Spring Time – “Let ‘Em Play!”

Hello again for another off-season update. We are off to a great start for this 2011 year. The winter conditioning phase is complete and it's time to begin our spring season training. January and February were full of off-season activities such as Cross-Fit, various conditioning activities, lifting, technical ball skills work with small groups, agility, plyos, Pilates, etc. We are focusing on getting stronger and building individual confidence. The off-season is for player development and we are seeing a lot of players step up their level. It’s fun to see how hard this group works together.

We also had our 2010 Team Awards Banquet in February. Here are the team award winners voted by the players…

Most Improved – Sr. Annie Sokolich
Best Defender – Sr. Meghan Roberts
Best Midfielder – Jr. Megan Wingenbach
Best Attacker – Jr. Aimee Ubriaco
Best Newcomer – Fr. Jodi Chapie
Most Valuable Player – Sr. Becky Fleming
Best Student-Athlete – Fleming, Ubriaco, Wingenbach

Injury Update: Our team is pretty healthy coming off 2010. The two main injuries are sophomore defender Sam Andert and freshman defender/midfielder Molly Costello. Sam tore her ACL mid season against Bellarmine. She is doing outstanding with her rehab and has recently been doing cardio fitness, strength, agility, and ball skills. She was cleared last week to play so a big congratulations to her. Obviously we are going to ease her back slow but she is really coming back strong. Sam is an impact player and will be key to our backfield in fall 2011. Molly Coz broke her leg last spring during her Incarnate Word high school season. Coz is coming along well too and doing all the conditioning and ball skills sessions. This type of injury usually takes a full year to be back 100% so we are being careful with her recovery and return too. It’ll be a big bonus getting Coz back next fall for our back line and midfield. During these spring games we will be limited with our subs but the bonus of that is everyone will play a lot and get quality game time experience.

Spring Games and Training: We have some awesome games this spring as we play Truman, Evansville, Maryville, Western Illinois, Hannibal and our Alumni. Hopefully this spring weather will be cooperative and let us play a lot. Click the picture to enlarge the spring dates and times.

Spring training will be very valuable for player development. Again our focus is on individual development and there are a lot of open spots to be filled in 2011. This is a hungry group which creates a spirited atmosphere. Who wants it? The competitiveness helps push each other which will eventually raise the entire level of our team and program. 2011 spring training is here…Here We Go!

- Dave Musso