I find myself
thinking a lot about why I love soccer. Through the sprints and
fast paced drills, I remember the feeling of hearing my name echo
through the stadium at a home night game and remember the feeling
of pride when my teammates play beyond what anyone expected of
them. This is what preseason is all about. We push ourselves
through hundreds of pushups, miles of sprints, hours of drills, and
gallons of sweat all for ninety minutes of passionate play in hopes
that we will be rewarded with victory. I know that I believe in
everything this team has to give. These girls, many of whom are my
best friends, share my goals, my hopes, and my dreams to build this
soccer program into a force that the conference should fear. We are
ready and we believe.
Tuesday, August 25
Pregame practices typically means light drills and strategic work.
This morning's session is the exception with a tough power
hour run by coach that involves a lot of ball work and a lot of
abdominal pain. With that behind us, all of our attention turns to
our defensive and offensive shape for tomorrow's scrimmage.
Two hours is all we have left to prepare. Shifting from one side of
the field to the other, we begin to find our rhythm and center
until we know that we are going to rock it tomorrow. Preseason may
be far from over, but already we can see that we have accomplished
so much and that we are finally a team.
Wednesday, August 26
GAME DAY! Nerves abound, we board the bus at 12 for the scrimmage
at Gwynedd-Mercy in Pennsylvania. We are ready. I can see the
freshmen beginning to feel out their nerves and we try to put them
at ease. I remember the feeling well from last year, but I hate to
tell them it never goes away. No matter how many minutes you play,
there is nothing like stepping onto the field. The scrimmage goes
better than expected. At the end of the game, the score reads 1-1.
Although we didn't win, we made leaps and bounds in our
play.
