March 12th - Pam Stottele

During the second phase of off-season, our schedule has been altered. Instead of individual sessions, we are now training as a team. On Monday and Wednesday, we train for around an hour and a half, and then have lift from 8-9 in the morning. Coach Fiske runs speed and conditioning at the Fitness Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One of the days is focused on circuit training, while the other is centered around speed. Fridays are more of a fun day because we lift in the morning and have a 4 vs. 4 league in the afternoon. There are three teams total. The seniors have a team and the returning players are split up into the other two teams. This "mini tournament" is a nice change of pace from regular training and speed and conditioning. We now have a chance to showcase the skills we have been working on all off-season.

The team and coaching staff feel that the second phase has been going very well. Many of the players have technically improved. The speed of play has increased consistently, along with pace and accuracy of passes. The individual sessions from phase one has given the players a chance to hone their skills. Touching the ball every day has improved player's confidence and play has started to rise to the next level. More players are willing to take on a player one versus one, when in the past they may have been more reluctant.

In the weight room, new exercises such as plyo-metric and resistance training have been implemented to increase athleticism and explosiveness. Our conditioning has also improved significantly. The first time the team did the fitness test, we all failed. Last week, we did it again and everyone passed. Now that we are in shape, we can focus on improving tactical abilities and working together as a team.

Although the off season has been a lot of work, our team has seen positive results in all areas. This type of commitment is going to help us succeed in the fall because we are overcoming hard days of fitness and getting up early. As coach says, we are making deposits now so that in the fall we will be able to look back on how hard we worked and remember what it takes to be a successful team.